Living in Loma Vista Hospital for a while

When I was about 3 or 4, I went into the hospital for a series of many surgeries and lived there for a period of time. Jeanne, my nurse, took the place of mother for me while I was there. Jeanne worked at Loma Vista Hospital from 1964 and retired in 1979. We remained friends over the years until she died in 2003. Jeanne told me after a surgery, I was confined to a wheelchair but within no time mastered it. There was another boy in the hospital named Stephen who was also in a wheelchair. We became good friends. We would have races up and down the hallways of the hospital and have pop-a-wheelie contests. The nurses there were all very nice and tried to let me be a kid as much as you could be in a hospital. I remember being able to go downstairs and ride the green hallways to the gift shop.

I had multiple surgeries. I basically just lived in the hospital for a little while. I hadn’t seen Stephen in while and kept asking “Where is Stephen”. No one had the heart to tell me that Stephen had passed away. I never knew he died until years later.

There was one time that I had to have surgery and my Mom came to the hospital to see me. She gave me a hug and a kiss and I hugged her back. Then she turned and walked away. I kept yelling for her. The nurses would pick me up to try and comfort me.