Betty’s Week

Betty’s Week
By Betty Shearer

Pope Station and Oxford Baptist Hospital: Well, it’s been an eventful “Betty’s Week.” This is son Jim taking dictation for Mrs. Betty. Mother has been convalescing with the Coles in Pope over the past week or so, but on Sunday she experienced shortness of breath and rushed to the emergency room with blood clots in both lungs; she was later admitted to Baptist Hospital in Oxford. She’s doing well and responding to the drug therapies she’s been prescribed.
Betty says: Most importantly, Betty Shearer, age 83, 09-24-37 and the last four digits of my social security number, which seems to be the greeting I have to offer to everyone I meet lately. Until my most recent hospital visit, I’ve had the most beautiful rehab. residence, with a 30-foot glass outlook over a three-tiered meadow that houses 18 cows and eight baby calves. The eighth calf was born about six weeks after the others and is the most adorable prancing thing you’ve ever seen.
Two more of the calves I’ve named “Bo” and ‘Rance,” due to the fact that any time they get near each other they are butting heads. I named the calves that because, just like my real brothers, when they work on any project they butt heads most of the way through it, but then they come together and agree they’ve done a good job. They’ve been there for anything I’ve ever needed done [her real brothers, not the calves…].
Jimmie has been my wonderful cook and laundress, and she has done everything I’ve needed as I try to recover from this mess. And, of course, Bill is the chauffer. I don’t know what I would have done without them.
Thanks to all my friends who have offered help, and, of course, all the wonderful prayers and prayer lists I’ve been added to. I’m very grateful for all the love and support I’ve had over the past few weeks. Here at Oxford Baptist Hospital these past few days I’ve been blessed with a number of wonderful helpers, many of whom are Water Valley folks, including Julia Drewery and, I think, Justin Person (or perhaps Dustin…sorry, they erased his name off the blackboard…). My attending physician is a Dr. MacMillian, though she is from Canada and has no relation that she knows about to our previous Water Valley Dr. McMillian.
Everyone in the Baptist system has been wonderful, though if I’m telling the truth, I’ve had better hospital food over the years. Sadly, no one will ever top the old downtown Baptist Hospital in Memphis, where people from all around downtown would just drop by to eat in that cafeteria because the food was so good. Those days, it seems, are long gone.
Up until this recent event, I was actually having a better week. We went over to Water Valley for a visit last week Wednesday to catch up on some paperwork, pick up drugs at Turnage, and visit for a while. Got to talk with David, of course, and also caught up with Daryl Burney and his grandson, along with getting to have a nice phone conversation with Coach Bob Tyler.
Jim flew in from New Mexico on Monday night, and he will be here as long as needed. He’s helping hold down the fort at the Herald office a bit, and he’s also continuing to teach for New Mexico State University online, which he’s been doing since they went on COVID lockdown a little over a year ago. It’s a small silver lining that right now he can do his job from anywhere with good Wi-Fi, which we have at the Herald Office.
Hoping for a quick hospital release by the time this article is printed, and, with luck, I’ll undertake my second chemotherapy treatment the day this article is actually published. More on that adventure next week.