Turn The Page

Chapter 70

The next morning, the doctor came to check up on the mother and daughter. The two had just finished eating their breakfast. Page was asleep, June was resting as she and July talked. The doctor assessed June's progress. "Everything looks good except your blood pressure and your heart rate, but once we can get that within the normal range, we'll see about discharging you," he informed her. "Thank you," June said. Then the doctor went over to Page. He listened to her heart and lungs. "Hm, her lungs doesn't sound right," he told them. June frowned in response. "What do you mean, doc?" She asked. "Sounds like pneumonia. We'll get an X-ray done and some more blood work to confirm. You said she's been having a tough time breathing too, right? She has a heart murmur, too. With her having the heart transplant already, we need to make sure that there's no problem with her new heart," the doctor informed them. "Doc," June said worriedly. The doctor nodded. "We'll make sure everything gets taken care of, June," he assured her. June swallowed then she glanced over her daughter. "Thank you," she said to the doctor.

When the doctor left, June looked at July. "It's just one thing after another, Julz. She never gets a break," she said to her friend. "I know, Juney. I'm sorry you guys have to go through this. Just hang in there, okay? Andito kami, May and April too--nga pala, she's being discharged today," July informed her. "Oh, she is? That's good," June said with a little smile. "Is her vision back to normal?" She asked. "Not fully, but it's doing good, it's bound to get back to normal daw sabi ng doctor, need lang ng time to fully heal. Sabi ni April it's clearer than before, kita na daw nya yung faces namin unlike when they first took out her bandages. Pero hazy nga lang daw ng konti. Baliw nga yun, sabi nya para daw syang may muta sa eyeball kaya she has the urge to rub it palagi. Sinabihan naman sya ng doctor na 'wag daw galawin mata nya, baka ma-irritate," July explained. June smiled a little. "I'm glad she's feeling better," she replied. "Don't worry, June. You're going to get better and so will Page. Tiwala lang ha? Patience, you need a lot of that too," July reminded her. June sighed. "Kahit di na ako--," she said but July shook her head. "You know na ayaw ng anak mo ng ganyan. You think gagaling si Page kung ikaw hindi gagaling? She might have forgetten you, Juney, but I can attest to it that she never stopped caring about you, ni hindi nga nabawasan pagaalala ng batang yan sayo kahit hindi ka nya maalala," July reminded her again. June swallowed. "It's crazy how that works huh?" She said quietly. "What is?" July asked. "How it feels like her memories never left her," June answered as she stared at the bed. July held June's hand. "Alam mo, sa sobra nyong close before all of these happened, I feel like you guys created such a strong bond, such a strong of a connection na kahit nangyari toh, it didn't stop her from remembering what she feels about you kahit pa nawala na lahat ng memories nya," July claimed. "Mama Junjun nya yan eh. She can't just totally forget about her," she added with a smile. June shook her head as tears fell from her eyes directly to her lap. "June, alam ko nasasaktan ka na. Alam ko nahihirapan ka na, pero now's the time na kelangan na kelangan ka ng anak mo. Lakasan mo pa loob mo, Juney," July advised. June nodded her head. "Hindi ko rin naman sya susukuan. Never naman akong susuko sa anak ko. I just can't help but feel overwhelmed and tired. I know we have a greater battle out there. I'll face all of that kesa naman we lose this battle with her health and injuries. Gumaling lang sya, and it's game on with everything else," June said worriedly.

Hours later, tests and x-ray result confirmed Page's pneumonia. "We'll start treatment right away, it's not severe so don't worry," the doctor assured June. "What about her heart?" June asked. "Everything's okay, you don't have to worry," the doctor replied. "It must be that she's in a lot of pain, and her body's battling an infection kaya siguro ganun yung heart rate nya palaging elevated. Everything looks good sa echocardiogram nya so that's good. You said you guys are living in the U.S. na diba? Just always make sure she gets her heart checked ever few months or so just to make sure it's healthy," the doctor reminded June who nodded in return. When he left, Page took a deep breath. "Ma, pasensya na po kayo sa lahat ng abalang toh," she said to her mother. June shook her head. She gave her daughter a worried look. "Walang abala, anak. Don't think that way," she told her. For the first time, she was able to stand on her own. Pain still radiated from her sprained leg all the way to her lower back. Page quickly took notice. "Ma, pwede po ba 'wag po muna kayo malikot?" She told her mother. "I'm okay, kid. Don't worry. I need to get up from that bed. It's making my back so sore, I think kaya ganyan din kasakit yang likod mo kasi confined ka sa bed all the time," June claimed. "Then can you help me get up?" Page asked in return. "Nope, sweetheart. You're confined in bed for a reason. Hindi ka na nga naalis dyan sa oxygen mo eh. Tanggalin lang sandali para ka ng magpapass-out. Parang lagi ka na lang kulang sa hangin. You can't strain your body, we need to keep your heart rate down. Look oh, one-twenty pa din kahit you're not doing anything, what more if you get up," June said. "Lika po dito," Page instructed. "Hm?" June said as she carefully made her way towards her daughter. Page made her mother turn her back against her. "Upo ka," she said to her. June did as she was told and sat at the edge of her daughter's hospital bed. Then Page started massaging June's lower back gently. "Hey, no," June objected as she got up and faced her. "Bakit po?" Page asked while she stared at her mother. "Bawal ka nga mapagod, anak naman eh," June said worriedly. "Ma, kamay ko lang po yung gumagalaw, hindi po ako mapapagod," Page reassured her. "Still, baka mapwersa ka nyan eh," June said. "Upo ka po ulit, di po ako mapapagod, promise," Page insisted. June sighed. She sat back to where she was seated a minute ago. "Mmmm, same old Page touch," she said to her daughter. Page couldn't help but smile. "Babe, we're going to move to a different room today. Pwede ka na daw sa regular room na hindi na dito sa ICU," June informed her. "Narinig ko nga po kanina," Page replied. June got up and faced her daughter again. "You did? I thought you were sleeping," she said to her. Page shrugged her shoulders. "You haven't been sleeping well noh?" June asked. Page smiled a little. "Mababaw lang po tulog ko. I keep my eyes shut kahit gising ako para makabalik ako ng tulog pero usually mababaw lang po talaga tulog ko," she admitted. "Is it the pain?" June asked. Page nodded slowly. "Okay, we'll talk to your doctor about it. We'll see if pwede ka bigyan ng stronger pain medication," June said to which Page nodded to.