Endings and Beginnings

Chapter 61

"Mrs. Gummer." The nurse said trying to console and unconsolable Meryl. "You need to calm down."

Meryl was gasping for air. "Don. Babies."

"Your husband will be back soon." The nurse said pushing the tray with Meryl's phone on it out of her reach. "You need to take some calming breaths. Your blood pressure and heart rate are both incredibly high."

Meryl shook her head as she continued to sob. "Don...Don."

"Sedate her." The nurse said looking at the other nurse.

Meryl shook her head as she tried to take out her IV and get out of the bed. "DON!"

"Tie her down." The nurse said.

Meryl struggled as she tried to kick and push the nurses out of her way. She wasn't crazy. Her heart was breaking. She needed her babies. She needed her husband. She didn't know why she ever told him she would be okay and he should take birdie home. "No...sedation...PREGNANT."

"We'll give you something safe." The nurse said as she nodded to the other nurse who was tying her down. "This is for your own good."

Meryl's head continued to thrash from side to side as he medicine quickly took over. "Help...Don...HELP....HE..."

***

Don was irritated. He went to the Emergency Department and his wife wasn't there. They told him she had been moved to the Obstetrics floor but no one called him. He couldn't even be upset with her for not calling; she had been through hell. Besides, he told them to call him if they moved her. He hadn't even been gone an hour and now he was spending 15 minutes trying to track down his wife. He took a deep breath as he FINALLY got to her hospital room and opened her door not at all prepared for what he saw when he walked in: his wife was staring straight ahead, blankly. This scared the shit out of Don. He sat their things down and went over to kiss her lips. "Darl? I'm back, beautiful." Don about lost it when she didn't react, she didn't move, she just continued to stare blankly at the ceiling. He then saw she was tied down, bruises were already forming, and that was when he lost it as he ran into the hallway and started screaming. "WHAT IN THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY WIFE?!"

Meryl's nurse walked up. "Mr. Gummer, my name is Mandy and I am your wife's nurse."

"Why in the HELL is she in a fucking catatonic sate?" Don yelled furiously. "She was FINE when I left here a little less than an hour ago. A little upset but we just lost a baby for God sakes!"

The nurse tried to put her hand on Don's arm but he moved away. "She was inconsolable so we gave her safe sedation."

"You more than fucking sedated her!" Don yelled as Dr. Abbott walked up. "She is catatonic! She's tied down. Who in the HELL gave you the authority to sedate her? To tie her down? I gave instructions for me to be called if ANYTHING changed and if she was moved. It took me over 15 minutes to find my own wife and now this?"

Dr. Abbott continued to stand back observing for a moment when another nurse came up. "She did want to call you."

"And WHY didn't she?" Don sighed.

The main nurse shrugged. "I didn't think it was necessary; I moved her phone out of her reach."

"You are getting NOWHERE NEAR MY WIFE! IF MY WIFE WANTS TO CALL ME NO ONE IS GOING TO TELL HER NO!" Don said getting in the nurses faces. "Is that fucking understood?"

Dr. Abbott decided to intervene at this point and pulled Don away. "Don? What is going on?"

"Hal!" Don broke down. "They fucking drugged her; she's tied down to the fucking bed. I was gone for less than an hour to take Birdie home and I came back and she's fucking tied down and staring blankly ahead. She's not talking. Her eyes aren't moving. She didn't even flinch or move when I touched and kissed her. They wouldn't let her call me. I didn't sign off on that."