Coming home

[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] to theer I've been getting it all morning I had to turn on the air compression tun him off you guys just don't appreciate good music pretty good today don't you ja on top of the world Dar if I figure why a guys should feel so happy getting hands back in the grease you might figure different if somebody told you you couldn't get your hands greasy Steve maybe you would think it's funny but lots of times when I was lying in bed looking at the ceiling I used to dream up repair jobs and then go through them step by step now that I've got my hands on some real engines again I'm not kicking what was it like that Jack in the hospital it was no picnic I bet I mean what what happened how do you know when you had it trouble is you generally don't know I didn't I felt tired all the time play out I didn't call you can have TV without calling and I was taking some pills I'd heard about I figured I'd snap out of it I always had before I didn't think too much of it then I would sweat at night used to wake up ring and we Helen worried about it you know how women are she wanted me to go to the doctor I told her you don't get meet any doctor unless I'm really safe I guess I never would have found out in time if it hadn't been for that Community x-ray program you know when that trailer came around and a lot of us had those chess pictures made next thing I knew doc Whipple called that's our family doctor he said Jack can you stop by the office soon I want to talk to you I said okay I still didn't tumble thought maybe he wanted to talk to me about the kids or something when I did go he let me have it easy it seems the X-ray fellas had sent him the report on me because I'd given his name as my doctor he said he didn't like the looks of it and he wanted a bigger picture made so I went and got a big picture and Doc Whipple went over it with a specialist that did it that and some other tests they made I had TB and it was well underway he said that I'd have to go to a hospital to get well I told him dog I can't I can't stop working what will happen to Helen and the kids that's the first thing you worry about the money but the doctor had an answer what will happen to them if you don't get well of course he was right but it's hard to see your way clear at first I hated to go home that day we had a little put by savings barn but not enough to last a year the doctor thought it might take about that long I figured that we'd lose the house that Helen had worked so hard over and I was worried for the youngsters I'd always planned for them to get more schooling than I did I didn't know what to do but Helen did she said I was going to the hospital right away she's a great hand at budgeting that girl she showed me that with the savings bonds and taking some loans on the insurance we could manage somehow and she said she wasn't too proud to ask for help from the agency's doc Whipple had mentioned a few days later I went to the hospital right over at Churchville a lot of people still think you have to go to the mountains of the desert that's the bunk climate isn't the important thing the reason for going to a tuberculosis Hospital instead of staying home is that the whole setup is geared for one thing treating tuberculosis they have all the equipment there and they know what they're doing I won't pretend I liked it there nobody likes being in a hospital but I'm sure glad I went for one thing I wasn't spreading my own TV germs to my family or friends that was the best of care and the right kind of food and rest rest rest that's the main thing in beating tuberculosis rest the doctor told me why that is you get to know a lot about TV when you're in the hospital you see almost everybody has healthy lungs to begin with you have to get t germs from somebody else maybe from them coughing or sneezing or spitting when you breathe in those germs they may get a foothold in the lungs just like seeds taking root but the body Fights Back by growing a kind of covering around them so they can't spray it they call this a tubal and it's like a scar that holds the germs in so they can't do any harm usually you don't know that this is happening lots of people have and they get along all right for years but then maybe the Tule breaks down or more likely you breathe in some more germs again they may spread faster than the buddy can stop them then you're in real trouble the TV gets into the air pockets of the lung and destroys them makes holes in the long run this can kill you the reason you need so much rest in bed is that the lung doesn't have to move much and that makes it easier for the body to fight off the germs I asked the doctor about operations they have different ones they can use for different cases no two cases of TB are just alike for me he planned a new Mo thorax this is one way of giving an infected lung rest they put a hollow needle through the chest wall and let sterile air into it this collapses the lung then it doesn't have to work to breathe so The Healing Begins the other lung does all the breathing you need of course in time the air put in around the lung is absorbed but they can easily keep it collapse with more air I had a refill every so often what surprised me was that it it didn't cause any pain though at it was uncomfortable they have drugs now too that help a lot in some cases I was lucky enough to respond well to one of the new drugs and I got regular shots of it there's another angle to this business of licking TV maybe the hardest one your state of mind I used to get deess sometimes he wouldn't be human if you didn't it's easy to say rest and don't worry but you do worri about a lot of things mostly I worried about my family then I wondered how it would be when I came back would I'd be able to handle my job again but fellas like you accept me as an equal it sounds silly but it's real enough at the time and it's bad for you unless your mind's easy your body can't fight of course one thing that snapped me out of it was when Helen came to visit that's one advantage of being in a hospital near home we had plenty to talk about the kids and all seeing her would chase away the glooms make me know I had to get well and the people in the hospital keep an eye on your mental state too they know they sent in a rehabilitation man to talk to me about my work I told him that I just wanted to be a mechanic again and after talking to the doctors he agreed to that but he figured I ought to have an extra string to my bow just in case he was smart he he sent me a course on part service inventory control and it was practical because I knew all about part from the other end and I did feel easier knowing that I had something to fall back on they keep a constant check on you X-rays and other tests well it seemed a long time and then I found that I was getting better the doctor told me I was making some Headway and could get up for a little exercise just a few at first but I tell you I was as pleased and proud as a kid with his first Christmas tree they let you exercise by slow degrees just a little more each day but finally I was able to navigate just as well as ever that builds up their confidence at last I was ready to come back like I said I won't pretend I like you there but the people in that hospital were swell to me it's true you have to cure yourself but you can't do it without their help coming back was wonderful but it's not a clean break you just don't go charging out into the world with a chip on your shoulder we had a little celebration the first night at home just a family but not late you have to make adjustments in the way you live that's one word you get to know when you've had TV adjustments so I remember to get to bed on time like when you go back to work you can't always handle full time at first the boss was SW about that he had talked to my doctor and fixed it so I could work in the parts department just mornings that was three months ago remember that part-time job didn't Tire me so I was anxious to get back to the old job there's another thing you learn to get used to when you come back they warned me about it at the hospital some people are afraid of you they going to catch TB if you get near them can't say I blame them but they're all wrong they don't discharge you from a hospital and send you home until it's safe all around of course I was going regular to dog Whipple for checkups last week he gave me the word I was waiting for said I was well enough now to get back to the old Jar full time believe me fellas it's a wonderful feeling to know that you've come all the way back that you're a fulltime man again that's great to have you back full time Jack see that you stay that way see that you stay that way too me yes you both of you the main reason I told you my story was to S you one idea get a physical examination regularly and a chest x-ray if you haven't had one for a year make a date soon it's the smartest thing you can do I know what I'm talking about [Music]