Wud?
My eyebrows furrowed when I received a short message from Jeremy. What is ‘Wud’
Hahaha. It means what u doin?Jeremy replied when I asked him what Wud meant.
I’m going to be on duty at Andrade Medical Center. I’m helping out at the paediatrics department. I replied before I tucked my phone back to my pocket.
“Good morning, Erica.” Jackie, a plump veteran nurse greeted me when I checked in at the nurse counter. “The kid missed you, you know.”
“I brought CJ some chocolates. I hope that makes up for the time.” I smiled at Ms.Jackie. She received my attendance slip and signed.
“Thank you, Miss.” I said to Ms. Jackie as she handed back my slip. I sauntered towards Rm 307 which was CJ’s room.
CJ was a smart eight-year old boy who practically lived in the paediatric ward of Andrade Medical Center. At age 7, he was diagnosed with leukaemia. When I first met him, he barely uttered a word or barely smiled. His head was always buried in a book and he never met my eyes. The nurses and other staff thought CJ was a difficult kid. But he really was just shy. When I got him to open up to me, I realized that he was just like every other typical kid. He’s very inquisitive. He loves to play but he enjoys reading books more. He reads about anything. When I came over with my medical books, he borrowed one of them and asked me questions about what he read. It was amazing how much he had understood at age 8. I told him that he’d make a good doctor one day.
Whenever I spend time with CJ, I almost always forget that he was dealing with a very grave illness.
I knocked on CJ’s door thrice before I opened it. When he saw me, his eyes flickered with joy.
“Ate Erica!” He almost tripped when he rolled off his bed.
“Hello, CJ!” My voice almost wavered. I was shocked with what I saw. CJ had lost a lot of weight. He was thinner and paler than the last time I remembered him.
“How are you feeling?” I managed to say. He might’ve gotten worse but I hope he couldn’t tell the difference of getting better or getting worse.
“I’m feeling better now, especially because you’re here now, ate Erica.” He beamed toothily. “I was almost upset with you because you disappeared for almost a month!”
“Yes, I’m sorry.” I said apologetically. “I have a lot of exams to study for. I brought you chocolates. I hope this will make up for it.”
“Yehey! Thank you, Ate Erica.”
I pulled a stool for myself as I watched CJ devour the chocolates. When I saw how happy he looked while eating the chocolates, I felt redeemed for not being able to visit him in a long time. I looked around CJ’s room. There’s nothing really new which probably meant that his mother did not visit him as often, too. I wouldn’t judge CJ’s mother if she could barely visit her son. She’s a really nice, kind and hardworking saleslady. Raising CJ on her own, she’s struggling to make a living in order to afford CJ’s hospitalization and medication.
