Surgery under auxiliary power I worked at Redington-Fairview Hospital. On April 1, police called the hospital to tell us we better leave work if we have to get across the river.

A coworker was giving me a ride home but the bridge had been closed. The railroad bridge had washed out. I called my husband - the power was down but the telephone was still working. I told him I would stay at the hospital overnight because I was scheduled for surgery the next day. My doctor lived in town. He had arranged for an anesthesiologist from Farmington and wondered whether she'd make it to Skowhegan.

I later found out that she had made a dry run to the hospital the night before to see whether she could get there, and she did. I tried to call my husband to tell him surgery was a go, but the lines were down.

I had my surgery under auxiliary power and everything went OK.

Barbara Coffin

Cornville