After a wait that seemed like an eternity, Zack finally spoke up.
"Hey, can we get some service over here?" he yelled at a burly looking nurse.
The nurse glanced at him, and let out a sigh of annoyance.
"May I help you?" she asked Zack with an arrogance he hadn't seen before.
"Yes, we are the sons of Carey Martin. We were called to come down to see her in the ER, that she may not make it the night." After hearing this, Cody began to well up and the waterworks in his head resumed.
"Go through the double doors and head to Bay 18. I'll send a nurse straight over." she said, her demeanor improving a little since the last time she opened her gaping piehole.
The boys heard a buzz and the door clicked. They walked up to it and it opened on its own. They proceed down the hallway marked "BAYS 10-18". As they continued walking, they saw a giant 18 on the floor and a curtain was pulled around the rectangular area of the ward. The boys stopped. They just could not mentally prepare themselves for the sight they were about to see. Both stood in silence, not a word spoken between them. Zack thought about how Cody would take it. What if she was covered in blood? Cody couldn't handle seeing the most precious woman in their life like that. It would terrify him, who knows what would happen. But what about him? Would he be able to handle it?
Cody's thoughts were also racing. He didn't think he was going to be able to handle it. He could feel the anxiety slowly grip him. It was crushing the fibers of his being. He felt weak and silly for sobbing, even though his mother had told him many times that it was okay for boys to cry. He continued crying, however, shaking in place as if he were ready to go into a grand mal seizure. He felt himself slipping into further depression. Would this finally be it? The one thing that sends him over the edge?
The boys snapped out of their independent thought processes and prepared to pull back the curtain.
"Cody, it will be okay. We're going to get through this no matter what, do you understand me?" Zack coached his twin. Neither of the boys were too sure about this. Zack reached for the curtain and pulled it back. The boys stared at the unconcious woman who they called mom. At this, Zack could no longer hold back and began sobbing at the terrible sight himself. He held his brother tightly, hoping to gain some comfort from him. This went on as the boys waited impatiently for a nurse.
"Where the hell could that nurse be? Nurse King Kong out front said she would send a nurse straight back. This is complete bullshit." Zack said in between agonizing sobs. They waited, and waited, and waited some more. Finally a nurse, identified by her ID as "Paulette" walked in.
"Boys, I am so sorry for your mother's accident," she said with the voice of an angel. "however, I do need to see her advance directives to know if we should attempt resuscitation if it comes to it." Zack handed over the papers that contained his mother's final wishes. He never thought he would have to use them this soon. The nurse reviewed the papers carefully. "OK, it says here that she would like to be resuscitated, as long as it does not require life support systems." The boys were relieved, if only for a second. "We'll keep monitoring her condition. We are unsure at this point what will happen." And with that, Paulette left the room.
The boys sat and cried together. They couldn't imagine life without their mother. The boys curled up and fell asleep next to each other. As they slept, they both dreamt about the great times they had as a family with their mother. There was the trip to the beach they had taken last summer with Maddie, London, and their mother. They had so much fun together, especially when Maddie threw London into the ocean! And there were presents on Christmas morning. Mom would stay up for hours on Christmas early morning to wrap all the presents and be sure everything was just right. They recalled in their dream the time their mother got them their netbooks, and they were so happy, ecstatic even! Mom had just told them it was because they had been very good that year, and that she loved them. They had gotten her a pair of cheap earrings at Wal-Mart. Needless to say, the gifts exchanged were never very equal. As they remember good times, they were both jolted from their slumber. The vital sign monitor was beeping erratically, and the boys saw this:
HR: 0
BP: 0/0
SpO2: 84%
"CODE BLUE: NO HR, NO BP"
The boys were clueless about Code Blue but knew that a heart rate of 0 was not good. They heard an automated voice come over the PA: "CODE BLUE, CODE BLUE, ER BAY 18". Almost instantaneously, a CPR team entered the room. The charge nurse forced the boys out into the hallway. They waited in absolute terror. They heard the charge nurse yelling CPR counts and telling the man operating the defibrillator to charge it. After it was charged, the nurse yelled "CLEAR!" and then shocked the boys' mother with the paddles. No response. They tried again. No response. Once more they tried, and Zack and Cody both prayed like they had never before. "CLEAR!" and shock, but no response. "Call time of death." the charge nurse said. "0642." another nurse responded.
The boys stood in absolute horror. They couldn't even react. The charge nurse came out and broke the horrible news to them. Cody broke off, "NO! SHE CAN'T BE DEAD, SHE JUST CAN'T!" Unfortunately, however, she really was gone. Zack grabbed his brother in an embrace, and they stood in the hallway, crying in grief for their beloved mother, who now lay lifeless on the gurney in Bay 18.
