NANA LAY THERE on her side, in her favorite old robe and slippers. The pieces of a mixing bowl were on the floor around her, and her face was contorted, as if she’d been in terrible pain when she fell.
“Nana! Can you hear me?” I said as I hurried into the kitchen.
I knelt down and felt for her pulse.
It was weak, but it was there. My own was spiking like crazy.
Please, no. Not now. Not like this.
“Alex, here!” Bree ran in and handed me the phone.
“Nine-one-one, what is your emergency?”
“My grandmother has just collapsed. I found her unconscious on the floor.” My eyes scanned her face, her arms, her legs. “There’s no sign of injury, but I don’t know what happened before her fall. Her pulse is very weak.”
Bree started timing Nana’s pulse off the kitchen clock while the operator took my name and address.
“Sir, I’m dispatching an ambulance to your house right now. The first thing you want to do is make sure she’s still breathing, but try not to move her. It’s possible she injured her spine when she fell.”
“I understand. I won’t move her. Let me check.”
Nana’s face was angled toward the floor. I leaned down and held the back of my hand to her mouth. At first—it seemed like forever—there was nothing, but then I felt a faint movement of air.
“She’s breathing, but barely,” I said into the phone.
A soft rattle came from Nana’s chest.
“Please hurry. I think she’s dying!”