The Franklin Files

CHAPTER IX
A TRIP TO THE E.R.  

     I just want to tell you about one more thing that happened immediately after the sleepover at Scott's house, and then I'll jump ahead to the beginning of the fifth grade.

     Starting the next day after the sleepover I began experiencing pain in my abdomen. This pain increased over several days. It finally got so bad that I couldn't even bend over at all without extreme pain in my abdomen.

     About five days after the sleepover, my mother lowered my pants so she could see if there was anything observable to account for the extreme pain I was having, and she discovered that my lower abdomen was extremely swollen and all red.

     My mother then took me to the emergency room; at Centinela Hospital where I was first treated in the E.R. and then by a specialist. 

     I remember the incident clearly after all these years.

     I remember that they gave me a shot of cortisone directly into my belly button, with this giant needle in order to make the swelling go down.

     Neither my mother nor I indicated to the doctors that there was a possibility that I had been recently sexually assaulted, and not having that information, I remember they were somewhat uncertain as to what was causing the swelling.

     They offered a theory that possibly my umbilical cord never completely dissolved after child birth since I was a pre-mature birth.

     However, I remember the doctors doing x-rays and not being able to confirm this diagnosis.

     My mother and I have a difference of opinion about this. She thinks that the legion appeared on the x-rays, I remember that the doctors were looking for a legion of some kind but were unable to find any evidence that a legion was causing the swelling.

     It is my belief that the pain, and swelling and redness in my abdomen was the direct result of being raped.

     But my mother is the one with the hospital records.

     At any rate, the shot worked and the swelling went down and thus the pain went away as well. After several days, I seemed to have fully recovered from the injury.

     One thing that I remember the doctor telling me is that if indeed, this was caused by an undissolved umbilical chord, the cortisone would probably not dissolve it, it would be after all these years hard as a rock and would almost certainly case more problems later in my life where I would need surgery.

     I have never had any further problems with an undissolved umbilical chord; a rather rare occurrence, if it ever really was that. I don't think it was.

     Now, on to the beginning of school...


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