Sink of Pee

Firsts: Sink of Pee

Sometimes I just feel jinxed. Some people leave a wide swath of destruction down there path, but me, I do freaks of nature. In 1969 in West Texas I was there for a semi mild tornado, in 1980 I was in Cheney, Washington for Mt. St. Helens and our first year in Northern Idaho, Cindy and I witnessed the worst winter in fifty years.

That awful winter, actually it was the worst February in fifty years, as the snow just kept coming. I didn’t have a snow blower at the time so twice to three times a day, I shoveled clean the driveway, the sidewalk and the front walk way. It was brutal. Tim Ure, aka T Martin, and his wife were in Mexico on holiday, so I also did his driveway and sidewalks as well.

Cindy helped when we got to T Martins place and as I used his snowblower, she picked up a shovel to help. It had been a long day and it wasn’t quite noon yet. After we finished with our snow chores we headed to the local Walmart to pick up groceries, in Northern Idaho we get shuttered by snow for months in end. As we were shopping she was feeling weak, but she wanted to push through.

We were almost finished, we were on the last aisle, and were heading into the produce department, when she finally admitted how weak she was. I took three or four steps to grab her a banana when I heard her tell me she was going down. I threw the bananas in the air and caught her under her arms as she went down. I can still catch shit at my age and through all my years of football, this was by far the most important catch ever.

As I laid her softly on the ground she started convulsions which freaked me the fuck out. There was a young man there, a customer, who was first to our rescue. His sister had these seizures and he helped me lay her on her side. He held her head and I of course started crying like a lost child, she had bitten her tongue and was bleeding from her mouth.

The customer was as cool as the snow outside and soon we had a crowd around us. Two Walmart employees cane running including a manager, Patricia. A nurse showed up as well and dialed 911 as an ambulance was on the way. Cindy was out, her eyes rolled back and she couldn’t talk. This was my life and the water works poured, I had no idea what to do.

The customer steadied me, and kept Cindy in a fetal position, the whole time explaining to me the process. Patricia and the other manager helped me, they cleared a path for the paramedics and offered me a ride to Kootenai Hospital. Although I was a mess, I knew my wife, so I drove myself, I had to get her a change of clothes. As I was leaving, still bawling, I somewhat remember asking, neigh begging Patricia for a job, which I ended up getting within a week.

As I got to the hospital the people were sweeter than double layer chocolate cake, and whisked me right into the room. Cindy’s eyes were open but she didn’t know where she was. They took her for some kind of scan as I waited praying in her room. When they wheeled her back in she was surprised to see me, and I’m not sure she knew where she was.

The nurse asked her a few questions, what was her daughters name, no clue, who was the president, she had no idea, but when the nurse pointed at me and asked who I was, Cindy perked up and said both loudly and proudly, “that’s Gregory Dolan Dies” and she smiled her brilliant smile. The nurse walked by me, turned her head and whispered, “all three names, you’re in big trouble” her smile was genuine and I too smiled back.

It took us six months, yes six months, to get into a neurologist and he told us Cindy didn’t have a seizure she had a syncopated episode, also known as syncope. The only way to remember that name for me was once or twice it’s rumored I peed in a sink.

I wrote a thank you piece on Facebook the next day, our welcome to Idaho moment and the following day I got a call from the local news station in Spokane, it was a feel good piece and they wanted to interview us. Cindy was having nine of that shit, she doesn’t like the camera, me, what can I say. I agreed immediately and the next morning a reporter showed up, camera and all, he saw my office and wanted to do the interview right there.

I set still as he peppered me with questions, like usual I was prepared, hell I lived through it, I was ready. That night the news station ran the story twice, must have been a slow news day, everything up here is a bit slow, so that figured.

Cindys great now, no episodes ever before or after, I’m a lucky guy. I have however scolded her numerous times for having her episode at Walmart, hell it could of been Costco or better yet the Coeur d’Alene Resort, but Walmart, really honey.

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