Lost Without You

Chapter 7: Gianna

It had now been over a week since Maya's attempt. She had started breathing on her own but was yet to wake up. Her progress was slow; however,  the doctors were still  hopeful. Andy and Vic took turns staying with little Gianna, keeping her at home to ensure the child wasn't uncomfortable in an already difficult situation. They allowed Gianna to visit Maya every day after school. The little girl made it a point to tell Maya every single little thing she did with her day in hopes that her mommy could hear her.

Dr. Shepherd had explained to Gianna that sometimes people who are asleep like her mommy can hear what's going on around them and it can even help them wake up. Ever since, Gianna jumped on every opportunity to talk to her mom. She sang, she read, she even described the weather to her when she couldn't think of anything else to say.

Vic picked up Gianna from school and was going to take her to see her mom as usual.

"Hey Kiddo!" Vic greeted as Gianna walked out of her classroom.

"Hey auntie Vic!"

"How was school? Your teacher called Tia Andy earlier and said you didn't want to go out to recess today, you okay?" asked Vic.

Gianna just stared at the floor until a little whimper escaped her mouth. Vic picked her up and hugged her as tight as she could without suffocating her, letting the little girl cry into her shoulder.

"I just miss mommy and mamma," whimpered Gianna.

"I know sweetheart, I miss them both too. A lot. But I am hopeful that your mommy is going to wake up soon and that mamma is going to come back, okay?" Vic said, wiping away Gianna's tears. She wasn't sure how to comfort the girl. She didn't want to make any promises without knowing what was going to happen with Maya or Carina.

"Hey Gia, how about his. How about we go to McDonalds and get ourselves some lunch and then we go to the library so you can pick out some books to read to mommy today. Sounds good?" Vic said, tickling the little girl trying to get her to smile.

Gia laughed, "Sounds good auntie Vic."

They arrived at McDonalds and Vic placed their order. Ordering a cheeseburger for herself and a happy meal for Gianna, knowing she would enjoy having a toy at the hospital.

"What books do you think you want to read to mommy today Gia?" asked Vic, taking a bite of her food.

"I don't know. I think maybe I'll get a princess book or maybe something with firefighters. I know mommy misses fighting fires," Gianna said with a laugh.

"Yeah I'm sure she does too!"

"Auntie Vic, do you think mamma is ever going to come back?" Vic didn't know how to respond. She wanted to be realistic and honest and tell her no, but she couldn't bring herself to break the little girl's heart. Gianna still didn't know what had happened to Carina. Maya had decided that it was best for the five year old to think that Carina had just gone to visit her family in Italy. Andy and Vic had discussed telling Gianna the truth but didn't know how the little girl would react or how Maya would react if she ever woke up. Vic decided to go against Maya's wishes and be as honest as she could with the little girl without confusing her more.

"Listen Gianna," Gia had an expectant look on her face as she just stared at Vic waiting for her to say something.

"So, the truth is, mamma is not in Italy, baby. We don't know where she is. Gia, your mommy Carina is lost. We don't know what happened."  Gianna just stared at Vic, like if she was unable to process what she was just told. She thought about it for a second before letting out a little laugh, "you're funny auntie Vic. Grown ups don't get lost! They know where everything is!"

Vic smiled sadly at Gianna before she continued to explain, "No baby, that's not how it works. Gia, you know how your mommies and teachers tell you not to talk to strangers? Do you know why?"

"Yea, cause they can be bad and take you."

"Yes, exactly. You see, grown ups forget about that sometimes, so they don't pay that much attention. Which is what we think happened to your mamma."

"So somebody bad tooked my mamma?!" Gia screamed. 

"We think so kiddo. But, we don't know. Mommy was trying to find her when she got hurt and the police are also looking but it's taking a long time."

"Are the bad people going to hurt my mamma auntie Vic?"

"I hope not, sweetheart." They both stayed silent for a while. Vic gave Gianna some time to try and understand what she was just told. All she could think about was how Maya and Andy would react when they found out she had told Gianna. Vic just watched the little girl play with her fries and hoped that she hadn't just ruined the progress she had made this past week, finally getting used to being away from both her moms. That was until Gia broke the silence.

"Hey auntie Vic, can we go to the library now? I think mommy would like to see me."

"Sure kiddo. Let's clean up."

Vic and Gianna arrived at the hospital after their trip to the library. Since this was now part of Gia's routine she no longer needed Vic to guide her up to Maya's room.

"Hey Gianna wait up! You can't just leave by yourself!" Vic said as she caught up to the excited little girl. They took the elevator up to the third floor. As always, Gianna walked up to the nurses station and greeted everyone there.

"Hey everybody! Thank you for taking care of my mommy," she waved as she walked by and into Maya's room.

"Hi mommy! I miss you!" she shouted as she hopped onto her mom's bed.

"I brought you some new books today. The first one I got is about a princess that is stuck in a tower. I can't say her name though. Auntie Vic tried to teach me but it didn't work," she said, letting out a small giggle.

" and the second book I got is about Smokey the Bear! I tried to find a firefighter book but they didn't have any good ones. I don't know who Smokey the Bear is yet but I remember my teacher talked about how we are going to learn about him and fires and I thought you might like it!"

Vic watched the innocent interaction between Gianna and her mom, and couldn't help the tears that rolled down her face. Just as she wiped them away, Dr. Shepherd walked in with a grim look on her face.

"Hey Victoria, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Um sure yeah. Hey Gia, I'm gonna be right outside talking to the doctor, okay?" Gia nodded her head and then continued her conversation with her mom. Telling her about school and their trip to McDonald's.

"What can I do for you Dr. Shepherd?" responded Vic.

"So, even though Maya has now started breathing on her own, her most recent EEG's don't show any other signs of improvement. But because the brainstem is still active we can't declare brain death. That being said, and with the fact that it's been over a week since she was brought in, I have to ask if you know anything about Maya's advanced directive."

"Wow, umm wow. N-no I don't," Vic was shocked at how forward the doctor had been. She knew that if Maya had any chance at waking up the doctor wouldn't be standing here asking these questions right now.

"Umm so does this mean that Maya will most likely not wake up any more?"

"It's still difficult to say. Maya has made progress although it's been slow. But we still have to prepare for all and every possibility. I remain hopeful for her. I know people can and do come back from this," she said, placing a hand on my shoulder.

Just then we heard a loud beeping coming from Maya's room.

CODE BLUE THIRD FLOOR. CODE BLUE THIRD FLOOR.