The News
Adam puts his four way flashers on and pulls into the Emergency entrance next to the ambulance bay. A very hot looking volunteer our age or slightly older meets us there and helps me get into the wheelchair he's pushing.
Once I settle in and perch my purse on my lap, Adam reaches for the wheelchair handles to push me into the hospital. The volunteer stops him telling him to park his car, or they will ticket him for leaving it there. Adam relinquishes the handles of the wheelchair and heads back to his car. The volunteer navigates me to the triage desk.
Adam returns to the Emergency department after parking his car. There's only one other person in line waiting to speak to the triage nurse, but the waiting room is full. We are definitely going to be here a long time.
A potbellied nurse with curly blond hair and pudgy red lips says, 'Name and health card please."
"Dalia Middleton." I grab the health card from my wallet and hand it to her.
"The reason for your visit today?"
"I hurt my leg while I was skating this morning."
"Right or left?"
"Right."
"On a scale of 1-10, what would you rate the pain? Ten being the most painful thing you've ever felt." "Nine," I admit.
She looks unimpressed as she wraps a cuff around my arm and places an oximeter onto my finger. She takes a temperature reading as well, "Your heart rate is up, do you feel pain right now?" Yes, I do."
"They will give you something for that once the doctor sees you. Do you have any allergies?"
"Not that I'm aware of."
"Have you travelled outside of Canada in the last six months?"
"No."
"Any fever?"
"No."
"Okay, you can go have a seat, we'll call you when it's your turn," she says.
"Thanks."
Adam takes the handles of my wheelchair and moves us out of the way. He finds a vacant area for us to sit closely together, his bolted down seat next to my wheelchair. Everyone who isn't looking at a phone is staring at us for a lack of anything better to do.
I pull my phone out of my purse and find several messages from Tara.
Tara: Where R U?
Tara: U have 2 B @ school I C U'r car here. Looked 4 U. Tara: Call me!
Dalia.• Hi Tara, I'm not @ school. Tara: 1 min
I glance over at Adam, he's texting too. He glances back at me, "Are we allowed to use our phones here?"
"I think so, I guess we can unless someone tells us otherwise." I look back at my screen again.
Tara: Had 2 leave classroom so I wouldn't get caught texting. Dalia: I'm @ hospital. Hurt my leg on triple axel this morning.
Tara: How come U'r car is here?
Dalia.• Adam took me after homeroom.
Tara: Basketball Adam?
Dalia: Yup
Tara: Yummy! How did U swing that?
Dalia: My leg almost gave out on me in homeroom. He carried me 2 his car, insisted on driving me!
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CARESS AND WEEP
RomanceI finish drying my blades and cover them before shoving my figure skates into my bag. The change room is deserted now, because it's taken me this long just to get ready to leave. Minutes before the Zamboni took to the ice, I fell on my umpteenth at...
