Laa-Laa and me

A few postings back, I promised to explain why I share my home with a Teletubby named Laa-Laa.  I try to keep promises.
I live with Laa-Laa.  She's yellow and a Teletubby; she's also stuffed.  She talks, but she only has a repertoire of four phrases which makes her a pretty good roommate.  You have to press her tummy to make her talk.  I am quite popular with the under four-year-old set because of Laa-Laa.  The photo is of Laa-Laa, wearing her favorite tu-tu, on her television show.

I acquired Laa-Laa in 1999 but my Teletubby obsession began in 1998.  I went to the doctor on January 19, 1998 for what I thought was a routine visit and ended up in Cardiac ICU at Memorial Hospital in Chapel Hill.  I'm very good at denial and had convinced myself that my inability to walk from my bedroom to my bathroom was a passing thing and that I'd eventually catch my breath.  The doctor didn't agree.

Doctor: Do you have anyone that you can call?

Me: Call?

Doctor: Yes, I'm admitting you to the hospital.  Do you have any family or friends that you want to meet you there?

Me: Huh?

So I called my sister who insisted upon talking to the doctor who just kept saying, "Yes" over and over again. 

Meanwhile, I was rediscovering my ability to speak in sentences.  I suggested that I could drive myself over to the hospital, but the doctor nixed that notion and said that I had to ride in an ambulance.

Me: What about my car?  I can't leave my car in the parking lot!

It's amazing how your brain can just cease to function.

Anyway, I ended up in the hospital for a week with congestive heart failure, a leaky heart valve, and a cardiac arrhythmia (atrial fibrillation).  I was tethered to the bed by an assortment of tubes and wires so there wasn't a whole lot to do.  I watched television.  One morning I discovered the Teletubbies--Po (red), Laa-Laa (yellow), Dipsy (green) and Tinky Winky (purple or blue depending on the color resolution on your television).

It's a simple show, after all babies and toddlers are its intended audience.  It was just about my speed.  It required no real thought on my part and the Teletubbies were cute.  I particularly enjoyed the boom-boom dance which consisted of waving their rather large fannies in a fashion that rivaled the best hula dancers.  I liked all of the Teletubbies but I developed a special affinity for Laa-Laa, coquettish, giggly, and always slightly bemused with the silliness of the other three.

I landed back in the hospital again in April 1999 but this time at WakeMed.  I was very fortunate that I had moved to Raleigh.  It was at WakeMed that they discovered a major underlying factor in my health issues--severe sleep apnea.  While I was vacationing in ICU again, a good friend  purchased  Laa-Laa to keep me company.  I took an immediate liking to her and made her a member of my household.  Okay, she is the only member of my household.

While we were in the hospital, she became accustomed to sleeping in my bed, a practice that I continued when we returned home.  I once banned her from the bed when I had a sleep over guest of the adult male persuasion.  He had issues with sharing space with her after he rolled over on her one time too many (remember, when you press her tummy, she speaks).  However, he eventually left and Laa-Laa was still around.  I promised her that I would never again betray our relationship; it's me and Laa-Laa forever. If you don't like it, you can go home and sleep in your own bed.