If Ciufu does not remember too much of his early years, except nude photos in a forgotten family album, he sure still does remember his first hospital experience and his luck to be still alive ...
From my first years of life I can't remember too much, just a dark smelly hospital .... and that I don't like small child smell when they are too many at one place probably because I had to be "institutionalized" before kindergarten. Those were the times when the proud working class should work not stay at home with they new born child. So a solution was found, the communist party created a institution where all kids should be dumped in the morning and piked-up in the afternoon while their proud working slaves were at work paying war debts to Mother Russia.
I have no memory from those times, probably is better this way, I don't want to know how many hours I was crying before someone would have cleaned my shit nor how I was treated. But I do remember the hospital. I was there because of another hospital and my own way of explore life, conquer new territories and proving my skills in controlling my body, at an age a child is stable as a drunken man. So I was told that I was exploring a new way to get on the top of the chair, that special chair for small kids, with steps. So I was now a proud member of the table where adults were sitting. Soon I learned to climb it on my own, oh what an achievement! This was not enough for me! I wanted to conquer the world and my chair trying to climb it from the side. My parents were busy preparing the meal so I took advantage of that freedom to try my new idea and I did it with one downfall ... I was down ... and on my flight I hit the radiator with my head, must have been painful. Lucky me I still don't remember this part.
I was taken to a hospital to be cleaned, because was a mess and got some stitches, lucky me! My parents returned home with their pot of gold (me) and their souls were relieved that the little gold pot is healthy and ok. What they didn't knew was that in that hospital was a big infection with some Streptococcus bla bla ... well they were soon to find out. After one week I was still complaining that it hurts there and was looking like a little infection, my mother with the love of a mother didn't head the heart to push it to see what is there and the doctors were saying that is normal, maybe I touch myself too often so is just a small infection ... take more antibiotics. But after few days my father did not had any more patience and decided to press it out to see what the heck was inside and this is what I remember, seeing black, hearing a swoosh, huge pain and my father shouting that they should call the ambulance now ....
I ended up in other hospital, so my parents were congratulated for doing this, later I found out that the pus sprung to the ceiling ... yeah nice image ... but somehow doing this to me saved my life. The infection was eating the bone, so until today I have a hole in my head where the bone is very very thin, never recovered.
If until now was the "yuck" part, now begins the cool part. I was in hospital, I stayed there for some good weeks, I don't remember them well but I was probably the healthiest kid in that area, except the fact I got a hole in my head and I had to do penicillin 4 times a day for 6 weeks. I know that it hurts but after a while you get used with it. The rest of the kids were mainly with severe injures. One of them got hit by a bus and they had to replace the skin on his back with skin from other parts of the body, so he was more surgery than ok, and some plastered members. Every day he was supposed to go for cleaning his wounds with something that was smelling like gasoline and I presume was burning like it too. Because the poor kid was shouting for hours, because usually this thing was taking a very long time ... sometimes I can still hear his shouts but as years are passing by his shouts are becoming more and more supportable. Otherwise he was a very nice kid, very quiet almost not talking but I presume it was because he was suffering a lot.
Days were passing by, I was getting used with the shouts that were from the morning and close to noon, I was better and I wanted to play, I was feeling like in a field trip. Without parents except visiting hours ... freedom to do stupid things play with medical equipment ... but unfortunately guarded by a nurse that was looking like a Russian weightlifter, oh what a bitch! And with a loud mouth too! She was shouting worse than the roadkill kid, I tend to think that she was able to scare a grizzly bear.
All until one day when a new kid came, was bigger than us, we were something around 3 years he was 7 or 8. I don't know what he had but he was able to walk and loved us, spoiled us had fun with us, I remember he was walking me on his shoulders and let me to do all the stupid things while guarding me from the soviet beast. He was reading us stories and even after the "lights off" time he was talking with us, we were having pillow fights and other childish things. Oh yes, and I got access to his sweets, maybe the best part of our short friendship. But his behavior didn't escaped unnoticed so our evil guardian made a habit in shouting at him even when he was doing nothing and always telling him that he is the biggest and should behave responsible not to spoil us.
Whatever .... what should do a bunch of kids sitting in a hospital if not playing around, then what?
Looking behind I still think sometimes at the "roadkill" kid and what have happened with him and how he passed over that horrible experience and also at the older kid that made my stay in hospital my only memory from that age to be a good one. And I know that from that day I wished for a brother ... but I got a sister and to make the things worse a little sister that you can't play with because is crying or she is playing with dolls when you are at the age of riding a bicycle.
Exploring age? Oh yeah, the nicest of all!
Dear parents please let your kids explore, even if they can hurt themselves ... well, I don't say let them explore the chainsaw or knives, they will explore them anyway during their life. But let them discover their limits as long as they don't endanger their life.
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