The Secret World of Maya Alexander

Chapter 54

The hospital staff had tried their best to make the mostly bleak and barren world inside sterile walls reflect that Christmas Eve had arrived across the globe and had not forgotten those who were not able to be wherever home was for the imminent festivities . There were a few small Christmas trees on counters. There was an abundance of cards showing snowy scenes; Christmas trees, robins in the snow, pugs dressed as santa. All pinned onto notice boards or propped on ledges. Some carol singers from the church were doing their rounds on the wards. Mince pies and non-alcoholic mulled wine were being wheeled around on a trolley for visitors and patients, who were well enough to consume them. There was an increased number of various men and women of faith providing messages of hope and good will. Of course not everyone in hospital on Christmas Eve was there for an unhappy reason. There were births as well as deaths that day. Cures as well as treatment. There was joy as well as sorrow.

The middle-aged Psychiatrist who had now acquired Maya Alexander onto his caseload, only had a brief period of time allocated in the hospital on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day. He would be based at the small mental health unit two miles down the road, on call if needed. The hospital had seemed keen to prove that there was nothing physically wrong with Maya so that they could discharge her to Dr Jenkins' care, but Dr Jenkins seemed keen to at least let Christmas fade away before thinking about moving his new patient. It was more for the family's sake than for Maya's. Maya had continued to show little awareness of her surroundings over the last few days, despite every medical test coming back to say that her brain was functioning normally and her wounds were healing well. Dr Jenkins did not think his new patient would have noticed any change to the four walls which contained her body with her state of mind at that moment, but her family certainly would.

He knew from experience that the first time a loved one is admitted to the hospital care of the mental health services could be a huge shock for their family. It was not like being an outpatient; visiting a cozy room with a smiling receptionist where you were hardly ever confronted with the most severe mental health conditions. Outpatients was for those who were surviving, just about. Their disabilities mostly hidden, except for a few behaviours or ways of responding to the world that might cause people to stare. Inpatients was a very different world, and acknowledging that someone you love is so mentally unwell that they need to be in a special hospital where there are patients who seem nothing like the memory of your loved one, is tough. And Dr Jenkins thought that he could at least dig his heels in and spare the family of Maya Alexander that experience during the Christmas period. It was not as though Maya actually needed any imminent specialist care. At the moment, the only biological term that could be used to 'diagnose' her condition was 'sleeping'. There was no treatment for sleep. And as long as Maya was asleep, no formal mental health assessment could be completed.

There had been no new visitors at the hospital. Maya was on leave from work so there was no need for anyone to enquire of her whereabouts. Jackie had felt it unnecessary to share the current circumstances other than on a need to know basis. Alice had asked her mother whether she would have phoned Maya's work if she had been unconscious from a car accident and not from... Well, even she had failed to push the words 'jumping from a bridge' out of her mouth... Her inability to complete that sentence had kind of proved Jackie's point and so there was no need for her to respond.

Since arriving, the mother and daughter had spent most of their days and evenings beside Maya in that sterile corner room. They tried to persuade her into consciousness with small talk and soothing 'it will all be okay' messages. There were moments when Maya seemed to open her eyes. In fact, these moments were increasing, but Maya would open her eyes so suddenly and so wide that Alice and Jackie would see a terror within that wide-eyed stare, which actually made them feel a relief when her eyes shut out the world once more and she returned to her slumber. They did not talk about this to each other. Instead they both felt a secret shame for not feeling delighted at the signs that Maya might be waking up, which would surely mean that she was getting better. Inside they seemed to sense that Maya waking up could probably be more difficult to deal with than her staying asleep. That maybe Maya was not the only one who needed to pause and regain her strength.