The nurse laughed and shook her head, “Oh my. He actually believed I fed him a Thanksgiving dinner?” Shirley asked. I thought he was just playing along with the game. With each sip, I told him it was turkey, potatoes, and gravy or whatever. I gave him the juice that you brought in. Shirley laughed, “You’ve got to be kidding. You know he’s not allowed any solid food until the doctor okay’s it, right?” Shirley thought he was just playing along making the best out of being in the hospital on Thanksgiving, until the next day when she went to visit.Ī nurse pulled her aside, “Jimmy said you brought Thanksgiving dinner for him yesterday and fed it to him. She continued giving him little sips of turkey broth or cranberry juice describing each sip as a bite of traditional Thanksgiving meal. He swallowed, “Thank you for bringing all this food.
She, once again poured a small amount of the turkey broth into his mouth, “There you go. He acted like he was chewing then swallowed, “Man that turkey is good. They said you can only take small bites,” she said as she put the glass of turkey broth up to his lips, pouring a tiny amount in his mouth.
“Turkey first,” he said opening his mouth wide for a spoonful of turkey. “We have the standard, turkey, potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, and pumpkin pie,” Shirley said trying to keep a straight face even though differences didn’t seem to register. “You brought me Thanksgiving Dinner? I’m so excited.
He hadn’t had anything to eat for two days so he was ready. She told him she had brought him Thanksgiving dinner. Shirley decided to play a game with him to cheer him up. He wasn’t allowed to have solid food, so his meal consisted of two types of juice: cranberry juice and turkey broth. While she was there the nurse brought a tray of juice to him. On Thanksgiving Day, his wife, Shirley, went to visit him. This incident happened two days before Thanksgiving. He was paralyzed on one side and was completely blind for several days. Over the years, this developed into random seizures.Īt about age 45, a time when he was under a lot of stress, Jimmy suffered an aneurysm, where the blood vessel pulled away from the artery causing a bleed in his brain resulting in a stroke. At first, he would have times when he’d get really dizzy or be disoriented. The two injuries back to back caused scar tissue to form where an artery and blood vessel came together. Just a week after the first accident, during a baseball game, he took a ball to his left temple, the exact spot that met with a rock the week before. Since his bike was put in lockdown for a few weeks, baseball became his game of choice. He had a headache but didn’t notice much else. He and his bike crashed to the ground with his left temple landing on a rock. Jimmy’s bike soared over the fence with plenty of clearance only to make contact with the clothesline across his forehead on the other side. He and his friend designed the launchpad perfectly. Jimmy, at age 10 or 11, a typical adventurous boy, wanted to be a “stunt bicyclist,” jumping his bike over a 6 ft. I’m telling this story to illustrate an extreme example of mind cluttering. Realize this, and you will find strength.” – Marcus Aurelius “You have power over your mind – not outside events.