Save Fuzzy

I've neglected to talk about this subject because I'm really, really bothered. However, I have recovered my intense nausea (back in the "let's hug the toilet" mode) and I'm a bit bitchy.So...here is the story.

I was hospitalized for five days in early December. My insulin pump broke, and I had no clue. To make a long story short, I drove home from class one Tuesday with a barf bag in my lap, and managed to make my way to the nice cool linoleum on my bathroom floor. (When you've dry heaved for hours on end, you really can't be jumping in and out of bed. Best to just stay in the bathroom.)

Z drove me to the ER, where they promptly let me puke in the hallways, and then to my embarassment, let me pee all over myself from the strenuous nature of my heaving. They have this stupid rule when you are a diabetic with hyperglycemia that you can't have any water. When your blood sugar is high, all you want is something to drink. It's the worst cotton-mouth known to mankind. I swear. And having nothing to puke, while you are that thirsty, is a crime against humanity.

So they installed me in a hospital room, where they were determined to keep me because the ICU was full. On the third day, this nice nurse changed my sheets ( I had to change my own every day prior to that, IV line twisting around the hospital bed).

And within my sheets was Fuzzy. Poof. Gone. No one has seen him. I discovered it that night while I was trying to go to sleep. Nervous and scared in the hospital bed because my stupid nurse had just tried to kill me with an insulin injection that was sufficient for a horse. Scared to pass out because I thought they might shoot me up in my sleep and I would never wake up.

I ended up tearing my room to shreds, again with IV pole+bag in hand, and then proceeded to frantically pace back and forth around my room until I was sufficiently exhausted.

My world has been a little off since.

Fuzzy is a story of his own. When I was in kindergarten, I ended up at UCLA medical center for about a month - 2 weeks in a diabetic-induced coma in the ICU, then another 2 weeks in a regular bed getting insulin therapy. It was a really horrible time. I don't really remember too much about it from a negative standpoint. (Except again, they wouldn't give me any fuc$ing water. My mother soaked paper towels and let me suck on them in the ER).

My Dad brought me a bouquet of daisies for my hospital room, and tucked on a little plastic trident was this itty-bitty teddy bear, wearing a little white t-shirt with purple sleeves that said "I love you". I don't know why, but that little bear made me feel better. I looked like a concentration camp survivor, 40 lbs. soaking wet, raccoon eyes. A little bear who was proportionate sized was exactly what I needed.

And I have had him ever since. I once lost him at O'Hare - my dad retrieved him from the cleaning lady in the terminal. But I managed to hang on to him for dear life.

I quit sleeping with him years ago. I had him on this shelf in my closet, along with a few of my other favorite stuffed animals. My men have always graciously accepted my toys. I think they realize that inside my Aries-aggressive exterior lies a scared bunny rabbit who just wants a nice burrow and something soft to sleep with. I need lots of hugs.

So the linen service that Crittersville Hospital contracts with, Angelica Linen Service, states that they do have a lost-and-found box - WITH NO FUZZY. And I'm a bit of a mess about it.

I've hung onto that bear for over 20 years now, and despite the fact that I am in fact an adult, I am sitting here crying like a little kid whose puppy just died.

Angelica Linen Service is a publicly traded company. The satellite office that cleaned the hospital linen is located in Alpharetta, Georgia. ( Phone #: (678)823-4100).

I thought it was a bit funny that when Z tried to track down Fuzzy, he called the CEO and left a message. Ordinarily I would have just raised an eyebrow, until I realized today that this wasn't some 20 employee corporation. I'm sure the CEO heard his voice mail and thought some lunatic had really lost his marbles, calling and requesting an in-depth investigation into the disappearance of Fuzzy.

But screw impropriety.

Today, reading my RSS feed, I found a news article about recent Angelica shareholder events.
http://albany.dbusinessnews.com/shownews.php?newsid=56159&type_news=latest

If someone wants to help locate Fuzzy, it would most likely be the best Christmas present ever. I can't possibly tell you how weird it feels that he isn't around.

So, here are the Executives' contact numbers. Perhaps with enough public outcry, they will see it as some kind of Christmas goodwill to help out.

Corporate Offices
Angelica Corporation
424 South Woods Mill Road
Chesterfield, Missouri 63017
314/854-3800
800/235-8410
www.angelica.com

Chairman of the Board
Don W. Hubble
314-854-3827

Chief Executive Officer
Stephen M. O'Hara
314-854-3827

President and COO
David Van Vliet
678-823-4100

Vice President and CFO
James W. Shaffer
314-854-3827

Save Fuzzy. And make my year.



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