Two years ago, my wife Andi had out-patient surgery at a Little Rock hospital that required a general anesthesia. We were advised that she would be permitted to leave the hospital only after she was awake and alert.

The procedure went as planned and Andi was moved to a recovery room while the surgeon explained to me what he had done, the anticipated results, and how I should care for her during the next twenty-four hours.

After the post surgery conference, the Recovery Room nurse escorted me into Andi’s cubicle and told me to waken her and get her ready for the trip home. I knew this was going to be a problem as Andi is not easy to wake up under normal circumstances. My first efforts were to whisper sweet nothings in her ear and try smooth coaxing.

As I became more insistent, Andi responded by letting me know that she liked it where she was and indicated that she had no intention of getting up any time soon. As she closed her eyes again I knew I was faced with a real problem. Obviously getting her up was going to take a more aggressive effort on my part.

In the meantime, the drill sergeant type nurse was standing over my shoulder with her arms crossed, demanding that I "get with it." The nurse strongly insisted that I not only get the job done, but that I get it done promptly. My plea to the nurse for suggestions and help were ignored. Her attitude was that it was my wife and my job and she wanted Andi awake and alert now.

I found myself in a position of having to face the wrath of my wife or bend to the demands of the nurse. Finally, in desperation, I leaned forward and in a louder than normal voice said, "Wake up Hon, you had twins."

Andi’s reaction was immediate and loud. She raised her head from the pillow, looked at me with a concerned facial expression, and in a voice loud enough to "rattle the cages" of every person in the recovery area, said "What did you say?"

Knowing that I had a beginning and fully aware of the fact that I had to keep it up to keep her from going back to sleep, I replied, "You had twins -- and we only have fifteen minutes to pick them up before the Customer Service Counter closes."

By this time Andi had a confused expression on her face that turned to a questionable stare. It took another couple of seconds for her to become oriented and when she did, her facial expression became obvious. This was a sure sign I was in deep trouble.

Andi began a slow process of getting out of the bed and while doing so mumbled something about a lady named Lorena Bobbitt. The stone-faced nurse broke into a laugh, looked me straight in the face, and said "She’s alert, you can take her home now."