IN THE HOSPITAL
Dad and Josh met the ambulance at the hospital. After the ambulance drivers rolled Daniel into the building, Dad leaned over to give him a hug. Then he thought better of it. Daniel was all bashed and bruised, after all. A hug would hurt him more than help.
Even the ride on the stretcher was painful. The stretcher bounced along the winding hospital corridors.
Daniel was certain he’d need X-rays or something. The doctors would have to make sure he hadn’t broken anything too seriously.
Daniel wiggled his arms and legs. Everything seemed to be working. Sweat began to bead on his forehead. He was starting to feel uncomfortable and hot in his safety suit.
The ambulance drivers wheeled Daniel into the emergency room. They brought him to an empty bed.
Daniel watched as Dad pulled the privacy curtain around his bed. There was a small TV nearby, tuned to the NASCAR race.
“I still don’t understand how you managed to get yourself knocked off the wall,” Dad said.
Daniel wanted to shrug, but it hurt too much. The pain was getting to be unbearable.
“I guess a real race is very different from working with the crew at a practice race,” Daniel said. “I should have practised falling,” he added.
Just then, a bunch of doctors and nurses marched over to Daniel’s bed. One of the doctors slid a heartbeat monitor over Daniel’s arm.
The other doctors took his temperature and checked his blood pressure. Everything seemed normal.
“I think you just need to rest,” one of the nurses said. “And we’ll get you out of this suit and into something a little more comfortable.”
Daniel actually wanted to keep wearing his safety suit. As long as he had it on, he still felt like he was part of the pit crew.
If he changed into the hospital clothes, he’d have to admit that he’d messed things up. He’d let Jimmy down.
Just then, the privacy curtain was pushed aside. Daniel couldn’t believe it when he saw the familiar face. Jimmy Turner walked up to his bed.
“What are you doing here?” Daniel asked, shocked. “Shouldn’t you be finishing the race right now?”
“I had to make sure you were okay,” Jimmy explained. “I can’t let a member of my team go to the hospital without checking on them,” he added. “I was worried about you.”
Daniel looked away from Jimmy. “I suppose I’m not part of the team anymore,” Daniel said sadly. “After what happened today, I mean.”
Jimmy frowned. “Who says? It’s my decision who works on my team,” he told Daniel. “Now that we both know what to expect, we’ll be more careful. You’ll wear more safety gear, for one thing. And we’ll keep you behind the wall. You’ll get special equipment so you can still help out, but you’ll be safer that way. I don’t want to lose one of the hardest-working members of my team.”
“Really?” Daniel asked happily. “I can keep working on the crew?” He looked over at his dad.
“If we can make sure you’re safe, I don’t see a problem,” Dad said.
Daniel smiled. “Yes!” he said. “We can go over all the safety stuff before I work another race.”
“Speaking of races, today’s is only half over,” Jimmy said. “Let’s watch the rest. Let’s see which bucket of bolts actually wins!”
Daniel laughed. The pain he’d felt almost disappeared. He and Jimmy sat back and watched the rest of the race.
