Surviving with help from Rosana, a person of rare caliber

I had been incubating a case of pneumonia for some time before I got sick enough that a woman whose name I didn't even know took action and saved my life.

For some weeks, I had been getting weaker and becoming more short of breath. I couldn't walk 100 feet without sitting down, and my legs were getting wobbly. I figured it was a combination of Paraguayan cigarettes and lack of caloric intake, but a change of lifestyle would fix me.

I met Rosana one evening when she was drinking beer with a group in the restaurant. I was in the back washing my pots and pans. Rosana wandered to where I was and jumped right into the work, helping me finish up. We bantered as we washed, and although she was considered a party girl of dubious morals, I was impressed with her intelligence and willingness to help.

A couple weeks went by and I was getting slowly weaker. I didn't feel sick, it was just a general feeling of fragility that troubled me. Then one day Rosana stopped by my apartment and we chatted for an hour or so. She left, but a short time later, pulled up in her old car and told me I was going to the hospital, and to get a few clothes ready.

I was too sick to resist her determination, so did what she told me. During the hour's drive to the hospital, Rosana said that she thought I was only a couple days from dead, and if the people I was living with wouldn't take action, she would. I still didn't know her name.

It was when we got to the hospital that I realized how ill I was. Rosana grabbed a wheel chair to get me into the building, and when I was signing in I felt the severity of my condition.

I was too weak to even sign the papers correctly. My signature was a scrawl an eighth of an inch high, an inch long, and totally illegible. It was then that I knew how badly I needed medical attention.

After a quick blood panel, they got me into bed and hooked me up to two liters of vitamins and antibiotics. That was to continue for over two weeks. What was left of my life was in the hands of Rosana and the hospital staff.

It's law in Brazil that a patient over sixty years old has to have a companion stay in the same room for the duration. That didn't bother Rosana. She went to her house, grabbed some personal items and took possession of a too-short sofa, where she slept for the next two weeks. I still didn't know her name.

So, the tedium and misery began. Rosana took control of everything. She dealt with the hospital administration and the nurses. She helped me to the bathroom, bathed me, and helped me off the toilet when I was at my weakest. For two weeks I was totally dependent on her.

Rosana was in complete control of my life, which was what I needed, because I couldn't even think clearly, much less make a decision or stand up to the hospital staff when they got crazy ideas. She dealt with the MD's, and often intimidated them without raising her voice. Rosana only left the hospital a few times to take care of personal business. When she was gone, she had her sister sit with me.

We got to know each other and a platonic affection developed. Rosana said that she took a liking to me because I didn't treat her like a common trollop as a lot of the men did. Rosana is far from common. She's more intelligent and disciplined than most of the people I know. Her public image is skewed because a divorced, free-spirited woman is usually considered to be morally relaxed, and receives little genuine respect.

And so it went. Rosana saved me hundreds of dollars in her ealings with the hospital administration. One afternoon they sent a tech to draw some fluid from my lungs – an expensive procedure. He tried to find some fluid, but there wasn't any so Rosana asked him what the charges were. I forget the amount, but Rosana simply told him that since he didn't get anything out of my lungs, nothing was accomplished and she wasn't going to pay. The fellow was surprised, but acceded to Rosana and saved me a couple hundred dollars.

Rosana took more than two weeks out of her life for me. Day and night, she was ready to help and harangue and nag both me and the hospital staff. She always won.

I recently found her on Facebook, so we're communicating again, which makes me feel better. I paid her what little money I had left, and gave her all the things in my apartment – TV, refrigerator and such. 

I hope that in the future I can let her know the full measure of my respect and gratitude. I was lucky to meet a person of her caliber. There aren't many.