MRI UPDATE: Good News!
The Leading Doc In His Field says that my MRI (two hours, btw) shows that I am healing on my own and that no further surgery will be required.
Whew.
Thank you to all of you for your good wishes and prayers. I have no doubt that everything you for me did counted big time.
It’s been a very long month and I’ve tried to keep as busy as my recovering body would allow. So forgive me if my posts haven’t been in your email boxes lately. I’m doing my best to catch up.
Now you may remember that in my last post, my sister-in-law Mary Lu had taken me away on a fabulous New York City weekend. It was jam-packed with fun to help distract me from the countdown to the tests that would determine my medical fate.
We went to theater, dined at Joe Allen, lunched at Bergdorf Goodman’s Good Dish Cafe, shopped a little, walked a lot. The weather was spectacular and so were the hats shown off in the Easter Parade on Fifth Avenue.
It was all wonderful, and needless to say, I’ll remember the trip always.
But a funny thing happened on the way to New York.
I was seated next to a little girl on the airplane. She looked just like the little girl in the photograph that heads this post.
A lady- it turned out to be her grandmother- was seated across the aisle from us.
I would have changed seats with the grandma but the little girl didn’t seem to mind and I guess I checked out. So sticking with original seating plan, we took off.
It was rocky. Windy and bumpy, and the small jet shuddered and shook at every down draft.
To get my mind off the Dramamine situation, I turned to my neighbor and asked her if she lived in Chicago or New York. (I could see that she had been watching me and wanted to talk to me but she had been too polite to bother a grown up.)
“I live in the Bronx, ” she informed me. “My grandmother and I were in Chicago to see my uncle graduate. He just joined the Navy,” she added proudly.
“That’s so nice. My father was in the Navy,” I told her.
“See this bear?” She held out a little stuffed bear wearing a middy blouse. ” My uncle gave him to me. I named him David. That’s my uncle’s name. That way my uncle will always be close to me.”
By now the plane was swooping sideways. I gulped and smiled weakly.
“That’s a great way to keep your uncle close.”
“Squeeze his hand. Look what he does.”
I did. The bear started playing “Anchors Aweigh.”
I started singing along with the bear. I felt that if we were going to go down with the ship, I wanted to be singing the Navy Anthem.
My seat mate was studying me intently.
“You’re so pretty and so thin. Were you always pretty?” she asked.
“Thank you!” I was startled. This kid seemed so poised. It was like talking to an adult. “And no, I wasn’t always pretty. How old are you?” I had to ask.
“I’m eight.”
“Are you in third grade? Do you know the story of The Ugly Duckling? It’s by Hans Christian Anderson, the man who wrote The Little Mermaid.”
“I like Ariel,” she said. “But I don’t know that story.”
So I told it to her and I pointed out that when I was young, being thin wasn’t pretty. Having black hair wasn’t pretty and how I was a nerdy bookworm when I was a kid.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
“Ellen Ross. What’s yours?”
“I like your name. Mine is Jo Hailey. You can call me Jo or Hailey. And my friends call me Jo Jo, too. I live with my mother. Do you have a mother?’
“I like your name and no, my mother died last year.”
She looked stricken. “I’m very sorry for your loss,” she said.
“Well, thank you, but she was very old and she wasn’t happy, and in the end, maybe it was better that she went.”
Jo Hailey thought about this for a moment.
“When your mother was your age, was she happy?”
I pondered the question.
“No, she wasn’t. I don’t think she had been happy for a long time.”
We then went on to cheerier subjects.
We discussed her friends, her favorite subjects in school (math and reading. “My teacher just gave me a chapter book!” she said with her eyes shining. “I love it.”)
We discussed her deportment, too.
“I’m behaving better in school, too,” she assured me. “I haven’t gotten any demerits this year.”
We played four games of “I Spy,” too. We ended in a tie.
Her grandmother glanced over once in awhile to make sure we were getting along.
We were. In fact, I was absolutely floored by this kid. Adorable, articulate, thoughtful and fun.
As we started to land, I thanked her.
“You were a very good traveling companion, Miss JH. You made this flight go by in a flash,” I told her.
“And so were you,” she said gravely. “I didn’t have to use my tablet once.”
As we were taxiing on the runaway, she leaned over to confide in me one last time.
“You know, when my other uncle joins the Navy, I’m going to get his room. I told you that I share with my mother and I am so excited.”
“That is special,” I agreed. “Are you looking forward to having a room of your own?”
“I am,” she said. “My mother’s bedroom only has a curtain to separate it from the rest of the apartment, you know.”
“I’m going to get a door.”
Wow.
Here’s to every door opening for this little girl.
God bless and Anchors Aweigh, Jo Hailey.
First of all, Ellen, you were a darling young girl. Skinny was always “in”. How sweet of you to make Jo”s plane ride so fun & easy!! She was lucky to have YOU sitting next to her!!!! What a delightful person she is. I hope she really enjoys her own room with a door‼️How we take things for granted. So glad you made it there in 1 piece. And I’m
so happy your health is going in a positive direction..keep feeling good!!!Love 814
Dear 814, thank you for your sweet comment. I can only tell you that back in the day, I hated being a “stick” and never thought it would be something someone would admire. I also envied beautiful blondes like you and Kim Castle. What I would have given for your coloring! Maybe the takeaway here is that when we’re kids, the grass is always greener when it comes to our physical appearances. Who knows?
And you’re dead on the money about taking our privileges for granted. A glimpse into this little girl’s world really brought into sharp focus how lucky we- and our children- were and are. Thanks again for all your concern. See you soon. ❤️810
A perfect recap of a special little girl and memorable few days. 😍
Thanks, ML. Glad you approved. After all, you were the “name above the title” producer of the whole shebang. I hereby award you another Antoinette Perry Award for “Best Long Weekend.”
Ellen, I was so happy to read your great news! Stay strong and keep doing whatever it is to keep your body healing! Children are amazing and you had a perfect seat mate to finish off your wonderful NY weekend. Kudos to Miss JH’s family for raising such a wonderful little girl. Wow is right. Sometimes we need perspective like hers to put us in our place and to remember to be thankful for what we have. Hugs!
Thank you, Michele. And let me add that I am also grateful to have wonderful friends in my life like you. ❤️
Seems like the flight you took was a metaphor for what’s going on in your life…rough flight, a friend to help you through it, and a safe ending. Glad to hear you are mending.
Lastly, listening to that 8 year old being excited about getting a door puts a lot of things into perspective.
You’re right, Steve. I never thought of it that way but my life has been a bumpy flight to a great place. And sometimes, just the right person has been sent to help me make it. Jo Hailey taught me about gratitude. Hope I have the grace to remember it. Thanks, my friend.
What a wonderful post Ellen. Your conversation with this young girl, in some ways seems so simple… but it really is not. I found it profound, and deeply moving.
Thank you so much for sharing this experience.
-Martin
Thanks, MAS. Praise from a master crossword constructor is praise indeed. I bow down to your terrific Saturday puzzle in yesterday’s’ New York Times.
Great story about a child who is poised, articulate and mature beyond her 8 years is a testament to the fact that having a lot of material comforts isn’t what is important in raising a delightful child. Apparently, that mother, grandmother and uncle know how to nurture and instill confidence and values.
So glad that you are on the express track back to full health!
You hit the nail right on the head here, Vivian. I see so many of the other kind of kid- entitled, bratty and sullen. Makes you wonder about what’s happened to parenting skills- and values. And thank you. Fingers crossed that all will be Aok. ❤️
TIME is the most prized possession. Not “things”.
Having the resources to DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO and not what you want to HAVE is what’s important!
Will miss you this coming weekend……….
A very precious commodity. As I get older, the days- heck the years- fly by at record speed. And I will miss all of you. Have a wonderful OJ 90 Weekend.
Thanks so much for the wonderful news about your test results Ellen! I’m so happy for you and us.
I’m grateful for your sharing about your beautiful experience with Jo. It gave me so much hope. I love how you connect to the world around you in such a meaningful way. I think it’s time for a book based on your stories.
Jo was quite remarkable. I shalln never forget her. A lesson in optimism. And as for the book? I’m thinking tv show.