I woke up the next morning feeling better, much better! The general achiness was gone, although I had a general throbbing in my left arm and chest, and some sharp pains in my ribs when I moved around. Marilyn and the twins came over while I was eating my Corn Flakes with skim milk and drinking my OJ. I wasn't sure when I was getting out of here, but the first stop was going to be a McDonalds! After breakfast I returned some calls to my friends and family, assuring them I was still alive, and then Doctor Shooster came in, checked me over, and gave me a clean bill of health. She cleared me for a bath and a shave prior to the press conference. A nurse, Pat Richards, was promised to assist me.
Pat Richards turned out to be a guy. He saw the surprise on my face and grinned. "Not what you had in mind for a shower with a nurse?"
"Not hardly! Do me a favor and don't tell my wife."
He gave me an evil grin. "I'll do worse! I'll tell a reporter!" That elicited a groan from me and I surrendered. He laughed and scrounged up some plastic wrap and covered my bandages, and then wheeled me to a handicap accessible shower. I sat on a special seat and he helped me as I cleaned up one handed, and afterwards slapped some shaving gel on my face and gave me a disposable razor. I was almost feeling human by the time we got back to the room.
Back in the room I discovered that Charlie had called while I was in the shower. The news and footage of the rescue had been shown on his ship, and it had taken him almost two days to manage a phone call. He promised to try and call again over the weekend, and then told his mother to tell me that I was too old for this kind of behavior and I needed to start behaving myself. I told her he was right! She was laughing pretty good at that.
Richards changed all my bandages when we got back to the room, which fascinated my daughters and grossed out my wife. A fair bit of the swelling had been reduced and the seepage around the stitches was almost ended. They were able to reduce the bandages on the side of my head to a few butterflies. My daughters were sent out to play in traffic while I got dressed. My briefs and slacks were easy enough, but a shirt was very tricky. My left arm was strapped against my chest, keeping movement down, but preventing me from putting on a shirt. It was decided to get the shirt on and then put my arm in a sling tied around me, but we had a hard time getting a shirt on over the bandages. Marilyn came up with the idea of just cutting the left sleeve off, since the sling would hide the missing sleeve. That worked out pretty well.
The press conference was scheduled for noon, and if I behaved myself, I could escape sometime after that. It was an impressive offer, so I decided to behave myself. Unsurprisingly, Governor Bush showed up, but I was surprised when Frank Keating, the Governor of Oklahoma also appeared, along with Don Nickles, one of the two Republican Senators, and half the Oklahoma Congressional Caucus, Steve Largent, J.C. Watts, and Frank Lucas. "Hey, guys, thanks for coming. I really appreciate it. It means a lot.", I told them. I shook hands with all of them. They formed an honor guard of sorts as Marilyn and the girls walked me down to the press conference. I asked Don, who I had worked with on D2A, "If you guys are here, who the hell is running things back in Washington?"
"Nobody. You ought to know that by now, Carl!"
George Bush managed to 'help' me into the room where the press conference was being held. The others led the applause as I appeared. Thankfully he allowed my family to sit down next to me. Instead, he and the other dignitaries formed a phalanx behind me. Everybody wanted a piece of the Carl Buckman phenomenon. Of course, if I screwed this up, they would be the first to throw me to the wolves!
I was seated on the right hand side of a dais, really a long conference table covered with a table cloth and a skirt with the hospital's logo hiding the front, with several microphones on it. One was in front of me. Marilyn was on my left and the girls on my right. Next to Marilyn was Dr. Shooster. Beyond her was another woman in her late 30s or early 40s, and she smiled and waved at the twins as we came in, and they waved back. Most ominously, on the floor next to our chairs was a big cardboard box that was moving on its own. I whispered to my wife, "Is that what I think it is?"
She gave me a big grin. "Oh, you know it!"
"Yeah, well I sure hope somebody has a copy of a newspaper around here!"
Marilyn's eyes popped open at that, and I noticed one of George Bush's aides off to the side. I motioned to him and caught his eye, and made the 'Who? Me?' face. I nodded and beckoned him over. When he came over and leaned down, I whispered, "We're going to need a newspaper!"
"What? Why?"
"Because there's a puppy in that box and it isn't house broken yet. You better find a newspaper. A copy of the New York Times would be perfect!"
Sudden understanding came to him, along with a big grin, and he took off out a side door. George Bush gave me a curious look which I silently smiled at and gave him a hidden 'OK' sign with my good hand.
Once we were all in place, Dr. Shooster looked out into the crowd and asked, "Are we all ready?"
Most everyone was, but one of the TV guys yelled something about a bad feed. We waited a few more minutes for him to fiddle with something, and then he yelled out, "Try it again!"
"Try what again? I've never done this before.", commented the doctor.
"Got it!"
She looked at me in confusion and I covered the mike with my hand and said, "We're fine. You're doing fine. You can start now."
She nodded and I sat back as she started. Around us some flashes started up, and the camera lights were blinding. "Hello. Thank you all for coming. My name is Doctor Elizabeth Shooster and I am the attending surgeon for Congressman Carl Buckman. I was also consulted on the treatment for Mrs. Sylvie Torquist. Congressman Buckman and Mrs. Torquist were the only victims of the tornado that hit Springboro two days ago who were treated here, and as far as I understand it, the only two victims who received more than cuts and scratches. I think we can all be thankful that the level of injuries was so light."
That seemed pretty good for the destruction I saw in Springboro. Doctor Shooster kept going. "With me up here is Congressman Buckman and his wife Marilyn and his daughters..." She looked down at an index card before continuing, " ... Holly and Molly. On my other side is Mrs. Anna Simpson, the sister of Mrs. Torquist, who will be able to speak for the Torquist family." Mrs. Simpson flashed a big smile and waved at everyone. She was a blonde like her sister, though older and more heavy set.
"I asked if the Springboro police or fire department wanted to contribute to this press conference, but they indicated that they were too involved with operations in Springboro to send somebody to attend. However, they did wish to thank the Congressman, and said that he had as good a view of what happened as anybody, and that he could speak for them."
Thanks for the vote of confidence, guys. Now watch me step on my crank! The doctor wasn't finished however. "As a doctor, I will be speaking to the medical condition of the two patients." She bent over and picked up a medical dummy, upper half only, and set it on the conference table. "Congressman Buckman was injured when the Torquist home collapsed on him after he rescued the Torquist family. At that time he received a mild concussion and some abrasions to the left side of his head. There was also penetrating trauma from wood splinters to the left side of his chest and upper arm, along with two cracked ribs." As she mentioned each injury, she pointed it out on the dummy. "While Congressman Buckman's injuries were significant, they were not life threatening, and the Congressman has responded very well to surgery and treatment. I anticipate releasing the Congressman from our care either later today or early tomorrow."