Lost and Found

Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Saturday 4th January 2009

Amelia could tell it wasn’t good news; the doctor’s face was bleak, grave even.  She’d been asked to leave her father’s bedside half an hour earlier, just a few hours after he’d been taken off the ventilator. But instead of waking up, he’d remained flaccid and unresponsive in the bed. He sat next to her and met her eyes.

                “He’s had a cardiovascular accident, a stroke. The neurologists are assessing him now. We’re not sure at the moment how severe it is, the CT scan shows a large presentation, but that does not always manifest physically. And they do resolve, improve, but again we can’t say how much.”

Amelia shook her head, things were going from bad to worse, just as she took a breath saw the hint of improvement, another sledge hammer hit her in the stomach. A few weeks ago she’d hated her father, but she couldn’t maintain that anymore as she looked at the frail, desperate man lying in the hospital bed. No, her sense of family, her sense of obligation had increased tenfold as she’d watched for the slightest breath of life from the body of her parent. Suddenly it became too important that he respond, start to recover. She couldn’t live with the guilt of her distance the last ten years, and her role in his collapse a few days ago.

Her phone had lost its charge some time the previous day, and she hadn’t left the hospital in three days. She knew she needed a shower, a change of clothes, but she had to make do with a wash and tooth clean in the toilet. So many times she wanted to call Sol, to explain, to fill him in on what was happening. But she felt too stressed, too emotional to contemplate anything.

That evening her father had opened his eyes, he was confused, disorientated, but the second he saw her face, the half smile made all the waiting worthwhile.

As she sat at his bedside she pulled out her phone and managed to start it for a few seconds. She typed a quick text to Sol, ‘No power on phone, so can’t call. Dad had stroke, really not well. Will call when I can, A.’ As she pressed send the phone died, so she had no idea if the message was sent from her phone or not.

The nurses forced her leave the intensive care unit at ten o’clock, she knew she looked terrible, and now that her father was a little more stable, she finally felt she could leave the building. Standing in the street, her overnight bag at her feet, she wondered what the hell she did now. She had no idea of where to stay. There must be a hotel nearby, but without her phone, or no real knowledge of the area anymore she was lost. The car park was deserted; it was late, and dark. Amelia didn’t even know a taxi number.              

She was just about to head back into the hotel, when a familiar black car pulled up alongside her.

                “Do I have great timing?” Sol asked as the darkened window lowered to reveal him relaxed in the driving seat.

Sighing with relief, Amelia looked at him, “what are you doing here?”

He shrugged, “you’re not answering your phone, not readily speaking to me...you know what they say about Mohammed and the mountain! So here I am! You getting in, or what?”

Nodding she moved around to the passenger side and slid in beside him. The heating was on and the car was toasty warm, a relief as it was another cold almost snowy evening. He accelerated out of the hospital as soon as she was buckled in, and had hit the main road before turning to her.

                “How you doing? Because you look like shit!”

She laughed in a sad way, “How long ago did you leave me here? It all seems to have melded into one horrendous day!”