That Beautiful Thing Called Life

Touch and Go

Annie

She awoke in a momentary panic in a hospital bed she was unfamiliar with. How had she ended up here? Then, a secondary relief washed over her as she felt the warmth and familiar scent of the man next to her. But looking at his pale face and the numerous tubes and cords protruding from his body gave her no comfort, and she felt the tears come again. She lay back down, burrowing her head into his shoulder.

"Just be okay, Chris. Just be okay," she whispered.

Annie didn't know how long she lay there, unmoving, staring blankly at the opposite wall. She was physically exhausted and emotionally drained. The doctor came into the room.

"I don't mean to disturb you Miss, but is there a family member I could speak to about Mr Chapman's...situation? He hasn't got a listed next of kin."

Annie sat up rubbing her eyes, and gently got down from the bed. 

"I know he has a mother, but she's in palliative care. I don't know of any other family members. I'm his...girlfriend, could you just...could you please tell me what's going on?" 

The doctor looked her over thoughtfully. Annie held her breath. He sighed. "I'm not supposed to. But...come and sign a confidentiality agreement and I'll disclose his results to you."

Annie could not have been more eager  to put the pen to paper.

"Now please...just tell me what's wrong with him," she said brokenly, trying to hold it together.

The doctor smiled sympathetically at her. 

"Okay, so here's the situation. Mr Chapman-"

"His name is Chris," Annie interrupted. He nodded.

"Chris took a nasty fall. He has landed heavily on his head. Thankfully, major damage to the spinal cord and spine has been avoided, but we are slightly concerned about the level of swelling around his brain. The fluid build-up has prevented us from seeing what could be bleeding on the brain. We have put him in an induced coma while we wait for the swelling to reduce. There is a chance he could have permanent brain damage; there is also a chance he could make a full, but slow, recovery. But I don't want to give you false hope."

Annie felt her head spin as a sudden wave of nausea swept over her. He might not recover. He might be permanently brain damaged. She tried to focus on her breathing and closed her eyes. She felt the doctor's hand guuide her head to her knees and place a cup of water in her hand. He was speaking to her, reassuring her she assumed, but she couldn't hear him, his voice drowned out by the exploding anger and fear raging in her brain. 

"Thank you, doctor," she said calmly, "I'll make sure his workmates know he will be out of action for an extended period."

She got to her feet, a little wobbly, but walked out of his office unassisted. She went back into his room and pressed her lips to his forehead. Then she walked out of the hospital. She made it all the way back to her car before the shock wore off and felt her body give in to the familiar wrenching sobs. She got out her phone.

Don't leave work yet boys. I'm on my way. 

When Annie arrived back at the beach, she entered the Pavillion to a surprise. She had been expecting to see the ten lifeguards who were rostered on that day. Instead, she saw almost the entire team. Maxi immediately jumped up and enveloped her in a hug. She realised what she must look like; red, puffy eyes, tearstained, pale cheeks and enormous bags under her eyes. She disentangled herself from Maxi and walked slowly to the front of the room.

It took her a few minutes to compose herself. The team looked on with a mixture of worry, fear and sympathy, seeing her obvious pain.

"Okay. He has massive swelling around his brain, so they've put him in an induced coma so they can assess the damage when the swelling goes down. He hasn't damaged his spine or spinal cord." There was a collective sigh of relief at this last statement. She continued. "His doctor says he may fully recover. But he also said-" her voice broke and she paused to battle her emotion- "he also said that there is a chance Chris could have permanent brain damage."

Her tears began to flow again. "I just got him, guys. And now I might lose him. I'm a curse." Jesse jumped up and wrapped her in a strong embrace. 

"You are not. He'll recover, Annie,  you'll see."

And one by one, the team got up and added their comfort.

When she drove home that night, she fell into bed and slept straight away. But her mind and heart never left the bedside of her love.