Nick parked Alana’s car into the parking lot of Orlando University Hospital. He looked at his best friend. Her head laid against the window with her eyes closed. He helped her walk into the emergency room so that she could see a doctor. A nurse took Alana in a wheelchair into an examination room, while Nick was at the reception desk filling out paperwork.
He sat in the waiting room and filled out Alana’s information. He filled in her full name (Alana Grace Patterson), address (4697 Flamingo Lane, Tampa, Florida 33613), date of birth (April 24, 1980), social security number (069-85-4798-not real ss #), emergency contact (as himself), her parent’s information (Henry and Julie Patterson, 5513 Commerce Street, Jacksonville, Florida 3221) and her allergies (cats, dust, and mold).
He filled out all of her information except her insurance. He didn’t know if she had insurance or not. He knew whatever the doctors had to do to help her get better was going to be costly. Nick knew Alana wouldn’t be able to afford it. Knowing what he had to do, he pulled out his insurance card out of his wallet and copied down the information.
A nurse walked into the waiting room with a clipboard.
“Mr. Carter?” she asked.
Nick looked up at the nurse.
“Please come with me.” She said.
He got up from the chair and followed her down the hall. She led him outside of a hospital room where a doctor was waiting.
“Mr. Carter, I’m Dr. Stephen Elision,” he introduced himself, extending his hand.
“Nick,” Nick said accepting the handshake.
“I’m sorry for the long wait, but we had to take perform emergency appendix surgery,” Dr. Elision explained. “She had an enlarged appendix that was swollen, which explained the sweatiness and flushed face coloration. She was also somewhat dehydrated, which explained why she kept drinking a large amount of water. I took some blood samples right after surgery and just got back the results. I would like to discuss them with you."
Nick looked at Dr. Elision. He didn’t like what he was going to hear, he just knew it.
“What else did you find out?” he asked.
Dr. Elision looked at his clipboard and then at Nick.
“Alana is suffering from extreme physical exhaustion,” the doctor said.
He just looked at him. What has she done to herself?
“And what does that mean exactly?” Nick asked.
“In a nutshell, she works too much and too hard, which caught up to her,” Dr. Elision said. “But now she is resting comfortably and you can go see her.”
I told her to stop working herself too hard, why doesn't she listen?
Nick watched the doctor walk down the hall to the waiting room. He walked into the room and saw Alana resting comfortably on the bed with an IV in her hand. She was in a private room so there were no other patients in the room with her. Her bed was tilted up slightly. He pulled a chair close to her bed, sat down and looked at her. She had color back in her face. Nick gently brushed back a few strands of her hair out of her face and started to sing softy to her.
Yeah, Oh I stare at your face Into your eyes
Outside there's so much passing us by
All of the sounds
All of the sights
Over the earth and under the sky
Too much cold and too much rain
Too much heartache to explain
Who needs the world when I got you
Switch off the sun the stars and the moon
I have all I need inside of this room
Who needs the world when I got you
Oh no no
I walk on the street
Talk in the dark I see peoples dreams just falling apart
I open my arms
Tried to be true
Seems like my only truth is you
Am I wrong Or am I right
All I want is you tonight
Who needs the world when I got you
Switch off the sun the stars and the moon
I have all I need inside of this room
Who needs the world when I got you
Who needs the stars so bright and the grass so green and the morning light
Who needs the wind to blow and the tide to rise
Who needs it...I don't know
I don't know Yeah
Who needs the world when I got you
Switch off the sun the stars and the moon
I have all I need inside of this room
Who needs the world when I got you
Who needs the world when I got you
Switch off the sun the stars and the moon
I have all I need inside of this room
Who needs the world when I got you
Who needs the world when I got you
Why can't I just tell you how I feel? Why is it so hard for me?
Alana moved her head and opened her eyes. She saw Nick sitting right next to her.
He gave her a big smile. “Hi sleepyhead. How are ya feeling?”
She smiled weakly at him “Sore and tired.”
He stayed, she thought to herself, he actually stayed.
He leaned over and brushed his lips against her temple. “Go back to sleep Lana, get some rest,” he said gently
“What about you?” she asked closing her eyes.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he replied.
~**********~
