When I woke up it was so bright I thought for sure that I must be dead and that this was the bright light that people always talk about when they have a near-death experience. I looked around the room and saw a bunch of machines beeping and flashing. I couldn't move my head around very well and when I reached up I felt a hard plastic thing around my neck. Also, my mouth felt funny and my throat felt scratchy and when I felt my mouth there was a plastic something or other in my mouth. I was starting to panic and I could feel fear rising up in me when I felt a hand pat my arm and lean over me. "Well, I see you're finally awake Sleeping Beauty". The woman said softly. I flinched away at first but her voice was so kind and sweet. "It's ok dear we will get that tube out of your throat shortly". All I could do was blink my eyes at her because I wasn't able to talk with the tube in my mouth. I had a million and one questions for her but; I guess they would have to wait for later. So I just shut my eyes. "You just rest for a bit and I'll go let Dr. Patel know that you're awake". She said softly while she patted my arm and then walked out of the room. A few minutes later a grey-haired man in a white coat and a tie that was covered in multi-colored Easter eggs came into the room. He had a warm smile that made me feel at ease. He came over to my bed and looked in my eyes with a light, and then he checked my pulse and listened to my chest with his stethoscope. After that, he smiled at me and said. "So Ms. Swartz do you know why you're in the hospital"? I closed my eyes for a minute trying to think and when all of the images of Rico beating me flashed through my mind, my eyes popped open and terror was clearly written all over my face. Tears began to trickle down my face as I thought about my precious baby. I tried to speak but I couldn't say anything with the tube in my throat. "Don't try to say anything Ms. Swartz I am going to remove this tube and then you can speak to the officers who have been waiting for you to wake up". He turned and spoke softly to the nurse and she turned and went out the door. A few minutes later she came back into the room carrying a tray with various things on it. She set them down on the table by the bed and her and the doctor both slipped on some rubber gloves. "Ok Ms. Swartz please take a deep breath as I slide this tube out." I closed my eyes as the doctor asked me, "Are you ready"? I nodded my head and kept my eyes shut as I took as deep a breath as I could. The doctor counted to three and gently slid the tube out of my throat. I swallowed when the tube was gone but my throat felt dry and scratchy. I wondered just how long that tube had been in my throat. I opened my eyes and Dr. Patel was smiling at me. "How does that feel Ms. Swartz"? "AJ". I croaked out barley above a whisper. Dr. Patel smiled down at me. "Ok AJ, How does that feel"? "A little sore". I crackled. "That is to be expected. Here I want you to sip on this water". He said as he handed me a white Styrofoam cup with a straw sticking out of it. I took a small sip of my water. It felt so cold sliding down my sore throat. "AJ there are a couple of police officers who are waiting outside and they need to ask you a few questions concerning the incident that brought you to the hospital three days ago". Dr. Patel said with concern in his voice. I nodded my head and asked him. "My baby didn't survive, did it"? Dr. Patel looked down for a minute and then looked me in the eyes before he said. "No, I am so sorry. She was gone before you arrived in the ambulance". My eyes snapped up to him. "It was a girl"? I barley squeaked out. "Yes". He replied sadly. "Ok I am ready to talk to the officers", I said sadly. He turned around and walked to the door and opened it and motioned for the officers to come in. When the officers walked into the room, Dr. Patel left. The two male officers walked to the side of my bed. The first one was about five foot eleven inches tall and had short black hair and he looked uncomfortable about having to be here. The other one was about six foot three inches tall and had brown curly hair. I saw that the second one had a wedding band on and I noticed that he looked slightly irritated. "Hello ma'am I am Detective Baines and this is my partner Detective McClain". He said trying to sound more cheerful than his face looked. "Hi". I said nervously. I wasn't quite sure why they needed to speak to me. "Do you remember what exactly happened to you that made you have to come to the hospital"? Detective Baines asked politely. "Yes unfortunately I do". I said with sorrow in my voice. I spent the next couple of hours recounting every single detail of my attack to the detectives. I told them about how Rico had beaten me so bad that he had killed my daughter. When I had answered all of the detectives questions they excused themselves from my room and a few minutes later my nurse came back into my room and gave me something for pain and I drifted off to sleep.
