Too much love will kill you

Surgery Day

It was a few days later and Rachel had just got the go-ahead that she'd be going down to the theatre at lunchtime today for her operation. She was nervously awaiting the arrival of Connie and Jacob on the ward, Alicia was already there and had helped her sister have a shower before surgery as she knew she wouldn't be feeling up to it for a few days afterward. She brushed her sister's hair and plaited it neatly, Rachel's heart jumped into her mouth when a nurse came into her cubicle with a wheelchair, her mouth went dry and she could feel her heart beating faster.

"It's not time yet," Alicia said confused

"We need to remove her feeding tube before surgery," The nurse explained

Alicia helped Rachel into the wheelchair, and she followed her down to a treatment room; Rachel lay down on the bed, and the nurse got her to take a deep breath in and count to 10. Whilst it was an unpleasant experience for her to have the tube removed, the deep breath and counting were both distraction techniques. The nurse gave Rachel a second to compose herself, and then she was taken back to her bed. Rachel felt strange without her tube, her face felt bare because she'd had her tube in for over a year but she'd get it back after surgery.

Connie and Jacob arrived on the ward and Alicia went and waited in the staff room as only two visitors per bed were permitted at a time. Soon another nurse came into the cubicle with a tray of medication "Time for your pre-op Rachel"

Rachel was given a mild sedative through her IV to help relax her before surgery; she was also given some painkillers for afterward and an anti-sickness because the anaesthetic could make people feel sick.

Alicia wasn't scheduled to be on shift, having rearranged her shift to later that day and she was listless. She wandered around the staff room aimlessly; now she knew how everyone else felt during the times she'd had to have surgery. She pulled out her phone and tried to concentrate on a game she'd installed, but her mind was on Rachel. Charlotte Woods walked into the staff room, and she was taken aback to see Alicia in there. "Alicia? What are you doing here? Rachel hasn't gone down yet, has she?" She asked

Alicia shook her head. "No, but my parents arrived, so I thought I'd let them spend some time with her before she goes down. I know she's only allowed two visitors at a time. I'm just at a bit of a loss as to what to do" She chuckled

Charlotte shook her head. "Alicia, your sister is having surgery. I think I can turn a blind eye to the visitors' rule this once, Alicia. Go and sit with her before she goes to surgery"

Alicia headed to Rachel's cubicle and sat down next to the girl's bed. She wasn't very talkative, but that was to be expected considering the sedation she'd had.

Before long, the porters came to take her down to surgery, and they allowed Connie to go as far as pre-op with her. The surgeon came into the operating room and introduced herself to Rachel. "Hello, Rachel my name is Miss Goddard, and I'll be your surgeon today. We'll get you nicely off to sleep, and then we'll see you in recovery"

Rachel nodded. "Thank you"

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Whilst Rachel was in surgery, Connie, Jacob, and Alicia waited in the relative's room. What they weren't expecting was for a certain someone to come bursting into the relative's room.

"Fran!" Alicia exclaimed, "What are you doing here, sweetheart? Are you OK?"

Fran was breathing heavily, having run most of the way from school. Alicia pushed her into a chair and poured her a glass of water.

Once she'd recovered her breath, she sat up. "Why did Rachel lie to me," She asked with tears in her eyes

"Oh, sweetheart," Connie came forward and took Frans's hands. "You know what Rachel's like. She doesn't like it when people fuss around her; she probably didn't want you to worry. How did you find out anyway"