Strong Emotions - Episode 12

 

      The ambulance arrived on time and I hopped into the van like a frog, mum climbed the van slowly, I wouldn't want to compare her energy to that of mine. I sat beside my dad and held his hand, his face looked pale and his hands felt cold. The nurses placed him on an oxygen machine. The drive to Mercyland felt like an endless journey untill the car jolted to a stop and the nurses came out with a stretcher to carry my dad into the ward . I jumped down from the van quickly, then I assisted my mum to do so. Mum looked so innocent, her eyes were swollen from tears. I knew how she felt, ever thought of how one would feel to have a love one been unconscious? The thought of whether he or she would survive will send a cold chill down one's spine. I don't even know what I would do if I lose my dad, No! I don't want to have a slight thought about that.
We finally reach the door, brown and dull like all the others, but I can already see people inside. "Well, here we are," the nurse said kindly and opens the door wider. Doctors and nurses surrounded his hospital bed, attaching IV's, heart monitors and oxygen tanks to him. I looked around the room, An old TV set hangs from the ceiling and a window giving me a view of the world below was just beneath the screen. In the corner are two chairs, frayed with wear and tear

All episodes of this story can be found here >> https://www.ebonystory.com/story/strong-emotions

. It was a typical hospital room, sparse and functional. I sat myself next to mum and stared dejectedly up at the ceiling. A nurse told us to  have a seat while the doctor attends to him. The hospital was filled with people of different ailments which some are yet to be attended to. I hugged my mum to reassured her everything will be alright.  
     

I could see the doctor looked confusedly at the patient, he had tried to recuperate him but  to no avail. After sometime, a nurse ordered us to wait outside the room till the doctor was ready to attend to us. I looked at my mum solemnly and walked out while my mum trailed behind.
         

  "Oh my!"... Mum screamed when we got outside, I turned to look at her with dismay. Why did she scream like that? 
       

     "What's wrong mum?" I asked confused while I  held her arms when she held her face as if it was about to explode. 
She pointed to my dress " Your dress is soiled with blood, you have a miscarriage". She said in a weak tone, I turned my dress to confirm what she just saw and Gbam! She was right and as if I was just aware of what happened, I developed a cramp,  a pain I had never imagined I could go through. All of a sudden I held my tummy and slipped into a chair, I couldn't take the pain any longer. Mum out of fear called the attention of the nurses and I was carried into another room for treatment. 
     

       Mum had barely stayed with me when the doctor called for her attention, at first the doctor wanted to talk to me but he couldn't because of my health condition and  out of no choice he had to disclose whatever information he has about my dad to his family members. My mum was given a form to fill before they could proceed to conduct a surgery for me because the doctor discovered that there are still some little remains of the blood coated foetus and they need to be flushed and cleaned as soon as possible. I was given an hospital dress to wear and I  laid on the exams table with my legs in stirrups , I was weak and the smell of the theatre room made me feel nauseated. A nurse came in with a new doctor who came to check the bleeding, he asked the trimester I was and I told him I was in my first trimester. He explained to me that he will perform a vacuum aspiration for me and I will be given local anesthesia which means that my cervix will numbed but I will be awake and at the same time I will be given oral medication to sedate me mildly. I don't know whether to rejoice or cry, I had started to fall in love with the foetus not until when this happened, and maybe it was a blessing after all, Alfred memory will finally be a thing of the past.

       Few minutes later, mum walked in with a drooped face, she smiled but I suspected that something had happened. Mum watched as nurse came in with a tray full of medical instruments, she was politely ordered to wait outside the theatre room. The doctor inserted a speculum into my vagina to keep it opened and swabbed my vagina and cervix with betadine( an antiseptic solution), i closed my eyes as I felt the pain as if I was stung by a bee.I watched on as he inserted an anesthesic into my cervix to numb it, holding the cervix in place with a grasping instrument. Then he inserted a small tube attached a hand held syringe and clear out it's contents, I could see the coated blood he poured in a small tray. He removed his blood stained gloves and signalled to the nurse who carried the tray with medical instruments.
       

         " Make sure she is well cleaned and keep her in a ward, I will attend to her shortly". He said while he walked out of the operation room. The nurse smiled at me, she assisted me to get up and we proceeded to the bathroom to get me cleaned up. Mum walked towards my bed, she smiled at me but I kept suspecting the smile indicated danger, it wasn't a smile that could give assurance. She held my hand and I could see tiny tear drops fall down her eyes.
     

           "How is my dad faring now?." I asked.
     

         " Enny, you need to rest. I will tell you the state of his health when you are awake". She replied calmly. 'the state of his health, that means my dad is still alive, Oh thank goodness! 
   

         "I don't want anything to happen to dad, I love him". I said amidst tears, it was always okay to cry in my mum's presence, I don't feel any regret or feel like a coward but instead I feel like a baby, like a new born baby who only cry to express it's needs. 
     

        "Enny, I have called your aunty and this time around I want you to leave this country...." Mum said, she brought out an handkerchief to wipe my tearful eyes. Yes! I need to go, to relieve myself of all the bad memories, the troubles and challenges I went through and lots. I need to become a new and changed person. Sometimes it doesn't depend on what you've experienced in the past or who you were in the past but what matter most is how you were able to realise your mistakes on time and you are ready to make a change. I have been received and treated badly by a man who saw me as an option , who saw me as s*x tool without giving respect to my dignity, he made me feel inferior and I need to break from the bondage of low self-esteem I found myself.
       

      "Mum, but what about you and dad? I don't want to leave you two here". I looked at her for a response.
       

        "Your dad has developed a stroke, and you know what that means, he won't be able to work and he won't be able to run the company anymore. I have ordered Mr Lanre to prepare your travel papers, you will go to Canada to study, you need to study Enny, so that you can operate  your father's company well and so that...so that you can be independent and take good care of us. You are all we've got remember? so we need you to be strong, focus and determined.". Mum said. I was so touched by her words, I can't believe this is happening, dad developed a stroke? Now 50% if the company's income will be used for his treatment and other necessary things to ensure he was alright. 
           

         "Ok ma, I would ensure I take care of both of you. I will miss you both". This time, I had increased the volume my voice and I could feel my lips shaking.
         

       "You need to rest dear, let me attend to your dad". I nodded and she rose to leave but part of me wanted her to stay. I shouldn't be so greedy, she needed to attend to dad too and for the first time in many years I felt so lonely. I love seeking for care and attention and that was because I have  never derived enough of all these affections from people , it's either I get betrayed or cheated upon. Maybe I was not meant for love anyways or maybe love wasn't meant for me, whichever way I believe I will achieve the love I had been yearning for. It might take so long but it can't take forever. 
           

         "Hello ma'am..." A nurse greeted and smiled warmly, "a man is out here and he wants to see you. He said he is Mr Alfred, should I send him in?". The nurse asked. That bastard! How did he know I was in the hospital? Who informed him about what happened ? And what was he doing here.
       

         "No...I don't want to see anyone". I replied angrily.
       

       "Ok ma'am. I will inform him". The nurse went towards the exit. Few minutes later, I heard an arguments going on outside the ward I was placed in and Alfred barged in roughly pushing the nurse aside.
           

        "I can't believe you can be so cruel, you ab*rted the pregnancy because you don't want me to be the father. You are a murderer!". He screamed, I looked at him in a fright, the nurse called two men who came to bundle him out. As they dragged him, he kept shouting and calling me a murderer. I covered my ears with my palms, Alfred had gone mad, he needed to be taken to a psychiatric hospital. I think my mum is definitely right, I need to travel faraway from demons like him.