Chapter 50 Code Blue
I turned back on my heels slowly, my legs trembling.
“Joan, please wait,” I heard Alex call behind me, but Cassandra pulled him back.
I didn’t look back. I walked as fast as I could to my car.
Then I started my car and drove off immediately.
A few minutes later, I drove into the hospital’s parking lot, turned off the engine, and placed my head on the steering wheel.
That was my last hope.
Suddenly, my phone vibrated in my hand. I flinched and held it up to my face.
It was Dave.
I hesitated for a few seconds and picked it up.
“Hello,” I said and swallowed hard.
“Joan,” Dave’s voice cut through, his voice calm as ever.
“Hi,” I replied faintly.
I had no time for pleasantries.
“I’ve been trying to reach you. I wanted to ask if you have time so that we can talk about the cost of my sister’s workspace redesign,” he said.
I closed my eyes briefly.
“I’m sorry I won’t be able to. I… I’m at a hospital,” I said, trying to steady my voice.
He went silent for a while, and his voice came through again.
“Why? What happened?” he asked.
“It’s… it’s my brother,” I replied, my voice cracking despite my effort to stay composed.
“He was rushed to the hospital today and he needs an emergency surgery,” I added.
“What kind of surgery?” Dave asked, concern clear in his voice.
“A perforated stomach ulcer,” I muttered.
“Oh, my God! Is he stable?” he asked.
“No… they said he needs an immediate surgical operation,” I started.
“And I’ve not gotten the deposit yet,” I continued.
I didn’t even know tears had started rolling down my cheeks.
“How much is the deposit, Joan?” he asked, his voice softening.
I paused for a while, trying to put myself together.
“One fifty thousand dollars,” I snuffled.
There was silence at the end of the call.
“I guess as much… that amount is a whole lot,” I thought to myself.
I almost pulled the phone off my ear, thinking he had dropped the call, but his voice came through again.
“Send me the hospital address,” he said.
“What?” I asked, not sure of what I heard.
“Send me the hospital address,” he repeated calmly.
“Okay,” I replied faintly.
“I will be on my way as soon as I get the address,” he added and dropped the call.
I sent the address to him and reluctantly got out of my car.
Then I went to join Lena inside.
As I walked inside, my legs felt heavy, but I dragged them regardless as I thought about the way forward.
“Where will I see money from?”
The question kept ringing in my ears.
When I approached Lena, she looked up, hoping I had come back with something.
I shook my head slowly and sank down beside her.
“What are we going to do now?” she asked, her voice tired.
I didn’t reply. I was helpless so I just stared blankly at the ceiling.
I couldn’t even cry anymore at that point.
A few minutes later, Dave arrived. He walked up to us, his eyebrows drawing together momentarily.
“Where are we paying?” he asked.
Lena and I exchanged glances as if we were trying to say “Just like that.”
“Come on, Joan. Where are we paying the money to?” he asked again.
“Dave…” I muttered, my voice barely audible.
“It’s fine. Let’s go,” he said.
I took the lead and we headed straight to the billing counter.
On getting there, he took out his card and handed it to the cashier.
“We want to pay Theo Cole’s bill,” he said firmly, but politely.
I stood there silently, watching the ease with which he laid the amount I struggled to pay.
The cashier printed out the receipt and handed it to him. Then he gave it to me immediately.
“Thank you,” I said calmly.
My gaze shifted to the amount that was paid on the receipt and something in me almost screamed.
“You paid… everything?” I muttered, my breath shaking.
He didn’t say a word. He just gave me a small nod as if he didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.
My vision became blurry and before I knew it, tears started streaming down my cheeks.
I couldn’t believe it.
“Go and make the necessary documentation,” he said.
The surgery started almost immediately after the payment was confirmed.
The only thing left was to pray that he would get out of the operating room alive.
Lena and I prayed.
Sometimes we prayed silently and sometimes we prayed loudly.
Sometimes I would cry, then wipe my tears.
My brother’s memories started flooding through my head.
The way he would always cling to me when we were young, his smile, and how happy he was the day he got admission into the university.
“Theo is my only family… I can’t afford to lose him,”
I mumbled under my breath as I tapped my feet restlessly against the ground.
Dave didn’t leave either. He sat down a few chairs from ours, looking restless just like us.
“Don’t worry, he will be fine,” he would say occasionally.
After what felt like an eternity, the operating room door finally opened.
I sprang up from my seat, the chair screeching against the floor.
Lena and Dave also did the same.
Then the doctor walked out, removing his gloves.
“How’s my brother?” I asked immediately, my voice shaking as my eyes searched the doctor’s face.
“How’s he?” Lena also asked,
“The surgery was a success,” the doctor said with a reassuring smile.
“Oh my God,” I gasped, then I heaved a sigh of relief.
Beside me, Lena burst into tears immediately.
“Thank God… Thank God… thank God,” she sobbed.
Dave moved closer to her and started patting her back.
“It’s okay. Everything is fine now,” he said.
Shortly after, some nurses wheeled Theo out on a stretcher with an oxygen mask over his face and machines attached to him.
My heart broke at the sight and tears started flowing down my cheeks uncontrollably.
Without thinking twice, I moved forward to touch him, but one of the nurses stopped me gently.
“You can’t see him yet. He needs to rest and the anaesthesia hasn’t worn off yet.”
I nodded quickly.
He was alive and that was all that mattered.
They moved him into a recovery ward and only then did my knees become weak.
I slid down slowly onto the chair and buried my head in my palm.
We were still waiting for Theo to wake up so that we could go check on him when a sharp and sudden voice sounded over the intercom.
“Code blue! Ward 7! Code blue! Ward 7! All available staff please respond immediately.”
“That’s Theo’s ward,” I mumbled under my breath.
“Code blue? Doesn’t that mean… someone is in danger?” I asked, my voice breaking as I faced Lena and Dave.
They both looked at me in terror and that was when realization set in.
My heart froze and my palms became sweaty immediately.
Suddenly, nurses and doctors started running past us, pushing crash carts in panic.
The three of us followed them with our eyes and they indeed went into Theo’s ward.
I slumped down to the floor.
“The operation was successful, so what’s happening now?” I asked myself, my eyes staring blankly at the closed door.