Your Everyday Hero

Chapter 7

   As we walk through the door to the hospital room, I see my dad sitting up with some color to his cheeks. My heart is soaring with so much happiness, I push pass Kai and run to my dad. I couldn't help the tears flowing down my cheeks. I was just so happy to see him up and alive.
   All I could do was yell, "Daddy!" as I wrapped my arms around his neck.
   He laughs loudly, "Hey there, sweetpea!"
   "Oh my goodness! Thank the lord you're okay!" I grabbed his face and at that moment I was his little girl again. The one sitting on his lap, bouncing up and down as we sit on the porch enjoying the Florida heat with a cup of Pepsi and a cigarette in his hand.
   "Of course, I'm okay! The Lord isn't ready to get rid of me yet!" I roll my eyes at him, knowing that's exactly what he would say. The girls were also so happy to see our dad, they were bursting at the seams with joy. They get on both sides of the bed and just lay there with him. Kai walks up to him, puts his hand out, "How you doin' sir?"
   "Boy! Get over here and give me a hug. What is this?" I cover my mouth to stifle my laugh. To see Kai reach over Kelsey and hug my dad, was a sight to see. It is indescribable the feeling I get to see the two most important men in my life to hug each other and show love. I couldn't ask for anything more.
   "I'm going to go get something to eat really quick." I slightly jumped, not realizing my mom was sitting in the corner the entire time. I nod my head and she walks out the room.
   "So..." my dad looks at me, expectantly.
   "So what?" I ask, completely dumbfounded.
   "What else?! Boy or girl, Cora?!" as he looks at me with his eyes all big and wide, full of love for his granddaughter, I started tearing up yet again.
   "I hope you don't mind buying a lot of pink." I say with a big smile on my face.
   "Ha! I was right! WHOOOO!" He puts both arms up in the air, making a field goal. I burst out laughing, seeing just how happy he is that he is going to have a granddaughter.
   "Yes, yes, yes. You were right, now be quiet before the entire hospital hears you."
   "No! I want them to hear me." He starts to click the call button for the nurse and I hurriedly walk over there to get the remote from him, but I was too late. A nurse is already there, ready to go at any time.
   "What is it? Is everything okay?" She starts checking his vitals and his monitors.
   "Everything is quite fantastic. See my beautiful pregnant daughter over there? I just found out she is having a little girl and I would really love for you to go down to the gift shop or have someone else if you can't and get her a small pink bear."
   "Uhhhh... I'll see what I can do." She gives him a friendly smile, but you can tell she was annoyed with his request.
   Once she walked out the door I said, "Daddy, you shouldn't have done that!"
   "Why not? My lil baby Lynn needs something! Does Eddie and Gwen know yet?"
   "No, we haven't been able to tell Kai's parents yet. We are going to when we drop the girls off at their house later today."
   "Oh Eddie is going to be so happy! He said right from the start that, that baby was a girl!"
   "I know, Daddy, but right now we need to focus on you." After I said that a gloomy feeling settled over the room.
   Daddy lost the smile on his face and the glow in his eyes, "I don't want to talk about it." So I guess it's safe to assume my mom told him.
   "Daddy, we have to. We need to start your trea-"
   "I said I don't want to talk about it, Cora. Stop please."
   "We need to talk about this. You're sick and we need to do something before it's too late!"
   "Cora, no! Now stop talking about it!" The entire room fell silent and at that moment I felt my heart break as I saw the tear slide down my dad's face. He was afraid. Afraid of death.
3 weeks after
   I silently sit outside the bathroom door trying to block out the sound of my dad heaving. I never really thought this would be that hard. I cry almost every night. I've also secretly grabbed the hair off his pillow when I help him get out of bed, so he doesn't get upset.
   The first few times he wouldn't let me help him and I didn't understand why, the only person allowed to help him was my mom or a nurse. Not until I finally got fed up with it and demanded he let me help him or to at least tell me why.
   "I'm suppose to be the one who takes care of you, not the other way around. I'm suppose to pick you up. I don't want you cleaning up my vomit or feeding me dammit! I've always picked you up when you fall and that's my job, not yours."
   Once he told me, I understood. I couldn't do nothing though, so I told him, "Just think of it as me repaying you for loving me and being the best dad. Though this honestly couldn't repay for everything you've done for me and the girls."
   I'm brought out of my thoughts by the slow creaking of the bathroom door. "Sweet pea?"
   "Yes, Daddy?" I hurriedly get up and ready to do anything he needs.
   "Can you take me to my bed? I'm very tired."
  2 months after:
   "Before I leave do you need anything? Water, food, bathroom?"
   "No, sweet pea. Stop worrying about me and go make sure baby Lynn is healthy. There are doctors every where at this hospital, I'll be fine."
   I shake my head at him and couldn't help, but smile. It's hard to see the man he once was, the healthy, thick haired, loud mouth man I called dad. Now it's a rather skinny, thin haired, sick man, that has my dad's face. I kiss him on the forehead and leave for my appointment.
   Since I've been to so many appointments, I already know the routine. Dr. Williams comes in, checks me and tells me my baby is perfectly healthy, but I need to rest more since it's getting closer to the due date.
   As I walk down the hallway to my dad's hospital room, I pull out the sonogram of the baby. He's going to love these pictures of her and I think I figured her name out.
   I was up for hours, writing down different ways to spell her name and once I finally got it, I knew that was it. When I finally get to his room, his bed is empty. My heart starts beating rapidly and I look for the closest nurse there is.
   I walk up to a lady in simple teal colored scrubs, "Excuse me ma'am, can you tell me where my dad is? He's not in his room." I could feel the stinging of tears on the back of my eyes. If she doesn't tell me soon I might start crying.
   "What's your dad's na-"
   "Dean Gallaway." I interrupted her, which I didn't mean to. I just need to know where my dad is.
   "He's perfectly fine, sweetie. The doctor took him to run some scans, to see his process. They'll be back any minute."
   I let out a sigh of relief, "Okay, thank you so much." I walk back to his room and wait for him to get back.
   20 minutes later, he is being pushed into the room, by the same lady who helped me find him the day we found out he had cancer.
   "Where's the doctor?"
   "He's analyzing the scans at the moment." She helps my dad get into his bed and swiftly walks out the door.
   "Can you shave my head for me, sweet pea?" I was taken aback by his question, but I didn't miss a beat.
   "Of course, Daddy. I'll do it right now."
   "I'm just tired of the hassle and I'd love for you to stop grabbing it off my pillow as if I don't see it." My cheeks turn hot as I realize I'm not as slick as I thought I was.
   I get him into his wheelchair and push him to the bathroom, grab the electric razor and as I start shaving the rest of his hair off, I see him wiping his eyes. I try to ignore his tears, but as I continue to see him cry I begin to cry also.
   Once I'm finished, I look at him through the mirror, "It looks great! What do you think?"
   "Yeah, great." I could tell his smile was fake, before I could say something he was already rolling himself back to his bed. "I think I'm going to take a nap, you go home and get some rest too, okay?"
   "Well first I wanted to show you something." I grab the sonogram pictures out of my back pocket and hand them to him. "Also, we came up with a name."
   "Ooo what is it? These pictures are beautiful."
   "Her name will be, Krystalyn. K-R-Y-S-T-A-L-Y-N."
   "Oh that's gorgeous, sweet pea!" He reaches out to me and pulls me in for a hug. "I love you, baby girl."
   "I love you too, Daddy." We sit there for a few minutes till he finally pulls back.
   "Okay, now go rest at home. The girls should be getting home soon too."
   "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow."
  2 and a half months later
   As I'm sitting in the hospital bed with my bundle of joy wrapped in a pink blanket in my arms, I pray. "Thank you, Lord. Thank you for blessing me with this beautiful baby and also making the cancer masses in my dad's lungs smaller."
   They said it was a rare thing with his level of cancer and I knew it was God's handy work. He heard my prayers and was answering them and I couldn't be more thankful.
   To finally see my baby in my arms brought tears to my eyes. I never thought I could love someone more than I loved Kai, but I was wrong. While I look into her beautiful blue eyes, I knew I loved her more than anything in the world.
   While I was in labor, I probably said every curse word in the book. This baby had to come out, more than anything else in the world. When they placed the baby in Kai's arms, he just started crying. It's like someone opened the gates to a dam, it was not stopping any time soon.
   My mom looks like the proudest mother ever when she saw Krystalyn sleeping in my arms. She wheeled Dad in, then locked the wheels once she got him as close to the bed as he could get. Before he even seen the baby, he had tears in his eyes.
   I gently placed the baby in his arms and I could never describe the look in his eyes. I knew he loved her and thats when I realized something. This is his first time out of the cancer unit since he got sick.
  1 year and 3 months after
   "Get her out of here."
   "She wants to see you. She's been waiting all day."
   "No, I don't want my granddaughter seeing me like this."
   Krystalyn peaks her head through the door, "Pawpaw!" Before she could run to him, I picked her up and she started pushing against me trying to get to him.
   "Kai, can you take her out in the hallway please?" Kai grabs the crying toddler and takes her to the vending machine to get her M&Ms.
   I found out yesterday from my mom that the chemo has stopped working and is spreading to his heart and lymph nodes. He doesn't have long and I can't tell him. My mom doesn't want him to know he is dying. If I tell him, she'll keep the girls from me and won't let me see them ever again.
   I feel guilty. He should know that he doesn't have long. I take a seat at the window, admiring the view. Not for long though, my tears blurred my vision and I couldn't bring myself to look at him.
   "Cora?"
   I quickly wipe my tears away, "Yes, Daddy?" I couldn't help the crack in my voice.
   "Could you come pray with me and ask God to forgive me for my sins?"
   "Of course, Daddy." I thought I experienced heart break already, but now I really have. He knows he is dying and that's his way of telling me.
   I walk over to him and grab his wrinkled hands and we both bow our heads.

   4 days later, at 4:17 pm my dad's heart stops.