Eddy's Spleen Had Burst

All of the fighting that the king had done
to conquer all these islands
now there's condominiums
How would he feel if saw Hawaii now
How would he feel
would his smiles be content
rather then cry
cry for the gods, cry for the people
cry for the lands that were taken away
and in it you'll find Hawaii


Queens Hospital, Honolulu
June 20, `73


I was sitting in the hospital coffee shop, drinking black coffee,
trying to induce some degree of alertness. Things had been hectic. In
the last three days I had only managed a few hours of sleep. I was
living off the speed that I had scored.

Back on the beach, Eddy got really sick. He kept passing out, so we
convinced him to go to the doctor. Pua and Butch (next door beach
campers), and Gloria (Eddy's girlfriend) and myself took Eddy to a
doctor in Waipahu. The doctors in Waianae, the town closest, were
gone. Waipahu doctors sent him to Queens Hospital in Honolulu. Fifteen
minuets after arrival, he had blood plasmas running into both arms as
he was rolled into emergency surgery. Eddy's spleen had burst. During
the operation, they removed over two liters of blood from his
abdominal cavity, in addition to his spleen and appendix.

After Eddy was beaten a week ago his spleen was injured. The surgeon
told us that if we had waited till morning, the damage would have
resulted in irreversible shock. Eddy was lucky, if that was possible.
But, it was all history now. Welfare was taking over, and soon Eddy
and Gloria would find themselves someplace nice, at least until he
recovered. I was still camped at Keaau, working nights, and taking
care of business as best I could, especially with Carol Sue back on
the beach. She had been on the island for a little more than a week.

Acting on my preconceived plan, I took C.S., Rodney, and Denise (her
son and our mutual hometown friend) over to the other side of the
island. She was not happy about that location, but it was the right
thing to do. They were safer over there. Besides, in a phone
conversation before she got on the plane to come here, I had told her
what to expect. Nobody was happy, but, as far as I was concerned, that
was the way it had to be. She had to learn how to fend for herself. I
had made plans to leave the island. It was her decision to live in
Hawaii, even after I had told her I would be going back to school in
the fall. I applied for financial aid from CMU and they had come
through with some money.