Bena Mae’s Kitchen: A Harrowing Tale

 I ask you to bear with me because this was the most horrible night I’ve ever spent in my life and it still hurts to think about it.

To begin with, I cannot swallow pills. If possible, I crush them in water or gulp them down with peanut butter or anything that will help them go down. On this particular night, I could not crush the pill because it was time-released and the directions stated that if it entered my system all at once, it could be extremely dangerous. So I had no choice but to swallow it.

The pill in question was a potassium pill the doctor had prescribed. It turned out to be the size of a peach pit. When I told the druggist I couldn’t swallow a pill that big, he said they didn’t come any smaller. That left me with no alternative. So about 8:30 that night I couldn’t put off taking it any longer. I poured myself a large glass of water and with trembling hand, I popped the pill into my mouth and took a large swig of the water. What I had envisioned was nothing compared to what happened next. The huge pill stuck in my esophagus! It wouldn’t go down and I couldn’t cough it up.  My body erupted in violent spasms of coughing. I was literally choking to death!

I dashed next door to my neighbor’s house and pounded on her door. "Call 911" I squeaked out when she came to the door. In minutes the EMTs were there accompanied by a fire truck and a police car, their lights flashing and sirens screaming. The whole street was lit up like Christmas.

About seven big burly precious men spent about two hours trying different ways of moving the pill but nothing worked. The Heimlich maneuver was not effective because the pill was too far down in my  throat. The only thing that could get past it was air, nothing solid. I elected not to go to the emergency room because that meant spending several hours of waiting and watching other people’s misery.  I suggested calling Roto-Rooter, but my attempt at humor fell on deaf ears.

Long story short, My son came over and spent the night while I spent the night sitting up in bed with pillows to my back. Any other position made my throat hurt terribly. At 9:30 the next morning he suggested my trying to swallow a little hot coffee. I could only handle a miniscule amount, less than the size of a tear drop. After about 30 minutes of this, I looked up at him and whispered, "it’s gone." It had lain in my throat for 13 hours without moving. As a result, I suffered a very sore throat for the next three days but it was nothing compared to what I had been through.

When I asked the druggist if there was anyway he could dispense the potassium other than in pill form, he said, "Yes, I can give it to you in liquid form but it tastes awful." 

"WHO CARES?"  I told him.

Curried Fruit

1 can (20 oz) chunk pineapple

1 can (20 oz) pear halves

1 can (20 oz) peach halves

10 maraschino cherries

1/4 cup margarine

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon curry powder – more or less to taste

Drain fruit; cut up as desired. Combine fruit in a 2 quart casserole. Melt margarine in a 2-cup measure. Stir in brown sugar and curry powder. Pour brown sugar mixture over fruit.

Cook for about 30 minutes in 350° oven. 

This is even better the next day. If extra company shows up, just add more fruit, drained and cut into pieces. Delicious served with pound cake.