In Harm's Way by EJ Kindred

Author:EJ Kindred [Kindred, EJ]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: EJ Kindred, Final, Typeset
Publisher: Launch Point Press
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

The next morning, I went back to the hospital. Grandma Natalie had been moved to the intensive care unit, so I went up there to check on her.

The ICU was laid out like a wagon wheel, with the nurse’s station as the hub and each patient room the spokes. The walls facing the nurses’ station were glass, so the medical staff could see into each room. Privacy could be had by pulling floor to ceiling curtains closed. Each room was set up for a single patient.

Grandma Natalie lay swathed in blankets, her head resting on a soft pillow. Clear IV lines snaked down to her arm from bags of fluids. She was surrounded by more beeping machines than I’d ever seen. One monitored her pulse and blood pressure, but I had no idea what the other devices did.

She was asleep or unconscious, I didn’t know which. I pulled a chair to her bedside and held her hand, moving only to let the nurses hang new IV fluids or adjust the machines. When I arrived, they told me to keep my visit to fifteen minutes, but an hour later, they hadn’t asked me to leave.

When Joe showed up, however, they did ask us to visit one at a time, so I stepped outside the room to let him sit with her. I watched from near the nurses’ station and tried to stay out of the way. From that vantage point, I saw four other patients in their own rooms, also with visitors.

“Are you visiting Ms. Lindberg?”

A man who appeared to be in his fifties, dressed in hospital scrubs and wearing a white coat, approached me. He had dark brown skin, darker brown eyes, and black hair liberally laced with silver. His voice carried the pleasing lilt that people originally from India possessed.

“Yes, I’m her granddaughter.”

“I’m Doctor Bhattacharya. I operated on your grandmother yesterday.”

“How’s she doing?”

“As well as can be expected at this point. She was seriously injured, mostly internal injuries, though she has a couple of broken ribs and a broken leg. We’re keeping her sedated for a day or two, but I expect her to make a full recovery.”

“That’s a relief.”

Joe joined us and I introduced them.

Joe said, “Yesterday, one of the emergency room nurses mentioned the possibility of a head injury.”

“We didn’t see any indication on x-rays or CT, but we won’t know for sure until she wakes up. All signs are encouraging, though, so try not to worry too much.” He paused for a moment. With a quizzical expression, he asked, “Is it true that she was riding a motorcycle? I mean, she’s in her sixties. I saw the report, but I wasn’t sure how accurate it was.”

“Yes, she loves her Harley,” Joe said, and I murmured my agreement. “She’s ridden them her whole life. She was giving a ride to a friend, and from what we’ve been told, they were hit by a man who ran a light.”

“I have a feeling your grandmother is a strong person, and barring any setbacks, I think she’ll be fine.

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