Dating Death

Chapter 1

     "Zavanna, you have to eat more, baby." Her mom told her as she gathered another spoon of applesauce. "You haven't eaten enough today."

     Zavanna coughed and wheezed in a shallow breath before speaking in a weak tone. "It hurts, mommy."

     Her mother forced a smile. "I know it does, but you'll be better soon. So, you have to eat to get strong and be better faster."

     This was Zavanna's second day in the hospital with pneumonia. She had developed it when her teenager babysitter decided Zavanna was old enough to bath herself before bed. But Zavanna played in the water too long and went to sleep with wet hair too often. Zavanna's mother worked as the personal assistant to a sales manager downtown and work often made her late coming come. By the time she arrived most nights, Zavanna was already in bed and she was so tired she never noticed. Until it was impossible not to notice the loud coughing and wheezing that woke her in the night.

     Her mother sped her to the hospital, but the infection had already spread all over her lungs. The hospital staff was working very hard to help her, but in the 32 hours they'd been here, they were getting less and less hopeful. Zavanna's mother still refused to think anything other than optimistic thoughts. She refused to think that there was a possible future where she would walk out this hospital without her baby.

     Suddenly, realized that in the short four years she'd had her daughter, she hadn't spent much of that time actually with her. She'd been so concerned with earning money to make a comfortable life for her baby, that she hadn't actually spent any time with her. Instead, she'd left her in the hands of nannies and babysitters. And look what they did to her baby. She didn't even know if they were feeding her the way they should.

     So as she looked into the sweating, pale face and red nose of her now sleeping daughter, she made a promise to God that if her baby made it through this, she would quit her job, find somewhere with less hours, and actually be there for her daughter. Zavanna's mother had always been religious. Maybe not an active church-goer, but she prayed and read her bible often enough. Tanya Thayer had a hard life between a family that wanted nothing to do with her because she'd gotten pregnant at 16 and an absentee baby-daddy, but she'd always found comfort in prayer. Now, she needed God to grant her one more request. As long as her baby lived, she was sure she would need nothing else in her life.

     "Ms. Thayer?" the doctor's voice interrupted her thoughts.

     Looking up, she saw the doctor standing in the doorway with Zavanna's chart and latest results in hand. Giving one last glance at her daughter, noticing her shallow, labored breathing, she followed Dr. Ross out into the hall.

     Dr. Ross started, "Ms. Thayer-"

     "Please, Doctor, please give me some good news."    
     Ms. Thayer interrupted as she tried to push the tiredness from her eyes. She hadn't slept since arriving at the hospital.

     Dr. Ross' face was grim. "I'm so very sorry, Ms. Thayer."

     "No." She was shaking her head before he even finished speaking. "No, no, no. There has to be something else you can do."

     This was far from the first time Dr. Ross had given news like this, but for some reason, as he looked into the Tanya Thayer's bright hazel eyes, he found this time to be the hardest. "We will continue to give her antibiotic, but Zavanna is not responding to them the way we expected. The infection is already very far along. I'm so sorry. I sincerely hope she pulls through."

      Although she tried her best to hold them back, Ms. Thayer's eyes filled with tears. "She's all I have left."

      Dr, Ross had seen many mothers come to the ER with sick children, had seen many mothers cry when hearing the grim new abut their child's condition, had heard many mothers say those same words, begging him to save their child's life. But for some reason, seeing this woman cry nearly tore his heart apart.