Hiro's Hardship (A Welcome To The Madhouse Prequel)

Hiro's Hardship: Chapter Three

"Please lie still, Hiro. You are in the Intensive Care Unit. You are safe. You have a tube and airway in your mouth, because you had some trouble breathing. You are out of danger now. If you lie still, we can take it out." The voice was supposed to be soothing, but Hiro started to thrash more.

"Let go of my arms!" he tried to scream. It came out all garbled and sounded like, "Mwermwormwormwyrmwar!"

Then, "Mwom!" at the top of his voice.

"I'm here, Hiro," Hiro heard his mother call out.

He craned his eyes to the far left - he was not able to move his head! - and he saw both of his parents sitting beside his bed, looking pale and worried. Hiro's mother looked terribly guilty and he could tell that she had been crying. Her eyelids were all puffy and red. He wanted to ask her what was wrong, but the stupid stuff in his mouth was getting in the way! He wanted to pull the stuff out! He wanted his hands free. He struggled and bounced and vibrated on the bed he was strapped to.

How could his parents allow anyone to treat him like this?

His father bent over him.

"Hiro, lie still! They will take the tube out of your mouth, but you have to lie still. With you moving around like that, they are afraid you might get hurt! Please be calm and the nurse can remove the tube."

Hiro's father looked very worried, laying a gentle hand on Hiro's chest, but his voice was stern. It was the voice his dad used when he did not expect to be disobeyed.

Hiro paused, mid-thrash, and slowly nodded.

"Good," his father said. He stepped out of Hiro's line of sight and a young nurse stepped up.

"I am Nurse Tiza. Please do not bite on the tube, Hiro. Open your mouth wide," she said.

Something hard was pushed in between his teeth and he heard sucking sounds. He could not believe something else could fit in his poor, small mouth! Then he felt something like a fat, slimy snake slide quickly out of his throat. He felt like gagging. Then another hard object was yanked from between his gritting teeth. He wondered if one of his loose teeth went with it. Then a cloth was swiped across his drooly mouth.

Hiro took a deep breath, swallowed, and opened his mouth wide.

"Maaaaaaaaahhhhhhhm!" he said. "How could you let them do this to me?"

"Hiro," his mother said, in a very soft voice, "you were having an allergic reaction to the immunizations. Your throat closed up, due to the swelling. Thankfully, we were still in the medical unit when it happened. They gave you something to reverse the anaphylaxis and put a tube down your throat, so you could keep breathing. You are going to be fine."

"My throat hurts!" he complained. "I don't sound right! I sound all raspy!"

"That is from the tube, son," Hiro's father said. "The discomfort will pass. Just rest your voice."

"Not talk?" Hiro said, flabbergasted. "I always talk!"

"Yes . . ." Hiro's father said. "We know . . . Ouch!"

"We are very happy to hear you speak, Hiro, but for now, rest a bit," his mother said. "Your body has been through a lot."

"I thought they said I couldn't have an allergic reaction to the immunizations," Hiro said.

"You were not supposed to," Diana Al-Fadi said, in a distraught tone. She gave Hiro an apologetic look.

"It's all okay, Mom. Can I go back to my own room, now?" Hiro asked.