1000 Word Excerpt

A second telegram was sent to Floyd's mother informing her of the terrible news that her son had developed full-blown polio and that the prognosis was not good. His brother, Ben, was already most of the way to the hospital when this second telegram was delivered. He was not prepared for the sight that greeted him when he arrived at his brother's side. Curled under blankets with his legs drawn up and unable to move on his own, he bore no resemblance to the vital young man who just a short while ago set out to earn a little more money for the family. Talking was difficult for Floyd, but Ben felt paralyzed himself, unable to accept what he was seeing. He wanted to hug his brother, to comfort him and reassure him that he'd be up and about in no time. The nurses had instructed him however not to get too close and certainly not touch the patient. Ben was told that if he had any direct contact with Floyd, he too would be confined to the area in quarantine.

In about another week, Floyd had recovered enough to be sent home even though he was nearly totally paralyzed. The hospital was anxious for him to be out of there, but also was obliged to warn any and all persons who may come in contact with him of their belief that he represented a high risk of transmitting polio to others. Feeling terribly depressed and at a loss as to how he could possibly live the rest of his life with no more animation than a bundle of rags, he wanted to ask Ben to take his six-shooter and put him out of his misery. He knew however that it would be terribly unfair to ask his brother to do such a thing and he never actually voiced this wish.
He convinced himself that he would recover and that he would walk and ride horses again and continue with the life he was just maturing into. It was probably his strong feelings of self-reliance and his stubborn refusal to give in to this unwelcome setback that allowed his system to fight back. Whether or not it was true, he actually felt in a few days that he was regaining a bit of movement, especially in his right side and arm.

He was now looking forward to returning to Lampasas where he believed that he would have his best chance of recovery. He remembered the mineral springs back there and the miraculous healing that he had heard about but never paid that much attention to before.

Feeling like the lepers of biblical times, sort of "unclean" and kept away from the rest of the populace, Floyd was loaded onto one of the baggage cars of a long train. It was completely up to Ben to make all the arrangements with the railroad lines, pay the fare for the two of them to ride as human baggage, and to tend to all his brother's needs. Ben was instructed by the doctors to avoid direct contact with "the patient", being especially careful in handling his waste products. He was given surgical gloves and masks to help in that regard as well as a letter describing Floyd's condition. He was to show this letter to whatever doctor he might find if he should need to get help on the way home. He was also told that they had wired the officials in the town of Lampasas with the facts, as they understood them so that the good people of that town could decide for themselves what to do to prevent an epidemic of polio in their community.

It was an agonizingly slow and uncomfortable ride home for the two young men. Although Floyd was feeling a little stronger and was perfectly lucid, his dreams frightened him. Ben pretty much ignored all the advice he had been given about avoiding contact and did his best to see to it that Floyd was made as comfortable as possible and took in as much nourishment as he could manage to force into him. Floyd had never before appreciated the strength his older brother possessed, hardly ever having managed to have gotten the better of him at their spontaneous wrestling matches back home. But now, as Ben hoisted and shifted his dead weight around for him, he was thankful for this young powerhouse who seemed to never require sleep, or to ever lose his good-natured attitude about everything. Ben, who had developed an unusually strong upper torso as a result of working long, hard hours at building railroads, had no real physical problems with providing the lifting power, but found it completely unreal to be doing it. It felt like a bad dream and he prayed that he'd wake up to find that that's all it was - - a dream.

Often, during the otherwise quiet and forlorn hours in the train, Ben would fish out the banjo Floyd had brought along on his journey. With remarkable skill, he would entertain them both with some old tunes that brought back better, carefree days. Floyd would often be surprised at how what he used to think of as happy songs now would cause tears to roll down his cheeks.

Eventually, the train lumbered into the station in Lampasas, Texas. As Ben began the task of unloading Floyd and his baggage, he was approached by a deputy sheriff who it seemed wanted to help with the unloading, but was hanging back a bit. The deputy told Ben that he was sorry, but he had orders to keep Floyd from returning to his home or to actually enter any part of the town. It was not yet clear whether or not Ben would be allowed to go home or have to stay with Floyd. A tent had been set up a short distance from the depot and this is where Floyd would have to stay until it could be determined just how contagious he might be. There were signs posted at this tent to warn people that a person with polio was living in it and to avoid direct contact. This must have angered both of them and made them feel uneasy at the sideways stares from the travelers and workers at the station. Floyd must have felt that all eyes were on him, but at the same time strangely felt almost invisible.