"Yes, Sally, be right over!"
At the Marriott Hotel now, I knocked on room 2007. Sally opened the door, and told me that she had suffered excruciating pain, worse than labor. Her daughter Ida Rose was still asleep.
"Your symptoms sound like my brother's a few years back..Mel had a his bladder removed and survived but almost died with what a nurse called E-Coli disease. At the Anaheim rehab hospital Mel could not take any food or liquid without throwing it up. How long have you been nauseous Sally."
"For about three days now. It feels like a beach ball rolling back and forth inside my stomach. I have not been able to sleep a wink, and when I do fall asleep, my daughter awakes me. I ven went to emergency on Wednesday and they found nothing wrong although they did take a swab sample from my nose.
"What you say we go to the U.C.L.A emergency hospital. Let me call a taxi while you get Ida Rose dressed."
The Westwood hospital was packed with at least fifty people inside the E.R. Many were homeless and it felt unsafe to sit next to any of them for fear of coming down with Hepatitis, Whooping cough or T.B. While living in San Diego, I found those from across the border who entered San Diego harbored several diseases.
After checking her vital signs and taking a urine sample and blood test, a nurse took us to a room, It was not too easy since we had a toddler with us. Sally put a patient's gown on and we waited for the doctor. Finally a doctor Berry entered. He resembled a black bear with large eyes and dark black hairy eye brows
"See that you have a pain in the abdomen. So far the tests results show that your kidneys are fine and there does not seem to be anything out of the ordinary." I sat on the side as he poked around her belly and back. He told us that he would return which he did in about five minutes.
The sample from the nose show that you have a virus. I will return a little later but will have you take an I.V to replenish the water.
It appeared that the I.V. was not working so I got a nurse to enter and she told us that the arm must be flat for the drips to fall...Soon the drips fell...At about eleven the nurse brought another bag, and hooked it up to the same IV.
"Sally is very low on Potassium It should take a few hours for this one as Potassium comes down a lot slower than the other one." Sally was totally exhausted and her daughter slept beside her in the hospital bed. We were there until six and they took another blood sample.
The symptoms remained unchanged the next day, but at least she did not worry about kidney stones and now knew that a "good engine does not run without gas....and water and potassium is that gas."
She still had all of the symptoms the next day but had more energy, enough to go to C.V.S down the street for potassium pills and a walk down Jerusalem Street or or Pico between Beverly Drive and Fairfax.
Ida Rose enjoyed my arms as she was too heavy for Sally to carry. We met the proprietor of a hew thrift shop who
"What a gorgeous baby. Are you the father?"
"No, must a friend of Sally. This is Sally."
"My name if Goldman. I am half Persian and half Israeli. My Dad left Tehran many years ago and immigrated to the United States. He sold antiquities to the big dealers. I have had this shop now for one year....Buy any ten items and each is one dollar.
"Maybe next time. I was hungry and saw Nick's, a block west of Pico. It was packed with enthusiastic eaters so we waited. Baby Ida was waving and smiling to all. One couple were so entrapped by her gorgeous green eyes that they offered two seats for us.
And what is life without a baby?
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