My youngest niece was born by appointment. We knew a month in advance when she would arrive, August 2, 1974. I was still living in Brooklyn, just a mile from my sister. My brother-in-law was color blind and therefore unable to drive. The arrangement was I would arrive at my sister's house at 5:30 AM to take her to the hospital where she was the Directress of Nursing to deliver our bundle of joy.
August 1st was brutally hot. Temperature reached over 100 and stayed in the 90's through the night. I was in my first solo apartment and living paycheck to paycheck. The apartment was decorated in hand-me-downs and charity store finds. A friend gave me a big air conditioner which was a blessing, but it only fit in the kitchen window. In order to get a good night's sleep to deal with the events of the next day, I put my mattress on the floor just outside the kitchen to take advantage of the cool air. There was a picture on the wall just above my head. I didn't think about the fact that it was hung precariously on a thumb tack. It fell during the night and conked me in the head pretty hard. I put some ice on my head and stayed up the rest of the night. I showed up on time and delivered my sister and brother-in-law to the hospital. I kept the mishap to myself.
Once my new niece was delivered, I visited the nursery, oohed and ahhed over our pretty little girl and then went to see my sister. I sat down in a chair to visit, but couldn't keep my eyes open. My sister asked repeatedly what was wrong and I avoided answering. All I wanted to do was sleep in that chair, so I finally confessed. One phone call from my sister had me whisked away in a wheel chair, diagnosed with a concussion and admitted to the hospital for observation. Finally, they let me sleep. I was released the next day and had one more day to recover before my sister and niece were released from the hospital. I provided transportation once again.
So, today, August 2 is the 41st anniversary of my only concussion. It was a premonition of things to come. That little one caused many, many more headaches!
