Louisa feared the worse and knew from the doctor's expression it certainly wasn't good news.
She felt dizzy and clutched even tighter onto Martin's arm.
"Well…" Martin broke the awkward silence
"Your daughter, Ava has suffered quite a force on her head and has caused concussion. As she didn't eat anything in the morning or afternoon and then doing exercise made her faint due to low sugar levels in her blood. This is quite severe concussion that Ava has and she will need to be monitored closely on the ward for the minimum of seventy two hours"
"Really? Oh gosh, I knew I should of made her eat breakfast" Louisa felt guilty as though it was her responsibility as a mother to make sure her children were OK,
"It's nobody's fault, it was just unfortunate, maybe her body isn't used to not having any food. I have seen many cases like this in teenagers, she might have been teased for being a bit chubby, which I believe she is not at all. Now her concussion is worse than you suspected Doctor Ellingham, she might slip out of consciousness every now and then and the side effects of this may be upsetting for you both, but I will explain all of that if we hopefully won't, if we get to that stage."
"Thank you" Martin said nodding and then standing up. He shook the consultants hand.
"You're more than welcome. You can both go and see her now"
Martin and Louisa pulled themselves together and tried not to cry in front of Ava. As they walked onto the ward, she was awake and watching people walk back and forth from her bay.
"Mum!" she said noticing Louisa first.
Louisa hugged her and tried as hard as she could not to shed a tear.
Martin then too went the other side of the bed and touched Ava's arm.
"Dad do you know what's wrong?" she said innocently
"Well, they don't know for certain" he knew he should explain properly as he looked into her eyes and saw that she wanted to know, "You have concussion and quite badly. If you didn't avoid eating something when you should then this wouldn't of happened"
Ava looked down and knew her father was right. "Will I be OK?"
"Yes… you should be… but they want to keep an eye on you for a couple of days"
Ava nodded with tears in her eyes. She raised her arms slightly wanting to hug Martin. He leaned forward and Ava squeezed him knowing that he was there for her and wouldn't let anything happen to her.
Louisa watched them hugging and it did bring a tear to her eye, which she quickly brushed away. She never knew Martin would eventually show so much care and protection over anyone.
Martin's phone rang, "I told Pauline to cancel all my appointments"
He looked at it and saw that it was Joan, so he went outside to take the call. This left Louisa and Ava to talk for a while.
"Mum, I'm sorry I ignored you earlier" Ava apologised
"Its OK, you know I only nag you because I care" Louisa said
"Yes I suppose, where's James?" she asked
"He's gone to Auntie Joan's until we come home" Louisa explained.
"Oh right, but he has GCSE's next week and he needs to revise!" Ava panicked
"He will don't worry, me and dad will take it in turns to stay with you while the other goes home and will be with James" Louisa smiled, "It gives you a reason to get better faster, hey?"
"Yes" she sighed
Martin came back into the ward.
"That was Joan, she was wondering how you were, so I explained it to her" Martin said
"Is she worrying over the top as usual!" Ava laughed
"Yes, she said James came home from school alright and apparently half the village knows already" Martin said, "So there will be some made up parts to your accident Ava"
"Lilly probably told everyone you know what she's like!" she said, "Well, she'll tell Pauline and then it will be going around on text messages"
"You're right about that" Louisa agreed
The following day Martin was driving to the hospital and had picked James up to let him see Ava before going to school.
"How bad is it dad?" James asked rubbing his hands together impatiently
"Well she has to stay there for a couple of days and then the doctor's will examine her again and then decide whether she is well enough to return home" Martin explained
"Will you know when she is able enough?"
"I don't know, you have to take scans and examine her responses" Martin said using his hands to explain
"Oh right! There is a lot involved then, I thought concussion was just like a headache or something"
"Obviously not, but the side effects are severe headaches and dizziness"
They arrived at the children's ward, where Ava was being observed.
"James!" she said delighted to see her own brother
"Hi, are you OK?" James asked
"I've got a slight headache, but other than that alright," she explained
Louisa was sitting beside her keeping a close eye on any signs that were different to usual.
They all chatted and laughed amongst themselves until Martin had to take James back to school.
"I'll tell Lilly that you're OK" James said as he left and hugged Louisa, "Bye!"
"See you!" Ava waved
The consultant came round a couple of days later. Martin, Louisa, James and Joan were all waiting around Ava's bed anxiously wanting to hear good news.
"So… Ava, you've got positives in your responses and your scan looks perfectly normal, so I think another night to make sure and then the next step is going home. Your father can provide any medical treatment"
"Thank you" she said relieved
Martin and Louisa thanked the consultant and was over whelmed with the news
"Oh great I have to put up with an annoying little sister around the house again now!" James teased
"Shut up! I'm not little!" Ava said knowing she was only two years younger than James.
"Right lets not have an argument please!" Louisa said quickly
It came to Friday, the day Ava was allowed home and she packed her belongings up in a hurry willing to get out of there as quick as she could. Both Martin and Louisa had booked time off work since the accident, so were there to bring Ava home.
"All ready then?" Martin asked
"Yes, finally!" Ava said rushing to go
The consultant wished them all the best as they left the hospital in the hope of not returning any time soon.
Once returned home things were back to normal, Ava only had to take some paracetamol or any other pain relief if she had a headache. She still managed to wind up her brother and he did the same back. Louisa never imagined she could handle two teenagers living in the same house as she was always used to younger primary school children. She wouldn't change it now and was so grateful that Ava was alright.
Martin on the other hand felt even more protective of his little girl who was indeed a 'Daddy's girl'. She still asked him questions about his job and watched documentaries on TV with him. He was so relieved hearing the good news and was finally able to relax.
Their normal day-to-day life returned and with making sure Ava ate regularly they were all satisfied.
It was a lovely family unit that any one could wish for!
The End…