Finally Home

29. Jenna

Samantha's head was wrapped in bandages. Her face was scraped and bruised. Her right leg was wrapped in a cast from her hip to her toes. Her right arm was wrapped in gauze. A tube was coming out of her mouth and she had three more coming out from under the sheets that covered her broken body. She had a gown on, but underneath I could see a myriad of bandages wrapped around her chest. One of the tubes came out from the bandage and I saw it was bloody.

"Samantha," I said, crying as I took her hand. "It's Mom, sweetheart. I'm here. Dad's upstairs. He's going to be okay. Now it's your turn. Come back to us, huh?"

I listened to the heart monitor beeping, keeping a steady beat. The ventilator whooshed as it pushed air into Samantha's damaged lungs. I watched the I.V. dripping fluid and medication into her hand, which lay still on the blue blanket covering her.

Dried blood still covered her face. I went into the bathroom and took a few paper towels, wet them and went back to Samantha's bedside.

Very gently, I wiped the dried blood off her face all the while talking to her. Imploring her to wake up. 

Once Samantha was clean, I sat back and held her hand while I dialled Debby's number. She picked up on the first ring.

"Jenna. How's Tyler?"

"She's alive," I cried into the phone.

"Who? Samantha?" She asked.

I nodded and then realized she wouldn't be able to see me nodding.

"Yes," I said, breaking down. "She's alive. She's critical, and she's in a coma, but she's alive."

"Sam's alive. Jenna, you're telling me the truth. Sam is alive?"

"She is," I bawled. "She's in a coma, but yes, Debby, Samantha is alive."

"Oh, Jenna. I'm so happy. That's so amazing!"

"She's in a coma though. She had a head injury. Her head is covered in bandages. She's got a cast from hip to foot on her right leg, because she's got a broken femur. She's getting blood products and she's really banged up. But she's alive."

"That's our Sam," Debby said through tears of her own. "She's indestructible."

I laughed.

"She can be bruised and broken, but our Sam," I said. "Our Sam."

"Okay, I'm going to try to get some sleep. Call me in the morning when you know more. Well, later in the morning. If you want, I'll pack Rosie some things and bring her up."

"Let me see how the rest of the night goes and tomorrow."

"Okay. Give her a kiss from her Aunt Debby and tell Tyler we love him and we'll see him soon."

"Okay," I squeaked out.  I hung up and took Samantha's hand again.  I hummed to her, and watched her.  Nurses came in and out throughout the night and as the sun rose.

"Mrs. Joseph," a doctor said, coming in the room.  "We need to do rounds and we can't have you here. I'm sorry."

"No, I understand. I'll go up to my husband's room. Thank you."

I left the room and headed up to Tyler's room. Josh was on the elevator as the doors opened.

"Tyler was asking for you. He woke up a little while ago.  How's Sam?"

I got on the elevator with him to go back up to Tyler's room.

"She's in pretty bad shape. Her right chest was crushed, her femur was broken, she lost a lot of blood. She has a pretty severe head injury and they had to operate to take out a piece of her skull to make room for swelling. She's in a coma with tubes coming out of everywhere. But, she's alive. It's machines keeping her alive, but she's alive."

Josh was quiet.

I walked into Tyler's room and as soon as he saw me he broke down.

"Jenna, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry," he sobbed. "I know you probably hate me."

I went up to him, sat on his bed and wrapped him in my arms.

"Tyler," I said, holding him at arm's length and looking him in the eyes. He wouldn't meet my eyes. "She's alive, Tyler. She's really banged up, but she's alive."

He shook his head.

"Her heart wasn't beating. They were doing chest compressions. They used an AED," he sobbed. "There was so much blood."

"I know, I know. The doctor told me. She's really hurt, and she's in a coma. She has a long road ahead of her I think, but she's alive," I said, hugging him gently again.

Tyler pushed me to his arm's length.

"Are you telling me the truth? Because I can't handle it if you're being cruel to get back at me."

"Tyler, I would never do that to you. Samantha is alive. Like I said, she's in a coma, and she's in really rough shape. She's in critical condition. There are machines breathing for her. But Tyler, she is alive."

Tyler pulled me back into a hug and cried. I cried with him. Relief washing over me that as long as everything went well, as long as Samantha could heal, whatever happened, if she was left with some disability, we'd deal with it. But Samantha was alive.