Chapter 1: The Hospital
As I lay down on the hospital bed that I've been on for a month, I await Doctor Lee's decision. The decision to finally send me home or tell me that I will still be in this hell hole for another month. I sat myself up and wiped my face with a wet wipe hoping that I would actually get to go home to my mother and little brother Ollie. Their lives seemed to have moved on rapidly along with accomplishments. Me on the other hand, after surgery I learned how to walk again as a 20-year-old adult. I'm really proud, but I struggled now grieving my life before the surgery. I told myself I'm grateful. I mean, I still have all my limbs, just not all of my smaller intestines but at least the hernia that ruptured inside of my intestines is gone.
Yeah. Ouch.
A faint knock interrupted me out of my thoughts. I was hoping it was Dr. Lee but it wasn't. It was Dr. Lee's assistant Eric. I frowned on the inside. He always loved to beat around the bush with things and took forever to get to the point.
"Eleanor Hayes!" He yelled out while walking inside the room carrying some papers. His smile slowly turned into a more concerned look. "How are you? Wow, you really had quite the experience huh? 3 major surgeries at 20-years-old. You barely made it!"
Some doctors didn't know what to say I thought. I hated being reminded that I almost died in the process and had I waited even another hour, I could've been dead. Or how many times I became unstable during the surgeries. Please remind me everyday doctor. I thought.
"I'm doing alright," I lied. God knows the pain was always at seven but at least it wasn't at a ten I supposed. "A little bloating."
"May I check?" He asked while lowering the bed down.
I lay back down and lift my gown to expose my stomach. He pushes down firmly. It hurt.
"Augh"
"Pain?" He looked up at me.
"Just a little. Probably from the bloating."
"Yeah...hmmm...I know you had some infections right?" He said.
"Yes, same as last time," I replied. "but I think the antibiotics have been working. I go to the bathroom a lot less these days.
"Have you been eating? Passing gas? Pooping okay?" He asked.
"Yes," I tell half the truth. Passing gas felt impossible and I was still pooping more than I should have. But I was eager to go home. Healing in a cold hospital that fed you odd food wasn't in my best interest.
"That's wonderful. So the hernia is removed and from the scans, most of the infection and fluid that was in your stomach is clearing up. No fevers the last few days and blood work is looking fine." He smiled at me. "You may be able to go home...today!"
I just nodded my head. It was hard to keep excited, especially when they would say the same thing every week. I know a month in a hospital isn't as long as people think but it feels like forever. You're in a place that has the lights on all the time, the same room, stale food, hard fruits, no heater, and depending on what you go through you're either always in pain or...always in pain. I don't think there's no in between. Not to mention medication is constantly given to you and you're being pricked with needles. It's uncomfortable, like the bed.
"Where is Dr. Lee?" I asked.
Dr. Eric shook his head and frowned. "You know that mist we always get before it gets colder?"
I nodded. "Yeah, the weird one we get like once a year?" I knew more than I needed to know about that thing considering it was the only thing that was talked about in the hospital. Especially now. Nurses would tell me about the patients they had last year and the people that came in with weird stories about how they felt like they were losing themselves or disappearing slowly from the world. I mean, I felt that just being in the hospital bed watching the world move on without me. It was interesting though. They seemed to have had a lot of the same reports.
"Exactly," Dr. Eric pointed the paper at me. "Dr. Lee lost his daughter last year and she was pregnant. So he always takes the week off."
"Oh, that's so sad." I replied, looking down. It sounded like a true tragedy.
"It's terrible. But don't worry," he folded his paper. "I'm going to run some things by with the other doctor and we'll see if we can get you out today. Let's try to miss the mist and get you out before that." He smiled.
I agreed. The whole entire town of Gray Hallows gets swallowed in the mist. My mom would refuse to pick me up in that.
'Thank you, Doctor." I replied.
I text my mother the updates. She knows better than to get too excited. She texts me back, telling me my clothes and everything will be ready when it's time to leave and that she and Ollie can't wait for me to come home.
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