A Joy Forever...

A thing of beauty is a joy forever.........” John Keats

It's hard to believe that it happened nineteen years ago today. I remember it as if it happened a month or two ago. I guess that's the nature of a mother's memories, isn't it?

I was in orientation in the Operating Room, scrubbed in and assisting an orthopedic surgeon with a back surgery. That's how orientation goes in the OR: first, you learn to scrub in and hand instruments, then you learn to be the circulating nurse.

We were in Room 5. No, I don't remember that specifically, just that that surgeon did all his surgeries in Room 5. It was the orthopedic room, with all the orthopedic equipment in it. I was learning the specialty instruments used for a back surgery referred to as a laminectomy. It was intense.

The door to the operating room opened and the unit secretary whispered a message to the circulating nurse: my son was on the phone and his wife was having their baby. Upstairs, two floors above the operating room where I was learning about instruments.

Of course, the surgeon wanted to know if this was my first grandchild, and it was. No, I didn't know if it was going to be a boy or a girl because the young parents wanted it that way: they wanted to be surprised.

Not long afterwards, the operating room door opened again. This time, it was the OR Supervisor, and she was not smiling. There, in front of everyone in the room, she told me: “your shift is over at 3:30 this afternoon. I expect you to remain in the OR and do your job until your shift is over. If you leave the department before then, you will be disciplined.”

After she left, you could have heard a pin drop in that room. Well, except for the ventilator on the anesthesia machine, rhythmically breathing for the patient. No other sound pierced the silence. I was numb. I wanted to be happy but I was afraid I was going to cry.

The surgeon broke the silence: “gizzy, please.” Yes, a gizzy is a surgical instrument. It took me a while to accept that they were serious and not just teasing me. I handed it to him and he proceeded with the operation.

Before we were finished, the phone in the room rang. It was the unit secretary again, transferring my son's call: “Mom, we need you!” and I didn't know what to say. My younger son was on the speaker phone, pleading with me to come upstairs for the birth of his first child. I couldn't help it: a tear rolled down my cheek. Fortunately, I was wearing a mask and no one could see it.

After another awkward silence, the surgeon spoke: “You go be a grandma and we will finish this up without you.....I think I know how to do the rest.......oh, and I'll cover for you if the Supervisor comes back.”

I didn't need any more encouragement to fly out of the room, discard my gown, mask and gloves, and race upstairs to OB. My son was very glad to see me, as was my daughter-in-law. I have told the story of Dylan's birth in another birthday blog, so, suffice it to say that I was allowed the honor of delivering my grandson.

And today, as I look back on the events of that day, two special physicians make me cry tears of gratitude. The orthopedic surgeon who, true to his word, told the Supervisor that I was running an errand for him, and the OB/GYN who allowed me to participate in my grandson's birth.

Both men were really quite special to me. The orthopedic surgeon probably never told another lie in his entire life. He was a man of honor, a fine surgeon, and a good friend to all. He was willing to tell a lie so I could be where I needed to be.

The OB/GYN was special in many ways: he took my daughter-in-law as a patient even though he was not accepting new Medicaid patients. He treated her with kindness. And, on his own birthday, he delivered my beautiful little grandson.

Both physicians are gone now. One died of cancer and the other died tragically in an airplane crash, with his wife and four of their children. Even though they are both gone, I still owe them both a debt of gratitude for their caring nature and willingness to help when I needed it.

As I think about my sweet Dylan today, I also have to think about those men who made the day so special for me....

Happy Birthday, Dylan Endymion!