Thursday, March 12 2009
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Thursday, March 12 2009 |
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Community | Obits | Editorial & Columnists | Society | Sports | Education | Classified Ads | Calendar of Events | Features | Newsbriefs | Legals | Archives | Subscriptions | Photo Gallery |
| Fielder’s Choice Sharing memories Sitting in the hospital with family members is not fun, but at the same time it can often lead to lots of reminiscing and laughs. I’m writing this Sunday morning, while staying with my mother, a patient at North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo. She had surgery on Friday. She’s improving, and hopefully will get to go home on Monday (of this week). She had to be at the hospital at 8 a.m. on Friday. We thought the surgery would begin about 9 or 10 a.m. But instead we played the waiting game - my mom and sisters Vickie and Gayla. Dr. Kellum had some emergencies which threw off his schedule - typical of a doctor. The Burlesons have never been very patient folks, but we tried to pass the time by simply talking about family and friends. We don’t do that enough. I asked about and got caught up on lots of folks “back home” - classmates I grew up with, former teachers at Hamilton, Ala., High School and others. I updated them on Pam, Emma, Andy and Erin. The flu bug bit us all last week. Erin missed four days of school, and she loves school. We talked a lot, of course, about how fast time flies. And much of that came because of where we were. Emma was born almost 18 years ago at North Mississippi Medical Center. Andy was born almost 15 years ago at NMMC. Erin was born just over seven years ago at NMMC. Just going to the NMMC Women’s Hospital Friday morning stirred many memories. The first thoughts turned to that New Year’s Eve 2001 when we arrived there, in a rush, just before midnight. Pam was in pain. I was a nervous wreck. I walked back in the hospital on Friday and quickly recalled the spot where I stood - crying - not knowing what the next few hours held on December 31, 2001. Early New Year’s Day, 2002, Erin entered the world three months early, weighing 2 lbs. 6 ozs. NMCC was her home for the first 12 weeks of her life. And we could not have asked for better care. I walked by that Neonatal Intensive Care Unit several times over the weekend and counted my family’s blessings. My mom, sisters and I talked about them meeting us at the hospital that New Year’s Eve night. They took Emma and Andy over to Alabama while Pam entered emergency care. We reminisced about Emma and Andy, too, and their births at NMMC. Dr. Kellum was Pam’s doctor during all three pregnancies. I jogged his memory this past weekend at the hospital, reminding him he was actually on vacation when Emma was born. He was there three years later for Andy’s birth, but as I’ve always joked with him, “His nurses did all the work.” Emma went with me Sunday to the hospital to sit with Mother. Dr. Kellum stopped by to check on Mother’s progress. He couldn’t believe Emma is a senior in high school. “That means I’m getting old,” he said, laughing. My mom’s surgery was a three-hour ordeal. We were all concerned. She’s always been there for us, and it was important for us to be there for her. As we were having some fun Friday morning, I told her, “Mom, you’ve raised some good kids.” We’re blessed that her surgery went well, and we’re blessed that we got to share some special family time together at the hospital - once again sharing fond memories and lots of good times. |
      
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