Transplant Tales - Did You See That?

Let’s talk about drugs. On the upside, prescription drugs and medical procedures have been keeping me alive. My anti-rejection meds keep my kidney my kidney; thus, keeping me alive. Heck, I like drugs… some drugs… certain drugs. Others, not so much. I will never understand why so many people take mind-altering drugs. I hate them. Allow me to explain why.

When I woke up in what I assume to have been ICU, and since I was feeling no pain, figured they had me on painkillers. In the past, opioids caused me to have to deal with some mild hallucinations. Not this time. Mild is the wrong descriptive term to apply to these hallucinations.

   

I woke up and thought,” Holy hallucination, Batman!” I had taken painkillers previously following some knee surgery and knew to expect to see cats because after that surgery a neon blue cat followed me around f0r several days. When two church Elders visited, I asked them if they saw a blue cat on the back of the couch. They, of course, said “No” and looked at me. I smiled at them and said, “Neither did I.” So, again, the cats showed up.

But first I woke up to filmy sheets of gossamer material flowing from the place where the walls met the ceiling. It was almost see-through and flowed down and covered everything. Even the people in the room I couldn’t see. It outlined their forms. It was spooky. I told my wife I was shocked they kept patients in such dirty rooms. She just looked at me. Soon I could see the invisible people. They took turns standing next to the bed and stared at me. I didn’t like them: except for an older black woman with a pleasant face and a wonderful, warm smile. She comforted me.

That was then I started seeing cats and dogs. It was “raining cats and dogs.” They were everywhere. It started with a cat sitting on the ledge outside my window staring at me, then cats and dogs got in the room. I remember wondering why the hospital let animals in the rooms. The cats ran around like they owned the place (Like cats do.) and the dogs hide under my bed and begged for food (Like dogs do.).

Then things took a turn for the worse. Someone set up a photo studio in my room. I soon realized it was a studio for people to get portraits made with their pets. It wasn’t exactly in my room. When the people came in and posed, a tiny door in the wall would open and a camera lens would peek out of the door and snap some pictures. It was a very popular attraction. There was a non-stop flow of traffic as hundreds[  of pictures were taken in the time that I and my drugged impaired mind occupied the room.

For me, the worst part were the dreams I had. They seemed so real to me that I would argue with anyone that they really happened. Just ask my wife. I dreamed that people visited who didn’t. When my daughter and two sons from Louisville visited, I told them they shouldn’t make that trip so often. They all just stared at me and Nancy told me this was their first visit. I, of course, argued with her and them. The memory of the imagined visit was so real to me.

Hands down, this is the weirdest hallucination/dream of them all. I dreamed and then believed, we had dinner with President and Mrs. Trump. Even in my dream, they were not my choice of dinner companions. We were out to dinner with friends and the Trumps just showed up and graced us with their presence. For the date, arrangements had been made to transport me to the restaurant by ambulance and they rolled me up to the table on a stretcher.

The next morning, I asked Nancy if she had enjoyed having dinner with the Trumps. She simply answered, “No.” She is a smart lady and the argument as to whether it really happened was avoided. By this time, she had decided I had received a new kidney and lost my mind.

As far as I am concerned, it was not a bad trade.

Copyright © 2019, William T. McConnell, All Rights Reserved

Bill McConnell is an Interim Minister and is a Church Transformation consultant and a Christian Leadership Coach. He is a frequent speaker at Church Transformation events. His latest book on church transformation is DEVELOPING A SIGNIFICANT CHURCH and is available at Westbow Press. He can be contacted @ bill45053@gmail.com. Connect with him on Facebook @ William T. McConnell or on Twitter @billmc45053 or visit his Amazon Author Page @ https://www.amazon.com/William-T.-McConnell/e/B001JSBRXG/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0