Julieann Marie

It was late November or early December I believe,  right about the year 2000.  Part of the memory you don’t exactly try to cling to.  Julieann was terribly sick, laying in intensive care at Sutter Hospital, Roseville California.  I was standing by her hospital bed.

We got there largely through a selfless act on Julie’s part.  She was feeling pretty sick with, as I recollect, flu-like symptoms a couple of days earlier. She had a pretty rough night but had insisted on going to work.  “I have to.”  “There is no one else.”  It was about patients and taking care of someone else and so she went over my objections.

That night, she had awful chills.  At one time, I had her covered with several blankets and coats; probably 8 or 9 layers.  She looked very tiny under all that stuff.  We wondered together about whether we should head for the emergency room but decided against it.

The next morning, we headed for our primary care doctor.  He checked her out and was very concerned.  He offered to call an ambulance then and there but Julie and I figured we would get to the hospital easier if I just drove.

We found out Julieann was toxic with a serious bacterial infection. All of her vital signs were way out of whack.

They were ready for us when we arrived.  They rushed her to a bed and began quickly setting up IVs and monitoring devices while I tried to stay out of the way. She was clearly in critical condition.

Things settled down a little after a while and so there I was, standing by her hospital bed, trying to talk to her. But she was a little incoherent.  We were working together to help her breathe.  The toxic effect also was causing her to puff and hold her breath, I think as she was trying to force more oxygen into her lungs.

And then, in the middle of all that, She looked at me then lifted her hands and made a writing motion.  I searched around and found a pencil and paper, then maneuvered the bed tray in front of her so she could write. 

She started in and made motions to write but had to keep pausing to struggle for breath each time she tried.  Finally, I asked her what she wanted to write down.  She said she wanted to work on her Christmas list for Ty and Sam.

It was the most selfless act I have ever witnessed in my life.

My hero; Julieann Marie.