Page 20 of Bliss
Alex
When Tina was brought to the operating room, Alex and her group had been directed to a different waiting room, which was quieter and the chairs were much more comfortable than those in the Emergency Room’s waiting room. This waiting room also had TVs broadcasting either a soap opera, news, and a men’s soccer game. The room also had a rack filled with an assortment of magazines, drink and snack vending machines, and a corner with games and toys for children. This room catered to those who expected to be waiting for a very long time.
Alex told the others they didn’t have to wait with her, but they were adamant that they were staying, no matter how long it took. They’d bought drinks and snacks from the vending machines, but Alex knew that wasn’t enough for any of them. They hadn’t eaten dinner, and it would probably be at least four hours before they received an update on Tina’s condition.
For the third time, Alex slowly scrolled through her contacts on her phone, and Callie quietly asked, “What are you looking for?”
Exhaling hard, Alex put the phone to sleep and slid it into her pocket. “I was hoping I had missed one of Tina’s friends when I cleaned up my contacts after she broke up with me.” She looked over at Joselynn, and asked, “Do you still have anyone’s number from back then?”
Shaking her head, Joselynn apologized, “No, sorry. I kept them longer than you did, just in case anyone started some shit, but I deleted all of them after about three or four months. Could you request her cellphone from her belongings if you’re her emergency contact?”
“I have no idea.”
“Yes, you could, but not because you’re her emergency contact,” Hannah answered, and explained, “State law dictates that if a patient signs over rights to a person to make informed decisions for their care, when they’re unable to, that person also has a right to any property they had on them at the time of admittance into the hospital. If you want her cellphone, they have to provide it to you.”
“I doubt I’ll be able to unlock it, but I guess it’s worth a try. Who should I talk to?”
Hannah stood up and waited for Alex to do the same. Alex sighed as she stood up and looked down at Callie, who was offering her a small, encouraging smile.
“I’ll be right here when you need me. But Hannah knows way more about this stuff than I do.”
“Okay, well, I guess I’ll be back soon.”
Alex followed Hannah over to the nurse’s station and listened as she explained the situation.
“Hello. We’re waiting to hear news about our friend, Tina Schafer. Her medical proxy,” she motioned to Alex, “needs access to her cellphone, so she can try to reach out to other friends and loved ones she doesn’t have numbers for.”
The nurse looked at Alex, and seeming disinterested, said, “I need to see your ID.”
Alex quickly provided her driver’s license, and after the nurse compared it to the information on her computer, she started typing and clicking her mouse. After a few minutes, she said, “Someone will bring her belongings up here shortly,” then handed Alex her license.
“Thank you.”
Thirty minutes later, Jessica Holt, the nurse Alex had given Tina’s medical history to, walked into the waiting room carrying a taped up white plastic bag.
“Ms. Coleman, my apologies. I should have thought to ask if you wanted to take custody of Ms. Schafer’s belongings when we spoke earlier.” She offered Alex the bag, as well as a few pairs of examination gloves and a folded disposable absorbent mat. “Her items have some blood on them, so please use this mat to cover the table or floor, if you want to lay them out. I’d also suggest wearing these gloves. Her clothing had to be cut off of her, so those were disposed of; however, her pockets were checked and those items were placed in the bag.”
“Okay, thank you. Do I need to return this to you?”
Shaking her head, Jessica answered, “No, you can hold onto the bag and return it to Ms. Schafer when she comes out of surgery and regains consciousness.”
“I’m guessing you don’t know how it’s going?”
“No, I’m sorry.” The nurse shook her head, looking at Alex sympathetically. “One of the doctors will come out to give you an update when they’re able to.”
“Okay, thanks.”
After Jessica left, Callie laid the mat over the coffee table in front of them, while Alex put on a pair of the examination gloves. Alex hesitated a moment to break the printed and barcoded seal on the bag, mentally preparing herself for having to handle Tina’s personal items covered in her blood. With her heart racing, and her stomach clenched with dread, she opened the bag and gazed inside.
“My God.” Alex closed the bag and her eyes, taking long, deep breaths to try to get her heart and stomach to settle some.
Callie placed her hand on Alex’s shoulder, and asked, “Do you want help, baby?”
“I…” Alex slowly shook her head, then opened her eyes, meeting Callie’s concerned, supportive gaze. “I don’t know. Maybe. Yes. But you need gloves. It’s bad.”
Callie and their friends put on a pair of gloves and leaned in closer, preparing to offer any help Alex needed. She took another deep breath, then opened the bag and carefully moved the bloodstained canvas sneakers that were obviously white before the accident and probably never would be again. As she lifted her purse out of the bag, she noticed Callie and their friends’ eyes widen, but only just briefly. It was a cream canvas satchel with tan leather accents. And just like her sneakers, it was so bloodstained that its original color was barely discernible.
With shaking hands, Alex set the bag on the sanitation mat and pulled the zipper aside. A cellphone wasn’t immediately visible, so she started pulling the items out and gave them to Callie to set on the other side of the mat. The bag contained a small laptop and its power cord, an e-reader, a makeup bag, a pack of spearmint chewing gum, a wallet, a few tampons, and a pair of reading glasses.
“No cellphone.”
“It’s not in the other bag?” Joselynn asked, pointing to the plastic bag.
“I don’t think so.” Alex set the satchel down and looked in the plastic bag, the inside of which was smeared with blood. She reached in to move the sneakers, finding Tina’s set of keys, a stick of lip balm, a receipt from a gas station, and a white paper bag under them. After squeezing the bag and feeling what she believed to be a ring and necklace, she shook her head. “Not here. She used to always keep her phone docked in one of those cellphone holders that clip into the air vent or suction down onto the dashboard. It probably got flung somewhere upon impact.”
“May I?” Hannah asked, as she picked up the laptop. Alex nodded, so Hannah opened it, and the screen illuminated with a locked screen. “Any idea what her four-digit numerical pin would be?”
“Try 0688 for her birth month and year.”
Hannah typed the numbers in, then shook her head. Alex sighed, and suggested, 0618, which Hannah also shook her head at.
“I only have one more attempt and it will lock us out. Maybe the year and month are reversed?”
“It’s no worse than any guess I could come up with. Might as well try it.”
Hannah quickly typed in the numbers, hit enter, then sucked her teeth. “Well, damn. That didn’t work either. We can try again in an hour.”
After Hannah closed the lid on the laptop, Joselynn picked up Tina’s wallet and started looking through it. “There’s still hope for humanity,” Joselynn quietly commented, while fingering through what looked like at least two-hundred dollars in cash, then motioned to the computer and e-reader on the table. “It’s surprising that the paramedics even grabbed her purse, but I’m more surprised no one at the scene or here at the hospital took any of this stuff after identifying her.” She closed the wallet and set it down. “There aren’t any phone numbers or pictures or anything in there.”
After sitting in silence for several moments, Alex stood up, somewhat startling the others. “I’m going to ask the nurse for another bag, so we can keep the bloody stuff separate from the clean stuff.”
The nurse must have heard her, because she was already holding a bag out across the counter before she even reached the nurse’s station.
“Thank you.”
She gave a shallow nod in acknowledgement, then went back to work, typing on her computer.
When she returned to Callie and their friends, someone had already put the bloodstained satchel back in the bloody bag, which was a relief. Alex didn’t want to have to keep handling Tina’s bloody belongings. It was unnerving and making it hard to stay positive.
They kept the laptop out, so they could keep trying new pin numbers every hour, but they bagged up everything else, then threw out their examination gloves and the sanitation mat.
Five hours later, they were just closing the laptop after another round of failed attempts to unlock it, when Hannah’s parents, dressed in scrubs with matching surgical caps on their heads, walked into the waiting room. They leapt to their feet, and Alex tried not to read too much into their blank expressions.
“How … did it go?” Alex’s voice was strained from the anxiety gripping her chest.
Dr. Isadora Rockford offered a small, reassuring smile, as she placed her hand on Alex’s shoulder. “The operations went really well.” She and her husband spent the next several minutes explaining the removal of the brain tumor, as well as how they pieced Tina’s broken limbs back together, and what her recovery time and needs would be. “We’re going to keep her under close observation in the recovery room for at least an hour. If she remains stable during that time, she’ll be moved to a room, where you can then visit with her.”
Dr. Richard Rockford added, “A concussion won’t show on a CT scan, but it’s likely she has one given the fact that she was and remained unconscious after the accident. It may take her longer to wake up, even after the anesthesia wears off. I’ll continue to watch for any signs of neurological issues, but I’m confident that she’ll wake up with no more than some confusion and fear that will be easily remedied with a conversation.”
Alex released a breath of relief, and told them, “Thank you both so much. I know that’s going to be a long and difficult conversation, especially since we haven’t spoken in two years, but it will be easier not having to tell her she’s been permanently impaired in some way.”
Nodding, Dr. Isadora Rockford said, “As long as an infection doesn’t set in, and her body doesn’t reject the titanium bolts and plates or the bone grafts, she should regain full mobility of her arm and leg after they’re fully healed and with the help of some good physical therapy. If you don’t have any other questions, we’re going to go check on our patient, and we’ll come get you when she’s being moved to her room.”
“No, I can’t think of anything at the moment. Thank you, again. I really can’t tell you how grateful I am that you just dropped everything to be here. I mean, I know you are professionals and would have come if the hospital had called and asked you to lend your expertise. But we had no reason to think the surgeons here weren’t able to take care of Tina.”
Smiling, Dr. Isadora Rockford turned her gaze on Hannah. “Our daughter called and asked for our help. Nothing is more important to either of us than our daughter.”
Alex’s eyes misted as she looked at Hannah and saw the emotion glittering in her eyes and the way her smile was trembling. Hannah resisted the impulse for only three seconds, then leapt forward, throwing her arms around her parents, causing both of them to sigh and close their eyes as they wrapped their arms around her.
“I love you both.”
“We love you too, sweetheart.”
Hannah quickly pulled away, wiping her eyes dry, and shakily said, “I guess I should let you get back to work.”
Dr. Richard Rockford squeezed her shoulder, and told her, “After we get Tina moved to her room, we’ll have to stay a few more hours to continue to monitor her. Since we all skipped dinner, how about you join us for a meal in the cafeteria? We’ll bring something back to your friends afterwards.”
“Yeah, that would be nice.”