The Star

39. Anxiety.

Mina's mom.

I was feeding Mina. Halfway to the porridge, Mina was staring ahead. I called her but she's not responding.

Me: Mina? Are you okay?

Dad pulled the overbed table away and went to Mina's other side.

Dad: Baby?

Then it happen so quickly. Her eyes showed fear, her body shuddering as if she were cold. Then her back were lifted from the bed then dropped. Then she began shaking and sweating. Dad pushed the nurse call button. The nurse came rushing and saw what happened then she ran out and came back with an injection. She injected it on the IV. Mina looked like she's gasping so the nurse put her in oxygen. Then it stopped, she hugged herself into a fetus position and began crying.

Oh no...
my poor baby.

Me: What happened to her?

The nurse wrote something on her chart. I called Sana and put her on speaker.

Me: Sana please translate for me.

Nurse: I injected something to calm her down. I'll call a doctor to assess what happened.

I thanked the nurse. Sana asked what happened. I told her and then she said she and Momo will come.

A few minutes later they arrived. They both hugged me and Dad, then went over to Mina.

Her doctor came in and read the chart. He asked us what happened. He went to Mina, who was now sleeping. He did some test on her.

Doctor: She had a high fever, but it wasn't high enough to experience hallucinations nor Hyperventilation... Was she diagnosed with anxiety before?

Me: Yes, twice. First was when she was in her last year in college. She was stressed out with school. We had her checked, she was given meds and was told to rest for a few days. She began doing yoga and pilates. Second time it happened was when someone she loves passed away.

Sana translated it for the doctor.

Doctor: I see. Based on how you described earlier that was a major anxiety attack. You mentioned she was staring ahead and not responding, she might have recalled what happened to her. That traumatic experience triggered her anxiety.

Sana told me what the doctor said. I was worried about her. I can't fight the fears any longer. Dad went beside me and side hugged me.

Dad: What should we do?

Dad asked and Sana translated.

Doctor: I'll refer her to a specialist. For the meantime I would highly suggest not to talk about what happened nor bring out things or people that could make her remember what happened.

We all agreed. The doctor left. Sana went to me and hugged me.

Sana: Don't worry too much, she'll get through this.

Momo: We will help her. What's important is she's still here with us.

Momo jumped as her phone rang. We laughed at her. She was laughing when she answered the call.

Momo: hello?... Oh Chaeyoung...

She then looked at us. She probably want to visit. I then looked at Mina. Seeing Chaeyoung might trigger the memories.

Momo: Oh you're downstairs? Wait for me there. Okay? Bye.

Momo went down and after a few minutes were back. She's carrying a fruit basket along with a paper bag of food. She smiled and said Chaeyoung brought those for Mina. She was smiling yet her eyes looked like she cried.

~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°

Momo.

I arrived at the hospital's cafeteria and looked for Chaeyoung.

She stood as soon as she saw me.

Chaeyoung: Momo. How is she?

Me: She's good... She's asleep again...

I looked at her nervously while she's looking at me with curious eyes.

Me: She was given something to put her into sleep. Her mom said she woke up from a nightmare. And when she was eating she was suddenly staring into nothing and won't respond. Then she went into a fit.

Chaeyoung: A fit?

Me: Yes... That happens when her anxiety attacks.

Chaeyoung: anxiety attack

Me: The doctor said her recalling the incident might have triggered it. She had a trauma from what she had experienced. So the doctor suggested don't bring up what happened or anything that makes her remember it in any way...

I looked at her, she looked worried. Then she was staring ahead lost in her thoughts. I honestly don't know how to say it. I thought of ways in how to tell her without hurting her. A few seconds later she spoke.

Chaeyoung: I understand. What happened might have traumatized her. She have been through a lot.

A few minutes have passed and she just stared into nothing. Then she looked at me and smiled.

Chaeyoung: Thank you for meeting up with me. Please give her this. Hope she could recovery fast.

She handed a fruit basket. Then a paper bag.

Chaeyoung: That's food for you and her family. Being in the hospital is stressful so you all have to eat a lot.

Me: Thanks. We will.

Then she was looking at her hands.

Chaeyoung: Momo?

Me: Hmm?

Chaeyoung: Please take care of her for me.

I was startled. With her words, it looks like she knows already.

Me: Chaeyoung, I don't know how to say this but...

Chaeyoung: I know. It's okay, I understand what you and her family should do. I worry about her a lot. All I want is for her to recover whatever it is she's going through right now. I'll do anything to help.

Me: thanks Chaeyoung for understanding. You'll see her soon okay?

I rode the elevator on my way back to Mina's room. As the elevator door closed my tears starts to drop. It's hard to see how Chaeyoung looks. She's so worried about Mina. I'm sure she longed for her yet she can't see her. She does love my cousin. I can see it in her eyes. Her eyes changed when I told her about Mina's anxiety.

Upon meeting her, her eyes shows a little excitement then changed into sadness. Seeing her like that and walk away with her shoulders slumped is so heartbreaking.

I do hope Mina recovers right away. I can't bear those two apart.

As the elevator stopped, I wiped my tears away and took a deep breath. The elevator almost closed when I was about to exit...