"What's going on?!" I asked as they wheeled me out of the room. "Page Dr. Ross." One of the nurses said as they ran me down the hallway.
I opened my mouth to ask the question again but instead the sharp pain in my side intensified so much I was screamed louder than I ever had before.
"We need to go!" Someone yelled as I squeezed my eyes closed. Everything moved so fast. One second I was screaming in the hallway and the next second I was laying in a dark operating room with a bright light above me.
I could feel my heart racing as someone brought a mask up to my mouth. I wimpered in pain as I breathed in the gas that was being pumped through the mask. I fought the urge to sleep for as long as I could before I was blacking out.
I floated through the abyss for a while before loud beeps filled my ears. I could feel the pain in my stomach intensify, causing me to groan slightly.
"I think she's waking up." I heard someone say as I tried to open my eyes. "It's okay, V. You can open your eyes, baby." Colby said quietly as my eyes fluttered open.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" A nurse asked as she checked my vitals. "Ouch." I croaked out as Colby took my hand. "Yeah, you're gonna be feeling pretty ouchie for a while." She said then patted my leg.
"What happened to me?" I asked quietly as Colby kissed my hand. "Your appendix burst. We were able to get it flushed out of your system but you're going to feel pretty crappy for a couple days." The nurse explained.
"Shit." I mumbled and tried to look at my stomach. "What's wrong?" Colby asked as I frowned. "I should have known." I grumbled and closed my eyes. "It's okay that you didn't, baby. All that matters is you're okay." Colby said quietly then brushed my hair from my forehead.
"Everything hurts." I whispered and opened my eyes again to see Colby frowning at me slightly. "Can't you guys give her some pain medicine?" He asked as she nodded. "She's already on them. We can give her some more in a few hours, until then just try to stay as comfortable as possible, they may take some time to kick in." She explained then left the room.
"Sorry for scaring you." I mumbled then leaned my head back into the pillows. "I'm just glad you're okay." He said quietly then kissed my forehead. "You look exhausted." I said as he sat down in the chair next to me, grabbing my hand.
"I'm alright." Colby said as I looked around the room. "It's bright out." I said then frowned. "You didn't get to sleep." I said as he nodded. "I'm alright." He repeated then kissed my hand again.
"Where are your shoes?" I asked and looked down at his bare feet. "I didn't wear any." He said and looked at his feet too. "Want me to get you some socks at least?" I asked as he laughed slightly.
"I don't think you're gonna be getting up for a while.
I'm okay, I just needed to get you here as fast as possible so shoes were out of the question." He said then kissed my hand.
"I have power though." I said then reached over to click the call button. A few minutes later a nurse came into the room.
"Hey, are you okay?" She asked as I nodded slightly. "Can we get some socks?" I asked as she scrunched her brow slightly. "Yeah, that's it?" She asked as I nodded. "Be right back." She said then left the room.
"You didn't have to do that, V." Colby said as I closed my eyes again, trying to relax against the pain that was filling my body. "I don't want you to be cold." I said quietly.
"You're too cute." He said as the nurse came back. "Here you go, love." She said and laid the socks on my bed. "Thank you." I said then reached for them only to hiss in pain.
"I got it, baby." Colby said then reached for them. "Did you need anything else?" The nurse asked as I shook my head. "Okay, try to drink some water." She said then left the room.
I reached over to grab my glass of water as Colby put his socks on. "Baby, I've got it. I don't want you to hurt yourself." Colby said then grabbed the water for me and brought the straw to my lips.
I took a couple sips then pulled away. "Thank you." I whispered and closed my eyes. "You can sleep, V. I'll be here when you wake up." Colby said as I shook my head. "I'll only sleep if you do." I said as he chuckled.
"Okay, I promise I will." He said softly then stood up and kissed me. "I love you." I whispered as I drifted off. "I love you, too." He said as I fully fell asleep.
I woke up a few hours later to a room full of people. "Good morning!" Ki whispered with a smile as she set some flowers on the table next to me. "What are you doing here?" I asked and looked around to see Sam and Kat setting out some food.
Colby was asleep in the chair next to me which made me happy.
He needed to sleep.
"We came to see you. How are you feeling?" Sam asked as I reached for my water cup. "I'm okay, finally feeling a little relief from the pain meds." I said then took a sip of water. "That's good! Are you hungry?" Kat asked and pointed to the chick fil a that Sam was holding up.
"I don't know if I can eat." I said quietly as Colby stirred next to me. "I'll go ask for you." Sam said with a small smile. "You guys didn't have to come." I said and picked at the blanket on my lap.
"No, but we love you why wanted to be here. This one was so worried." Ki said and gestured to Colby. "I bet." I said as Sam walked back in the room with a cup in his hand.
"No food, just ice chips for now." Sam said as Colby sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Good morning, baby." I said quietly as he looked around. "What are you guys doing here?" Colby asked as Ki laughed. "Good to see you too, asshole." She said as Sam handed me the cup of ice chips.
"We brought food for Violet, but she can't even eat it." Sam said as I took a bite of ice which was actually kinda satisfying. I was starting to really feel the pain again but I didn't want to say anything since they came all this way to be here.
"Oh, did the doctor come in?" Colby asked as stood up so he could stretch. "No, I just woke up." I said quietly. "Are you hurting?" He asked as I nodded slightly. "I'll be alright." I said then lowered the cup of ice since I was having a hard time holding it.
"We can go, V. We know you're probably really tired." Kat said as Colby grabbed the cup from me. "No, it's okay." I said as the door opened.
"Hey, I need to check your incision. Can everyone please step out for a minute?" The doctor asked as everyone stood up to leave. "We'll be back." Colby said then kissed my head and walked out of the room.
"Hi, I'm Dr. Ross, How are you feeling?" She asked and pulled the blankets back so she could see the incision. "It hurts. I also just feel like I'm gonna be sick." I mumbled as she started to clean the area. "Yeah, that's normal. That's why we don't want you eating anything just yet." She explained.
"Your incision is looking good though, so that's a good sign." She said and started to bandage the area. "Since the appendix burst, we're gonna keep you here for a day or two. After that you'll be able to go home." She said then grabbed my chart.
"When you get home, I want you to rest and drink a lot of water. Avoid stairs if possible and don't do any sort of physical activity for a few weeks." She said then wrote something down.
"You're going to be in pain for a little while. I want you to alternate between taking Tylenol and Advil." She said then looked at me with a smile. "Any questions?" She asked as I shook my head.
"Thank you for keeping me alive." I said with a small smile. "It's what I do, now get some rest." She said then left the room. A few minutes later, Colby, Ki, Kat, and Sam came back into the room.
"Want me to feed you your ice chips?" Colby asked as he sat down next to me. "Sure." I said with a small smile.
Everyone ended up staying until visitor hours were over. I was so grateful that I had friends who would be here for me at my lowest and I was so lucky to have Colby.
I was lucky to be alive.
