Broken By Reality

Chapter ❶❽

***
Riding in the taxi on the way to the hospital, many unbeatable thoughts passed through my head. What if she had gotten worse? I tried to shake the incredibly horrible thoughts from my fatigue mind.
"Are you getting out?" Bellowed a voice that broke into my silent thoughts
"Uh..yea. Sorry." I quickly responde, paying the man and continuing on with my life. Strolling nervously up to the front desk of LAICH, there was a young, friendly looking woman waiting to greet me.
"Hello. I'm Sandra. How can I help you?" Her chirpiness was almost astonishing. But I guess that's what they're payed for. It's in the job description.
"Uh yes. Hi um I'm Wayne. Can I please see Karly Jeffersonly?"
"Of course. Do you know where her room is?"
"Um. Yes." A few moments of hesitation lurked in the air. "Um, just wondering but, how is she?" The lady looked slightly confused at first, then worked out what I was saying
"Oh yes. Karly right? She's doing very well."
"Okay. Thankyou." I quickly strutted through the many corridors, and past several empty rooms until I came to Karly's. I guess one of the good things about when someone is really sick, is that they get their own room. All to themselves. I peeked around the door, hiding my face. Was I ready for what I might see? A young girl was lying on a bed, smiling at how terrible I was at hiding. Relief poured through my veins.
"Hey?" She curiously asked
"Hey. How are you?"
"Not to bad I guess. How about yourself?"
"Uh yea. I guess I'm fine thanks." I headed towards her bed, pulled out a stool that had been sat next to it, and took my place next to Karly. She had one of those breathing machines that had little wheels to pull them along, a a tube stretching from the tank, parting behind the patients ears, then re-uniting in their nose. The sight was almost heart breaking.
"Are you okay Wayne?" I had obviously been staring off into space, and it had been noticeable.
"Yea. Sorry. I get side tracked."
"You know that I'm done right?"
"Yea I know."
"You don't have to hide it Wayne. I know that I'm sick. You don't have to be nice and understanding. You can ask me about my disease. I know that how you feel and that you don't want to be rude and that your afraid, which is why I'm telling you this. It's me Wayne. I'm still the same old Karly. Just remember that." Her soothing tone actually calmed me down. I guess that I had been afraid to hurt her feelings. I wasn't now. I felt so much more relief.
"Since you said that, could I try your breathing thing-a-ma-bob?" Without hesitation she replied
"Of course." She clasped the tubes in her hands, and tangled them around her face to remove them. Then almost instantaneously, she wrapped them around my head and then placed her hands gracefully back in her lap.
"It tickles!" My surprised self stated
"Yea it does!"
"So you have to wear this all the time?"
"Yea. It helps with getting more oxygen to my brain, which obviously helps with my brain trauma. And that helps with keeping me alive." She waited a few seconds before continuing. " And speaking about keeping me alive, I kinda need that back, I'm finding if hard to breath already. I'm getting dizzy." I pulled the contraption off my head, offering Karly and apologetic look. She took the tube out I my hands, and placed in back I her own face, smiling at me the entire time.
"Are you okay now?"
"Yes. I'm feeling better already. Thanks." She winked
"Just please,...... tell me if you don't feel right or need help because I will go get someone. Don't be shy. I don't any anything to happen to you." A small smirk arose on her flawless face.
"What?" I intended to make this sound intentional
"Nothing..........." she cracked up for a second before returning to her sentence, "it's just that I was the one telling you about everything, and now your the one telling me."
"True my friend. Very true."