The Third Floor Abyss

3:40 am, you are awakened by your cell phone ring. You pick it up, recognize the caller and between thinking that something serious has happened and answering, you drop it. It hits the floor with a bang, probably disrupting the neighbor downstairs. You let out an ugly curse word as you pick it up and place it on you ear waiting for the caller to speak. ‘Mrs. X is everything alright?’ You take a deep breath. ‘Yes, yes, what happened?’ You always think the worst has happened. ‘Your mother has requested an ambulance and we are calling to know whether you can meet them at her house’. Between saying no and knowing that if you were called it meant that all the other family members said no, so you say yes, of course. It´ll take around 30 minutes to get there.

It takes you a bit longer to get there, after all you were deep in sleep. Upon arriving, you realize that you have left your mother´s house keys at home. Being away in isolation for the past two years due to the pandemic, you put those keys away. However, after greeting the paramedics who kept repeating that they had been waiting for the past fifteen minutes, you search for the keys – to no avail. Luckily, your youngest sister lives nearby. You turn to the paramedics, whose eyes say that they are one step from packing everything back in the ambulance and leaving, and tell them that you will be right back.

As you drive like a race car driver to get the key, you seem to be under a super natural power – adrenaline. It keeps you going as far as you need to keep on going.

Your mother was not feeling well, which was clear, but all her vital signs were great, better than yours. She was having a panic attack according to the paramedic. The big question was to take her to the hospital or not. At this point you are the one that starts to have a panic attack. Having spent Christmas and New Year´s alone away from gatherings, being judged by family and friends for being so radical, you were now going to be thrown into the lion´s den of covid and the flu – the ER.

It takes your mom around an hour to reach the a decision and you are the one who needs to call the shot- ok, hospital it is.

Being in the passenger seat of an ambulance is fun and scary at the same time. It feels like a rollercoaster ride. Sadly, this wasn´t the first time you were riding in one. Hopping on to get in a big issue when your legs do not always obey your commands. The paramedic at the wheel asks you if you need help, you thank him and say that despite the young face, your body is old. He laughs as he turns on the engine and starts off to the hospital at full speed.

So many thoughts come to mind during the ride, a short film of the past two years flies by. But the one thing that you blurt out to cut through the silence is how much you miss driving fast. Adrenaline – still hanging in there. The ambulance sways along the highway ; the siren is turned on twice. High emotions.

At the hospital there aren´t a lot of patients, perhaps because of the early hour. Maybe people wait until after having breakfast to go since they know that it will be a long wait. After the nurse checks your mom´s vitals once again, you are taken to the 2^nd floor. Your mom is placed in a wheel chair and you have to do the pushing.

The 2^nd floor is pretty calm, 5 patients and 5 companions, therefore, there was a place for everyone to sit. Before x-rays, there would be blood work and medication to reduce your mom´s throwing up. At this point, you decide to go down to the cafeteria for some coffee and get something to eat. Not being able to eat just anything due to your dietary restrictions, you are relieved to see that they serve gluten-free cheese bread. However, because it is placed in the same container as the other snacks, there is probably gluten contamination. Nonetheless, it is better to suffer from that than low blood sugar. Luckily, the cafeteria is empty. It is your first experience since the pandemic began, two years, of eating in a public place without a mask protecting you. Even though you know you are alone, it still feels creepy and not right. It just meant that it would take some getting used to. You eat as fast as you can before other clients arrive.

Back on the 2^nd floor, your mom is still receiving the meds because it took them forever to find a good vein. Good thing you didn´t see how many times she had been poked. As you sit there and wait, you start wishing you had grabbed a book to read; it was going to be a long wait.

Fighting between staying awake or giving in to dozing off, a nurse calls you aside and whispers that your mom´s covid test is positive and you need to go immediately to the 3^rd floor – the covid and flu ward. Your heart skips a beat, not only because you will be thrown into the lion´s den, but also because you need to break the news to your mom.

You cannot believe that you have been so careful avoiding group gatherings and just like that - poof - go luck!

The elevator doors open on the 3^rd floor which looks like a war zone. People coughing, throwing up; all 25 seats taken by those feeling sick, some in wheel chairs while their companions stand up against the walls. Rage grows inside you. What you see in inhuman. Even hospital employees are there waiting for their covid test results. Every time the elevator doors opened, more and more people came into that room. You try to stand where there are fewer people- to no avail. You seem like a people magnet, especially to those who do not wear their masks properly or want to talk. It is as if your fear is luring them towards you; similar to a wild animal which attacks another because they can smell the fear. You just smile behind the mask and move to another place.

In the end, it turns out that your mother´s symptoms had nothing to do with covid. Good thing she had taken her 3 vaccine shots. However, quarantine is a must and everyone who she had been in contact with need to be tested; especially you.

Written: January 8, 2022

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