Sad Return

"Assault"/huntemann                                                                                                                                             Page 891

Chapter Ten

Scene [7]

Sad Return

New England Medical Center, Boston, MA.
2000/06/02 Friday 12:17-12:22 [Don]
         The Transitional Care Unit (TCU) said they are working on getting Kimee discharged to NEPC by Monday. There was some confusion about Bi-Pap or C-Pap support being available. She still has a Trach so she needs a C-Pap.

         The head nurse at NEPC informed them they were expecting a new patient on Monday so they may have to postpone Kimee's return to Tuesday.


New England Pediatric Care, Billerica, MA.
2000/06/02 Friday 12:40-12:42 [Don]
         Mary Lynch, case worker at NEPC, said the Bi-Pap/C-Pap equipment has been ordered and they expect delivery Saturday or Monday. She will call us when they get the final arrangements done.


Londonderry, NH.
2000/06/03 Saturday 14:26-15:28 [Ferne and Don]
         Ferne got off work at 2:00pm and I picked her up at Herrington. We made a short shopping trip to the Mall where Ferne bought Kimee some clothes for her ambulance ride back to NEPC.

         We drove down I-93 to Boston and got off exit 23 at Kneeland Street in Chinatown. NEMC is on Washington Street about 4 blocks west. We parked in the Wang Theater parking lot because they give a discount to NEMC visitors... if we remember to get the parking card stamped.


NEMC, Boston, MA.
2000/06/03 Saturday 15:29-20:30 [Ferne and Don]
         We visited Kimee in room 7 at the TCU. We had to suite up with gowns, gloves, and masks before we entered her room. She still has all the machines hooked up to her but most of them were off.

         Ferne left Kimee’s new clothes, a cute little green dress and pants, with the nurse. The clothes she came in a month ago have disappeared.


Renee’s Place
2000/06/04 Sunday 15:01-15:35 [Ferne and Don]
         On the way home, we visited Renee's grave, straightened up the flowers and watered the plants.

         I told her about the success of the operation on her daughter. “The doctor said her ability to avoid pneumonia is increased ten fold. We will watch over her and take care of her for you... for however long we have.”


Londonderry, NH
2000/06/06 Tuesday 11:00 [Don]
         Tuesday morning, around 11:00am, NEPC called and said, “Kimee is back. She arrived yesterday afternoon late.”

         I said, “So, you got the C-Pap equipment after all.”

         “No, we decided to replace the C-Pap with a full blown vent.”

         “You had one?”

         “No, we rented one. Two of the nurses have already had experience with a vent. So that’s the way we went. We’re all being trained now.”

         I said, “She didn’t seem to need it all the time at NEMC.”

         “Right. She will only be on it at night... or when needed. She’ll be on room air and mist most of the time.”

         “We will come down this afternoon.”

         The nurse said, “She has bulked up a bit.”


         Ferne got off work at 1:00pm and I picked her up at Herrington. We drove down I-93 to I-495 south then on to Woburn Street. Winding our way to New England Pediatric Care through the back roads was a beautiful drive in the late spring sun. Clear blue sky with the temp in the high 70s. I thought about stopping at Premos for lunch but Ferne had a cooler with sandwiches, so we ate during the drive.


NEPC, Billerica, MA.
2000/06/06 Tuesday 14:40-16:00 [Ferne and Don]
         We arrived at NEPC about 2:40pm. We walked in the front door as usual, through the lobby, past the desk and over to the elevator. The place seemed deserted.

         Ferne pushed the button and we waited a few seconds for the door to open. Someone down the hall waved to us and we waved back, not really recognizing who it was.

         The door opened, we stepped in and it closed. The groan of the elevator during its interminable rise up the one floor seemed louder than we remembered. Eventually the door opened and we stepped out and turned right into ‘B-Wing’ heading towards the nursing station. We assumed Kimee would be in the same room as before.

         As we walked past the nursing station two familiar faces greeted us. They asked how we have been and commented that Kimee has grown quite a bit in the month she was gone.

         Kimee's room was half empty! Her bed was at the far end next to the windows, as before, but Angel's bed was gone. We assumed they had rearranged things on the floor. There was a new contraption, the vent, sitting on a cart to the right of her bed. The oxygen canister, moisturizer air pump, and supplies were to the left side as before. The SpO2 monitor was on a shelf under the vent. Only the moisturizer was running.

         Her bed had a big beanbag right in the middle of it. They are using it to prop her up at better angles than the flat bed would be. She was semi-awake with stats: 89% @ 130 bpm.

         We had put on gloves and masks as we came into the room. I dropped the side rail and bent over to kiss her through the mask. She looked just beautiful... with little trace of goo running out of her mouth. Ferne put a tissue below her face to catch most of it. Kimee was in the green dress we bought for her while she was down at NEMC. It didn’t look like they used them for the ride though, the pants were still on the hanger.

         She was covered with the patchwork quilt from NEMC... gosh they do such good work. Sometimes I get so jaded with the world and our messed up lives that I occasionally fail to see the really caring things strangers do for us. Those gals at NEMC make just a little part of our world a bit more bearable.

         The rocking chair had a bunch of stuffed animals in it, which I moved to the dresser top. We were about to get Kimee up and take turns rocking her when Robin, Kimee’s LPN, stopped in.

         Robin said, “Kimee has gained 5 pounds [now 25 lbs.] and is getting quite chunky. Her clothes don't fit anymore, especially her shoes.”

         I said, “I was thinking she was, but since we see her often, we didn’t really notice it.”

         “It’s good though, since she’s a little bigger, it’s easier to bathe her. We can use the bath table now and it's easier than bending over the tub. Her trachea tube is now a child's size and easier to change, too. It’s nice to have her back ‘home’."

         I asked Robin, "Where's Angel?"

         She looked at me for a second then said, "Oh... you haven't been here for a while." She dropped her eyes a little, then said softly, "Angel passed away a couple of weeks ago."

         Ferne and I were stunned. With all the pain from loosing Renee, and almost Kimee, too, we forgot that others suffer tragedy also. We never saw anyone from Angel's family during our visits to Kimee, but I’m sure there is someone out there who was crying for her, too.

         The gang at NEPC gave Angel her best shot at life. With all their professional training, skills, and attitude, the staff feels deeply for every one of their charges. I only hope that Angel had one of their caring hands touching her when she died.

         Ferne rocked Kimee for 40 minutes and I did for 30. She cuddled right up to me and I felt the warmth of her little body against my chest. I could see and hear her breathing (with the air pump pounding away in the background) and I was so thankful she is alive.

         A nurse came in and wanted to give Kimee her meds and hookup the feeding line, so we put her back in bed and left.


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