Into the Long Night Part II

Frank was crying and kissing Betty’s hand. They had taken the tube out and she was breathing on her own. She was talking quietly.

“Mike….Faith….” she croaked when she saw us in the doorway.

Mike ran to her side and smiled through the tears he had in his eyes. I suddenly noticed how exhausted he looked. The doctor was in the room, examining her.

“Betty do you remember what happened?” He asked her.

“No.”

“You had a brain aneurysm and needed surgery. During that surgery, the aneurysm burst.”

“Is that why my head hurts?”

“Yes, but I’ll get you some more pain meds for that, okay?”

“Thank you.”

The doctor left after telling Frank that she wasn't showing signs of brain damage but that Betty wasn't out of the woods yet. Frank nodded.

“Mom, the girls are going to be here tomorrow.”

“Mike, I told you I didn’t want to worry anyone. I’m going to be fine, now they’re going to speed out here for no reason.”

“I think they deserved to know what was going on, Mom.”

Betty waved him off and started coughing. And she didn’t stop. I went to get the nurse and when I came back the monitors on Betty were making loud beeping sounds and she was holding her chest. Mike looked at me with panicked eyes and Frank was telling Betty to try to relax and breathe.

Things after that went by very quickly. Betty lost consciousness, her breathing slowed down too much which made her heart go into distress. The doctor came in and ordered several rounds of medicines that were supposed to help her heart beat better but they didn’t work, he had to intubate her again. He tried shocking her heart but she didn’t respond. The doctor looked at Mike and Frank.

“You need to tell me how much you want us to do for her.”

“What do you mean!?” Frank said, “You can’t let her die! Do everything you can!”

It was a long hour and a half. Betty continued to code. After the third time, the doctor pulled Frank and Mike aside.

“You really need to ask if this is what she would want. Every time we do this to her, it’s painful, we’re breaking her ribs, electrocuting her, and, in my medical opinion, she’s not going to be able to come off the ventilator and have a meaningful life after this.  She’s coming back weaker each time. Her body is giving out. Do you want us to keep going?”

Frank started to yell but Mike stopped him.

“Dad, she’s in pain. She wouldn’t want this. We should…we should tell them to let her go if it happens again. We should…say good bye.” His voice shook. I stayed in the corner and didn’t say anything. 

Frank collapsed in a chair and started crying again. He nodded his head slowly to Mike and the doctor. He picked up Betty’s hand and kissed it. Mike sat on the other side of Betty’s bed and held her hand, I sat next to him and held his.

Her heart went out again and the nurse turned off the monitors and the ventilator. She backed away to give us some privacy to say good bye. Within minutes, Betty was gone.

Frank sat in Mike’s car, his eyes were puffy and red, and he blankly stared in front of him. He hadn’t spoken since… It had been awhile since they took her away when we left the hospital. Mike drove me to my apartment and pulled me aside on the sidewalk.

“I have to go get my sisters from the airport. They’re all coming in within an hour of each other.” Mike sniffled.

“Do you want me to come with you?”

“No, I don’t want that to be the first time you meet them, they’re not going to want that either, plus, I need to take my dad home. He’s…he’s…”

Mike looked over at his dad with sad eyes.

“I understand,” I said, “I’m going to take a shower but then I’m going to go to your apartment and be there when you get home, okay?”

“Okay. I’ll need to get everyone settled, I’ll probably be home really late, I think it’s going to take awhile.”

I nodded and squeezed Mike’s hand.

“Thank you for…for being with me when this happened.” He said. His voice shook and he avoided looking into my eyes. I think it was because if he had, he wouldn't have been able to hold back the tear he'd been holding back to be strong for his dad.

I nodded again and gave him a small kiss. He got in his car and left.