Emerald Chains

07. Aunt Claire

"CLAIRE!!!" Raelyn rushed over, turning her over to her back and shaking her slightly. Claire slowly opened her eyes and groggily began to sit up with Raelyn helping her to a seated position.

"What happened?" asked Raelyn as she sat Claire up against the bed.

"I'm not too sure" Claire replied groggily. "I just felt a bit dizzy and I guess I passed out"

Claire winced when she noticed a large shard of glass sticking out of her hand. She went to go and pull it out and Raelyn stopped her.

"Stop, we're heading to the hospital. You may need stitches." Raelyn said in a worried tone.

"Don't be silly Raelyn, it's too expensive. I'll just pull this out and put a bandaid over it," replied Claire.

"Don't be ridiculous. We can afford to get you stitches, we're not that poor," said Raelyn in an exasperated tone.

Raelyn grabbed the keys to Claire's car and guided her down the steps to the apartment carefully, making sure she didn't fall over again.

Raelyn became worried when Claire fell asleep in the car. She was unsure if Claire was just tired or whether there was some other issue at play. The drive to the hospital took about 15 minutes and she parked in the carpark.

"Claire" she nudged Claire on the shoulder and was responded with a grunt. A sigh of relief washing over Raelyn. "We're here, let's get you checked out".

They hopped out of the car and proceeded towards the emergency room. After a half an hour wait they were shown into a small white room to wait for the doctor.

A male doctor in his 50s entered the room shortly after. "My name is Dr Hale, what can I help you with this evening ladies," he said.

"My aunt here has some glass in her hand and I think it might need stitches" replied Raelyn.

The doctor reached over and lifted Aunt Claire's hand to inspect. "Mmmm... I think you're right. And how did this happen?" asked the doctor.

"I was just in my room having a drink and I remember feeling dizzy. The next thing I knew Raelyn was pulling me up off the floor," replied Claire.

"Do you often have dizzy spells?" asked Dr Hale.

"No, this is the first time," replied Claire.

"Well, first off let's get your hand sorted out, then I would like to run some tests if that's ok. Both of them nodded.

Dr Hale led Claire over to the hospital bed and sat her down on the edge. He continued to pull out the glass from her hand, disinfect her wound and rub a numbing cream around the edges of the cut.

"Now, you might feel a bit of pressure," he said while placing the sewing needle at the end of the cut. He pushed through the skin and proceeded to sew up the cut. Once he was finished he grabbed his stethoscope and placed it on her heart.

"Deep breaths, in and out for me please," asked the doctor. Claire took in a few deep breaths and the doctor continued to listen. "Now, I'm just going to take your blood pressure". He continued taking her blood pressure. "I would like to take an MRI scan to be on the safe side."

"Sure" replied Claire. It took an hour to complete the MRI scan.

"Now, I'm hoping we can get your results back in a few weeks. In the meantime I want you to take it easy. Your blood pressure is a bit on the low side so take it easy when you get up and down or you'll pass out again. If you notice anything else out of the ordinary please come and see me again."

***

The next two weeks were stressful for both Raelyn and Claire. Aunt Claire took some time off work to get some rest as her condition still wasn't improving and she continued to have spouts of dizziness and headaches. She was constantly trying to tell Raelyn she was fine but Raelyn had trouble believing her.