Occupy the Waiting Room

by - November 06, 2011

Sometimes joy can be found in the strangest of places and against all odds.

Last Thursday, my cousin Travis was in a really serious accident. He crashed into a tree and his truck caught on fire. He wouldn't be alive today if not for the heroism of a nearby homeowner who just happened to hear the accident and pulled him from the vehicle. Travis has been in ICU since the accident, going through surgery and suffering through several potentially life-threatening injuries.

Of course my aunt and uncle have been at the hospital every day, camped out in a corner of the waiting room. They've had crowds of visitors over the past four days, including my family and me on two of them.

Yesterday was no exception, but it was exceptional. What started as just a group of people sitting around ultimately turned into a football party. There were about a dozen of us, not all in the same group, gathered in front of a 24-inch television set watching the LSU-Alabama football game.

Hospitals are normally somber, depressing places where you're lucky if you get a smile and laughter is almost nonexistent, but that all changed last night.

Our rag-tag bunch of waiting room occupiers broke every rule posted on the wall. The television was turned up too loud, we were too loud and the furniture had all been moved (although we were careful not to scratch the floor!). Had the head nurse thought to stick her head in the door, I'm sure we all would have been kicked out immediately.

But it was worth it. For one night, the halls of the hospital rang with laughter. And that, as they say, is the best medicine of all.

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2 comments

  1. It reminds me of the scene in One Flew Over the Cockoo's Nest in which the inmates ignored the hospital rules and "watched" an imaginary World Series game. I'm glad you and your family were able to relieve the tension for a while, but I'm sorry that 'Bama lost. I hope your cousin makes a full and speedy recovery!

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  2. I'm so sorry to hear about your cousin. This is such a heart warming post...I teared up. It's so great when you can go into a place of such somber and bring some joy and happiness.

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