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“I need an ambulance. My mother fell and is unresponsive.”
“Sir, what’s the address?” I rattled it off. Frustration mounted as I answered her rapid-fire questions. “Sir, please, I’m just trying to do my job and help as best I can with your mother.”
Deep breath, Mitchell. This isn’t the operator’s fault.
Before I could apologize, sirens sounded from nearby. “They’re here, thank you,” I said and immediately hung up to open the door.
“Thank you for coming so quickly,” I said without thinking. Duh, that was their job. Four paramedics entered, three of which headed directly for my mother while the fourth asked the same questions as the operator had along with both our names and my mother’s medical history.
One of them addressed my mother by her name, “Kate? Kate? Can you hear me?” She moaned but said nothing. Thank fuck she was still alive.
“Mitchell? Sir?” the medic beside me said as I stared at my mother’s listless body. “Can you hear me?”
“Yes, sorry. It’s just…” I lost my words. I’d been back a short two months, having moved back right after my mother’s hip surgery. This was heart breaking.
“Understandable, why don’t you take a seat and let them do their job?” He guided me to the couch across from Mom’s recliner. As best I could guess, she lost her footing when getting out of it, over-compensated and went down. Or at least, I hoped that’s all it was. Two of them went out, returning moments later with a stretcher. They’d been rattling things off between the three of them, but it was lost on me. I knew I should pay attention but the vision of her lying there was overwhelming.
“I just moved back to take care of her and look what happened. I feel like such a failure,” I said aloud to no one really, though the nice man with me replied.
“It looks like a simple fall, which, unfortunately at her age is anything but that. With her being unresponsive we can’t properly assess any potential injuries and she will therefore need to be transported to Sunrise Hospital. Do you want to ride with her, or would you prefer to drive separately?” he asked.
My eyes never left my mother as I watched them load her up. “I’ll lock up and meet you there.” I was in no condition to drive, but at least had the forethought to recognize I’d need my vehicle later.
“We’ll alert the hospital you’re on your way.”
On autopilot, I grabbed my keys and wallet, locked up and followed an all-too-familiar path to the hospital, calling my lifelong friend Jensen along the way.
“Mitchell, is everything all right?”
“Shit, what time is it? I’m so sorry, I’m such a mess,” I replied, nearly in tears. “It’s Mom, she had a fall and was unresponsive. I had to call an ambulance and am meeting them at the hospital.”
“I’m on my way.”
That’s how he was. No questions asked—family came first. Even if they were not blood.
I barely remembered parking yet somehow managed to find my way to the information desk in the emergency room. “My mother was just brought in by ambulance, can you please take me to her?”
“I can help you, sir, but first I’ll need your name and hers, please,” she said with a smile. Emily, that’s what her badge read.
“Yes, of course. I’m so sorry. My mother is Kate Blackthorn and I’m Mitchell Blackthorn.” Emily tapped away on her keyboard, impatiently I shifted from foot to foot.
“She’s in triage being assessed. Have a seat and I’ll notify the doctor you’re here,” Emily said, gesturing to the overcrowded waiting room.
“Okay, thank you.” What else was there to say? Should I have stormed the double doors I’d likely get kicked out. I was at their mercy at this point, and my mother in what I hoped were capable hands. Her surgery was at this hospital, and it went well, though I feared she’d reinjured it tonight.
“Mitchell?” a familiar voice said. I bolted upright and dove into his arms. “Is she okay?” Jensen asked.
I wiped my eyes, “I’m still waiting for the doctor to come out. I don’t know what she was trying to do. Her walker was right next to the chair, and she completely missed it. She’s been getting confused and agitated because of it lately. I’d just finished a conference call when it happened.”
“Okay, we'll wait together,” Mitchell said as we sat hand in hand in the waiting room. No one paid us any mind and us likewise. I drew strength from Jensen when he was near. He'd always been stronger than me, yet I was the one who moved away from home after college. I should have stayed. It's not like I ever had any real relationships. Men, women, I dated both and while I found pleasure in their company, I never wanted anyone for more than a short while. What did that say about me?
“Mitchell Blackthorn?” a man in green scrubs called out as he came from the double doors.
“That's me.” Jensen and I walked over to him.
“I'm Doctor Wright. Please, gentlemen, follow me.” We followed him down the corridor to a small consultation room. Once he closed the door behind us, he began. “Your mother reinjured her hip when she fell tonight. She still isn’t completely lucid and is mumbling. No clear words have been spoken. It doesn't appear that there will be a need for surgery, but this has set back her healing process quite a bit. May I ask what she was doing tonight when she fell?”
“To be honest, I'm not completely sure. I was in the office on a conference call when I heard her hit the table first and then the floor. Her walker stood beside the chair that she was sitting in when I left to take the call. She had promised me she wouldn't move. I had put on her favorite program, and she was watching TV when I last left her. When I got to her, she wasn't responsive, but she did have a pulse.” I sounded like such a fucking loser. I never should’ve left her side tonight.
