Not Insane. Just Chaotic

8)- Hospital Rush

Soon John had us pulled up to a helicopter as Ellie and dad rushed everyone in. The kids first, then Ellie, then Ian, me. Then dad and John got in the front. I was laid gently over Ian’s lap, as Ellie sat on the other side with the kids. I told him I could sit normally but he was not having any of it. “No, it will be more comfortable and there will be less strain on your injury.” I sigh, but lay my head down. I was in more pain than I cared to be but I knew that I was going to be able to get out of here. I tried closing my eyes again but Ian begged me to keep them open. I was just too tired, and cold, and wet from my own blood. “We need to get to the hospital as soon as possible.” The closest hospital would be in Costa Rica. I nodded and sigh. My dad, who was in the front. “How is she doing? Is she ok?” He asked frantically. “She’s awake. But I don’t know how much better it would be.” Ian called. He was rubbing my hair and gently grazing my cheek. I leaned in to his touch, and relaxed.

When we got to the hospital my dad rushed over to me and picked me up. He forgot where my injury was, I didn’t blame him, but I yelled out and pushed his arm away. The paramedics came and asked what had happened. “Cut all along her ribs. Down to bone. I don’t know how long ago.” Ian said very quickly taking the initiative. My dad looked at me panicked but I was in and out of it. Hazy vision and fading hearing.  Ian pushed off the seat with his good leg and was holding me. I gently lay me on the little board they were carrying. It was easier than the gurney they said. Ian couldn’t go very far since he couldn’t really put much weight on his other leg, but he got me there barely causing a little more pain than I was already in. They rushed me down and into surgery. They asked him what happened to his leg and they tried bringing him into surgery as well, but he put up a fight. “No, I want to be there for her when she gets out, I want to be able to be with her.” He said. They were holding him up and promised that they would put us in the same room when we were out of surgery but he needed to get his leg checked out. He didn’t want to but he knew that was the best that they could do, so reluctantly he agreed. They took everyone else in for a general check to make sure that no one was really hurt, my dad and Ellie were freaking out, but the nurses tried to calm them all down. The kids were checked over, and everyone else was fine, all but some cuts and bruises, but nothing that needed to be tended too. It would be several hours before I was out of surgery. Not only did they have to worry about the crucial gash in my side, but they needed to check over the other cuts on my back side. It was tedious work to not hurt my side anymore than it already was, when they had to get to the other cuts.

Ian was out relatively quickly. They even gave him proper crutches, but told him to not get up or anything yet. They told him that I was in good hands and being taken care of. He was still antsy and wanted to see me for himself but he knew that he would probably only make things worse. Ellie and dad sat with him for a while as they waited for me to get out.

After a few hours I was up, but very groggy. Ian was the first person I saw, he made his way over to me, from out of his bed, and sat with me on mine. I was given some morphine but I knew I was hurting at least a little bit. I looked at him happily. Happy we made it out. Happy that we were safe, and nothing was going to happen to us. “So, how bad was it?” I asked. He looked at me sadly. “Do you not remember?” he asked. I shook my head. “I remember being in the jeep, but after that it's lost.” I said. He nodded and told me what had happened. “When we got to the hospital, I set you on their gurney, your side was badly gashed, you had lost a lot of blood. They told me that they were taking you into surgery and I wanted to go with you. Be with you, but they took me in as well. Though, I uh, I was not nearly as hurt as you were. Timmy told me what happened. What you did. Why would you try to kill yourself to save a boy that would have been ok. The skeleton wouldn’t have even touched him.” He asked. I blinked a couple of times, processing what he was telling me.

“I was just thinking about his mom. His dad. What if that was my son? I would want someone to make sure that he was safe. I would want someone to keep an eye on him, make sure that nothing bad could happen. I didn’t know if the skeleton would hurt him or not, but I wasn’t going to chance it. All I was thinking about was that he was so young, and had so much more to live for.”  I said. I forgot that I turned 21. In the most literal version of hell. “Had so much more to live for? So young? You’re only 20!” Ian cried out. “21. I turned 21 yesterday. Can you believe that? I almost died before I could even have my first beer.” I laughed. “I get to tell that story to my children. ‘Hey mom, what did you do for your 21st birthday?’ I got to run for my life, from Velociraptors. Real ones.” I chuckled. But then I shook my head. “All my life, I wanted nothing more than to see dinosaurs in real life. Raptors in real life. Now that I have, I wish we never found the bones. Any of it. It was clearly something that nature had tried to bury a long time ago, and we came and dug it all up again.”

Ian held my hand and placed a gentle kiss on my knuckles. “I promise you that we will never have to ever do that again. Never have to go back there.” For in that moment I really believed him. I really did. But now I know that that was not how I got to live.