Life Story of Ruth Elizabeth Proctor-Part Twelve

Written by

Ruth Elizabeth Proctor Cook

Cleo and Ruth 

I sorted spuds for many years.  I started out sorting for Ronald Hunting, when Theron decided to go on a mission, as we had Franklin in the mission field in Germany.  I left Darrell with Grandma and Grandpa Beyeler while I worked.  They were so good to him, and I didn't have to worry at all.  I also worked for Max Thomas at the Menan Coop.  He took over when Ronald Hunting left there.  Next in line I worked for Lynn Gneiting at Gneiting's warehouse.  Ronald Hunting was their boss for a few years and I worked for him again.  I worked for Reed Hunter at Hunter's Siding, for Elwood Clifford and Irvin Hancock just a block west of my home.  Their warehouse was called Hancock and Clifford.  I worked for Vaughn Walker for a while after the warehouse was sold to him.  I quit him because he didn't live up to his promises.  There should have been no smoking on the sorter, no Saturday work, no hours longer than eight hours a day, and he blew all of them down.  I got a call to come work for Wayne Poole, but before Wayne took over the Menan Produce his father, John T. Poole, run it.  I worked for him a while.  I started out picking culls when I first started and ended up being a top grader and making select boxes. 

Darrell and Becky

Darrell was a senior when his father died.  He played basketball for Rigby High School.  When there was a game in Rigby, he would take me up with him and park around where the players parked their cars.  He would take me in the door the players went in.  He would holler out "My mom's coming through."  Then he would tell me to close my eyes and he would lead me into the gym.  He played guard on their varsity team.  He would help me up into the bleachers and then go get dressed to play.  He was my right hand man in many ways.  All the other kids were very good to me too.

When the warehouse closed in the spring of the year, I worked in the lunch room at the elementary school.  Alta Qualman and Lena Thorngreen also worked there.  I was only there a short time.  Darrell had some calves that wouldn't stay in the pasture and seemed to always find a way to get out.  One afternoon my neighbor Barbara Garrison (they had bought Elwood and Bernice Clifford's home when they moved out to his dad's farm) called down to the school and told me the calves were out on the road.  I left the lunchroom and came home to chase those blessed calves.  In the process, I stepped into a hole.  It wasn't very deep, but I went down on my knees.  When I went to get up, my back started to hurt me.  I went back to school to work but the pain was so bad, Alta told me to go home and lay down.  I went to where Kay and Carla were living (Ellen Cooper's home).  They weren't home so I left a message for them to please come to my home as soon as they could.  I was having muscle spasms in my back.  When they came, the other kids came with them.  They took me to the hospital in Idaho Falls.

The doctor told me I could either stay in the hospital or go home and stay in bed.  Los and Mark let me go to their home.  I just didn't seem to get any better.  I couldn't remember people coming to visit me.  Nadine Keppner said that she and Wayne came to see me.  I would be sitting up talking to them then I would close my eyes and fall asleep.  I didn't even know Grandma Beyeler when she came to see me.  Lois called Franklin and him and Ilene came over.  I didn't remember who she was.  She told me she was Franklin's wife.  The kids called the doctor and he told them to get me to the hospital.  Sam Turman was there and he was trying to help get me into the Berrett's station wagon and somehow I bumped my head and blamed Sam for me getting bumped.  Boy was I ever out of it.  While I was in the hospital, I was in another world.  I told the nurses I couldn't have those shots they wanted to give me for I had to be at the Watergate hearing to testify.  I just lost so much out of my life.  The kids stayed with me most of the time. 

One night I came around to this world we live in.  It was 24 May 1973.  Ruth Ryan was sitting in the hospital room.  I asked her how come she was there and what day of the week it was.  She told me.  I started to cry.  I told her that was the night Darrell was to graduate from high school and neither his dad nor mom was going to be there.  She said that's why she was there so his sisters and brothers could go.  When they all came to see me after graduation, I asked them how the graduation went.  What a surprise and happy look those kids had on their faces.  All the time I was there, someone was in the room with me, either my family or someone from the ward. 

They found out I had a kidney infection.  I was treated for that but my back still hurt.  I came home from the hospital on 4th of July.  Darrell took Grandma Beyeler and me to see the parade in Idaho Falls.  I tried to enjoy it but my back sure was acting up and especially at night the pain just didn't seem to ever stop.  On the morning of 17 July 1973, I went into the bathroom and when I went to get up, I couldn't move.  I was so frightened.  Darrell was sleeping in his bedroom.  I started calling his name.  Finally he heard me and came to the bathroom door.  I was crying.  I told him I couldn't move.  He just picked me up and carried me to the couch.  Then he called Lois and Cindy.  They took me to the hospital.  Before I got there Iwas paralyzed from my waist down.  They run all kinds of tests.  Then I was put on the second floor.  One morning one of the nurses who was quite elderly came into my room.  She was going to change the sheets and make up the bed.  She didn't read my chart at the foot of the bed.  So she swung me out of bed and I just slipped though her arms on to the floor.  She looked down at me and I couldn't help but laugh.  She couldn't get me back into a chair or into bed.  She run out into the hall and got an orderly.  He came and picked me up and put me into a chair.  She fixed up my bed, and then he just picked me up and put me back into bed.  She kept saying she was sorry.

Dr. Kim Johnson was my doctor.  He came into to see me and had asked Dr. Charles Bogg to come and check me over.  He said that I need a myelogram right now.  From that they found that there were some disks that were pinching the nerves in my back, and that I would need surgery immediately.  I didn't know what they were rushing around getting me ready for surgery.  Joyce came into see me and asked what was going on with me.  Dr. Johnson asked if they hadn't been told I was going to have surgery.  He told her to get a hold of the rest of the family and tell them I was going into surgery.  She called all of them.  They came to the hospital and Dr. Johnson told them what they had found out.  They had given me some kind of a shot, but Theron gave me a blessing.  It was a beautiful blessing and came straight from his heart.

When the surgery was performed, they found two discs that were pinching off the nerves, and they were removed.  Dr. Bogg also stated that he felt like if they had done a myelogram on me when I first came into the hospital, I most likely wouldn't have went paralyzed. 

Dr. Boge and Dr. Johnson came to see me every day from then on.  Bob Martin and John Mullen would come to my room and work with my legs so the muscles wouldn't go stiff on me.  They also helped me in their physical therapy room, helping me to learn to walk again.  I worked on the parallel bars, and in the swimming pool.  There were lots of people who helped me.  While I was in the hospital my two sisters came to see me from Utah.  They were good for me.  They cheered me up and helped me to move my ankles around.  I was so happy when the feeling came back into my legs and lower part of my body.  The nurses would come and turn me over every two hours day and night.  I couldn't set up to eat so the nurses would feel me.  In the mornings by the time they got to me, the hot cereal was stone cold.  One morning they brought oatmeal.  I never liked it hot let alone cold.  The nurse didn't say anything, she just spooned a spoonful into my mouth.  I had quite a time swallowing it.  She started with another one.  I told her no way.  She said you must eat it.  I asked her if she would like to wear it.  I didn't get any more hot cereal.  The cold cereal I could take but the hot ugh! 

I had a lot of people come to see me, and I surely did appreciate it.  I can remember at Thanksgiving the doctor told me I could go to Max and Joyce's home.  They lived in Lincoln, not too far from the hospital.  Max came and got me that morning though I was told I would have to take a nap in the afternoon.  I agreed to do that.  They had invited Darrell and his future wife, Becky to come to dinner.  Beside my place at the table, there was a beautiful rose from the kids.  Joyce made sure I lay on the bed in their bedroom for a while.  Then it came time for Max to take me back to the hospital.  Oh how I hated to go back there.  When I got back, one of the night nurses told me I should have been back for the night meal.  I told her I already had eaten and I wasn't hungry.   She wasn't very happy with me but I surely did enjoyed being away from the hospital.

While I was in the hospital, Darrell was old enough to be ordained an elder.  So he and the rest of the family came up to my room on the fifth floor.  Theron ordained Darrell and Elder.  They had received permission from the stake presidency to do that. I was so happy I was able to witness that.

I asked Dr. Boge when I could go home, for it was getting close to Christmas.  I had been in there since the 17th of July.  He said when you can walk the parallel bars alone.  The morning of 21 December 1973, I asked my Heavenly Father to please bless me and help me to walk those bars.  When I went down to therapy, they put the wheelchair I was in at one end of the bar and locked the wheels of the chair I was setting in.  When I stood up, I was quite shaky.  I had to buy me some boots that fit quite well always upon my legs.  Then I had to have them cut down to fit my legs and have arch supports put in them as my ankles were very weak.  I got hold of the bar and pulled myself up and started out.  On each side of me were Bob and John.  If I started to fall they would have been able to catch me before I hit the floor.  I went for a ways and kind a stopped.  Bob asked if I wanted to set down and rest.  I told him no way.  I'm going to the end.  Bob had me rest for a minute then I started back.  As I went to set down in the wheelchair, I looked up and there stood Dr. Boge in the doorway.  He came over to me and said, "Young lady you did great."  I asked him if I could go home today.  He said if I could go to some ones house and stay then I could go.  They took me back upstairs to my room and I called Lois and asked her if I could come and stay there with them.  She said of course I could come there.  Bless Brian's heart he gave up his bedroom.  They got me a hospital bed from Donna Fullmer's.  I rented the bar that fit across the top so I could pull myself up and help me get out of bed. 

Before I went home from hospital, they brought a little Christmas tree up and had it all decorated for me.  When I got to come home I had them give the tree to two ladies who were on that floor.  I would walk down the halls at night with a nurse with them.  They always came by their door in their wheelchairs and encouraged me along.  They were special ladies.

While I was in the hospital my ward Menan First Ward held a ward fast for me.  Bishop Cottle gave a beautiful prayer in my behalf.  That was the turning point in my progress.  It was the next day after the fast that I was finally able to move my feet.

Here are a few pictures that I thought you might enjoy seeing.

Ruth, Joyce, Kay and Lois

Ruth at home in Menan

Here are two very elect ladies.

Ruth and Jean Holyoak at Liz's reception