Hope for All- chapter 57
"Tony? What's going on?" asked Angela as she peeked her head out the bedroom door.
"Angela get back in the bedroom and don't come out. Jonathan is sick. If he has the stomach flu, I don't want you or the babies to catch it" said Tony.
"Okay but is he okay?" asked Angela as she closed the door, leaving it opened just a crack.
"I'll let you know. Jonathan, buddy are you okay?" asked Tony as he knocked gently on the door.
"I… don't feel well Tony…" he started to say as he got sick again.
"Alright let's assume this is a virus and right now we have all been exposed but hopefully Angela and the babies can stay quarantined to avoid anymore exposure. Samantha, go over to Mona's and tell her to come over to help Angela with the babies. Jonathan, can I come in?" he asked as he gently knocked on the door.
"No! I don't want you to get sick!" he cried.
"I know buddy but I need to make sure you are okay" said Tony. He waited a few minutes more before he opened the door. Jonathan was curled up on the floor, holding his stomach. Tony got a wet wash cloth and sat down next to him.
"Tony my stomach and side hurt really bad…" he said, causing Tony to start to panic.
"Which side? Your right side?" he asked as he checked him for a fever, which he did in fact have.
"Yeah…" said Jonathan weakly.
"Well the good news is I don't think this is a virus. Bad news is I think it could be your appendix. We need to get you to the hospital now" said Tony. Just then, Mona and Samantha came to the door.
"Is he alright?" asked Mona with real concern in her voice.
"I think it's his appendix. We need to get him to the hospital ASAP. Mona, I need you to come with me. Samantha, I need you to stay and help Angela with the babies. I'll update you as soon as we know something" said Tony as he lifted Jonathan up off the floor. He moaned in pain as Angela came out of the bedroom.
"Tony what's wrong?" she said as she tried to hold back tears.
"I think it might be his appendix. The symptoms sound just like mine when I needed surgery. Mona and I are going to take him to the hospital. We will call as soon as we know anything" he said.
"Tony I'm his mother, I'm coming too!" she practically shouted.
"Angela, you need to take care of the twins. If it's anything worse I will come get you" he said as he headed down the stairs. They all followed behind him; Angela kissed Jonathan, told him she loved him and he was going to be okay before they headed out the door.
"He's going to be okay Angela!" said Samantha.
"C'mon upstairs and help me get the twins ready and packed" said Angela as she headed up the stairs.
"But Dad said to wait here…" she started to say as Angela interrupted her.
"I don't care what he said! He could need surgery and I'll be damned if I'm waiting home and waiting for word on how he is!" she shouted as she headed up the stairs. Samantha followed close behind and helped her pack diapers, wipes, extra clothes and blankets. They each got changed and soon had the babies ready to head out. They soon arrived at the hospital.
"Samantha, go into the ER and see if you can find them. Come back out with Mother. See about getting me a mask if you can" she said. Both babies were sleeping peacefully in their car seats. After about five minutes, Mona and Samantha came back out and got into the van.
"What's the update? How is he doing?" asked Angela in a panicked voice.
"They are working him up now but it does appear to be his appendix. They are most likely getting him ready for surgery" said Mona. She barely had time to finish her sentence when Angela grabbed the mask from Samantha and ran into the ER. She saw Tony waiting outside one of the doors and ran to him.
"Is he okay? Why are you out here? Does he need surgery?" she shouted.
"They are bringing the sonogram machine in now to confirm it's his appendix. I just stepped outside because I knew you were coming. I had a feeling you weren't going to listen to me. Let's go back in and then we can figure it out from here" he said as they walked into the room.
"Mommy…" he said, melting and breaking her heart at the same time. She couldn't remember the last time he called her anything but mom.
"I'm right here sweetheart. They are going to take really good care of you" she said as she reached over for his hand. The doctor came back in with the sonogram machine and introduced herself.
"Hi there I'm Dr. Springer and I am your son's treating physician. We suspect this is appendicitis but we will confirm with the sonogram. If it is, we will be taking him up for surgery right away" she said as she started up the sonogram machine. As suspected, it was his appendix.
"Alright I need you to sign consent forms for surgery before we take him up. The procedure won't take too long but he will be in recovery for a few hours" she said as she handed Angela a bunch of forms. She was able to fill out what she needed to as they were about to wheel him into surgery.
"Okay sweetheart you're going to be just fine! Remember Tony had his appendix out and he's fine! We will be here when you wake up! I love you!" she said as she did her best to hold back tears.
"Yes buddy I'm fine and and so will you! I love you too…" he said.
"I love you guys…" he said before the anesthesia took over. The staff wheeled him down the hallway and into the elevator. Tony and Angela held onto one another as they watched the elevator doors close.
"He's going to be fine Angela! That kid is tough as nails! He will be up and around in no time!" he said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
"I thought going through this surgery with you was tough… this is going to be ten times worse…" she said as she wiped away tears.
"I know Angela… let me see where we can wait and maybe there's somewhere private away from the sick people we can be since I'm sure the twins are already fussing" he said. As if on cue, Samantha came back in to tell them both babies were awake and crying.
"Alright you go back to them and I will see about a space for us" said Tony as Angela headed back outside. By the time she got back to the car, she could hear them both screaming.
"Okay you two! I know you are hungry and probably need to be changed. Daddy is trying to find us a place to wait while your brother is in surgery" she said as she picked up Matthew and wrapped him in a blanket. She grabbed pacifiers out of the diaper bag and gave one to Anna to settle her down, followed by Matthew. Soon, Tony came back to the van with Samantha.
"They are giving us a private room to wait. We can go in through the main entrance to try and avoid more germs. They promised to update us the minute he's out of surgery" he said as he took Matthew from Angela.
"Okay good. Let's get the stroller out so hopefully after the feeding and diaper change they can sleep in there for a while. I'm going to need to call Michael at some point too" she said as she picked up Anna, wrapping her in a blanket.
"Alright let's head inside" said Tony as they made their way to the front of the hospital. They were taken to the private room to wait. They were able to change them and get them back to sleep for an hour before they needed to be fed. It was a challenge to get set up in the room to feed, but Angela was able to manage with Tony's help. Despite the circumstances, they were all able to sleep on and off for the next few hours until the doctor came to update the family.
"He did very well! He's in recovery now. I can bring him to you now for a very quick visit but then he will need his rest. Once he's fully awake, he will be transferred to a room. I anticipate him being here for about two or three days to make sure he's healing alright" said the doctor.
"Thank you so much! Yes please we would like to see him!" said Angela. Tony and Angela followed the doctor to the recovery room, while Mona and Samantha waited with the twins. The doctor brought them to the room and let them inside. Jonathan was propped up with some pillows and blankets to keep him warm. They both walked over to the side of his bed. He began to stir a bit so Angela grabbed his hand.
"Hi sweetheart it's Mom. You did great! You're going to be just fine!" she said as she brushed some hair out of his face.
"Yeah buddy you're gonna be just fine!" said Tony.
"Mom? Tony?" he asked weakly.
"Yes sweetheart it's us!" she said.
"Where are the babies? You should be with them…" he said as he tried to open his eyes.
"They are with Grandma and Samantha. Don't worry about them… we are right here but you need to sleep. We will be here when you wake up" she said as she watched his eyes close.
"C'mon Angela let's head back and find a phone so you can call Michael" he said as they headed out of the room. They were able to find the payphone as she pulled out her address book from her purse and dialed the number. After a few rings, someone picked up.
"Michael? It's Angela… yes I know it's late… Jonathan had to have emergency surgery. He had appendicitis and needed to be operated on right away. He's out now and in recovery. We were able to see him for a few minutes but he should be out of it for the next few hours… yes I will…" she said as she hung up.
"He sends his well wishes. He's got a trip they are leaving for in the next few days but he said he will call to check in. How nice of him…" said Angela with more than a little distain in her voice.
"At least he's taking the time to check in. Hopefully he can talk to Jonathan before he leaves for his trip" he said as they headed back to the room. They could hear the babies crying as they turned the corner.
"It's like they have radar and know we are gone! Well more like you are gone!" he chuckled as they entered the room. Mona and Samantha were each holding one of the babies and walking back and forth.
"Thank goodness… here you go!" said Mona as she handed Matthew to Angela. Tony took Anna and soon had her calmed but Matthew wasn't settling.
"Oh Matthew… what's wrong? Are you still hungry?" she asked as he started to try and feed.
"Okay, okay… I get the message! Let's do another feed" she said as she sat down and began feeding him. Tony was able to hand Anna to her so she could feed them both.
"Angela I think you need to head home. These guys need to be home and you need some sleep. The five of you can go home and I will stay. Once he wakes up, I'll call you and you can come back over for a few hours" said Tony.
"But Tony…" she started to say until he cut her off.
"No ifs, ands or buts about it! He's okay now and if anything changes, I will call you" he said.
"I'll come stay with you Angela and that way you can rest" said Mona.
"I'll help too Angela and then I can come back over and keep the dweeb company" said Samantha.
"Alright… they shouldn't be in the hospital any longer anyway so I'll head home. Just please make sure you call me as soon as he wakes up and if anything changes" she said as she tried to hold back tears. Tony came and sat down next to her, slowly rubbing her back.
"I promise Angela. You might be back before he wakes up. I was out of it for at least eight hours after surgery… but I won't leave his side in case he wakes up early" he said.
"Carmela is supposed to come over later today so that will be an extra set of hands to… help. Yes help, that's the word…" said Mona sarcastically.
"Oh Mrs. Rossini! I completely forgot! Well it will be good to have her helping out. She can help with the babies" said Angela.
"She will be over the moon and won't be able to put them down for a minute!" said Tony. The twins finished feeding and were changed before they packed them up to leave. Tony helped them all out to the car as he kissed them all goodbye. He headed back to Jonathan's room, pulling up two chairs and making a makeshift bed. Although he was not at all comfortable, pure exhaustion took over and he was soon asleep.
Jonathan started to stir about the time the nurses came in to check up on him. Tony looked over at the clock and saw he had slept for almost six hours. He knew he would have to call Angela and update her soon or risk having her show back up at the hospital.
"Hey buddy! How are you feeling?" asked Tony as he came to sit on the edge of the bed.
"I'm okay… a little sore and tired but otherwise I'm okay. Where's my mom?" he asked as he looked around the room for Angela.
"She went home a few hours ago along with the rest of the family to try and get some sleep. I'm going to call her now that you are awake to come back and visit. She spoke to your dad last night… he's going to try and call you today or tomorrow to see how you are doing" said Tony.
"Oh okay. You should tell her she doesn't have to come. She should be with the babies. They need her more" he said. Tony could see tears starting to form in his eyes.
"Good luck keeping her away! I tried last night but she refused! She will be back as soon as I give her a call…" he started to say as Angela walked into the room.
"Or she will just magically appear out of thin air!" laughed Tony.
"Sweetheart! You're awake! How are you feeling?" she asked as she sat down on the other side of the bed.
"I'm doing okay. I just woke up. You need to be with the babies Mom! I'll be fine" he said.
"They are fine Jonathan. I fed them before I left and I brought my pump in case they are due to eat before I head back. I'm right where I need to be" she said.
"Did they allow you to get any sleep?" asked Tony.
"Short catnaps as usual. Did you sleep okay Tony?" she asked as she yawned. Both Tony and Jonathan gave each other a worried look.
"Better than you I'm sure and I was in these chairs! So what's the plan? You want me to head home and relieve them so they can come over?" he asked.
"That would be good. I want to get an update from the doctor too. Has anyone come in to see you yet?" she asked as she yawned again.
"Just the nurse to check his vitals. Everything is looking good. Are you sure you don't want to try and rest a bit and come back later?" asked Tony.
"Yeah Mom… you look exhausted" said Jonathan.
"I'm fine. If anything I'll close my eyes for a bit while you rest" she said. Tony moved his chair closer to Angela's and put his arm around her back, pulling her closer to his body. She put her head on his shoulder and soon she was sound asleep.
"Well I would have bet money on that one! She hasn't slept for more than two or three hours in days. Jonathan, can you push the call button? I want to see if they can bring in a cot so she can lay down for a bit" he said.
Soon a nurse came in and brought a small cot. Tony was able to pick her up and place her gently on the small cot, covering her with a blanket. Jonathan was able to fall back asleep, so Tony decided to head home and make sure things were okay.