#Everyday Inspiration,Day Seventeen: A Map as Your Muse

Day Seventeen: A Map as Your Muse

I did not get a proper image of some places I wanted to imbed. I decided to write about one of them without an image.

I will write about Gander, NL, where we (family) lived for a number of years. Before coming to Gander, we lived in Montreal. In those days the province of Quebec had its own laws.

One of them was an immigrant cannot have private practice until he/she becomes a citizen. My husband came from Chicago where he trained to be an Ophthalmologist.

My husband had two years left to become a citizen. He worked as a resident in Montreal, though he was qualified to practice Ophthalmology.

His boss told him to take a job outside Quebec instead of wasting time as a resident, where he only received $500.00 a month.

He got a job in Gander, his plan was to spend two years and then return to Montreal, get his citizenship and start his private practice.

But someone up there had other ideas. We had barely spent a year, when my husband’s boss, whose practice he was supposed to take over as suggested by him(Doctor Duclos), was killed in an accident in New Brunswick highway.

The whole scenario changed. Things were at a standstill. Then the following year on 29th November my husband had a severe heart attack. He went through all kinds of treatment in St. John’s.

He came home and decided he could not start a private practice, as it would be stressful. So he continued working as a salaried physician.

I was teaching in a local school, it was my third year. I had a tough time adjusting, I never complained and continued to work until I realized one day, my husband was getting sick, we must leave Gander and go to St. John’s where they had enough Cardiologists to look after him.

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DP Daily Prompt: Sudden Downpour

It was sunny when you left home, so you didn’t carry an umbrella.An hour later, you’re caught in a torrential downpour. You run into the first store you can find– it happens to be a dark, slightly shabby antique store, full of old artifacts,books and dust. The shop’s ancient proprietor walks out of the backroom to greet you. Tell us what happens next!

To avoid getting drenched I walked into the first store I saw, it was an old shabby antique store, I didn’t feel comfortable, I did not intend to stay there too long, I thought when the rain comes suddenly it stops quickly too, keeping that thought maybe it’s the passing clouds,I wouldn’t have to wait in this place too long, I ventured to look for the owner, suddenly I heard the words, “Good day what brings you here?”

I was so startled I thought I’d have a heart attack, I tried to stay calm and turned around what I saw was a man who looked older than his antique store, for a moment a fleeting notion grasped me, “could he be a ghost of this antique store, making sure there are no intruders?”

My imagination went wild, in despair, I made an attempt to run towards the door, before I could move he grabbed my shoulders and said, “Where do you think you’re going, once you’re in you’re stranded, no one can and will rescue you, so take it easy and do as I tell you.”

Hearing these words I trembled with apprehension. He lowered his voice and uttered, “I always keep a bottle of potion to calm the nerves of my visitors.”

Then to my horror I saw him pouring the so called potion into a tiny antique cup which seemed to collect all the dust and then some, “will he force me to drink it?” I thought.

Yes he was determined to calm my nerves, he came close to me forcefully opened my mouth and poured the disgusting liquid into my mouth, I tried to spit it out but he held my mouth until I ingested it.

The potion not only calmed me,it made me fall asleep, I had no idea how long I slept, I woke up hearing some noise, I opened my eyes and found a very cute little girl smiling at me, “did my grandpa scare you too, oh no I hope he didn’t make you drink  his potion, it’s disgusting isn’t it?”

Before I answered her barrage of questions, I  asked her who she was, she remarked, “it’s a long story I’ll tell you when you come here again.

Do I have the heart to revisit this ghostly place I’m afraid not!

https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/07/28/dp-daily-prompt-5/

Writing Prompt: The Clock

My husband went to the airport to make arrangements to fly to Dhaka to see his mother who was sick. Suddenly “I heard the car door slam, and immediately looked at the clock.”It was 6 p.m., I rushed to see if my husband had bought his ticket. When I looked at him I was terrified. He was holding on to his chest, he poured a glass of brandy and drank it. Then he slowly went to the bedroom and lay down. I saw him holding on to his chest and groaning. I had never seen a patient having a heart attack before yet I thought it had to be a heart ache,the way he was moving his head and arms and legs.

I asked him if I should call the hospital,in reply he said,

“it’s just a little chest pain, I’ll be all right.”

I noticed the pain was getting severe every minute. I begged him to let me call the hospital. He agreed and wanted to talk to the doctor himself.

We lived very close to the hospital,in a few minutes the doctor arrived and decided to take him to the hospital. After what seemed an eternity the head of the hospital came to our house.

He told me , “Your husband had a moderate to severe heart attack, the next forty-eight hours is crucial, if he comes through there is hope.”

I cried all night,I didn’t know what else to do. I began to think, “is he going to be okay?”

To my surprise I didn’t feel I was going to lose him. He stayed at the local hospital for a week and was airlifted to St. John’s, where they were better equipped to treat him.

He was released from the hospital after six weeks. I went and brought him home. It took another two months for him to get back on his feet. Within a month he was strong enough to go back to work.

http://wordpress.com/2014/02/16/365-days-feb16- the clock/

365 days Daily Prompt: In A Crisis https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/01/17/365-days-jan-17 2014-In A Crisis/

The day it happened was the most unnerving situation I faced in my life. My husband was critically ill. I saw him holding his chest. He was in pain. I wanted to call the hospital. He stopped me. He said he’d be okay. I was crying I insisted we have to get in touch with the hospital.  Finally he told me to dial the number. He spoke with someone. The doctor came within minutes. He took him to the hospital.

I was waiting at home to get a call from the hospital. After two hours Dr. Coxon came to the house. He told me my husband had a moderate to severe heart attack. He was in critical condition. If he survived after 48 hours there was hope he’d  recover.

Meanwhile at home I waited to know how he was doing.  At that time I had two children,one was slightly older than two and the second was three months old.

I was nervous, I didn’t know what to do. I called my old neighbor. She came right away to give me company.

The next day I left my children with the baby sitter and went to school. I was trying to teach the children. I couldn’t stop tears coming down my cheeks. My colleagues, God bless them told me I should go home and they’d take care of my class.

After a month he was airlifted to St. John’s which was a better centre and well equipped to handle a heart patient. He stayed in the ICU for six weeks. He was given a variety of medication and sent home.

I don’t know if I’m happy with the way I reacted. The only thing was I was nervous, I had no close relative near me. I was an inexperienced terrified person. I looked after my husband the best way I could.