Walk-in: The Soul Contract (BL)

Chapter 2: Breathing on his own

After parking the car almost haphazardly, she ran up to the entrance of the hospital, making a beeline for the emergency room. On the third bed she saw her son being treated. Everyone was busy saving her baby as she stood there watching, unable to do anything.

An intern with a chart in her hand approached her. She asked her a few questions to which she answered with a trembling voice. Somehow the admission procedure took her mind off of the scene.

Later on, her son was brought to the ICU and placed under close observation. When she felt she was calm enough she called her husband Rick but the man did not pick up. She tried and tried again but at the twentieth try she gave up.

Distraught and disappointed she turned to the only person she could count on.

She called her younger brother, Jared, who picked up on the second ring.

She herself did not know what happened but asked him to come to the hospital.

An hour later Jared arrived at the hospital. He inquired at the admission officer on the counter, and was told that the patient was in the pediatric ICU. He went there quickly and made a beeline for the nurses' counter.

A female nurse was kind enough to accompany him to the pediatric ICU. The nurse asked him to wait outside the door. She came out later with his sister. He smiled and thanked the nurse who excused herself.

Elisa did not look too well but he still asked.

"How are you?"

"I'm fine." Elisa took a deep breath. She rubbed her eyes and folded her arms before resting her head on one hand.

"What happened?"

"They found him in a public pool with no breath and no pulse. That's all I know for now. The nurse said that the doctor should be here soon."

Jared pulled his older sister for a hug. He had never seen her cry before. But looking at her now made his heart ache. Elise was a strong woman. She took care of him when their parents could not. She practically raised him by herself.

Elise pulled away and said, "Do you want to go inside and see him?"

Jared nodded.

He disinfected his hands with soap and water before putting the PPE for visitors. After he was all set, he entered Jamie's room. He pulled a chair and positioned it where both he and Elisa could see Jamie.

He took a deep breath and with a moment of hesitation he leaned forward. He was afraid any movement might hurt the boy. Thus, he only placed his hand over his nephew's pale hand that was hooked with an IV.

Jamie's hands felt cold against his own so he enveloped it with his warm ones. Gently he squeezed the boy's palm and ran his thumb at the back of his hand. For a while he did that but stopped when he felt the boy's finger twitch.

He was surprised.

A few seconds later Jamie's fingers moved again. He looked at Jamie's face then turned around to look at Elisa who was looking at them through the glass window.

He turned his attention back to his nephew when he heard a strange sound.

An alarm went off from one of the machines. Worried, he pressed the emergency button.

Elisa seemed to have sensed something since she tapped on the window to call his attention.

He looked at her worried face before turning his attention back to Jamie.

In less than a minute people in scrub suits rushed into the room.

Jared was ushered out of the room by one of the nurses.

"Sir, would you mind stepping outside while we work."

Jared moved out of the room and hurried to the glass window. He did not care that he had to disinfect his hands first or that he had to remove the visitor's scrubs and other PPEs. He only cared about watching what was happening inside the room.

"What are they doing to him?" Elise asked as soon as she saw him approach.

His attention was focused inside the room. "I don't know."

He spoke no more as he intently watched the doctor and nurses work. They were blocking his view of his nephew but occasionally he could see Jamie's face.

After a few minutes the siblings saw a nurse place a nasal cannula on Jamie's nose. The nurse moved away as they watched Jamie's chest move up and down. He was breathing on his own now. The doctor across them gave a thumbs up.

The siblings both breathed in relief and hugged each other tight.

They separated when someone approached them.

"Hi I'm Dr. Seville," the man in a scrub suit said. He pulled down his mask and explained the situation.

"Jamie is now breathing on his own. Though we removed the ventilator we placed a nasal cannula as a precaution. We would remove it once we see that his O2 sats turn stable. We left the endotracheal tube for the suction tube. We need to make sure that all water has been removed from his lungs before we can remove it. He would probably regain consciousness soon. After one day of observation if all goes well and his breathing remains good, he could be transferred to a recovery room or a private room whichever you prefer."

"Thank you doctor," Elise spoke. Her trembling hands were clasped together.

Just then an officer came and approached them.