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“Thankfully, we caught the problem right away and Ms. Dubois is back in her room. She suffered from a traumatic pneumothorax, her lungs were collapsed in the accident and we went in and sealed any of the leaks of her lung closed. It appears that she had the collapsed lungs at the onset of her arriving, but somehow the first operation didn’t seal all the punctures. She will have a chest tube in for a few days, until her chest expands. But from what I can see, she’s out of the woods.”
“And her other injuries?” I ask.
“According to her chart, she will heal normally. She had some initial internal bleeding when she was first brought in by the Aid Car. She has, as you've seen several contusions and some fractures. There was a nurse checking her bags at the moment her heart rate accelerated and she started coding, so immediate action was taken. She was very lucky. We are going to admit her to one of the regular rooms in twenty four hours, should she continue to progress and once she’s breathing on her own. The nurses in the ICU will continue to observe her and then we'll set her up on the fourth floor,” he replied.
“Thank God,” Mrs. Rosemary says from beside me.
“Do you have any other questions?” the doctor asks me.
“Can I see her?”
“Give her until she gets upstairs. Grab something to eat. I'll make sure the nurses come to get when she's moved.”
“Thank you, doctor,” I say, extending my hand.
While a commotion at the front door distracts me, the doctor turns on his heel and leaves. Mrs. Rosemary and I observe a rumpled couple rush into the room looking frantic. Upon closer observation, the woman looks like a shorter and older Bella and I clue in that they must be her parents.
I stand to my full height, brush flat my shirt, and take a deep breath.
“Mr. and Mrs. Dubois?” I ask as their eyes meet mine.
With a sigh of relief, they come to stand before me. Introductions are made and I give them the good news that the doctor just gave us as well as introduce them to Mrs. Rosemary.
Mrs. Rosemary. She's here, not as my employee, but as a concerned friend. She was concerned over me as well as Bella and came to be by my side when I didn't even ask. I am grateful for her presence.
I look over at her, talking with Bella's mom and smile. She's the closest thing I have to a parent. She's known me since forever. She takes care of me, even though I think I’ve tried to fire her several times, saying I could take care of myself. She's here, talking to my girlfriend's parents and boasting about Bella.
I smile for the first time today and feel so relieved that I sit back down in the chair and pass out.
Chapter Twenty-One
Bella
The haze is gone, and all I feel is pain.
Excruciating pain.
Every part of me is in pain and I just want to cry out. I slowly open my eyes to a ceiling that doesn't look familiar.
My eyes burn, and I feel like my skin is crawling from the inside out. I open my mouth, but no sounds come out.
Beeping. The beeps sound like the beeps from the haze, but louder and more frequent.
I hear a series of beeps and slowly voices separate out of the din. I gingerly turn my head and see Ben standing there pressing a button. He then leans over me carefully and brushes hair off of my forehead.
“Hi, my beauty. I can't tell you how happy I am to see those beautiful blue eyes look up at me,” he says, his eyes moist.
I open my mouth and he shakes his head.
“Wait for the doctors to check you over. It may hurt to talk,” he tells me softly. I nod, a tear forming at the corner of my eye, as another man comes into view. He’s a stranger, but I assume is a doctor based upon his white coat.
He checks all my vitals. He motions for the nurse standing at the door to come in and they begin to pull the tube from my throat. I cough at the sudden burn as the doctor pulls his chair up to me. He continues to check on me, my fluids and whatever he’s looking at on his tablet.
Ben is standing behind him, and he smiles at me. I can see his smile is strained but he's trying.
“Isabella. You were in a head-on collision. When you came in you had a TBI, which meant we had to go in and relieve the pressure around your brain. You had internal bleeding, a broken arm and several broken ribs. You spent the majority of your morning in the ICU until your lungs collapsed, likely from damage due to one of your broken ribs. Your serious injuries have been repaired, but for a few days, you'll have this chest tube in to equalize everything.” The doctor finishes as he hands me a whiteboard. “It will hurt to speak because we had to intubate you, but these ice chips should help build up the moisture and the soreness of your throat. Take your time with speaking; I imagine that you're in a lot of pain right now from all of this. The button right here” —He points to the remote beside my head.— “this is for pain. It's regulated, so you can't overdose on the medication, of course, this is a controlled release system. Now, I know that’s a lot of information, but do you have any questions for me?”
“I have a question,” a booming voice says from the other side of the room. I slowly turn my head and see my dad stand up and come to my bedside. He smiles down at me and takes my hand. “Hi, pumpkin,” he says, his tone softening for me.
