28
Tuesday, June 6, 2006 – 5:17 p.m.
Aspen Memorial Hospital – Room 511
“This is cool!”
Maisie was lying in her bed in room 511 after having been in the ER all morning and most of the afternoon. Now, she was playing with the controls for the bed and TV.
“Mom. Look at this.”
Karen looked at Maisie. Maisie began to rise as if out of the grave, her head slowly going higher and higher. Finally, she stopped when she was sitting at about a 45º angle in her bed.
“Maisie. Be careful. That’s not a toy.”
“I know. But this is so cool. I can go up and down with my head or my feet. I can adjust it just the way I like. The TV is controlled from this unit too. Look.”
Karen watched as Maisie pushed the buttons and turned on the TV tuning it to Cartoon Network, one of Maisie’s favorite stations. She also loved watching Animal Planet, especially when they had episodes dealing with horses. She loved horses and hoped that one day she could have one.
Karen turned when she heard the door opening. Entering the room was Dr. Slaterbaugh, an aura of light from the hallway surrounding his frame as he came through the door. Karen was instantly relieved. It seemed that any time Ken was around, her stress levels dropped considerably and she calmed right down.
“Well, well. Look at little Miss Shirley playing in her new bed.”
Looking up, Maisie saw Ken standing inside the door watching her. “So how long have you been here?”
“Maybe five seconds or so.”
“Oh. I didn’t hear you come in. Did you see this cool bed? I can adjust it any way I want and watch TV too.” The sounds of Road Runner beeping at the coyote as another boulder fell on Wile E’s head sounded forth from the TV. Maisie laughed. “So how come the coyote never gets to catch the Road Runner?”
“Well, what fun would that be? If he did, then there’d be no more Road Runner cartoons.”
“I know. But it just doesn’t seem fair. The coyote does so much work and all he gets is squished, blown-up, ran over, flattened or something else. The Road Runner always just goes on his way unharmed.”
“Maybe you should call the cartoonists and ask them.”
Maisie gave Ken a silly ‘that’s a dumb idea’ look and went back to watching Road Runner disappear into a tunnel followed by the coyote hitting a solid rock wall in the same place where the Road Runner had just disappeared. Ken noticed Maisie reach up and hold her left temple for a moment. This was the third time she’d done that since he’d entered the room.
“How’s your head feeling Maisie?”
Maisie turned her head toward Ken while keeping her eyes half focused on the TV. “It’s okay. It just hurts a little. I think that medicine is helping.”
“That’s good. I was hoping it would help take away the pain.”
Turning back to Karen who was standing with her arms crossed next to Maisie’s bed, Ken said, “I want to keep her here tonight. We’ll see how she does. If everything goes okay and no more nightmares or physical changes occur, I’ll send her home tomorrow.”
“Great. I hope she does well tonight. All those monitors going off, her fever going up, and everything else scared me to death. I thought she was dying or something.”
“She should be fine.” Ken reached out and laid his hand on Karen’s shoulder. His light but healing touch filled Karen with confidence. Smiling at her, Ken continued. “She’s young and resilient. I think once the causes for the nightmares and headaches is gone, she’ll be much better. In fact, I’ve arranged for the therapist I told you about to come up and see you tomorrow. She’ll probably be in around 11:00 a.m.”
“Will you be here tonight?” Karen’s face emitted rays of concern and hope.
“I’ll be here for awhile. I’m not sure what time I’m leaving yet.”
“That’s good. I mean, not that you should stay all night just for us. It’s just, well, I feel better when you’re around. I don’t feel so scared.”
“Thank you. That makes me feel wanted.” Karen blushed and Ken smiled kindly at her. “I’ll check back in a while. You be good Miss Shirley.”
Looking at Ken without distraction since it was only a commercial that was playing across the screen of the TV set, Maisie said, “I will. What time are you coming back? Are you going to tuck me in for bed tonight?” A cute smile and look of ‘pleeeeassse’ crossed her tiny face, locks of curly hair hanging over her eyes.
Ken felt compelled to say yes. “I’ll be back later to do just that.”
“Good. It will be like old times with Papa. He always tucked me in. Sometimes he even told me a story.”
“Well, I don’t know about a story. I’ve never been very good at telling them. Anyway, until I come back, you order some dinner and just relax, okay?” Maisie reached up again and held her temple. Ken mentally filed the movement as something to be concerned about.
“I will,” Maisie said.
Turning to Karen, Ken said, “I’ll come by tonight sometime. The nurses will bring in another bed for you to sleep on. You make sure to eat also.”
“Okay. I’ll try.” A half smile grew on Karen’s face.
Ken said good-bye and left the room. Road Runner was back on and Maisie was glued to the set. Karen sat down and gave a sigh. Tipping her head back, she shut her eyes to rest momentarily. A giggle erupted from Maisie as the coyote raced across the screen on a rocket-propelled skateboard and smashed into a cactus. Her eyes still closed, Karen smiled. At least her baby was feeling better.
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