the kennedy's daughter

tubes

January 21, 1963

8:45 a.m.

Today was finally the day. The day where Jack would finally be able to have a conversation with his wife. He was ecstatic that finally the tube could come out, because the quicker she could breathe by herself the quicker they could go home. That was all that Jack wanted, was to go home. Spend the rest of Jackie's pregnancy in peace. Although the doctors said that it would take a lot longer for her lungs to heal from the trauma, and that she might have to have the nose cannula, which Jack knew Jackie would hate, it was for the best, anything to get them home again. Before he got too caught up in his thoughts doctors started crowding around Jackie, and at the most inconvenient time she wakes up.

"I'm right here Jackie" he said yelling from behind all the doctors, knowing she was freaking out

Suddenly Jack hears Jackie's first gasp of air, and just pushes right past the doctors and nurses. She still looks pretty out of it as the nurses tape the cannula to her cheeks, but as she smiled back at Jack, all the doctors began clapping.

"Hi, Jackie"

And for the first time in three days she responded, in her very low raspy voice

"Hey, Jack"

She was still in pain, but grateful that her and her baby where okay. Right before the nurses removed her chest tube, which she hated, she grabbed Jack's hand and spoke

"I'm sorry"

"What? what do you have to be sorry for?"

"For scaring you, and for making you sleep on that uncomfortable day bed, I know that hurt your back"

Now yea, Jackie was right about his back hurting, but it was not the time nor the place

"Jackie, Kid I'm just glad you and our little girl are okay"

The nurses then began flushing a new medicine into Jackie's veins, to not exactly put Jackie to sleep, but to make her drowsy, so that when they took out the chest tube she wouldn't be in AS much pain. Jack sat by her side silently praying that she would be able to support her own breathing when the tube came out. Because as long as she could manage the cannula and no chest tube for 24 hours the doctors would clear her to go home. And once again that's all he wanted, was to go home. As soon as they started to take the tube out Jackie screamed in pain, and found that she really couldn't catch her breath

"JACKIE!, BREATHE!" Jack yelled as she gasped for air

Finally the sedative kicked in and she calmed down enough to effectively breathe, and the machines beside her finally stopped beeping. As she started to drift back to sleep, Jack took a breath and fell back on the headrest of the chair.

All night he watched his wife's chest move up and down, even though her oxygen was turned all the way up, she was breathing that's all that mattered, well at least to Jack. She was alive