Consider Yourself Lucky

Nine

When I get to the hospital, I run straight for the reception desk. There's a lady sitting there that sees that I'm in a panic and asks for my information.

"Hello. How can I help you?" She doesn't have a name tag or a badge, so I don't know if she is the same lady I spoke to on the phone.

"My name is Adelaide Chase. I got a call saying my grandmother was brought in by ambulance."

"Okay, let me check the system." It only takes her a couple seconds to find Grandma's information.

"Oh yes, Melanie Chase. She is in triage right now. I can call a nurse to come get you and take you to her. They can explain more about her condition."

"Yes, thank you." She picks up the phone to page a nurse. I take a seat while I wait for someone to come down. It doesn't take long before I see a nurse walk up to me.

"Hi Adelaide. I'm Harmony, we spoke on the phone. Come with me, please." I get out of the chair and follow her down a couple hallways into an area with a few other people. We walk a bit farther before she leads me into a room. When I step into the room, Grandma looks at me. I can see the pain in her eyes. She's hooked up to a machine to help her breathe and her leg is wrapped up. I hurry over to the side of the bed and grab her hand.

"What happened? Are you okay? Why were you on the stairs? I told you to rest today." I need to calm down. I can't get so worked up over this. She's hurting. She doesn't need me to lecture her.

"I couldn't find Flake. I hadn't seen her all morning. I looked everywhere downstairs, and I still couldn't see her. I went upstairs to my room, but she wasn't there either. I found her in your room. Your door was closed so you must have locked her in there by accident. She was meowing so I went to go back downstairs. I felt a bit dizzy and next thing I know I'm at the bottom of the stairs. I'm sorry. I know you told me not to do much, but I just wanted to make sure Flake didn't sneak outside when you left."

"No, I'm sorry. I should have checked if she was in my room before I closed my door. That was on me." I feel bad. I usually always make sure Flake isn't in my room. I don't know why this morning I forgot. The nurse asks if she can talk to me for a minute. I agree and she pulls me back out to the hallway.

"So, when your grandmother came in, she couldn't remember much at first. She was a little discombobulated and confused. The fall didn't do as much damage as it could have, which is a very good thing but, that doesn't mean she's off the hook. We are treating her for a sprained knee, but the doctor does want to keep her overnight to monitor her and run some tests. We can keep your name and number on file for updates if you would like."

"Yes, please. What kind of tests?"

"Just some blood tests and probably an MRI to make sure that if she hit her head at all that there isn't any damage." The thought of that scares me. Surely everything is okay. It has to be. Right? My phone dings. It's a message from Collin.

"Hey, how's your day going? Miss you." How is my day? It was going fine until I got a call about my grandmother being in the hospital. I'm having a great day. A picture message popped up underneath the text. It's just a selfie. It looks like he's back at the flower shop. I'll reply when I'm done talking to the nurse.

"Sorry, it was just a text. I'll answer later."

"That's okay. Do you have any questions?" So many but I can't get the words out.

"When will she be able to come home?"

"Uhm, well that will depend on what the tests say. If everything is clear, and she's feeling good then she might be able to go home tomorrow. I can't promise anything though."