The Runners: Chapter 4
Danielle Simpson leaned against the edge of a tall open window and looked out from a recovery room in St. Joseph’s hospital in Milwaukee. The hospital was world renowned for its cardiology department for their innovative treatments of heart diseases. The administrators at the hospital carried out aggressive recruiting programs, attracting top notch medical staff from around the world. The CEO of the hospital was an UN insider. He had an impressive resume of having served at the UN Institute of Bio-mechanical heart implantation and later as the head of the WHO. Then, he was appointed by the President of the UN to this hospital fifteen years ago. This gave the hospital unlimited access to the graduates from the top medical schools and researchers at public and private institutions around the world. The hospital paid top money to those who were smart and lucky enough to be interviewed and hired. In return, the medical staff developed innovative methods and new technologies for the purpose of treating heart diseases.
In the last ten years, the hospital grew and became synonymous to heart health for the world. It also became one of the most exclusive and well equipped hospitals for the purpose of not only treating heart patients, but also, for having the building automation systems that provided unmatched comfort for the privileged few, in the former United States territory. As a result, the hospital attracted high profile patients from around the globe. Even those with extreme financial endowments or political clouts had to wait for their turn in the long wait list in order to seek treatments at this center.
The window on the 5th floor cardiology ICU room was facing east. There wasn’t much of a view. The Lake Michigan was too far to be visible, but even if the lake was to come into Danielle’s vantage point, there wouldn’t be much water left to be admired. She looked afar and fixed her eyes at the vastly empty space in the distance, not really processing the imagery of what she was taking in. She had blank expression on her face and lacked focus. Her arms were folded and she stood looking out quietly like a driver who has lost her way, but suddenly, daunted by the sudden challenge of deciding which turn to make at the end of a T-intersection.
Confused and tired, Danielle’s eyes became slowly moist again. She was holding a folded handkerchief in her hand which she occasionally lifted up to wipe her eyes and cheeks. The winters in January does not bring much snow anymore. It has been a while, in fact, she has never seen a real white Christmas, let alone snowy winter. All the winter was good for, for a long while now, was the brief seasonal relief that it brought from the intolerable summer heat. The breeze that came in through the window wasn’t cold. However, it brought a short chill down her back. She proceeded to close the window and moved to the chair next to the bed.
The room was large, about 25 by 30 feet with tall ceilings. Set up for a single patient occupancy, the room appeared very spacious. The walls of the room were finished in white platinum material. Cold and sterile are the first impressions to anyone walking in to the room. There was a built in closet, finished with platinum material for storage and hanging visitors’ clothing. A built in seating area, topped with white leather cushion that was as white as snow was placed at the base, along the length of the window. There was a cushy chair facing the bed and a monitor on top of the closet for visitors to enjoy audio and video programs to take their minds off of their unconscious ICU patient.
There was a lighting system attached to the ceiling that could be electronically pulled down and up in multiple directions, similar to the ones that were seen in a dentist’s office or in the operating rooms. Finally, the wall where the head of the bed was placed was equipped with LED lights and the bed was positioned in the center and under this wall unit. An unconscious woman, in her early 50’s, was lying on the bed. There weren’t any visible tubes other than the one that was connecting the mask from the patient’s mouth to the oxygen pump apparatus.
There was a casket cover, reminiscent of the 20th century tanning machine, except narrower. This was placed above the woman’s body from neck down to her ankles. Exposed outside the white casket cover, which hovered an inch above the body of the patient, were the patient’s head, both arms, and her feet. The rest of the patient’s body was hidden below the hovering casket cover. There was a large screen that took up the middle half of the side surface of the casket. The screen displayed some numbers in green, red, and yellow that were foreign to Danielle. Nonetheless, monitoring and recording the patient’s vitals, it was maintaining the optimal condition for her mother’s physiological recovery.
There were the usual ‘beep, beep, beep’ sounds at predictable intervals that was familiar in the 20th century hospitals. The bed made out of flexible synthetic metals, autonomously inflated and deflated to give the patient comfort. The oxygen machine was pumping air into her lungs and she appeared to be unable to breathe on her own. But, the doctors who had performed the bio-mechanical heart implantation assured that her mother, Linda Simpson, would enjoy full recovery. Linda had also suffered stroke that left her partially blind several years earlier. The doctors were also able to address this problem thru regenerative therapy, which will eventually restore her vision to full normalcy.
A bio-mechanical heart will now be pumping blood for the rest of Linda’s life, but it was a much healthier one than what she had before. Linda appeared to be very fragile as far as Danielle was concerned. Danielle took her mother’s left hand into her hands as she sat down in the chair that she had claimed as her own for the past couple of days. Leaning forward and pulling her mother’s hand to her lips, she gently kissed it. Praying for Linda’s full recovery, Danielle was thankful that she was able to provide her mother with the necessary medical procedures to cure her illnesses and improve the quality of her life. Danielle softly whispered in her mother’s ear “you will be all right! I love you, mom.”
Danielle went into a deep thought, still confused as tears were now streaking down her cheeks. She knew that when her mother wakes up and commences recovery, she would have to take the road with no return to a normal life of her own, one that of a vibrant college student with bright future or otherwise. She wanted her mother to live healthy. But, it would come at a substantial price.
Danielle began sobbing louder. The rhythmic, ‘beep’, ‘beep’ sounds of the machines in the room brought a sad melody to Danielle’s ears. At the same time, the exact same sounds indicated that her mother was on her way to healing. But, there was no one who could understand or even remotely comfort Danielle as she struggled with her mixed emotions.
Danielle was proud for being able to help her mother with the best medical treatment in the world. At the same time, she was overwhelmingly distressed by the pressure and fear over the unknowns and uncertainties that she must soon face in exchange for her mother’s life.