The Asian Nurse

The Asian nurse was an interesting woman. She stood no more then 5'3" tall, though it was difficult to tell from my view. We had only met once and I murmured very few words. She said nothing. I never knew her name or where she was from. I never recalled seeing her in this place before. And I never did see her again. 


It was during the month of May in the year 1997. I had been dreaming with my eyes open & living the life of a rodeo cowgirl when they struck. I was home, on the farm in Wisconsin. My childhood best friend had come to visit me. I express the agonizing pain in my belly. Cramps. Beyond what I could ever imagine. We tried to walk them off but they only grew worse. By nightfall, I knew something was wrong. This wasn't my first brush with death. At 15 years old I was quite the alumni in the serious health problems field.  I knew this was something big. Something bad. 


I do not recall the ride to the Emergency Room. I do not recall much other then the tremendous amount of pain that had taken over my body. I could never put into words how bad that hurt. 


I do not recall whether it was day or night when I woke up. I seen  my tummy. Another new incision which would require weeks, maybe even months of recovery. 


I knew not the risks. I did not consider the possible outcomes. The only option was to heal. But my body disagreed. Things weren't working like they were supposed to. My intestine was fading, my blood counts were off the charts. Stuff just wasn't right. 


"In the morning" the doctor said, "We'll do surgery to put a central tube in." Apparently, to fix my blood problem that was causing my body to slowly deteriorate. I dreaded this. Out of all of the surgery & all of the poking and prodding, I could not bear the thought of having a tube through my chest. I felt so much better, my cramps were gone, it was time to get back to spring & summer, right? 


I lied awake that night. Considering what had happened. Where I was. Who I was. Who I was with. I dreaded the morning. I was terrified. I was supposed to be going home, not back under. 


The door slowly opened around 3am.  And that was when I saw her. This petite silhouette purposefully strides through the door toward my bed. Now this was a small hospital, so this new arrival interested me. After all, I had become quite familiar with all of the staff over the past weeks. This nurse was new. They always came in at the same times. She was kind of in the middle, and she was dressed differently. She was dressed like an old fashioned nurse, totally unlike modern the modern day scrubs. It was a long skirt, in white - with the old nurses hat they used to wear. I believe I said a few short words but I do remember she did not verbally respond. Just a small head shake was about it. 


This next part I never quite understood until recently which is why I am sharing the story now. She has a can of Shasta soda - the 7-up flavor they make. She opens it up and proceeds to inject this into my IV. I remember the burn. I remember questioning in my head, why Soda? I was a tiny bit startled & confused. She did this for about a half of can then set it on the tray & walked out of the room without making a sound. 


The next morning there was a miscommunication about my blood tests being done early. The doctor was quite irate when the nurses had forgotten. It postponed the surgery for a couple of hours. By the time the blood work came back everyone was quite surprised to see they had all returned to completely normal with no explanation. I was especially pleased and grateful to the can sitting on my tray & the lady who had delivered it. 


So I inquired of the petite Asian nurse who had visited me the night before? I asked them why she injected soda into my veins? Why she was only there once? Who was she? No body knew nor had ever seen her. What whatever she did to me worked. 


Was there something to the soda? I've heard it used to be quite the common anecdote for blood problems....




That's my story about the Asian Nurse. 


Take care.