This Hard Life

Chapter 3: The Hospital

Chapter 3

After Grace and I left the pharmacy, with candy in tow, we headed to the Los Angeles Hospital. Once we got there, we automatically went inside, and headed to the sixth floor.

After we got off of the elevator, Gracie was truly getting excited to visit our mother. When we came to the door, I didn't have enough time to knock before she barged on in and went to pounce on my mom's bed.

"Hey, kiddo," my mom said, with surprise in her voice.

"Hi, Mommy. Charlotte and I got you some candy. I picked it all out! There is some Swedish Fish, Snickers PB, Cookie Dough Bites, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and Twix PB."

"Hey, Mom. She thought that since she loves chocolate and peanut butter, you will too. Not that I'm complaining, I whole-heartedly agree with the fandom of this combo."

My mom smiled, she looked completely happy for the first time in years. The moment was ruined when she started coughing severely. She let go of Grace and went to take a towel and cover it with her mouth. Once she stopped coughing, she removed the towel and looked at it.

I stepped closer to the bed and looked at my mom's now chalky-white face. "How bad Mom?"

"Charlotte, can to take Gracie to the children's center?"

"Of course I will."

"No, Mommy! I don't want to go there! I want to stay with you and Charlotte," Grace interjected.

I ignored Grace's protests and picked her up off of the bed.

"I'll be right back," I told my mom, and I carried Grace out of her room.

The children's center was just around the corner from where my mom's room was. I still ignored Grace, who was still objecting.

There was a nurse inside the center. She was always welcomed Gracie with open arms, especially since Grace usually has a very up-beat attitude.

"Um, Shelia, my mom needs a moment alone for a little bit. Could you please watch her for a moment," I asked the young nurse.

"Oh, that's no problem, what so ever! I love watching Grace," she answered.

"Okay, thank you so much," I told Shelia, and then knelt down to Grace's level. "Gracie, you need to look at me. Mommy will be okay. You need to stay here for a while, and I will be back to take you to Mommy, okay?"

Grace nodded with her head low. I put my hand on her chin to pull her face up. Her hazel eyes had tears in them. I smiled at my sister, kissed her forehead, and got up before leaving the center.

Upon returning to my mother's room in the hospital, I noticed that her doctor was talking to her. I walked inside quietly.

"The amount of blood that you just coughed up shows us that the disease is accelerating faster than I originally thought. Your blood pressure is also dropping steadily. I thought there may have been hope for you to return home for the week, but I'm afraid that you aren't strong enough to do that," the doctor explained, and my mom nodded, taking everything all in.

"Wait, what is this about her going home for the week," I asked, slightly confused. Tuberculosis was a disease that had to treatment. My mom was very weak because of the disease, and she shouldn't be released from the hospital.

"Well, up until now this disease wasn't spreading very fast. I consulted her other doctors and herself and came up with the proposition of her going home for the week. Obviously, she would have to check in with my nurses every few hours. But now, her lungs have turned for the worse."

With the last sentence, I climbed into the hospital bed next to my mom. I put my arm around her, as if to comfort her as I tried to hold back any tears from showing. I had to be the strong one in the family. I always have been the strong one in the family, and this obstacle could not change this fact. I wouldn't allow it.

"I would think that Ms. Wood has no more than, let's say two weeks? At the most, about two weeks."

I kept my gaze on my mother. Her eyes stayed locked on the doctor. Seconds that felt like hours of silence passed.

"Alright, then," she whispered.

"Now, when I first diagnosed you with the disease, I suggested that you make sure you have your affairs in order. I strongly urge you to make sure that they are settled."

"They are," she said, this time a little louder.

"Alright, I'll leave you alone with your daughter," the doctor said before he left.

A little bit later Mom broke the silence once again by saying, "It'll be okay. Everything will be okay."

"I know, Mom. I'm just worried about what'll happen with Gracie. Did you know that she got upset at daycare because this little boy was picking on her about not having a dad? Not to mention that I don't turn eighteen until next month. If you'll be gone within two, we'll be put in an orphanage. I know that it's only two weeks, but still. I'll have to jump through hoops to gain custody of her!"

"Oh baby, everything will work out somehow. Don't you worry."

I told my mother goodbye and that Grace and I will stop by in the next day. I couldn't take telling her right now. I even needed time to process everything.

On the drive back to my family's apartment, I tried to hang on to my mother's words, saying not to worry and that everything would be okay. All I could think was, how much I hoped that it was true.