The ambulance pulled in near the emergency building at Saint Michael's Children's Hospital. Near the entrance, a team of nurses were waiting. Once Alvin was taken out of the ambulance, he was immediately rushed to the emergency room. Dave, Simon, and Theodore tried to follow, but were stopped by one of the nurses, Helena.
"Sir, I'm afraid you and the children will have to wait here" Helena said.
"Wait a minute. That's my son you're taking back there" said Dave.
"I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait" said Helena.
Dave paced back and forth in the waiting room, impatiently waiting to hear the news on Alvin. It had been at least 10 minutes since he was brought in. Tears flowed down Dave's face as he prayed Alvin was OK. He felt very guilty. If only he could tell Alvin how sorry he was.
Dr. Robert Henderson entered the waiting area. "Mr. Seville?" he said.
Dave, Simon, and Theodore walked up to him.
"How's Alvin?" Dave asked.
Dr. Henderson let out a deep breath. "Have a seat" he said.
Dave and his sons took a seat.
"We finally managed to get Alvin's bleeding under control, but he hasn't awaken yet. He's in a very deep coma and there's no telling when he'll come out of it. There's a possibility that he may not come out of it at all" Dr. Henderson explained.
"Another coma?" Simon asked.
"He was pretty banged up" said Dr. Henderson.
"What about his breathing?" asked Dave.
"It's still on the irregular side. We had to hook him up to a ventilator to help him breathe" Dr. Henderson answered.
"You couldn't do anything else?" Dave asked. His voice shook as he spoke.
"I know this is hard, but we've done all we could right now. The only thing we can do now is sit and wait" said Dr. Henderson.
Dave was quiet for a minute as he let the tears run down his face. He sighed. "Can we see him, please?" he said.
"Come with me" said Dr. Henderson.
Alvin lying in a bed in ICU with bandages wrapped around his forehead, a piece of gauze taped to his chin, an tube down his throat and an oxygen tube through his nose. A heart monitor showed that his heartbeat was steady.
Dr. Henderson quietly entered the room with Dave, Simon, and Theodore.
"Can he hear anything?" Dave asked.
"I don't think he can" said Dr. Henderson.
Dave was silent for a moment. He looked at Alvin. He looked so lifeless.
"Can I have a few moments alone with him?" Dave asked.
"Of course" Dr. Henderson quietly left the room.
Dave sighed. "Simon, Theodore, I want you guys to go to the game room and play with the other kids. I want to be alone with Alvin" he said.
Simon and Theodore looked at each other, but did what they were told.
Dave took a seat next to Alvin's bed. He carefully grabbed Alvin's hand. There wasn't a stir or moan. There was nothing but a motionless Alvin who was probably near death.
"Alvin? Can you hear me buddy?" Dave said quietly. His voice shook as he spoke.
Alvin just lied there.
A tear left Dave's eye. "Alvin, please wake up" he said in a shaky voice.
There was no response. This brought more tears to Dave's eyes. Just the sound of Alvin's voice would bring music to his ears.
"Oh Alvin, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault" Dave said in a shaky voice.
There was still no response.
Dave couldn't say anymore. At least, not at the moment. Just seeing Alvin lie there just made him speechless.
A little later, after Simon and Theodore had returned from the game room, Alvin's nurse, Jamie, quietly entered the room.
"I'm sorry folks, but I'm afraid you'll have to leave for tonight" said Jamie.
"But what about Alvin?" Theodore asked.
Jamie just smiled. "Don't worry. We'll take good care of him" he said.
Simon and Theodore looked at each other then at Dave.
"There's not much we can do for Alvin right now" Dave said.
"But Dave..." Simon started.
Dave held his hand up to stop him. "Come on, you heard the doctor. The only thing we can do is sit and wait. Other than that, there's nothing we can do" he said.
Simon and Theodore looked at each other again. Then hung their heads as Dave guided them out of the room.
Simon and Theodore were having trouble sleeping that night. Not only was Leonard snoring loudly, but Alvin was on their mind. Was he going to be alright?
Dave wasn't getting along too great either. His mind and heart were full of guilt. He knew he should have called the cops once he saw Leonard. He knew he should have called the cops when he saw the bruises on Alvin's face. He knew he shouldn't have left Alvin alone with Leonard.
Don't give up Alvin. You're a fighter. You can get through this. You have to Dave thought as his eyes closed.
At the hospital, Jamie walked into Alvin's room to replace the piece of gauze. As carefully as possible, Jamie began to remove the gauze and wiped down the wound with a alcoholic wipe. Alvin didn't feel a thing, for his coma was still very deep.
Jamie placed the new piece of gauze on the child's chin and taped it into place. Then gently brushed the child's cheek.
"We're all rooting for you, Alvin. You can get through this. Just be strong" Jamie said quietly.
Alvin didn't respond. He just lied there, still looking lifeless.
Jamie gathered the trash and left the room. At the same time, another nurse, Hillary, walked into the room to give Alvin some more pain medicine. Afterward, she pulled the covers up on him, careful not to pull on his IV.
Alvin was then left alone to rest for the rest of the night.
The sun shone through the boys room, signaling Simon and Theodore to get up and get ready for school. They rolled themselves out of bed, got dressed, and grabbed their books. Then they began making their way out of their room. Before continuing downstairs, they could hear Leonard snoring through his closed door.
The boys looked at each other and continued downstairs and to the kitchen, finding Dave already in there making their lunches.
Dave could see just how tired they were. "You guys had another rough night, didn't you?" he asked.
The boys were tired to answer at the moment, but Dave knew the answer when he saw their faces.
Simon sighed. "What happened to Alvin?" he asked in a low voice.
Dave looked concerned. "I think I know" he said.
"Really? What?" Theodore said.
Dave smiled. "We'll talk later. Right now, you guys need to get to school. I'm going to the hospital to see Alvin" he said as he handed them their lunches.
Simon and Theodore took their lunches and left for school.
