Chapter 13

 

. ~ .

 

ANDRE’S FATHER, WILLIAM, hugged him tight when they stepped into the hospital room where Andre had been waiting patiently for his second update on Ava. Todd had since left, wanting to give him personal time with the family. Andre’s mother, Elena, was in tears just thinking about Ava being in surgery. She was soft-hearted and kind, qualities Andre adored about his Mother – qualities that attracted him to Ava.

Maria hugged Andre too, wanting to know every single detail that led up to Ava’s surgery.

Andre told them the story he’d been telling all day, about how he’d found Ava at the kitchen table.

Maria trembled, feeling at fault because she’d kept her daughter on a tight leash for most of her life and now she felt as if she’d failed her – failed to protect her.

“How long has she been back there?” Maria asked, holding baby Andrew tightly within an enclosed hug.

Andre glanced at his watch. “About three hours now.”

“What’s taking them so long?” Elena inquired.

“Dr. Burke said the surgery could take up to four hours, Mother.”

“Well, somebody needs to give us some regular updates,” William said, agitated. “We’re just sitting here like bumps on a log. We need to know what’s going on.”

Andre sighed. The family was worried. But he was even more worried – that was his wife back there – and instead of getting support, he had to give it. However, that worked out well for him. By reassuring them everything would be okay, he would be, in essence, saving himself the trouble of worrying so much.

A few taps on the door made everyone sit straight up in their seats and pay attention.

Nurse Brandy came in the room and looked around, noticing the additional visitors that had come since she’d last spoken to Andre. “Mr. Rockwell, can I speak to you in the hallway?”

Andre frowned. Something was wrong. He could sense it. The nurse was usually upbeat and chipper. Now she looked worried and downcast.

He stood up and walked out into the hallway with her, pulling the door closed behind him.

“Is everything okay with my wife?” he asked her.

“Come with me. Dr. Burke is waiting to talk to you.”

She led him into a small family consultation room where Dr. Burke was out of his scrubs and dressed in a white shirt and navy blue khakis.

Andre looked bewildered. Was the surgery over already? And if it was, why hadn’t he been notified?

“How did it go, Dr. Burke?” he asked. “Where is Ava? Is she in recovery?”

“Mr. Rockwell, the surgery went according to plan, but...”

There was a long pause.

“But what?” Andre asked, impatiently.

“We talked about the complications of this surgery specifically and the complications of surgery in general and—”

“Just tell me where my wife is,” Andre said in a raised tone.

“Your wife is in a coma.”

“What!” Andre shouted, his face darkening.

“Mr. Rockwell—”

“The nurse told me an hour ago that everything was fine.”

“It was—”

“Then how does she go from fine to being in a coma?”

“She didn’t go into a coma until after shortly after the surgery was over.”

Andre stood up, rubbed his eyes and said, “How’d this happen?”

“It’s one of the complications of many surgeries, but the percentage of something like this happening is so small, it’s rarely brought up.”

“Yeah, now my wife is in a coma...”

“Mr. Rockwell, I can assure you that we will do all we—”

“Where is she?” Andre asked, cutting him off. “I want to see her.”

“She’s been moved to the intensive care unit on the fourth floor.”

“I’ll take you to her room,” the nurse said.

“Okay...gosh...okay. Ah...” Andre stammered, trying to think of what to do next. “I need to let my family know what’s going on.”

As Andre walked down the hallway, back to where his family was stationed, he felt like his head was going to explode.

I have to be strong for them, was what he was thinking. I have to be strong.

So, even though he felt like his throat was closing up, like his temperature had risen a few degrees, and like a pressing migraine was lodged in the frontal lobe of his brain, he had to be fearless for the family, because if he was not, he would completely lose it.

When he opened the door to the room where they’d all been huddled and waiting, all eyes were on him. Before anyone could say anything, Andre said, “Ava’s out of surgery, but ah...” he closed his eyes tight and took a much needed breath.

“What is it, Andre?” Maria inquired.

“She’s in a coma.”

Tears fell from Maria’s eyes like drops of rain and with a trembling hand, she covered her wide-opened mouth. “No. Not my baby.”

Elena walked over to Maria, wrapped her arms around her, trying to calm her down.

“What happened?” his father asked.

“Not sure. Dr. Burke said that this happened to a small percentage of patients and, ah...they moved her to the intensive care unit.”

“I’m sorry, but we’re going to have to vacate this room,” the nurse said. “I’ll show you where the waiting room is on this floor. Also, since Mrs. Ava is in I.C.U., only person can visit her at a time.”

Andre felt sick to his stomach, seeing Maria cry. With all the sadness around him, it made him feel like Ava, somehow, wasn’t going to make it through this.

The nurse led the quiet group to the waiting room. On the walk, no one said anything, probably out of fear and worry. As they found some seats, the nurse said, “Who would like to see Mrs. Ava first?”

“Why don’t you go see her, Maria?” Andre suggested.

Maria sniffled, her face a teary mess. “Okay.”

While the nurse escorted her to Ava’s room, Andre’s parents began tossing question after question at him as they tried to understand what had happened to Ava.