In An Instant

Chapter 4: Waiting Games

It had been three days since Kaden's accident, and to the relief of all of us, he was still alive. He'd gone to surgery over an hour ago, where they said they were going to close up his amputated leg, as well as do a skin graft on his left arm, which looked like a bear had taken a bite out of. I wished they would've warned me that his wound was still uncovered from the cleaning before we'd gone to visit him. If they had, I definitely wouldn't have looked. His other arm, the one he'd lost, had been closed up yesterday, which they said looked good.

He was awake and talking for the first time this morning, but was still really out of it. He kept telling us to take the wrench out of his hand because it hurt, but when he said it, he'd raise up what was left of his amputated arm.

"Here, get it," he'd order whoever was on that side of his bed, raising his stump up, reminding us all that his arm wasn't there anymore. "It hurts... just get it out of my hand."

"Okay, I got it," Bri would say, not knowing what else to do, which would pacify him, but only for a few minutes.

The doctor said they were phantom pains. When I looked at his missing limbs, I, too, was having phantom pains, knowing he'd never be able to play ball again. He didn't know this, yet, since no one had told him the extent of his injuries. I knew I didn't want to be there when he found out.

"Why didn't they close them up when he first came in?" Bri asked, as we played our hundredth game of UNO while we sat in the same corner of the ICU waiting room that we'd been camped out in for the past few days.

"He wasn't stable enough," her mom replied, taking a sip of her coffee. "And the doctor said they left his arm and leg open to clean it out and let it drain, that way no infection would set up in it."

Kaden and Bri looked like their dad, with their dark hair and tanned complexions, but had their mom's light hazel eyes, which were now puffy and had dark circles under them. I think it was the first time I'd ever seen her look anything but regal. The stress and worry of the past few days had taken a toll on her, and she no longer looked like the powerful lawyer that she was. Instead, she looked vulnerable and weak.

Tommy walked in, not looking much better, even though he'd gone home every night and slept in his own bed, since he had some important cases he had to deal with. "We've got a room," he said as he sat down. "As soon as he's out of surgery, we can go on down."

The hospital had rooms, like hotel rooms, which were available to the families of patients who were in critical care and going to be admitted for a while, giving them a place to stay so they didn't have to travel back and forth from their homes to the hospital so much. Since we all lived at least an hour away, it was hard to drive back and forth to sleep or shower, so, for the most part, Bri, Elizabeth, and I hadn't. They'd been on a waiting list, but the wait was over. I was ready to actually get to lie down in a bed, not a recliner, and wash the past couple of days off of me.

We waited a few more hours before the doctor finally came in and introduced himself, telling us how Kaden was. "He did well and is in recovery." He went on to explain how they'd done the graft and where they'd taken the skin from, showing them how big it was and how there was a risk that his body would reject it. I tried to listen, so I'd know what all he'd done and what to expect, but the only part I really cared about was the part where he'd said he was okay.

He said he'd be in recovery for a couple of hours, so we decided to go down and check out our room. We walked a little ways past the cafeteria and out a side door that led to a set of concrete steps. Below was a row of about ten rooms, which really did look like a mini-hotel, right there underneath the hospital.