Chapter 11: 1962-1963, Despair and hope

Unfortunately, like most teen marriages based on an unexpected pregnancy, Wayne’s and Linda’s marriage began to deteriorate almost immediately. They were both much too immature to be married, and they were even less prepared to be parents. It also didn’t help matters that they were living with Wayne’s parents.

2 As a consequence, it wasn’t long before Linda was sleeping in Lonnie’s room. The move, however, was not in time to prevent another pregnancy.

3 Then, a little over a month before the baby was supposed to be born, Linda moved back to her mother’s house. “I can’t take it anymore,” she explained. She was in tears, and she was bone tired.

4 Also, she had just recently recovered from a nasty case of the flu. In short, Linda was physically and emotionally exhausted.

5 “You’ll be ok,” her mother reassured her. “Right now, you’ve got to think about this baby!” she said as she patted her swollen belly.

6 “Do you want to go to bingo with me tonight?” she asked. “Not tonight, Mother,” Linda declined. “I just don’t feel like it tonight.” “Well, you just go upstairs and get some rest then,” Eunice told her. Linda nodded and headed for the stairs.

7 Steven Wayne Hendrix was born about three weeks early. The baby had presented in the breech position. The labor, therefore, was long and difficult.

8 Nevertheless, when it was finally over, Linda was concerned by the behavior of the doctor and nurses. They were gathered around the baby speaking in low voices, and she didn’t like the looks on their faces.

9 “Is my baby OK?” she asked. “When can I see my baby?” she demanded. “The doctor would like to speak to you and the child’s father – together,” the nurse told her. Linda swallowed hard as the tears streamed down her cheeks. She was scared to death.

10 “Your son has the worst case of clubbed feet I’ve ever seen,” the doctor began. “It involves both feet, and they will both require aggressive treatment if he is ever going to be able to walk,” he explained.

11 “Can you treat him here?” Wayne asked. “We have some excellent orthopedic surgeons on staff here, but I have to tell you that this is probably going to be very expensive and take a long time to treat.” Wayne and Linda were speechless. “I’m very sorry – I wish I had better news for you today,” he finished.

12 Wayne repeated to Edna and Clayton what the doctor had told him and Linda about Steven. “We’ll help any way that we can,” his mother told him.

13 “What’s gonna happen with you and Linda?” Clayton asked. “We’re going to try to get Steven some help,” Wayne shrugged. “Not now, Clayton,” Doodle intervened.

14 The next day, Edna called their attorney and explained Wayne’s and Linda’s situation to him. “I’m at my wit’s end - neither one of them is in a position to deal with this,” she finished in exasperation.

15 “Edna, you know that I’m a Mason, and that I also belong to the Shriners,” Mr. Wilcox began. “Have you ever heard of the Shriners’ hospitals for crippled children?” he asked. “No, I don’t think I have,” she replied.

16 “Well, they are wonderful, and they were established to help out in these kinds of circumstances,” he told her. “I know that we have one in Chicago,” he continued. “Let me do some checking, and I’ll get back to you,” he finished. “Oh, thank you so much!” Edna interjected as she hung up the phone.

17 A few weeks later, Wayne and Linda were headed to Chicago in a six-year-old standard shift Ford with their redheaded baby boy. And, although the traffic and the doctors in the Windy City were intimidating, Steven was accepted at the hospital for treatment.

18 “We will start with a series of casts, and then progress to braces,” the doctors explained. “When he is older, there will also be surgeries.”

19 “How soon will we be able to take him home?” Linda asked. “He will have to stay with us for several months,” one of the doctors said without blinking. The young couple swallowed hard and nodded to acknowledge that they understood.

20 Still trying to process everything that the doctors had told them, and their own sadness at having to leave their baby behind at the hospital, the young couple headed back to Ohio. In Indiana, a police officer pulled them over after noticing that the car was leaking fuel.

21 Even so, after listening to Wayne’s explanation of where they had been the officer was overwhelmed with compassion for them. “You need to get this car fixed when you get home,” he told them. “Yes, sir,” Wayne replied.

22 “I can’t stand the thought of him there by himself,” Edna told her son. “The doctors and nurses will take good care of him,” Wayne told her (although he wasn’t quite sure he believed that himself). Little did they all know at the time, but this was to be the first of many trips to the Shriners’ Hospital in Chicago.

23 Although Steven’s birth had effected a temporary reconciliation between Linda and Wayne, their child’s needs had only served to put even more stress and strain on a relationship that had already reached the breaking point. Consequently, Linda took Steven by herself on the next visit to Chicago.

24 They rode on the bus, and she felt even more bewildered than she had on that first visit. “I’ll ask that policeman over there if he knows of a good place to stay,” she thought to herself.

25 However, she immediately regretted her decision to do so when she asked him. “Sure, you can stay with me,” he sneered. “Uh, I don’t think so,” Linda replied as she backed away.

26 A moment later, a woman who had been standing nearby and had overheard her conversation with the police officer stepped forward. “You can stay at the YWCA,” she began. “It will be a safe and clean place for you and your baby,” she continued.

27 “Where is it?” Linda asked. The woman walked over to the map of Chicago hanging on the wall and pointed.

28 “I hope that isn’t too far away from the Shriners’ Hospital,” Linda worried. “The hospital is just right over here,” the woman told her. “Perfect!” Linda exclaimed.

29 A few hours later, Linda was settled in and warming a bottle for Steven. The Y had even placed a crib in her room for the baby.

30 By the end of the week, Linda’s self-esteem had received a much-needed boost. As she and the baby headed back to Ohio on the bus, she thought about how she had successfully navigated the difficult circumstances of this latest trip on her own. She smiled at the baby resting peacefully in her arms and lightly brushed his curly red hair with a kiss.

31 Then, in November, Wayne was getting ready to go to work while the television was blaring. He was working second shift at a manufacturing plant in Elyria. He had just finished fastening the belt on his work pants when the show he had been watching was suddenly interrupted for a special news bulletin.

32 President Kennedy had been visiting Dallas, Texas, and there was a report that shots had been fired along the route of his motorcade through the city. An hour later, Walter Cronkite announced that the president was dead.

33 In Elyria, Linda had been watching the same reports at her mother’s house. Eunice was at a neighbor’s house doing some cleaning to provide a little extra income for the household. Linda ran out of the house weeping and stumbled up onto Mrs. Pringle’s porch and knocked.

34 When Eunice came to the door, she could see that her daughter was distraught. “Has something happened to Lonnie or Steven?” she demanded. “No, President Kennedy has been shot, and he’s dead,” Linda answered.

35 “Well, this has certainly been a year to remember,” Eunice said quietly. “The whole world has gone crazy!” she exclaimed.

36 “I’ll never forget the way he looked at me that day he came to Elyria,” Wayne told his mother. “I just can’t believe this has happened!” Edna exclaimed. “His poor wife and children!” she added.

37 Shock and emotion were the standards of the day. Everyone knew that it was one of those seminal moments in history even as they were living through it. Indeed, years later, they would all remember where they were and what they were doing when they had heard the news about Kennedy’s assassination.

38 As 1963 drew to a close, both families realized that everything had changed that year. It felt like they had been on an emotional rollercoaster for almost the entire year. In fact, they had alternated between despair and hope so many times that they almost felt numb now. The president was dead, and their Steven faced an uncertain future. It felt like they were standing on the threshold of a strange new world full of both perils and possibilities.