Hagerman Hospital -- Now Open!

That's the sign I wanted to hang on the front porch yesterday.  A couple of weeks ago, one of the teens from the neighborhood that's always hanging around, had what I suspect was an epileptic seizure in the yard.  Someone ran for me, I got there as fast as my crutches would allow, and we spent the next half-hour waiting for the taxi and trying to convince the young man that we were his friends, that we all know each other, and that he really needed to stay on the ground and stop trying to get up.  He was totally disoriented and wanted to run from us once he "came to," but every time he got up he'd fall.  By the time we got to the health post, he was pretty much remembering who I was, but not my name.  That was pretty freaky.  Since that time, we've been keeping a close eye on him, especially during afternoon sports time when everyone's playing soccer and running around the grounds.

Then yesterday, we started the day with Milciades, our neighbor who works at Hogar Ganar as Superhero of Maintenance.  He had spent the night before vomiting and, since he's a young bachelor, just needed a woman to tell him how to get better.  His mom's a super gal, and he's a bit of a momma's boy, but she lives too far away to come baby him when he's ill.  So I've stepped into "big sister" role, one I've enjoyed my whole life with an interesting list of teens and young adults who find themselves needing one.

Yesterday, Milciades spent the day on the porch with us while we homeschooled, sipping chamomile mint tea and munching crackers.  Ken went to find him a Gatorade once we determined he was keeping stuff down... and then.......

A neighbor from the other side stopped by to chat with Milciades for a second.  While he was standing on our porch, holding his air rifle (high-powered BB gun), he was twitching his fingers.  Need I say more?  PFFFFFT.

Milciades:  "Did it go in?"
Neighbor:  "Yes."  (but a little too calmly, so I didn't believe him)
Milciades:  "Are you bleeding?"
Neighbor:  "Yes."  (still too calm and still standing, so I'm still not believing)

Neighbor removes shoe with a smile, and I notice the red circle expanding on the top of his white sock.

Me:  "Maybe you should sit down.  Girls, go get the supplies."

I got excited about the prospect of digging that BB out of his toe, but we soon found that it was too deep and the hole closed back up over it.  Disappointed, we called the taxi again.  That guy gets too much business from us!

The evening shaped up, as we celebrated our pal Susan's birthday with a group supper, devotion, and some video games.    Now we're taking down the sign and trusting everyone stays well and out of trouble for the weekend.  :)

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