My Hospital Experience | Short Story

My Hospital Experience | Short Story I know youre always thinking on the good side, and youre thinking everyone good should be treated well, and everyone bad, like criminals, shouldnt be here. But, sometimes, good people have bad things done to them, for unknown reasons. Rarely, no one is doing it to them, most of the time its a bad thing. My story is different, extremely different. Its not something normal, its something unknown.. Im a really good person. I have great grades, I try to stop fights with no violence, but merely talking it out, I have nice friends, and Ive only visited to principals office to pick something up. But, Ive had something horrible done to me. You know how you get a cold? Yeah, I had gotten sick, not with a cold, but an unknown illness that caused me to actually go to the hospital, and it seemed like I had to get brain surgery. Nothing compared to cold, right there. Youre probably thinking, Brain Surgery? What happened!? Well, you see, it all started out on a hot school-day. I noticed my eyes moving back and forth, in an unseen speed, on the way to lunch. Of course, Id freak out, but this was school! I just closed my eyes for a bit, and opened them after, and it seemed like nothing had even happen. I thought it was just my imagination. But, it did get worse. Weeks later, it happened again. I was at a hotels pool, and it was happened when I and my mother were walking back to the room. My eyes flickered back and forth, and I was staring directly at her. Her face changed from once enjoyment to a reaction of worry and anger. She told me, Stop that, youre going to hurt yourself. I asked her, Stop what? She steadied her eyes, That eye thing, dont play dumb. I sighed, Oh, Im not doing that on purpose. The conversation just stopped there. We went inside, and I think we both just ignored it, I think.. This so-called eye trick wasnt going to stop any time soon. I had finally thought it had took its toll and found its way out of my system.. But, I was so wrong.. This nightmare had only begun. Later that school-year, Spring Break to be exact, my eyes flickered back and forth in front of my mother again, even longer this time, and I couldnt even stop it when I closed my eyes! I was terrified, and my mother told me she was taking me to the hospital. I really didnt want her to do that, because I was worried about how much by money she had, and I really didnt want to be a burden, but I didnt really have a choice. Much later, on a rainy ride that seemed to be forever, we finally reached Camden Medical Center. My mother took me inside, holding my hand in a firm and tight grip and told them what was happening. She signed in, and we waited patiently in the room, sitting down. A small wait later, they got a wheel-chair and took me inside the emergency room. My mind was numb, and I couldnt really think straight, so many things were going on at one time. All I remember was having an IV in one of my arms, and I waited for something in a hospital bed, with a clean, heated blanket on me. Again, I still couldnt figure out what was going on, but they put me into a gurney and put me inside of the ambulance and told me everything was going to be okay. I just lied down, and closed my eyes. I knew the other doctors in the ambulance were saying things, but I couldnt hear them that well.. The ride seemed long, but short at the same time. I could still feel my mother holding my hand as we reached the next hospital. I only remember opening my eyes, inside of a room, laying on a hospital bed. I could tell my parents were worried for me. I didnt know why, though. A doctor came inside and told me I needed brain surgery. I was terrified inside, and I wanted to cry and scream, but I just agreed and nodded when he told me I needed to do some tests. There was many tests during that while in the hospital. Blood tests, scanning tests, x-rays, a spinal tap, and other tests I dont remember.. My family came in a lot, when a test was done and I could go back to my room. I really just wanted to go home.. I was so tired of the hospital, but I couldnt leave.. I didnt feel tortured, I just felt trapped. I wanted to leave so bad, but I couldnt I felt like I was a caged animal for some wacky scientist to test on. For two weeks that seemed like the days would not end, I was told that white blood cells were attacking my cerebellum that caused my eyes to move back and forth, so they told me I just needed some steroid s and I think a few more tests before I could go home. I was so happy, I could finally leave. For two days, the nurses gave me steroids and I felt a burning in my wrists, but I just didnt care for it. I was going to go home.. I could finally go back to school.. After those days, I was finally allowed to go home. I was taken out of the hospital in a wheel-chair, and I crawled into the back of my fathers car. It took a couple of hours before we were home, but when we were, I smiled with glee and tried to run inside, but I could only stride. Days seemed normal, and after the weekend, I was informed that I could return to school! This normal thing continued until I had been able to go into the sixth grade, and I was told near the middle of the school year I needed a shot, and I didnt get it. So, I spoke of the truth and told them I didnt know, and I got a slip and took it to my mother.. But, apparently, I cant get this shot because of the incident at the hospital. So, I have to wait and continue my school year until two school years have passed. Now, because of that terrible misfortune of trouble in the hospital, I have to been home schooled.. Great, just peachy, I thought my year of bad luck was over. It just goes to show, life isnt fair at times, even if youve never done anything wrong. The Red Convertible | Literature Analysis The Red Convertible | Literature Analysis The power of relationships is a very powerful force. It can change the course of one persons life or the lives of many people in a positive or negative manner. The connection between family members is especially strong and it is believed that it can stand the test of almost anything that is thrown towards the family members. However, this is not always true. There are many things that can tear apart relationships and ties within a family, such as war and death. Death simply severs the relationship very bluntly and devastates a family. War can cause a soldier to act differently towards their relationships and to never be able to become their old selves again. In the story of The Red Convertible by Louise Eldrich, the very same happens to brothers Henry and Lyman Lamartine. Henrys appearance, the photograph of the brothers, and convertible symbolize the change in their relationship from the time before and after Henry goes to war. Henrys physical appearance has changed since coming home from war, as well as how he acts around his family. After coming home from war, Henry wore the same outfit everyday. He wore his army jacket and his army boots, and he never took them off. This unwillingness to change out of his army clothes shows that Henry feels that he is permanently connected to the war. Generally when soldiers wear their army clothes, even after they arrived home, it signifies their need to go back into combat because it is all that they had come to know and that they do not know anything outside of combat. It is often thought that soldiers feel the need to go back to combat so that they can die within a situation that they had come to know. Additionally, the soldiers that are able to return back home feel guilty for living and want to go back to war to die so that they can get rid of the guilt they feel. The army boots that Henry wears constantly brings about his literal death with Lyman describing, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦his boots filled with water on a windy nightà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (394) and Henry drowning as the result. The boots also symbolize the war and since the boots filled up with water and caused the death of Henry, the war itself drowned Henry. Henry was not able, or rather was unwilling to save himself from drowning, the weight of the horrors of wars. Henrys personality changed since coming home from war. He used to be a carefree young man that would joke around with his brother, such as when he went to Alaska and joked, I always wondered what it was like to have long pretty hair.' (395) when they discovered that Susy had hair that reached the ground. Lyman recalls these times and notices the change in his brother from being playful and happy-go-lucky to a man that cannot laugh anymore, stating Hed always had a joke, then, too, and now you couldnt get him to laughà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (3 96). Henry also could not sit still after coming home from war, probably fearing that if he sat still for too long then the images of war would creep back into his head. The photograph that is taken by their younger sister Bonita indicates the change that Henry underwent prior to the war and after coming home from the war. The picture shows the contrast in their personalities after Henry returns. Lyman describes himself as being à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦right out in the sun, big and round. (398), showing that Lymans soul is whole and content with life, while Henry is described as having à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦shadows on his face as deep as holes. (398), indicating that is soul is scarred and broken from what he experienced while at war. This photography also introduces the first time that Henry smiles since coming home. His smile is described as if it à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦looked as like it might have hurt his face. (398) and this represents the aftermath of the war and the inability to be truly happy again. The convertible epitomizes the freedom that Henry and Lyman experienced and their relationship between each other. The freedom they experience is shown by the road trip they had the summer before Henry was drafted to war. This freedom that they had before the war is destroyed by the war. Henrys refusal to do anything with the car shows his feeling of losing his freedom and that he feels that he is a slave to the war. Both brothers were untroubled by the worries of the world and traveled around the United States together. Their relationship becomes stronger after they bought the convertible, repaired the car, and traveled around. After coming back from war, Henry loses interest in the convertible and more importantly, his brother. The convertible also represents the war-torn relationships of soldiers. Lymans destruction of the convertible after he had spent a great deal of time and money on fixing it up represents the broken relationship between the brothers. When Henry confronts his younger brother about it, Henry claims, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦when I left, that car was running like a watch. Now I dont even know I can get it to start again, let alone get it anywhere near its old condition. (397). Henry is communicating that he does not know how to fix the broken relationship with his brother and that he is uncertain of the future of their relationship. Henry also knows that he cannot restore their relationship back to the way it was before. When Henry works on fixing the car, it shows his attempt to fix his brotherly relationship to the best of his ability and Henrys reasoning for trying to fix his relationship is his realization of his brothers love. When Henry enters into the river intentionally drowning, the bond that the brothers shared was severed. Lyman is left the convertible, which Henry had fixed for him. Lyman pushed it into the river to that he does not have to carry the guilt of not being able to save his brother. The relationship between Henry and Lyman is struck a deadly blow by the Vietnam War. Henry and Lymans relationship undergoes a transformation with the significance in change in appearance of Henry, a photograph of the brothers after the war, and the convertible that they purchased together. Henrys appearance signifies his attachment to the war he left behind in a different country and this affected how he interacted with his brother. His boots were symbolic of the war causing his death, even though he was not in Vietnam when he died. The photograph of Lyman and Henry compares how the brothers differed after Henrys return from war. The convertible indicates the actual relationship between the brothers and how the condition of the car reflects the integrity of their relationship.