Jessica

Wednesday, April 9

Jessica sat on a chair next to the hospital bed. The fingers of her hands fiddled nervously. Her eyes showed the weariness of someone who had not slept much in days. In front of her lied an elderly woman. Her frail figure was attached to medical tubes and wires. She slept peacefully despite her rather heavy breath. Jessica reached for the old woman's right hand and held it tight with her own. With a heavy sigh, she closed her eyes.

"Don't worry too much. The doctor said mom will be fine."

Jessica looked to her right and smiled to the young man standing next to her. His presence that day had given her a much needed boost of strength. She didn't know if she could've last the day without him being there.

"I'm going home now," he said while looking at his watch. "I have to be ready for work in 6 hours so I'm going to need some sleep. Are you staying here again today?"

"Yes. Thank you for coming in today, Andrew. You, *cough*, really helped a lot."

"Hey, I'm her child as well. It's also my duty to take care of her. I think you need to get some sleep yourself. You look awfully tired."

"I will. Don't worry about me."

Jessica got up to send her brother out of the room and walked back slowly to her mother's side. Her eyes were running on reserves but she didn't feel like sleeping. It had been four days since she had proper sleep. Ever since her mother was admitted to the hospital, she had barely eaten and had only slept less than four hours a day. "I'm her only daughter," thought Jessica as she closed her eyes. "I have to be at her side all the time until she completely recovers." The incident that sent her mother into the room where they had stayed for three nights kept playing on her mind despite her best effort to block it.

***

Sunday, April 6

Jessica had to force herself to get out of the bed. Walking lazily towards the bathroom, she glanced towards the wall on the opposite side of the room where a clock hanged. "9.34. I shouldn't have partied till that late," thought Jessica. Her eyes felt heavy as she brushed her teeth. After washing her face, she walked out of her room and found her mother sipping on a cup of hot tea.

"Hi, mom! Good morning," said Jessica as she approached the dining table.

"Good morning, dear. What time did you come home this morning?"

"I think around 4 A.M. I'm sorry, mom. I should have come home early. I forgot I'm supposed to take you to the doctor today."

"It's okay dear. I just want you to take care of your own health." Jessica's mom got up her seat and kissed her daughter in the forehead. "I'll take a shower then we'll go to the doctor. Eat some breakfast before we go."

"Yes, mom. I'll get the car ready."

Jessica grabbed a croissant and started buttering its inside. She had her left hand pressed to her forehead as she was slowly consuming the croissant. Her head was spinning like a steam-powered turbine. As a free-spirited young woman, partying was a part of her life. Like today, she spent most Sundays trying to shake off the hangover from the previous night. Jessica grabbed a carton of orange juice and poured it onto an empty glass. As she was drinking, she started to feel guilty about staying out all night. "How am I supposed to drive like this?" She was about to get her car key when there was a sudden loud noise that almost made her jump. The noise came from the bathroom. Jessica felt her heart stop as she feared the worst. She quickly rushed to the bathroom and opened the door. What greeted her confirmed her worst fear. The sight of her mother unconscious sent her into panic.

"Mom!" Jessica knelt down next to her mother's lifeless body and started shaking her. "Mom, wake up! Oh God! She's not breathing!" With both hands, she pressed her mother's chest several times, followed by a breath to her mouth. "Mom, please wake up!" Jessica tried to apply CPR to her mother several more times but failed to produce the desired effect. Running out of option, she called out to her last hope, the only other occupant of the house.

"Andrew!!! Andrew!!!" Drawing every ounce of strength she had, she let out a desperate final scream. "Andrew!!!! Please help!!" The next fifteen seconds felt like an eternity as she waited for help. She desperately tried one last time to revive her mother. Two minutes had passed when the elderly woman finally let out a groan. A sigh of relief escaped Jessica's mouth as Andrew entered the bathroom.

"Mom! Oh, no. What happened?" Andrew's face tensed as he approached the two women.

"Andrew, we have to take mother to the hospital. She just collapsed. I...I don't know what happened."

"I'll drive. Help me get lift her."

Together, the siblings carried their mother to Andrew's SUV. Jessica rested her mother's head on her lap, her hand caressed the weak feature of her mother's face. "You'll be fine, mom. We're taking you to the hospital." Andrew's hand reached for a button located on the ceiling of his car to open the garage door and raced towards the nearest hospital.

***

Thursday, April 10

A sudden knock on the door caused Jessica to snap out of the realm of dream. She stretched her arms and body and turned towards the wall. "7 o'clock." Jessica got up and opened the door. A familiar face that she's been seeing in the past 3 days stood in front of the room with a wheel cart.

"Good morning, Miss Jessica." The short woman wearing a white uniform pushed her wheel cart into the room. "I brought today's breakfast for your mom and for you as well."

"It’s for me, nurse? That's unusual." Jessica looked at the nurse with puzzled eyes.

"Your brother asked me to bring you this." The nurse handed Jessica a paper bag. Jessica grabbed the bag and her right hand reached for the content.

"Sandwich and, *cough*, a bottle of milk. Thank you for bringing me this, Nurse Yumi."

"And this special honey from the doctor." Nurse Yumi put a small container of honey on Jessica's palm. "It's for your cough. You really should be taking better care of yourself. Let us take care of your mom."

"It's okay nurse. I want to be here," smiled Jessica as she opened the container and drank its content.

"Well, enjoy your breakfast. The doctor will check with you in about two hours." Nurse Yumi left the room and closed the door.

Jessica ate the sandwich that her brother ordered while she waited for her mom to wake up. She turned on the notebook PC that had been sitting on the desk for as long as they had been in the hospital. Being a freelance wedding photographer had allowed her to stay by her mom's side. She clicked on a folder that says "Rita's wedding, March 29." A screen full of wedding pictures appeared on the notebook screen. A smile formed involuntarily on her face as she browsed through them one by one. "I love this job," thought Jessica. "It feels good to be wanted, to be asked by other people to take pictures in their wedding. Although sometimes," Jessica let out a small sigh. "Sometimes being too wanted has its drawbacks." Jessica's mind wandered to an incident on Monday.

***

Monday, April 7

"Doctor Nicholas, how long must my mom stay in the hospital?" Jessica asked the tall middle-aged man wearing a long white coat as Nurse Yumi scribbled something on her clipboard.

"I will have to evaluate her condition in the next two days," replied the doctor. "But she should be okay. She has passed the critical stage of her illness."

Jessica put her bag on a sofa on the far side of the room and took a look around. The clean room felt like a hotel room with a television hanging on the wall across the bed. There was a bathroom near the door and a closet for storage. The sofa leaned against the side wall next to a window. Next to the sofa is a desk with two chairs for guests to sit in. "I guess this is where I'll be sleeping for the next few days," said Jessica to no one in particular.

"Jessica, you don't have to stay here. Nurse Yumi will take care of your mother. I don't want you to get sick," said Doctor Nicholas with a slight concern in his tone.

"I want to stay, doctor. She, *cough*, might need me here," insisted Jessica adamantly. She looked outside the window and saw a view of the hospital garden. She always liked being in a garden to relax and take pictures of everything in and surrounding the garden. However, this garden was different. Instead of happy children and relaxing parents, she saw crying children and concerned family members waiting on the news of their loved ones' health. Her mouth formed a sympathetic smile as she knew how exactly those people felt.

"If you insist, I can't stop you. I'm going to give you something for your cough." The doctor turned to Nurse Yumi. "Nurse, I have to check on another patient. Take care of both of them." He smiled to Jessica and said "I will see you again tomorrow. The nurse will take care of you." With those words, he left the room.

"If you need me, just press the button here," said Nurse Yumi as she showed Jessica a button next to the bed. "I'll come right over. I'll bring dinner at 6." She adjusted the bed one last time then she left the room. Jessica had just sat down in the sofa when she heard her mom calling.

"Jessica."

"Mom, you're awake." Jessica got up and stood next to the bed. "The doctor said you'll be fine but he didn't say when you can come home."

"If you want to go home, you can go home. You look tired."

"I'll stay here as long as you're here, mom. It's partly my fault. If I hadn't partied till late last Saturday, I could've taken you to the doctor earlier." Tears almost formed on her eyes as guilty feelings started to enter her mind.

"Don't blame yourself. The doctors can perform a full medical check-up on me in the hospital. If they find any other hidden illnesses, they have the chance to fix it until I'm as healthy as I can be."

"You still look weak, mom. You should get some rest. I'll turn on the TV." As Jessica reached for the remote, her cell phone rings. She grabbed her bag and took out the loudly ringing device. She looked quickly at the caller's name and pressed the talk button.

"Hi Rita!...Yes, my mom had been admitted to a recovery room...Sure, you can come over...Nah, you don't have to bring anything...Okay, it's room C on the second floor...Thanks, Rita. See you soon." Jessica smiled at her mom and turned on the television. "Rita's coming over mom."

"She's the one who got married two weeks ago? That's very nice of her."

"She probably wanted to see the progress of my work on her wedding pictures,” said Jessica half-jokingly. “I told her that I will be delayed in finishing..." Her sentence was cut off by another ringing from her cell phone. She looked at the caller's name and her smile instantly disappeared. "I have to take this outside. I'll be right back." Jessica left the room and answered the phone.

"Mrs. Tan...I'm sorry I forgot to tell you that I won't be able to work at your son's wedding this Saturday...My mom is sick. I need to take care of her...I know this is a very short notice..." The replies from the other side of the line had become louder and angrier. "I could refer you to another photographer...I appreciate that you want me to do the job but...Please understand, Mrs. Tan." Jessica tried to hold back her tears as Mrs. Tan's voice started to become unbearable. "I've always tried to be professional but this is an emergency...I didn't...How could I have known that my mom would get sick." Suddenly, Mrs. Tan's voice was replaced by a busy signal. Jessica had to restrain herself from throwing her cell phone across the hallway. She dropped effortlessly to the floor as if she was pushed down by a strong pair of hands and started crying. Three minutes had passed until she heard a friendly voice calling.

"What's wrong, Jessica? Why are you crying?"

Jessica, still sobbing, looked up and finally managed to smile. "Rita! Thank god you're here!" She got up and hugged her friend.

"Something happened to your mom?" Rita looked concern as she wiped Jessica's tear off her face.

"No. It's my next client. I'm supposed to work at her son's wedding this Saturday but I have to cancel. She didn't take it too well." Jessica had stopped crying and opened the door. "We better go in." Her hand motioned her friend to come into the room and Rita complied.

"Hello, Mrs. Bloom," said Rita as she walked towards the hospital bed. "Feeling better?"

"Thank you. You're Jessica's friend who got married two weeks ago?" The older woman turned towards her daughter. "Have you finished working on her pictures?"

"Ah, I'm sorry. I haven’t quite got them done." Jessica grabbed Rita's left arm and dragged her towards the desk. "Sit down. I'll show you the ones that are ready." She sat down on the chair next to Rita's and handed the external mouse to her friend. "Just double-click on the thumbnails to see the full picture."

"Wow. These are beautiful," exclaimed Rita as she clicked through her wedding's pictures. "You're a real professional, Jessica."

"Well, I guess my professionalism is ruined now," sighed Jessica as she slammed her back to the chair.

"Huh? Oh, Mrs. Tan?" Rita put her right arm around Jessica's shoulders. "You did the right thing. She's being unreasonable. Surely family is more important than work."

"Still, canceling a wedding job less than a week from the date is almost a capital crime. If she spreads the news..."

"If she spreads the news, tell your next client the truth," smiled Rita after interrupting her friend. "They'll understand and they will see you as someone who cares about her family."

Jessica smiled and gave Rita a big hug. "Thanks a lot, Rita. I wouldn't be able to handle this without you."

***

Thursday, April 10

Jessica's memory was interrupted when her mother woke up. Jessica shook her head to chase away her weariness and stood up towards the breakfast cart.

"Good morning, mom. The nurse just brought you breakfast." Jessica took off the lid of the wheel cart to reveal the mystery food. “It’s porridge again. Want me to get something else from the cafeteria?" Jessica asked while helping her mother to a glass of water.

"Yes. Go ahead, go to the cafeteria. You need some fresh air. Get some food for yourself." She put the glass of water and reached for the TV remote. "I'll watch the TV in the meantime."

"Call the nurse if you need anything. I'll be back." Jessica took out her wallet and her cell phone from her bag and waved to her mom as she walked out the door. As she was walking towards the elevator, she felt a vibration in her left hand. Jessica instinctively looked at her cell phone and saw an unexpected name calling her. Her expression changed from weariness to excitement in an instant. She almost dropped her cell phone as she fumbled through the buttons. She finally managed to press the talk button and screamed.

"Margaret!!! You're back from your trip! How was it? You're in the hospital lobby? How did you find out...Oh, you called my brother last night? Alright, I'll be right down! Meet me in the cafeteria." Jessica's pace fastened as if a hurricane was chasing her. She rode the elevator down to the first floor and ran to the cafeteria located to the left of the elevator. She turned her head left and right searching for the woman named Margaret. A waving hand at the far side of the cafe beckoned her to come closer. Jessica walked towards her with her arms wide open and gave her a big hug.

"How are you, cousin?! How was your trip? What are you doing here so early?"

"I woke up at five and couldn't sleep so I decided to come here and visit your mom."

"Hang on. I’m going to order some food for my mom." Jessica went over to the counter, ordered something and quickly came back to her seat. "What time did you arrive last night?"

"Our plane landed at nine then I called your house," said Margaret while sipping her coffee. "Your brother answered the phone and told me about your mother. What exactly happened?"

"It was last Sunday. She suddenly collapsed in the bathroom. She knocked a candle-holder to the floor and made a loud noise. I was so scared because she wasn't breathing. It took me about two minutes to revive her. Andrew helped me bring her here."

"She knocked a candle-holder? Wow. That's lucky. What if she hadn't knocked anything? No one would've come to her rescue."

Jessica paused and looked deeply at her cousin. "You're right. If I had not been alerted by the sound, she would've been unconscious without anyone noticing," she shook her head. "I couldn't imagine."

"Well, let's not think about it. You got through the worst part."

Again, Jessica looked intently at Margaret. "It wasn't the worst part."

"It wasn't?" There was a concerned tone to her question.

"The worst came later," Jessica sighed as she began her story.

***

Sunday, April 6

Despite the adequate air conditioning, the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) room felt like the ninth circle of hell to Jessica. Her mother was lying in the bed where she was attached to some random medical instruments. Jessica was sitting on a chair next to the bed, still shaken by her mother's sudden collapse that morning. Bored, she decided to look for her brother and Doctor Nicholas.

Jessica exited the room and headed towards the ICU entrance. Jessica saw her brother talking to the doctor near the reception near the entrance. The two men stopped their conversation when they saw her approaching them. Andrew waved towards his sister and showed her some paper.

"The doctor said mom has a weak heart. It's not regulating blood flow properly."

Jessica looked at the paperwork, trying to understand the numbers and the medical terms. "What is your suggestion, doctor?" Jessica handed the paper back to her brother as she asked the question.

"Your mother needs a pacemaker," replied the doctor. "Your brother said that she refused to use one?"

"Yes, another doctor had suggested a pacemaker but my mom didn't want to use one."

"I cannot force her to use it if she doesn't want to. But maybe you two can talk to her and convince her."

"I'll do that." Jessica turned to his brother. "Andrew, about the medical bill…"

"Don't worry about it. Her insurance covers most of it. I'll cover the rest." Andrew put his right hand on his sister's left shoulder. "You did well this morning. You're the reason she's still alive."

Jessica decided to respond with just a smile. "I better get back inside." Jessica entered the room where her mother was being treated. She sat down next to her mother as she started to feel sleepy. She was resting her eyes when she heard a warm voice talking to her.

"Are you going to stay here all night, miss?"

Jessica looked up and saw a nurse smiling at her. "Yes, I'm not going home tonight, or for the rest of the week. I'm staying here as long as my mom is here."

"Your mom must be proud to have a daughter like you." The nurse tapped Jessica's shoulder lightly and walked towards the cardiac monitor to check on the patient's heart rate. Suddenly the electronic signal in the monitor started to flatten and emitted a screeching sound. Jessica recognized the sound and started to panic when she looked towards the screen. It was as if the Grim Reaper himself taunting her and threatening to take her mother away. Jessica couldn't hold back any longer and let out a scream.

"Mom! No!" Jessica ran to the door, opened it and screamed on top of her lung. "Doctor! Andrew! Help! It's mother!"

The nurse acted quickly and grabbed the defibrillator. Doctor Nicholas and Andrew came running into the room.

"Andrew, Jessica, please leave the room. Leave this to us," said the doctor.

"No, I don't to leave! Mom!" Jessica cried as she tried to fight off her brother who was trying to drag her out of the room.

"Jessica, please let them do their job." Andrew finally managed to get his sister out of the room. He rested his sister's head on his shoulder. "There's nothing we can do. We just need to pray for our mom's recovery."

Jessica, still crying, could only look through the small window on the door and pray.

***

Thursday, April 10

"But she turned out okay, didn’t she?" Margaret sipped the last of her coffee and threw the paper glass to the garbage bin not far from their seat. It missed the target and ended on the floor. With a slight groan, Margaret got up her seat and disposed of the glass properly.

"Yes. It was a close call, though. Andrew and I never stopped praying the whole time."

"You went through a lot in the last four days. You must be very tired. Andrew said you didn't come home and slept here the whole time."

"It's very tiring but my mom's friends came visit us on Tuesday. They were nice enough to stay the whole day which give me a chance to get some sleep."

Their conversation was interrupted by the waiter who told Jessica that her order was ready. Jessica went to the counter and paid for the food. With paper bag in her hands, she waved to her cousin. "Let's go upstairs and see her. She can't wait to see you."

They walked back to Jessica's mother's room and found Doctor Nicholas talking to her. "Doctor?" A surprise tone accompanied her query. "I thought you wouldn't be here till later?"

"I have no patient to see before your mother so I decided to check in on her early." Doctor Nicholas saw Jessica carrying a bag of food and looked displeased. "Jessica, there's a reason why we provided our patients with our own food. We need to monitor the quality of food our patients are having."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I just thought..."

"I'm just kidding," chuckled the doctor. "If you don't mind, I would like to examine your mother now. There's a good chance she can go home tomorrow. Please wait outside, both of you."

"Okay! Thank you, doctor." Jessica waved to her mom. "See you later, mom!"

"See you later, dear. It’s nice to see you, Margaret!"

"It's nice to see you doing well, Auntie!" Margaret waved goodbye to her auntie and walked out the door with Jessica. "The doctor thinks she'll be okay."

"Let's hope so, Margaret!" Jessica smiled at her cousin and closed the door.

***

Thirty minutes had passed when Doctor Nicholas walked out of the room. Jessica stared at the doctor with a hopeful look in her eyes. He smiled at her and nodded lightly. "Your mother will make a full recovery. She still needs to rest and eat properly for the next seven days."

"That means... she can go home?"

"Yes, she can go home tomorrow morning."

"Oh, doctor! Thank you very much!" Jessica gave the doctor a quick hug. A happy smile finally formed on her face after four days of sleeplessness.

"Jessica, I'm just a doctor." He smiled back at Jessica. "You are the reason your mother got better. You are her ray of hope, her oasis in the desert. You revived her soul while I only revived her body. I have never seen such dedication by a daughter to her mother. Your mother must be very proud to have a daughter like you."

"In our family, we call Jessica our wild angel," added Margaret half jokingly.

"Margaret, don't tell him our family secret," laughed Jessica. "Thank you again, doctor, for everything."

"Come in. Your mom is waiting."

Jessica felt a heavy burden was lifted from her shoulder and she could feel her heart flying free like a bird. With a big smile on her face, she opened the door and stepped in to see her mother.