Saturday Again Again

 

Saturday Again Again

     Red and I both woke up early and found Dad downstairs making pancakes. They weren't as good as Mama’s but they had blueberries inside them and that helped. After breakfast Dad and I took out all my medication bottles and it turned out that we did know how to do my pills for the week. We just had to read the labels and remember which vitamins I took in the morning and which ones at night. I was proud of both of us because we figured it out. I knew that Mama would be proud of us too. 

     Dad called the hospital to find out when we could go see Mama. Her doctor wanted to talk to Dad and although I never liked it before, the hospital was my new favourite place. Not really. But I liked it a lot more now that Mama was there. Dad said that we had to be really patient and supportive while Mama was getting better. He told me that people in comas can hear everything that is going on and we needed to talk to Mama as if she could hear us. He said that she had been through a lot and that she really needed us now, more than ever. He also said that we needed to focus on her healing and not on the terrible thing that had happened to her. And that we should pray. I was feeling happy and sad and mad and impatient and all kinds of feelings but mostly I just wanted to go and see her. 

     Constable Dubois called Dad and asked if he could come by and give them some information. He said that their investigation would be ongoing but that they needed some details about Mama. I was glad that even though he seemed like a super serious guy all the time, he was going to keep helping us. I wanted him to catch the bad guys who hurt Mama and took her purse. It sounded like they were going to try to make that happen.

     Then we drove to the hospital. This time I did not mind that Dad’s truck seats were all covered in tools. We made room for me in the truck. There wasn’t a lot of traffic and the hospital was pretty close. When we got there I did not notice the smell as much and I liked that Mama was on the seventh floor. That still seemed like a good sign. Also I was happy that Pastor Steve was there doing his pastor job and keeping an eye on Mama and praying for her and for us. When you go to a place that you don’t love but you smile at people there and notice them, people smile back sometimes. Even the ones that seem like they might be jerks seem less jerky. All I know is that I felt lighter and happier than I had for a couple of weeks. 

     The nurse in the ICU had a name tag that said Emily. She was young and smiley and said that we could stay for a while but that we had to wear masks, keep our hands clean and sneeze or cough into our elbows. She told us again that Mama could hear us and that we should talk to her even though she may not respond. Emily said that Mama was healing and that our being there would help her. She told us to press the buzzer if we needed her. 

     I felt really sad when I saw that Mama had a big bandage all around her head. Some of her hair was gone and she was bruised and puffy looking in some places but skinnier in other places. She looked small and helpless in that big hospital bed and I just wanted to hug her. Dad cried a little when he held her hand and talked to her. I held her other hand and we talked to Mama for a long time. We even sang “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine...” like we used to when I was little. When it was time to go Dad said “I love you Jocelyn!” and I knew that it was true. This was a hard thing that we had gone through but we were going to get through it together. I was still mad at whoever had hurt her but mostly I was happy that she was found. And proud of how I had helped. And glad that she was going to be okay. I knew that we were all going to be okay.