Unhinged

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Yazi, kuthwa when it rains it pours and it's definitely pouring on my side of life. (You know, they say) In panic, I lower his head to the ground and rush to our bedroom to fetch my phone. This man cannot do this to me. I rush back to the lounge to find the woman standing on her feet with tears flowing down her cheeks as she looks at Siya on the floor. Kanti, kwenzeka ntoni apha? (So, what's going on here) Though I'm interested in finding out what brought her here, and why her presence caused my husband to collapse, right now, I have to focus on getting my husband medical assistance. I dial the emergency number with trembling hands and urge them to hurry. I lower my body next to Siya and sit flat on the cold floor with his head on my thighs and wait for the paramedics to arrive. In less than fifteen minutes, I see the flickering red lights outside of our house. "Ma, please open the door and pass me the keys," I say to the woman who's still rooted in the same position she was in when I walked in from our bedroom. She steadily makes her way to the door, unlocks it, before walking back to where I'm seated, handing over the keys. I press the remote for the gate to open and in a few minutes the paramedics rush inside the house carrying a stretcher. They both attend to Siya with me still sitting on the floor and when they're done, they place Siya on a stretcher before walking out with Siya. I get up from the floor and follow the outside to the ambulance, "Will you be riding with us ma'am?" one of them asks me. I should, but I'd rather take the car in case he needs something later, "No, I'll drive behind you. Which hospital are you taking him to?" I ask them. "We're taking him to Life Hunterscraig Private Hospital." I nod my head and watch them drive out of the yard. I walk back inside the house and find the elderly woman is still rooted by the couch. I have so much to ask her but right now is not the time. I leave her standing there and go to our bedroom to change into his tracksuit, which looks hideous on me by the way, but who cares? I also change my slippers and wear my flops instead before gathering all the items I may need; his wallet, which has his medical aid card, my purse, both our phones and the car keys. I make my way back to the lounge and find it empty; the elderly woman is nowhere in sight. Confused but with no time to investigate her disappearance, I walk out, lock the main door behind me and drive like a maniac to the hospital. I arrive in no time and park the car, rushing inside. I spot the reception area and head to the receptionist, "Hi. I'm looking for a patient that just got in now with an ambulance," I say to the lady in front of me. She smiles sweetly at me before saying, "No problem, ma'am. Could you kindly provide me with the patient's name?" Yho, I forgot to give her that information, "Oh, sorry about that. His name is Siyabulela Mathanzima." She presses her keyboard a couple of times before saying, "Found him. A doctor is attending to him, and they will give you an update as soon as they're done. You can wait for him in the waiting area," she sweetly says to me while pointing with her hand the direction of the waiting area.

I've been sitting here for almost an hour now and I'm beginning to get even more anxious than I already was. What's taking them so long? My eyes wander towards the ER doors every time there's movement with the hopes of someone emerging to give me an update on him, but so far, it's been radio silent. Just as I begin to purge my mind with wild assumptions, the emergency room door bursts open and someone yells, "Siyabulela Mathanzima?" I jolt out of the seat and rush towards the gentleman who's wearing a white lab coat, "Yes," I say standing in front of him. "Good evening, ma'am. I'm Dr Ndaba, and I'm Mr Mathanzima's doctor. Are you family?" Duh, of course I am. "Yes, I'm his wife. How is he?" I ask impatiently. "He's doing fine ma'am. It seems like Mr Mathanzima suffered an extreme panic attack which led to him losing his consciousness. We managed to stabilise him and he's now awake. I'll be admitting him overnight just for observations and hopefully he'll be ready to go home tomorrow." I sigh in relief. Thank God.

"Would you like to see him?"

"Yes!" I shout, unintentionally.

The doctor chuckles, "I guess he's not the only one who's eager to see his better half."