The scraping sound of the plows clearing the roads was like a musical background to my dreams the whole night...sort of comforting and unsettling at once. I awakened to the sound of the dogs playing in the snow, their barks of joy floating up to my window. I dressed, prepared breakfast (only on snowy, Berkshire mornings did I bother with Irish oatmeal with glazed apples and cinnamon toast!) and sipped my coffee with a smile.
some extra days during the week.
The house was scrubbed clean, a fire was ready to be lit in the fireplace and the beef stew was sending its rich aroma through the house. Wine had been chosen, garlic bread wrapped in foil was ready to be heated, dessert baked and cheeses already arranged on a platter in the fridge. (All a far cry from calling for delivery in the city!) What had I forgotten? The salad! I looked in the crisper bin and saw that my lettuce had indeed seen better days. My husband volunteered to go to the market and get another. What a guy! I sliced pears, toasted pignoli nuts and mixed the dressing all ready to be combined with the lettuce...and I waited...and waited...and waited. He had been gone well over an hour on a fifteen minute errand. I began to feel the prickle of concern as I looked out of the window and saw that it had begun to snow again. Our friends were due to arrive in twenty minutes and still no Peter... Finally, I called the police station to see if perhaps some roads had been closed off and cars had been detoured..(.at least that is what I told myself)...I reached the officer at the desk and asked if there was any road closure in town. "Why would you ask that?" was his reply. I told him about my tardy husband and he asked my name...and in that moment...I knew!
He told me that there had been a serious accident and that Peter had been taken to a small, nearby hospital. I remember thinking to turn off the stove and put away the food... but my mind was working in slow motion...I needed to get to the hospital...and with that, our friends arrived. They bundled me into my coat as I pulled on my boots, and I told them what the policeman told me. Peter had been struck by a car as he crossed the street in Great Barrington. His injuries were serious but EMS had arrived quickly, gently lifting his broken body from the slick, snowy gutter into the ambulance. Someone in the cleaners had grabbed a quilt that had just been cleaned and covered my husband with it until help arrived. We later found out this had been a lifesaving gesture.
I entered the Emergency area and was greeted by a nurse who was obviously expecting me. A doctor, who looked absolutely pre-pubescent, arrived at her side and without so much as a" hello", began to recite a laundry-list of serious injuries my husband had sustained. "six fractured ribs, broken collar-bone, slight concussion, major contusions and worst of all, a shattered acetabula (sp?)," (the socket that holds the hip bone in place.)
They ushered me into the room where several doctors were attending to Peter. He was delerious, agitated and in great pain. I watched in horror as they stitched the top of his ear to his head...and I did not pass out! I stepped up to the table and while all of the medical action swirled around me I spoke softly and soothingly to my husband. He appeared to be calmed by my presence and repeated my name over and over ..."Ellie...Ellie..."
Once he was put in Intensive Care I called my children and my sister. I had just met with the chief doctor of the ER. An irritating, self involved man who only heard himself and left no room for questions. He made pathetic jokes at a time when we needed answers. He said this hospital could not perform the necessary surgery and wanted to send my husband off to Albany. Not Happening! I am a New York City girl and used to some the best hospitals in the world there. I wanted to go HOME! I immediately called several clients of mine who were orthopedic surgeons and they all recommened the same doctor at Hospital for Special Surgery...then I called a cousin who was also an orthopedic surgeon and he assured us that this doctor was one of the most eminent orthopedic surgeons in the world. Each doctor I asked almost genuflected at the sound of his name...so I called his office and spoke to his Fellow. The first easy breath I took. I was treated with kindness and honesty. Told how to arrange for transport and then informed that we had to wait about a week for this doctor to return from Europe where he was teaching just the procedure he would perform on Peter. So... Peter would be treated in New York Hospital and when the serious medical issues were resolved he would be transferred to Special surgery where the orthopedic ones would be addressed. I was told to contact the Chief of Emergency Services who treated us like royalty as soon as he heard who our surgeon was, and arranged everything for Peter's arrival.!
My children and sister rallied as did our friends. My younger son arrived in the Berks the following morning and everyone was involved immediately in plans and support.
Now we needed to arrange for a MedEvac. We were told to only opt for a fixed wing plane for this transport since his condition was so precarious. American Express was outstanding in their service and humanity. Peter would be transported to New York Presbyterian Cornell/Weill Medical Center in Manhattan. (always simply called New York Hospital by New Yorkers!)
American Express handled the transport and my sister, sons and I awaited Peter's arrival at NY Hospital. As soon as he had been seen and stabilized I was given a gown, cap and latex gloves and sent in to be with him...(still no fainting on my part! Who knew how brave I could be...surely not I!)
Days passed ... his care was amazing. A team had to be called to move him regularly due to the many fractures and shattered bones. I sat at his bedside and watched fluids drip in and out of his body...heard him moan in pain...and, at last they saw enough progress to have him moved to a regular room. Every day my friend Bobbie would arrive to spend an hour with me, always bearing a book, needlepoint or goodie for me. Peter's accident was my accident too. I was his advocate, his companion and his voice. I spoke to the doctors, updated the family and never left the bedside. Every evening my sister arrived after a day at her office and we went for dinner near my apartment. I then went home and fell into bed drained and exhausted. I was back at the hospital early the following morning.
At last he was able to be moved to Special Surgery, which was done by transporting him through a tunnel that went from New York Hospital to Special Surgery. He was settled into a cheerful room with a spectacular view of the East River.
The day of the surgery my sister sat with me through most of the day. We sat in a huge waiting room with that fabulous panoramic East River view. Names were called, doctors sat in discreet groups with families giving news of surgeries...but not yet a visit for us. Every 45 minutes our name was called and a report was relayed to us from the OR.
Many hours passed.... my sister stayed close. At last a tall, elegant man walked into the waiting room, still in his scrubs. My name was called...at last I was to meet the Great Eminence. He came towards me and embraced me! "It went so, well," he said kindly. "I was able to put Humpty Dumpty together again!" Now I understood. He was not only the most outstanding surgeon, but a warm and gentle human being. I wept with relief. He held my hand.
Now "Humpty Dumpty" needed to recover. Christmas and the New Year passed...we celebrated with orange jello and ginger ale while we watched the boats on the East River ... and finally we were told that he was ready for re-hab. That would be in the Kessler Institute in West Orange, New Jersey.
Weeks and weeks of re-hab were now begun... Peter was very determined and a model patient. We were a team ... I was the manager and he was the athlete. I drove out to New Jersey each day to find him improving constantly. Our children visited often, sometimes arriving with the grandkids just in time to share a meal with Poppy and watch for the flock of wild turkeys that came to the door of the solarium every afternoon. My friends had also rallied mightily for us. Visits, prayers, candles lit, cards, calls, gifts, all gestures filled with love and concern. And always there, my fabulous children, my devoted sister and dear friends Bobbie and Irene and in New Jersey, Marion and Deven...and the scores of friends and relatives who stood by us through this devastating ordeal. And all this time I never fainted...not once!!!
That was almost seven years ago. It was life changing. But from this I learned that strength is inside of you...fears disappear in the face of emergency and a whole new perspective is born. People rally and acquaintances become friends, friends become like family and family becomes ever closer. I am happy to say that Peter has recovered completely, albeit with the occasional twinges of residual arthritis ...and is active, still working and ornery as ever! And I...well...I never fainted...not one single time!
The Beef Stew we never got to eat
1 1/2- 2 lb. chuck steak cut into chunks
4 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 bag baby carrots
1/2 bag frozen baby green peas
1 can tiny onions...drained well
6-8 leaves of basil, minced
leaves of 3 sprigs of thyme
1/2 tsp. minced rosemary
1 cup beef stock (another cup in reserve)
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 cup tomato sauce
salt, pepper and garlic powder
flour
olive oil
1- Put 3/4 cup of flour in a plastic bag. Add 1 tsp. salt,1/2 tsp. pepper and 1 tsp. garlic powder to flour and shake to mix.
2- put 3 tbsp. oil in a dutch oven and heat. Place meat chunks in the bag and shake well to cover the meat. Remove the chunks from the bag and tap off excess flour.
3- brown meat on both sides in the hot oil.
4- When all meat is seared add the beef stock, wine and carrots and herbs and tomato sauce. Cook covered about 45 minutes to an hour until meat begins to tenderize. then add potatoes and onions. When potatoes soften add the peas, just to heat through. Add more stock and/or wine as needed ...the liquid should be thickened by the flour. Taste and adjust seasoning to taste.
Serve with chunks of crusty bread, a hearty red wine and a crisp pear salad.
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