Happy memories

When I was in first grade, 1996, I got a very bad brain disease and I was in the hospital for one week. I had to get lots of IV's and I had an operation. I don't remember most of it, but I remember some of the details.

My mom and my aunt were staying with me in Intensive Care and my aunt had told me that there was a gift shop close by that had a lot of beautiful dolls. Since I was under intensive care, I couldn't walk, but my aunt told me that she would buy me a doll the next day as soon as the gift shop opened. But I couldn't stop thinking about it. I kept waking my aunt in the middle of the night and asking her if the gift shop was open yet.

Finally, morning came and my mom and aunt dragged themselves out of bed. I told them to get the prettiest doll there, and soon they came back with a gorgeous china doll. She had two blond braids and a purple flowery dress. I named her Victoria. At one point, she fell off the bed and her hand broke off, but fortunately the nurses had glue.

The night before my operation, a nurse came in with a big doll. I think she said the doll's name was Zoe. She used the doll to show me what the doctors would do in my operation. She put stitches in the doll's head and wrapped a bandage around it, and I got to keep it in my hospital room overnight.

The next day was my operation. I took Victoria in with me and we both made it out okay. My doctor was Dr. Duncan. Every year I go for a checkup and he tells me to walk in a straight line and put my finger on my nose and other things like that. Then he gives me a quarter and says "See you next year!"

Even though it was a terrible experience to be sick, I'm glad I have some happy memories and I am very grateful to the doctors and nurses at Yale-New Haven who saved my life.

Dana F. Wilson
Ridgefield, Conn.