Chapter 13:
I woke up with lights blaring in my eyes. From what I could see at the moment, this wasn't my normal hospital room. The room looked well equipped with medical machines and equipment. I don't know why or when I was moved.
I looked to my left to face my Ma, who was holding and rubbing circles with her thumb on the back of my hand. It looked like she was in a deep daze of worry. Her eyes never left the wall opposite of me. I continued to scan the room when my eyes fell upon a chair in the corner. Someone was sitting in it reading a book. I couldn't see who it was, but I had an idea of who it was because of the clothing attire.
"Ma," I croaked in nearly a whisper through an oxygen mask that was placed over my mouth and nose. She jumped back to reality when I called her name. She leaned forward and wiped a strand of hair out of my face. "Janie, darling." She carefully leaned forward more to give me a hug. By now, Maura had risen from the chair in the corner and stood by my bed.
I looked around the room one more time. "Ma, why am I in a different room and where are Frankie and Tommy?" I rasped through a sore throat.
"Janie, you had a stroke. It was a – Maura, could you explain it to Jane please, since you seem to understand it better than I do."
"Yes ma'am I can. Jane, you had an ischemic stroke." She walked closer to me from where she was previously standing. "This particular stroke occurs when there is a blood clot that breaks loose from wherever it is and enters the bloodstream. It travels as far as it can go until the blood vessels become too small to let it pass. This causes a blockage which results in a stroke."
"I'm all right though, right?" I asked slightly panicked.
Maura answered my question. "Yes, you are fine except you still having paralysis in your left leg. Luckily, you were in the hospital when your stroke happened, so they were able to treat you quickly. Their quickness saved valuable time that prevented damage anywhere. The statistics of—"
"Please don't give me the origin, discoverer, or statistics of a stroke." I playfully bantered with Maura as Ma still clutched my hand in hers.
"Ok." Maura shrugged off my request with a smirk.
"Ma, where's Frankie and Tommy?"
"I sent them to school today. They were just too much to handle in the hospital and I wanted to take their minds off of everything."
As if on cue, a doctor with a clipboard walked into the room. "Hi Jane, I'm Dr. Martin. I was your doctor that came into your room when you woke up from your coma." He walked over to bag of solution for the IV that was by my bed and checked it. "I'm going to take you to get tested for a few things. Your mom can come with you if you want."
"What about Maura?"
The doctor turned and looked at Maura in silence before he gave his answer. "Yes, Maura can come too." Both of our faces lit up in a smile.
"Ok, so before I get a wheelchair and bring you to where you need to go, do you have any questions?"
"Yeah, how come I haven't been interviewed by any police about the incident I was involved in?"