Letter to the editor: Son with appendicitis makes full recovery
Back in 1969, my 6-year-old boy, Jimmy, kept getting sick. The doctor said he had a recurring stomach virus. The beginning of summer, The NWMS (Nazarene World Missionary Society) held their annual convention in Columbia. I was one of the delegates. My regular babysitter was out for a few weeks. I asked my husband's aunt Cora Kirby, who lived right around the corner, if she would stay with the kids while I was gone. My husband, Jim, worked for Sumter Dairies on a route.
When I got home, there was no one there. I went to my mother's, and no one was there. I went back home, and my sister-in-law Ann Coleman came out and told me that Jimmy's appendix had burst and they were all at the hospital.
I got in the car and started to the hospital. My thoughts ran wild. I should not have left him while he was sick. I heard a voice say, "You were doing my work; I am taking care of Jimmy." When I got to the hospital, Mama (Totsie Bryant) was waiting outside of the operating room. She said Jim had Brenda and Tim in the waiting room.
The doctor came out and said the surgery was a success. His appendix had ruptured, but as if it was in a plastic bag, it did not go anywhere. However, he said that Jimmy had not awakened. That as soon as he did, he should be fine.
They put him in a room. I was standing by his side, and my mom was at the foot of the bed. The nurses said to keep trying to wake him up.
My mom's pastor, Rev. Dewey Floyd, walked by in the hallway and saw her. He said, "Hey, Tot, why are you here?"
She told him about Jimmy. He came into the room and asked if he could have prayer. He grabbed Jimmy's toe and shook it and said, "Le't's have prayer." Jimmy said, "Hello, Brother Dewey."
I found out later that Aunt Cora had a brother who had a ruptured appendix and had died. She knew all the symptoms. She had been told what should have been done. She made sure to tell Jim just what to do and how to do it. Needless to say, Jimmy made a full recovery. He is 61 years old and lives on Carnaza Island in the Philippines with his family.
BETTY COLEMAN
Sumter