I Am

Chapter 8

I ran into the girl's room. What I saw wasn't pretty. Avery and McKenna's pale faces were tinged red as their hair. They were both lying in their bed.

"They've been like this for the past hour," my dad said. "It started all of the sudden. First, McKenna came to me and said her tummy hurt. Then she went and threw up. Then Avery threw up. Before long they both had high fevers and they barely have any energy. They can barely move."

I went up and touched Avery's arm. Good Lord, I thought I had touched a hot pot.

"Peter," Avery looked up at me, she was so weak she could barely make that small movement.

"Dad they need to go to the hospital," I said. "Now."

I carried McKenna and dad carried Avery out to the SUV. I yelled at Marco and Eva to get in the car. They obeyed, immediately running out and jumping in the backseat of the SUV.

Dad and I placed McKenna and Avery in their car seats. I sat in the middle seat of the middle row, between the two sick girls.

As my dad started driving, I started praying aloud.

"Oh, Father God, you are the Great Physician. Please look over McKenna and Avery. If it be your will, Father, let this pass from them. Nevertheless, Father, we know you are good and we will praise you through all of our storms. Not my will but Yours. In Jesus' name I pray, amen."

Marco, Eva, and dad all joined with me on the "amen."

Just then I looked over at Avery and saw her head droop over.

"Avery!" I screamed.

I quickly checked for a pulse. Thank goodness, I found one on her fiery neck. She had just passed out.

"Avie," McKenna whined.

"Dad, we need to get there quickly!" I said.

"I'm driving as fast as I can," he replied. "Is Avery ok?"

"She passed out," I said.

"Ok we're here," my dad said a few minutes later as he was pulling into the parking lot of the Gleynn County Hospital Emergency Room, otherwise known as the ER.

I unbuckled Avery as my dad unbuckled McKenna. We got them out of their car seats and Marco and Eva jumped out of the backseat.

We all ran in the doors and up to the front desk.

"My sisters are very sick," I said to the young lady, "They need help."

She took one glance at them and called to a doctor. I don't blame her. Avery was now deathly pale and McKenna was still bright red. Both were obviously weak.

"Hello, I'm Dr. White," said an older man, wearing blue scrubs. His hair was thinning and there were wrinkles around his eyes. He was wearing glasses.

"My daughters are sick," dad told the man.

"Come with me," Dr. White said.

He led us to a small room on the side. There was only one stretcher-like bed in the middle of the room. A nurse pulled another small bed into the room. I laid Avery on the main bed and dad laid McKenna on the other bed. The nurse started examining McKenna while the doctor started examining Avery.

"Can you get an IV in this one?" The doctor asked the nurse, after examining Avery for a few minutes. "I need to talk to the family."

"Yes sir, this one's going to need an IV as well," she replied.

The nurse went to get the materials for the IVs and the doctor took my dad to the side to talk to him about what had happened.

I went to stand between their beds. They looked so helpless.