THE COP AND THE POP STAR

CHAPTER 18: FALLING IN LOVE

We walked to the end of the hallway, and there were two big doors.  

We walked thru those and there was the nurse's station. 

Alyssa greeted the nurses, and they handed Alyssa a gown and a mask.  As she was putting them on, the nurse said, "are you going with her?"

I said, "yes ma'am."

Alyssa said, "Tom you don't have to if you want to wait in the waiting room it's fine."

I said, "No I want to go with you if it's okay."

She said, "you'll need one of these, and a mask."  She handed me the gown and mask.

She said, 'The kids can't have any germs at all. After we put these on, we need to wash our hands and put on gloves."

I said, "Got it."

The nurse went ahead of us into two more double doors.  

Alyssa said, "This is the activity room for the kids, it has toys and books, and a tv."

The nurse said, "we just told the kids we were going to have a cupcake party, so they are all in there."

The nurse opened the door, she said, "kids I have a surprise for you."

The minute the nurse moved, and the kids saw us, they called out Alyssa's name.

Alyssa hurried over to them and greeted each kid with a big hug. Telling each one she missed them, and even knew their names.

The kids hung onto her like their life depended on it.

I could see how happy she made the kids, and how much they love her, but as I watched I saw Alyssa in a total new light.

Her entire face lit up. She was laughing, and smiling, she sat down and all the kids wanted to sit on her lap, so they said they would take turns.

She asked what they wanted to do, and they all said sing Alyssa. You sing to us.

Alyssa laughed. She said, "isn't that boring for you,"

They said, "no."

Alyssa said, 'ok I will sing if you promise me you will sing with me."

They all said they would.

Watching Alyssa sing to these kids, making them smile, making them laugh, hit me hard.

I mean these kids a lot of them look sick, they are pale, some look okay, but are missing hair, one is missing an arm, a lot of them have tubes, and machines attached to them.

Kids shouldn't have to suffer like this. Be sick like this.

A couple of the parents came up to me, watching me watch her.

They said, "She's pretty special huh."

I said, "yes she is."

The one mother said, 'I hope you are her boyfriend."

I said, "no ma'am we are just friends."

She said, "That's okay, it's good to start out as friends."

The other woman said, "We want Alyssa to have a good man, not one like that jerk."

The third woman said, 'you know what she does may seem like nothing to her, but what she does for us parents, you won't ever know what it's like unless you have a child who is sick."

I said, "I can imagine."

She said, "having to watch your baby be so sick, and in pain, and feel helpless that you can't make them better, so when they find a reason to have hope or a reason to smile or look forward to Alyssa's visits, and you see them get to be a kid for a while, and be happy. What she does for us is priceless, no money could buy what she is doing for our kids, and for us parents."