foot of the bed. She began to feel soothed by the rhythmic pumping of the ventilator and the various bleeps coming from other machines.
A few minutes before eleven o’clock one of the bleeps became erratic for several moments then continuous. Jem looked up to see a flat line on the heart monitor.
Chapter 4
Acting without thinking, Jem reached for the buzzer looped to the bed frame above Jess’s head and held it down. In what seemed like hours but were in fact mere seconds , two nurses appeared wheeling a trolley between them. Mr Carstairs and another nurse appeared behind them. He started giving directions to the nurses with the trolley while the nurse who arrived with him escorted Jem to a bench near the door of ICU then hurried back to the bay Jess lay in and pulled the curtain around it.
Jem sat on the bench in shock with her hands over her mouth disbelieving what she had seen. Beside her the ICU doors were pushed open and a woman and man in white coats were directed to Jess’s bay by the nurse at the nurse’s station. They briskly strode over and disappeared behind the curtain.
Although she could not see what was going on, Jem still heard the continuous sound from the heart monitor. She could feel her own heart racing as she silently willed whatever the doctors were doing to work.
Come on Jess. You can’t leave us.
Jem heard a thump then the machine made a couple of bleeps before making a continuous sound again. She found herself wringing her hands while tense voices behind the curtain issued instructions. The sounds were repeated several times before being broken by an uneven pattern of bleeps.
Had they disconnected the monitor?
Jem sat there anxiously watching feet moving under the curtain surrounding Jess’s bay.
No one is standing still . That’s a good sign, right?
A short time later the trolley was wheeled out and the two people in white coats followed the nurses pushing the trolley. They didn’t appear to be in any hurry and Jem couldn’t tell from the expressions on their faces whether she was going to receive bad news or not.
Ashen faced, she stared straight ahead, barely noticing Mr Carstairs walking towards her.
I don’t know if I’m ready to hear this, she thought as he stopped in front of her.
She looked up at him anyway.
“Your sister likes to keep us on our toes,” he told her wryly.
Her mouth feeling dry, Jem swallowed.
“She’s okay?” Jem asked.
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Mr Carstairs said “but give her time and we’ll see.”
Jem nodded dumbly.
“You can go back and sit with her if you want,” he said.
She stood and nearly fell over but before she could Mr Carstairs pushed on her shoulders to seat her again then lay the palm of his hand against the nape of her neck and pushed her head between her knees. When he was sure she wouldn’t resist, he took his hand away.
Jem sat there gulping breaths of air between her knees and felt foolish.
“Perhaps you can go in a few minutes when you’re ready,” he suggested as though nothing untoward had occurred.
She bobbed her head.
A nurse who saw what had happened brought over a plastic cup filled with water.
“Have a few sips of this. It’ll make you feel better,” she said kindly and pushed a cool cup into Jem’s hand while her head was still down.
The cool plastic felt soothing in her hand and the cup made a crinkly sound when she gave it a little squeeze. After a minute when she felt she could sit up without feeling faint she did so and took a sip of water.
Assured she was okay , Mr Carstairs moved on and the nurse returned to the nurse’s station. Jem drained the cup wishing it had contained something stronger to provide false courage. She was scared to return to her sister’s bedside, fearing she wouldn’t be able to handle something like that happening again.
One minute turned to five and Jem tossed the cup in to a bin nearby.
You can do this , she told herself.
She got up and forced
A few minutes before eleven o’clock one of the bleeps became erratic for several moments then continuous. Jem looked up to see a flat line on the heart monitor.
Chapter 4
Acting without thinking, Jem reached for the buzzer looped to the bed frame above Jess’s head and held it down. In what seemed like hours but were in fact mere seconds , two nurses appeared wheeling a trolley between them. Mr Carstairs and another nurse appeared behind them. He started giving directions to the nurses with the trolley while the nurse who arrived with him escorted Jem to a bench near the door of ICU then hurried back to the bay Jess lay in and pulled the curtain around it.
Jem sat on the bench in shock with her hands over her mouth disbelieving what she had seen. Beside her the ICU doors were pushed open and a woman and man in white coats were directed to Jess’s bay by the nurse at the nurse’s station. They briskly strode over and disappeared behind the curtain.
Although she could not see what was going on, Jem still heard the continuous sound from the heart monitor. She could feel her own heart racing as she silently willed whatever the doctors were doing to work.
Come on Jess. You can’t leave us.
Jem heard a thump then the machine made a couple of bleeps before making a continuous sound again. She found herself wringing her hands while tense voices behind the curtain issued instructions. The sounds were repeated several times before being broken by an uneven pattern of bleeps.
Had they disconnected the monitor?
Jem sat there anxiously watching feet moving under the curtain surrounding Jess’s bay.
No one is standing still . That’s a good sign, right?
A short time later the trolley was wheeled out and the two people in white coats followed the nurses pushing the trolley. They didn’t appear to be in any hurry and Jem couldn’t tell from the expressions on their faces whether she was going to receive bad news or not.
Ashen faced, she stared straight ahead, barely noticing Mr Carstairs walking towards her.
I don’t know if I’m ready to hear this, she thought as he stopped in front of her.
She looked up at him anyway.
“Your sister likes to keep us on our toes,” he told her wryly.
Her mouth feeling dry, Jem swallowed.
“She’s okay?” Jem asked.
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Mr Carstairs said “but give her time and we’ll see.”
Jem nodded dumbly.
“You can go back and sit with her if you want,” he said.
She stood and nearly fell over but before she could Mr Carstairs pushed on her shoulders to seat her again then lay the palm of his hand against the nape of her neck and pushed her head between her knees. When he was sure she wouldn’t resist, he took his hand away.
Jem sat there gulping breaths of air between her knees and felt foolish.
“Perhaps you can go in a few minutes when you’re ready,” he suggested as though nothing untoward had occurred.
She bobbed her head.
A nurse who saw what had happened brought over a plastic cup filled with water.
“Have a few sips of this. It’ll make you feel better,” she said kindly and pushed a cool cup into Jem’s hand while her head was still down.
The cool plastic felt soothing in her hand and the cup made a crinkly sound when she gave it a little squeeze. After a minute when she felt she could sit up without feeling faint she did so and took a sip of water.
Assured she was okay , Mr Carstairs moved on and the nurse returned to the nurse’s station. Jem drained the cup wishing it had contained something stronger to provide false courage. She was scared to return to her sister’s bedside, fearing she wouldn’t be able to handle something like that happening again.
One minute turned to five and Jem tossed the cup in to a bin nearby.
You can do this , she told herself.
She got up and forced
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