Evelyn's Lesson In Recovery

Will It Be Okay?

I come to, one person standing beside me. I immediately stand up and rush over to the cliff. I see Jas' body at the bottom of the cliff. I feel myself being pulled away from it as I consider jumping. I sit down and cry. I can't believe she fell. I hear a helicopter quickly approaching. I cry harder; this is scary. I crawl to the cliff and look down again. I notice she's surrounded by people. How did they get down there? I look for a way down just as the helicopter lands. I see how they got down and I quickly run down the steep trail.

"Jas!!!" I cry, running over to her. Zoe grabs me and pulls me back. "Stay back; she's hurt." Zoe orders. "Let go!!" I say, trying to kick her. She looks at Jas as she's put in the helicopter. I start crying again, feeling like I've been kicked in the stomach. "She's my best friend." I whisper. "Will she be okay?" I ask Zoe.

"We don't know." Zoe says, walking me back up the trail. I pull away from her and run to my room. I slam and lock the door behind me, knowing what I'm going to do before I even do it. I grab my razor and take it apart. I dig it into my skin and slice my arms over and over until I feel a little calmer.

Only now do I notice Zoe's knocking frantically on my door. I ignore her and keep cutting myself. Soon, all I feel is pain. I wince and put the blade away. I don't open the door because I know Zoe would be upset if she saw the state of my arms. My door opens suddenly and Zoe becomes pale as soon as she sees the blood dripping off of my arms.

She helps me to my feet and into the room my cuts were tended to last time. "How is Jas doing?" I ask nervously as she cleans and stitches my cuts. "I don't know!" Zoe snaps, wrapping the cuts tightly in bandages. I go back to my room once she is done.

After a few hours, she comes into my room. "I just got an update." she says, her voice calm. "How's she doing?" I ask impatiently. "Her injuries are very, very bad. They don't know if she'll make it through the night." Zoe says. I ask if I can go see her. Zoe nods and has one of the employees take me the hospital she's in. I run up to the desk and ask them what room she's in. "She's in surgery; I'll show you the waiting room." she says.

I'm taken to a large waiting room where some of Jas' other friends and family are waiting. "Have they given you any updates?" I ask, tears choking me. "Her injuries are very bad. They don't know if she can make it through the night." her mom says. I already knew that!! I need information about my friend and I need it now.

"Can you bring us an update?" I ask the nurse at the desk. She sighs and goes to see how Jas is doing. I sit back down and nervously wait. "I have an update." the nurse says, coming into the waiting room and closing the door. "How is she doing?!" we frantically ask. "She's not doing well. She had a seizure on the table and appears to be asphyxiating." the nurse says. Her mom collapses and sobs, overwhelmed by the fact she could lose her daughter.

"What does that mean?" her father asks. "She had a seizure, which means her brain activity got very high and abnormal, causing her to shake and seize. Because of that, she vomited, but the vomit was breathed in, so she is currently unable to breathe, so they're trying to clear her lungs. " the nurse explains. I run out of the waiting room, crying my eyes out.

My best friend is dying on the operating table and I won't even get to say goodbye to her. How did this even happen?! I sit against the wall and rest my head on my knees. I take a shaky breath and start to pray. Hours pass and no new news is heard. I go back to the waiting room and see everyone pacing or praying. "Anything new?" I ask. "Her lungs are cleared and she's on a ventilator. They said surgery will only take another two hours." her dad says. I sit down and curl into a ball.

Soon, everyone decides it's time to get something to eat. I'm not that hungry, but I should probably eat. Her dad asks how much longer left in her surgery. "Four more hours." the nurse answers. "You said two hours!!" I scream. "That's before they found another internal bleed." she answers nonchalantly. "You are an incompetent-" I begin before her dad pulls me away.

"What is wrong with you?" he asks. "That's my best friend." I say. "Calm down. We're all a little tense and upset right now, but we can not get upset." he says. I nod and walk with everyone else to the mcdonald's across the street. I realize I don't have any money. Her dad offers to pay for me. I get my food and walk back across the street to the hospital. I sit down in waiting room and eat quickly.

The nurse comes in and tells me "she won't make it, you know?" "Miracles happen." I answer, not believing her for a second. "The doctors said she won't make it." she retorts. "Have a little faith!! She can still make it!" I scream, standing up. "She won't make it. You all need to accept facts and let her go." she says as everyone else comes in.

"Get away from her. She's been through enough and she's trying to have faith that God will pull Jas through this, so you need to let her have that faith." her dad orders, stepping between me and the nurse. The nurse says something under her breath and I immediately tackle her. "What did you say?!" I ask, hitting her in the face. Her dad pulls me off of her and makes me sit down. "Get out!" he orders the nurse. She rushes out, not saying another word. "You really need to calm yourself." he says to me. "She needs to stop being so rude." I respond. He sighs and sits down to eat his food. I sip my soda and wait for another update. Four hours later, her doctor comes in.

"She's not doing well, but the internal bleeding has been stopped. She has a severe concussion, a broken neck and back, broken ribs, a collapsed lung that had to be repaired, severe bruising, a ruptured gallbladder, spleen, and appendix, and she seems to have had bleeding in her brain." he says. I start crying. "Is she okay?" I ask. "She is still on life support, but we don't think she'll come off of it." he answers. "What?" I ask, my brain suddenly being really slow.

"The machines are keeping her alive, meaning she won't wake up and if we take her off these machines, she'll die." he says. I start crying. I've basically already lost my best friend. "C-can we see her?" I ask. He nods and says "only three at a time." "I think Evelyn, I, and her mom should see her first." her father announces. Everyone disagrees about me seeing her first. "We don't even know that girl!" they say.

"Jas is my best friend; if I don't see her before she dies, I will hold all of you personally accountable." I growl. They give in and we follow her doctor to her room. I breakdown as soon as I see her. "She's so...broken." I cry. They agree with me; no one has ever seen her this bad off. "Will it be okay?" I ask nervously. Her mother and father are silent. "Will she be okay?!" I ask loudly, tears running down my face.