Pigs Flying on God’s Green Earth

There are kids the stork might drop off anywhere, and no matter the household or family situation, they turn out wonderful. These children almost always have their heads on straight. They are born with an intrinsic ability to control themselves; to keep their feelings perpetually in check. I am extremely proud to say, I have one of those children of my very own…..my second child…..my stalwart and resolute daughter, Brandie Lynn.

Born on July 25, 1967, Brandie was a very sick little girl from birth. During the first thirteen months of life,  she suffered with extremely high fevers, constant nausea, chest colds, ear aches and dehydration. Incessantly pumped full of antibiotics, Brandie would have a repeat performance of the fevers and infections a few weeks later. That poor baby spent most of the time in alcohol baths with  body temperature  elevated upwards of  104, sometimes 105. There were times she would convulse…and that was downright scary!

Plagued by endless worry, we visited doctor after doctor, watching them pass her around, sticking and prodding her tormented little body.  Finally, an unfortunately named urologist, Dr. Hurt, ( a doctor with some sense ) examined her. After spending thirty or so hours attempting to collect a “first catch” urine specimen, (man oh man!…what a challenge that was!) we began to receive some answers. Now, mothers, pay attention….here’s an FYI.  Dr. Hurt diagnosed Brandie’s causative condition as renal reflux. Brandie was born without the valves which connect the ureter to the bladder, thus enabling urine to back up into her kidneys, rather than locking it in the bladder, which, in turn would force it out of the body…..anyway…that’s the way I understood her plight. EVERYTHING else was considered “secondary infection“.

Never conscious that she was sick…..ill health being the norm .. Brandie Lynn was one tough, but merry little cookie! Laying peacefully wherever placed, calmly observant of the sometimes frantic adults making a fuss, her large blue eyes would grow wide with wonder.  She was very pleasant, but quiet.  Crawling, walking…well, that was for someone else to try….I privately thought she was lazy! (Brandie, please forgive me, when you read this!)  She seemed perfectly content, just as she was, oblivious of the fact that feeling any other way was even a possibility. Dr. Hurt had assumed the role of Dr. Feelgood. My hero! Pronto!  At thirteen months, Brandie casually endured a major surgery to correct her predicament……immediately all of her recurring illnesses were amazingly gone….with just a little exploration and conscientious work from a poorly named, but excellent “plumber” in a doctor suit.

Brandie, finally, discovering what feeling good really felt like…… rapidly began closing the distance between her older  brother, Robert, and herself.  Flourishing, like a well watered seedling in the spring sunshine, developing a loyal, loving, sympathetic nature, very much like her maternal grandmother, Brandie set off on the pathway of her life. Catching up is hard work….even harder when you begin trying to pass those whom you were once far behind! An attentive, artsy-crafty kind of kid…..her clever, hands and deft little fingers were continually busy with cute, creative projects. Brandie was always “making something for you”.  She retained the “I’m OK, don’t worry about me” and “I’ll do it, myself” attitudes  which were incorporated into the original genetic bundle, dropped off by the stork.

One instance I recall, with a great deal of pure delight, was a particular picture she painted for me while she was still in kindergarten. “Mommy, see the picture I painted for you? It’s a puppy!” She exclaimed excitedly, rolling her words up and down the musical scale. Glancing at the picture hastily, ( my little honey created several pictures for me to oooh! and ahhh! over every day ) I saw a big, red, circle. Thinking I had not been as observant as I should have been, I looked back at the “painting” to see if what I thought I had seen, was really what I had seen. Yep….there it was….a big, red, circle.  With all of the imagination I could muster, looking at the picture from every conceivable angle, I tried to pull a puppy out of that picture! Hmmm…..possibly a big red wiener dog…..with it’s ears and tail lopped off? Maybe..but, what about it’s legs? Nope……it really was…just a….big….red…..circle! “Brandie, I’m sorry”, I carefully countered, “Mommy just doesn’t see a puppy in your picture, honey, uh..I see a big, red, circle.” She looked really hard at the picture……puckering her mouth in an infinite number of twists and turns…..planted her little pointer finger in the middle of the big, red, circle….. then, frowning with astonished incredulity, she emphatically stated, “Well, it’s right here…under this blanket ! I almost choked, but I didn’t laugh!

My beloved daughter, Brandie, grew to be a lovely, hardworking young woman, full of grace and empathy for others. She has had to bear much pain and suffering in her life,  yet she has been an absolute stalwart comfort, even when life has been unfair, even unbearable for her. Robert and Brandie were only fourteen months apart in age. They were very close little kids; always together while growing up. One dreary day in November, 1983, at the age of sixteen, Brandie had the strength to tell me what I would have been unable to accept from anyone else in this world. She alone could feel the devastation of it, but her magnificent heart helped me to survive..