Creative Nonfiction: A bag with a chicken inside/ Una bolsa con un pollo adentro (ENG/ ESP)

in The Ink Well4 days ago (edited)


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A bag with a chicken inside

My sister and I had arrived at the office at about 5:00 a.m.My sister, bent over in pain, was holding my hand. I was holding her with one hand and in the other I was carrying a yellow folder containing tests.

By that time, the office was already full of women who, like my sister, needed a hysterectomy. By their clothes and the things they had around them, they were women from all over and from all social classes. I looked around for an unoccupied place for my sister to sit, but I couldn't find a piece of wood for her to sit on. So I leaned her against the wall and went out to look for a chair.

When I came back with the chair, my sister said to me:

"The nurse over there said I'm not going in today",_ my sister pointed to a gruff nurse holding a notebook in her hand, _"She says I'm not having surgery today. I think they're going to leave me for next week,” I looked at her pale lips like a piece of paper and her face was worn out with pain. My sister had been leaking blood for several months and although she received transfusions every two days, the fibroids had her hemoglobin at 5. Postponing the operation for another week would mean putting her life at risk, so I sat her down and asked her to wait for me.

I remember my dad saying that a kind word opens many doors, so I don't know how many kind words I said that early in the morning, when the medical team arrived at the hospital, my sister and I were at the front of the line.


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Pixabay

In the queue, many of the women were carrying bags and luggage where they had the supplies to be operated on. I asked one girl:

"And that?" - I pointed to what she was holding in her hands.

"Those are surgical implements. If you don't have those, they can't operate because there are no instruments here. Don't you have the list?" - the girl asked kindly. I shook my head and she handed me a folded and dirty piece of paper: features that showed that the paper had passed through many hands.

I looked at the list: many of those things I had at home, but it was better to buy them again because I couldn't leave my sister alone for long. So I told her to sit and wait for me and I went downstairs to buy the things at a nearby drugstore.

I flew down and up the stairs, so much so that when I got to where my sister was waiting for me, she had not yet been called.
When the doctors called her, it was evident that she needed to be operated on urgently:

"Did she come fasting and ready?" - they asked and I was the one who answered:

"Yes and here is what they ask for on the list" - I proudly showed the bag I was carrying in my hands. The ill-mannered nurse checked and sentenced:

"Here are two pairs of gloves and two gowns missing" - she said and handed me back the bag. I refused to take it and promised:

"I'll go out and buy what's missing!"

Quickly. I count ten and that's five,” said the nurse in an unfriendly manner. I didn't wait another word and went back down the stairs, aware that my sister's surgery depended on my speed.

I don't think it took me ten minutes. My throat and chest ached from the physical effort I had made. When I handed what I had bought to the nurse, she informed me:

"Your sister is already in the operating room" - she said and left. I was happy, but also scared because nobody knew at home: so I called my other sisters to tell them that Noyito was being operated and that they should come to help me.


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Pixabay

About 20 minutes later, a nurse came out with a clear bag with something inside:

"Family of Nohelys?" - she asked and I ran to her, “Here. You must put it in formalin and take it for biopsy,” she said and handed me the bag. The bag contained what had been taken from my sister and could have weighed about two or three kilos.

I grabbed the bag and hurried back downstairs. I didn't know where they could sell formalin, so I had to ask:

"At a funeral home",_ a watchman told me. I mentally located the nearest funeral home and headed there, but with such bad luck it was closed. Unable to cross my arms and with my bag in my hand, I began to make a tour of all the funeral homes in town, but unfortunately at that hour they were closed.

I finally found one and when they saw the size of the piece, they informed me that they might not have enough formaldehyde. But thank God, the formaldehyde covered the piece, but it was so heavy that the owner of the funeral home put the piece in another bag so that it would not break.

From there, with that bag, I ran to the pathologist so that in 15 days they could give results. When I was on my way, my sisters caught up with me and one of them asked me:

"What about that chicken?" - she asked without knowing and I didn't have time to laugh, I just asked to hurry back to the hospital.

When I got there, the grumpy nurse asked me:

"Did you take it for biopsy?" - I nodded my head and then she said, softening her face, “Rest now. The danger is over. Your sister is on her way to her room,” she said and left. I felt a relief, an immense joy and an urge to laugh and cry at the same time, and that's when I remembered my sister's comment:

"What a chicken or what an eight room, crazy woman, what she was carrying in her hands was a uterus!!!!!" - and we started to laugh because certainly, everything bad had happened.

All images are free of charge and the text is my own, translated in Deepl

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Thank you for reading and commenting. Until a future reading, friends


Click here to read in spanish


Una bolsa con un pollo adentro
Habíamos llegado mi hermana y yo al consultorio como a las 5 de la madrugada. Mi hermana, encorvada por el dolor, iba agarrada de mi mano. Yo la sostenía con una mano y en la otra llevaba una carpeta amarilla que contenía exámenes.
Ya a esa hora, el consultorio estaba lleno de mujeres que al igual que mi hermana necesitaban que le hicieran una histerectomía. Por sus vestimentas y por las cosas que tenían a su alrededor, eran mujeres que venían de todas partes y eran de todas las clases sociales. Yo busqué con la mirada un lugar desocupado para que mi hermana se sentara y no hallé ni un pedazo de madera donde dejarla. Así que la recosté de la pared y salí a buscar una silla.
Cuando regresé con la silla, mi hermana me dijo:
_La enfermera aquella dijo que yo no entro hoy - mi hermana me señaló una enfermera malencarada que tenía una libreta en la mano- Dice que no me operan hoy. Creo que me van a dejar para la próxima semana - yo miré sus labios pálidos como un papel y el rostro ajado por el dolor. Mi hermana llevaba varios meses botando sangre y aunque recibía cada dos días transfusión, los miomas le tenían la hemoglobina en 5. Posponer la operación una semana más significaría poner en riesgo su vida, así que la senté y le pedí que me esperara.
Yo recuerdo que mi papá decía que una palabra amable abre muchas puertas, así que no sé cuántas palabras amables dije aquella madrugada, que cuando llegó el equipo médico al hospital, mi hermana y yo estábamos en los primeros lugares de una larga fila. Los médicos evaluarían cada caso y de acuerdo a eso, aperarían.
En la cola, muchas de la mujeres llevaban bolsas y equipaje donde tenían los insumos para ser operadas. Yo le pregunté a una chica:
_¿Y eso? - le señalé lo que llevaba en las manos.
_Esos son implementos quirúrgicos. Si no tienes eso, no pueden operar porque aquí no hay esos instrumentos. ¿Ustedes no tienen la lista? - preguntó la muchacha amablemente. Yo negué con la cabeza y ella me dio un papel doblado y sucio: características que daban fe que aquel papel había pasado por muchas manos.
Yo miré la lista: muchas de esas cosas las tenía en casa, pero era mejor comprarlas nuevamente porque no podía dejar a mi hermana sola por mucho tiempo. Así que le dije que me esperara sentada y yo bajé a comprar las cosas a una farmacia que quedaba cerca.
Bajé y subí las escaleras volando, tanto así que cuando llegué a donde me esperaba mi hermana, aún no la habían llamado.
Cuando los médicos la llamaron, era evidente que necesitaba ser operada con urgencia:
_¿Ella vino en ayuna y preparada? - preguntaron y yo fui la que contestó :
_Sí y aquí está lo que piden en la lista - mostré orgullosa la bolsa que llevaba en las manos. La enfermera malencarada revisó y sentenció:
_Aquí faltan dos pares de guantes y dos batas - dijo y me devolvió la bolsa. Yo me rehusé a tomarla y prometí :
_¡Ya salgo a comprar lo que falta!
_Rápido. Cuento diez y ya van 5 - expresó de manera antipática la enfermera mal encarada. Yo no esperé una palabra más y volví a bajar las escaleras consciente que de mi velocidad dependía que mi hermana fuese operada.
Creo que no tardé ni diez minutos. La garganta y el pecho me dolían, por el esfuerzo físico que había hecho. Cuando le entregué lo que compré a la enfermera, me informó :
_Tu hermana ya está en quirófano - me dijo y se marchó. Yo estaba feliz, pero también asustada porque nadie sabía en casa: así que llamé a mis otras hermanas para decirles que Noyito estaba siendo operada y que se acercaran para ayudarme.
Como a los 20 minutos, una enfermera salió con una bolsa transparente que tenía algo adentro:
_¿Familiares de Nohelys? - preguntó y yo salí corriendo hacia ella- Toma. Debes introducirlo en formol y llevarlo para que hagan biopsia - expresó y me entregó la bolsa. La bolsa contenía lo que le habían sacado a mi hermana y podía pesar como dos o tres kilos.
Yo agarré la bolsa y volví a bajar las escaleras rápidamente. No sabía dónde podían vender formol, así que tuve que preguntar :
_En una funeraria - me dijo un vigilante. Mentalmente ubiqué la funeraria que estuviera más cerca y me enrumbé para allá, pero con tan mala suerte que estaba cerrada. Sin poder cruzarme de brazos y con mi bolsa en la mano, comencé a hacer un tour por todas las funerarias de la ciudad, pero lamentablemente a esa hora estaban cerradas.
Finalmente encontré una y cuando vieron el tamaño de la pieza, me informaron que tal vez no tenían suficiente formol. Pero gracias a Dios, el formol cubrió la pieza, pero quedó tan pesada, que la dueña de la funeraria, metió la pieza en otra bolsa para que no se rompiera.
De allí, con aquella bolsa, corrí al patólogo para que en15 días pudieran dar resultado. Cuando iba en camino, mis hermanas me alcanzaron y una me preguntó :
_¿Y ese pollo? - preguntó sin saber y yo no tuve tiempo de reír, solo pedí que volviéramos rápido al hospital.
Al llegar, la enfermera malencarada, me preguntó :
-¿Llevaste para hacer biopsia? - yo afirmé con la cabeza y después dijo, suavizando el rostro- Ya descansa. El peligro ya pasó. Ya tu hermana va para habitación - expresó y se fue. Yo sentí un alivio, una alegría inmensa y unas ganas de reír y llorar a la vez, y ahí fue cuando recordé el comentario de mi hermana:
_¡¡Qué pollo ni qué ocho cuarto, loca, lo que llevaba en las manos era un útero!! - y comenzamos a reírnos porque ciertamente, todo lo malo había pasado.

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Oh Nancy you can tell funnier stories than me now! A chicken, well when I read the headline I never imagined this story. I hope your sister made a full recovery and what you did was remarkable if not unsurprising as selfless as you are. But having to get that list and then runningaroundlike a mad woman to get the formaldehyde for the "chicken" that indeed was very funny.
When I read the chicken in a bag it reminded me of a story in Africa, maybe I will write it sometime, it was funny.
A big early morning hug from Scotland my friend

I'm already looking forward to reading that story of yours!!!! A big hug for you, my friend

jeje one day my friend

It may seem like a fictional story for people living in the first world, but it is the pure reality of our countries where health is more of a business than a privilege. I'm glad everything ended well for your sister.

Thanks for sharing your experience with us.

Excellent day.

Yes, it is sad that we have to go through such extreme situations. Greetings

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Thank you very much for your appreciation, friends

My heavens, @nancybriti. You tell it with humor, and it's good to have a light touch. But I was there with you, in the hospital as you described it. It's good to tell us such things, so we can understand how hard it is to get essential care sometimes.

You're a great sister. (BTW: Look at the second sentence...it is repeated😇)

Thank you very much for your words. Yes, now I tell it with humor, because in the end everything went well, thank God. Greetings

¡Felicitaciones!


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