Living Life A Bit Differently, chapter 6
Billie Joe lay on the stiff hospital mattress, waiting for someone to come in through the thin sheet surrounding him. He twiddled his thumbs nervously, not having any idea when the surgery was to occur.
Jess walked through the sheet and sat at the end of the cot, "How long you been layin' here?" she asked, bouncing slightly on the stiff material.
Billie shrugged and continued to stare at the ceiling. Jess stared at the floor, finding nothing else to do but wait with her friend. Ten minutes afterwards, a smiling women with a white coat on and clipboard in her hand walked in. Jess stood up and shook her hand, smiling.
"You must be Jessilyn, my name's Leela." the women said happily.
Jess' eyes squinted in frustration, "It's Jess, just Jess."
Leela quirked an eyebrow before looking at the still figure on the cot. "And you must be Billie Joe, hello, I'm Leela."
Billie sat up slowly, looking at the doctor nervously. "There's nothing to be worried about, Billie Joe, me, and my assisstants will make sure you're comfortable here, 'kay?" she flashed him another smile before turning back to Jess.
"I have to ask you to leave. I have to ask Billie some questions so we know how to treat him here if anything goes wrong."
Billie, having heard this, shifted on the cot uncomfortably, folding his legs into a "pretzel" and hugged himself. Jess shot Leela an accusing glance before sitting on the bed next to her best friend to comfort him.
The last thing he needed was to be told that something could, in fact, go wrong. Jess looked back up at Leela, "I'm staying, if anyone can answer your questions, it's me."
Leela shrugged and pulled up a chair from behind the curtain, and sat in it. She shuffled through various papers attached to the clipboard she had been holding and pulled one out.
"Okay then...is Billie Joe allergic to any kinds of medications?" Jess shook her head.
Leela scribbled this down on the sheet of paper, "Loose teeth?" the girl on the cot responded to this with a look of confusion.
What did loose teeth matter? Leela caught this silent question and continued, "If he has any loose teeth, they could fall out while the tube to regulate his breathing enters his mouth, and it is possible for him to choke on the tooth if that happens."
Billie's eyes widened in fear. Jess hugged him tighter and whispered in his ear for him to be calm. Leela sighed and itched her nose, looking back down at the clipboard.
"No loose teeth, then? Billie Joe, would you like a first or second floor room?"
Billie stayed silent for a moment, "second" Leela nodded and wrote this down, making a mental note to give to a nurse so they could ready his room a few hours before he woke up.
"Okay...when he comes out of the anesthesia, he may become sick for a day or two, but that should be all besides the sensitivity to light, which will only happen for a few days. I'll see you in a little bit, Billie Joe."
Jess nodded her thanks, and Leela disappeared beyond the curtain. "She was nice," Billie Joe commented after a minute.
Jess didn't answer.
"Will you come with me when I have surgery?" Billie asked.
Jess looked at him blankly, "I wish I could, Bill. But I gotta stay in the waiting room until they're done, but like I said, when you wake up, I'll be there, 'kay?" Billie Joe nodded and started to kick his legs impatiently.
***
What seemed like hours, but only happened to be twenty minutes afterwards, Leela pulled back the curtain surrounding Billie Joe, ten minutes before had Jess left to sit in the waiting room.
Following behind Leela like tiny puppy dogs were her asisstants, all dressed in matching white coats and had thin blue caps pulled over their heads to hold their hair. In the center of this small group was a smaller cot than the one Billie had been occupying.
Leela pat the stiff mat on wheels with one hand, the other holding on to the rail on both its sides, "Come lay down on here, Billie Joe, and we'll go for a ride into a big room where you're going to take a nap for a while."
Billie Joe obeyed silently, laying down on the cot so he was staring at the ceiling. The cot was pushed into motion as he was wheeled through the intricate hallways of the hospital, engulfing them in constant noise, with which Billie Joe wanted to block out, for it was too loud.
Once they had reached their destination, the "big room", the cart stopped short, and Billie hiccuped at the sudden change in motion, as it suddenly ceased to exist. He continued to stare at the ceiling, unaware of the six pairs of eyes towering over and watching him.
One surgeon picked up a mask from a shining silver tray, the mask had a long, wide tube attached to it. As the surgeon started to place the mask over Billie's face, the frightened patient jerked away from the foreign object, lifting his hands to protect himself.
"Relax, Billie Joe," Leela commented in a soothing whisper, "We're just going to put this over your mouth, and you'll fall asleep. Nothing to worry about, 'kay?"
Billie found himself nodding at the calming words, although having no idea how a mask that looked like it was from a science fiction movie was going to make him fall asleep; just Leela's assuring words helped him to calm down. He trusted her enough to listen. He let his hands fall to his sides, and the surgeon placed the mask over his mouth; the cold rubber against his face made him jump slightly, but he relaxed.
As the gas began to enter his system and he started to feel groggy, Leela's voice cut through the gas, enough for her words to register in his mind before he fell asleep, "Have a nice nap, kid."
Jess walked through the sheet and sat at the end of the cot, "How long you been layin' here?" she asked, bouncing slightly on the stiff material.
Billie shrugged and continued to stare at the ceiling. Jess stared at the floor, finding nothing else to do but wait with her friend. Ten minutes afterwards, a smiling women with a white coat on and clipboard in her hand walked in. Jess stood up and shook her hand, smiling.
"You must be Jessilyn, my name's Leela." the women said happily.
Jess' eyes squinted in frustration, "It's Jess, just Jess."
Leela quirked an eyebrow before looking at the still figure on the cot. "And you must be Billie Joe, hello, I'm Leela."
Billie sat up slowly, looking at the doctor nervously. "There's nothing to be worried about, Billie Joe, me, and my assisstants will make sure you're comfortable here, 'kay?" she flashed him another smile before turning back to Jess.
"I have to ask you to leave. I have to ask Billie some questions so we know how to treat him here if anything goes wrong."
Billie, having heard this, shifted on the cot uncomfortably, folding his legs into a "pretzel" and hugged himself. Jess shot Leela an accusing glance before sitting on the bed next to her best friend to comfort him.
The last thing he needed was to be told that something could, in fact, go wrong. Jess looked back up at Leela, "I'm staying, if anyone can answer your questions, it's me."
Leela shrugged and pulled up a chair from behind the curtain, and sat in it. She shuffled through various papers attached to the clipboard she had been holding and pulled one out.
"Okay then...is Billie Joe allergic to any kinds of medications?" Jess shook her head.
Leela scribbled this down on the sheet of paper, "Loose teeth?" the girl on the cot responded to this with a look of confusion.
What did loose teeth matter? Leela caught this silent question and continued, "If he has any loose teeth, they could fall out while the tube to regulate his breathing enters his mouth, and it is possible for him to choke on the tooth if that happens."
Billie's eyes widened in fear. Jess hugged him tighter and whispered in his ear for him to be calm. Leela sighed and itched her nose, looking back down at the clipboard.
"No loose teeth, then? Billie Joe, would you like a first or second floor room?"
Billie stayed silent for a moment, "second" Leela nodded and wrote this down, making a mental note to give to a nurse so they could ready his room a few hours before he woke up.
"Okay...when he comes out of the anesthesia, he may become sick for a day or two, but that should be all besides the sensitivity to light, which will only happen for a few days. I'll see you in a little bit, Billie Joe."
Jess nodded her thanks, and Leela disappeared beyond the curtain. "She was nice," Billie Joe commented after a minute.
Jess didn't answer.
"Will you come with me when I have surgery?" Billie asked.
Jess looked at him blankly, "I wish I could, Bill. But I gotta stay in the waiting room until they're done, but like I said, when you wake up, I'll be there, 'kay?" Billie Joe nodded and started to kick his legs impatiently.
***
What seemed like hours, but only happened to be twenty minutes afterwards, Leela pulled back the curtain surrounding Billie Joe, ten minutes before had Jess left to sit in the waiting room.
Following behind Leela like tiny puppy dogs were her asisstants, all dressed in matching white coats and had thin blue caps pulled over their heads to hold their hair. In the center of this small group was a smaller cot than the one Billie had been occupying.
Leela pat the stiff mat on wheels with one hand, the other holding on to the rail on both its sides, "Come lay down on here, Billie Joe, and we'll go for a ride into a big room where you're going to take a nap for a while."
Billie Joe obeyed silently, laying down on the cot so he was staring at the ceiling. The cot was pushed into motion as he was wheeled through the intricate hallways of the hospital, engulfing them in constant noise, with which Billie Joe wanted to block out, for it was too loud.
Once they had reached their destination, the "big room", the cart stopped short, and Billie hiccuped at the sudden change in motion, as it suddenly ceased to exist. He continued to stare at the ceiling, unaware of the six pairs of eyes towering over and watching him.
One surgeon picked up a mask from a shining silver tray, the mask had a long, wide tube attached to it. As the surgeon started to place the mask over Billie's face, the frightened patient jerked away from the foreign object, lifting his hands to protect himself.
"Relax, Billie Joe," Leela commented in a soothing whisper, "We're just going to put this over your mouth, and you'll fall asleep. Nothing to worry about, 'kay?"
Billie found himself nodding at the calming words, although having no idea how a mask that looked like it was from a science fiction movie was going to make him fall asleep; just Leela's assuring words helped him to calm down. He trusted her enough to listen. He let his hands fall to his sides, and the surgeon placed the mask over his mouth; the cold rubber against his face made him jump slightly, but he relaxed.
As the gas began to enter his system and he started to feel groggy, Leela's voice cut through the gas, enough for her words to register in his mind before he fell asleep, "Have a nice nap, kid."
