My Heart

In 1992 Hurricane Andrew ravaged Florida. My brother one year younger than me lived in Lauderdale at the time.

He had not felt well that day and left work early. By the time he got home his chest hurt. He felt like he should go to the hospital. With the bad weather he decided to wait.

My brother knew that men in my family tended to have heart attacks. Well my brother was no exception. 

His chest pains were becoming unbearable. He called for medical assistance.

I do not know how medical personnel made it through the hurricane to reach my brother but they did. He was unconscious and they did not take any of his personal items with him.

When he awoke he could not remember any phone numbers or contact names. After several days he finally remembered where he worked and the number there.

My sister also lived in Florida and had been trying to contact my brother for several days. She finally called his job.

She explained that she was his sister and was worried about him because of the hurricane. They told her Oh yeah. He had a heart attack and they told her what hospital he was in.

Naturally my sister was furious. She told them that they should have looked at his file. If they had they would have known to call her as soon as they were notified.

Now I am pretty good at giving someone a good dressing down. My sister makes me look like a timid bunny. (We learned from our mother.)

It is also like my brother to want to be left alone. My mother and I each offered to take care of him when he got home. He wanted none of that. 

Mon always said he was a most unsatisfying baby. He did not like being held.

He was fine for years after all that. He moved with his job to New York. That is where he had another heart attack. He died as he lived... alone.