FanStory.com - What We See - Chapter 12by Jim Wile

Chapter 12

Dad was in bad shape. X-rays showed that he had cracked his skull in the fall, and he was now in a coma. He was in a room in the intensive care ward, hooked up to an IV and a monitor that measured his heartbeat, respiration, and other things. His head was bandaged, and he looked gray. He was totally unresponsive when I talked to him, so I just sat with him, held his hand, and carried on a one-sided conversation about baseball. I wondered if he could hear me.

A nurse came in eventually to check his IV. She said he was stable for now, but the fracture was a serious one. When I asked her if he was going to pull through, she said I would have to ask the doctor about that. He would be in to check on Dad later this evening, and she’d have him call me to discuss his condition if I wasn’t there. I thanked her for taking good care of him, and she left.

I hung around for another half hour, just sitting there holding his hand, but there was nothing else I could do at this point, so eventually I left. I told the nurse at the nurse’s station that I would be at home tonight when the doctor called, and I thanked them again for their good care and left.

When I arrived back home, I saw Ginnie’s car in her carport, so I walked over to the Boardmans’ and rang the bell. She opened the door and looked at me. “Alan—”

“Is Tommy here?” I asked her. She seemed to be glaring at me.

“He’s really disappointed you didn’t come to the game to watch him play. I must say that I am too. He kept looking for you and was upset that you didn’t show.”

“I’m sure. And I completely understand, but there was an unfortunate reason for it, and if I could explain it to you both, I hope you’ll accept my sincere apology for not coming.” I glanced down then and noticed the yellow sticky note I had left on the door underneath a bush beside the front entry. It must have come loose and fallen off, and they hadn’t seen it. I bent down, picked it up, and shoved it in my pocket.

Right then, Tommy came downstairs and joined his mother at the door. He looked hurt. “I hoped you could come and see me play, Alan. You said you would.”

“I know I did, Tommy, and I’m very sorry, but something came up that prevented me from coming. I had just closed up shop and was freshening up to get ready to come when I got a phone call from the VA Hospital next door in Grantham. My dad is a patient there in the memory care unit. He has Alzheimer’s disease. Do you know what that is?”

“No.”

“He’s lost most of his memory, and much of the time he doesn’t even remember who I am or that I’m his son. There’s no cure for it, and it will get to the point where he won’t know me at all. Well, he had an accident today.”

I could see a concerned look come over Ginnie. “A workman had left a ladder in place on his floor when he left to retrieve a tool he’d forgotten, and my dad climbed the ladder, lost his balance, and fell off. He cracked his skull open and is now in the intensive care unit. I had to go to the hospital right then. I tried to call you, but you had already left for the game, and there was no answering machine for me to leave a message on. I’m so sorry I had to miss the game because I was really looking forward to seeing you play.”

He looked up at me. “I get it, Alan, but why did he climb that ladder?”

I smiled wryly at the question. “No one knows. He’s not in his right mind anymore, and he does things that don’t make sense. I’m not sure even he knows why he climbed the ladder.”

“What’s his status now?” asked Ginnie.

“He’s stable but in a coma. The doctor will call me tonight to let me know his status.”

“I’m so sorry to hear this. Of course, you had to go. Tommy and I understand, don’t we?” she said, looking at Tommy, who nodded. “So, please don’t worry about us anymore.”

“Well, thank you. How did the game go, by the way?”

“We lost,” said Tommy. “I had a single and a double with two RBIs and caught a tough pop-up, but we lost 8 to 4.”

“That’s too bad. Sounds like you had a good game, though.”

“Yeah, pretty good.”

“Well, I just wanted to explain why I wasn’t there, but I’d love to come to your next game. When is it?”

“Next Saturday, same time.”

“I promise I’ll be there unless something else like this comes up.”

“Thanks, and sorry about your d-dad. I hope he’ll be okay.”

“Thank you. Me too.”

I looked at Ginnie then. “Alan, we usually go out for pizza on Saturday evenings. Would you like to come with us?”

“I’ve got to stay home because I’m expecting a call from the doctor tonight after he sees my dad, but tell you what. Why don’t you both come over to my house, and I’ll order one for delivery, and we can eat it there? That way, I can be there for the call when it comes.”

“Tommy, what do you think?” Ginnie asked him.

“Sure.”

We made arrangements for when to come over, and I found out what they liked on their pizza and where they usually liked to get it. I told them I would see them later and left then, relieved that all was well—at least on that front.

They came over around 6:00, and together, Tommy and I showed Ginnie around the shop. The pizza arrived at 6:15, and we sat around the kitchen table and enjoyed it. Ginnie and I both had a beer, while Tommy had some Coke with the meal.

Although I was feeling on edge waiting for the phone call, Ginnie and Tommy helped keep my spirits up with the conversation during dinner. They related some of the amusing things Tommy had done while growing up, like the time he’d made breakfast in bed for Ginnie one Saturday morning a couple years back. It was April Fool’s Day, and the breakfast consisted of somewhat realistic-looking bacon, eggs, and pancakes, but it was completely phony. The scrambled eggs were made of yellow playdough, the bacon from strips of an old leather belt of his, and the pancake from an old powder puff he had painted a tan color. It was very amusing, and we all laughed about it.

When the meal was over, I showed them the rest of the house, which was upstairs. It was only two bedrooms and a bathroom. I’d made the second bedroom into a den where I had a sofa and my TV. Another White Sox game was being broadcast tonight, so I invited them to stay and watch the game with me.

The game was in the second inning when I turned it on. Tommy sat between us again on the sofa. Archie soon came in and joined us. He hadn’t met Ginnie yet, and he sniffed her hand when she held it out to him.

”Hello, kitty. What’s your name?”

“This is Archie. He’s a friendly boy, as you can see.”

“Hello, Archie. You’re a handsome guy.” She leaned over and began scratching his head and neck, which he loves. He jumped up onto her lap as she continued to scratch his head and rub his ears. He circled a few times on her lap, laid down facing her, and began purring. “He’s so sweet, Alan.”

“He’s really nice, isn’t he, Mom?” said Tommy, reaching over to pet him too.

“He sure is,” and after a beat, “just like his owner.” I could see a slight blush on her cheeks.

I caught her eye and smiled at her. Archie was in heaven with two petters now. We sat there together like this, watching the game. During the fourth inning, the phone rang in my bedroom across the short hall. I immediately tensed up as I got up to go answer it. I glanced at Ginnie, who said, “I hope everything’s okay.” I thanked her.

“Mr. Phelps, this is Dr. Neumeyer at the VA Hospital. I had planned to look in on your father a little later this evening, but I got an emergency page from his nurse saying that it was a code blue and that I should come immediately. By the time I got there, they had tried to revive him a number of times but were unable to. I’m afraid he passed away. The fracture most likely caused a bleed into his brain, and the pressure was too much for it. Even if they’d been able to revive him, it most likely would have left him in a vegetative state. I’m very sorry.”

I was silent for a long moment. Eventually, I said quietly, “Thank you, Doctor. I’m sure they did everything they could.” I was silent again as it began to sink in that he was really gone. I knew the end was inevitable for him; I just hadn’t expected it to come so soon.

“We will leave him where he is now if you would like to come see him.”

“Thank you. I’ll be there shortly.”

Ginnie and Tommy looked up at me when I came back into the den. She had turned the volume on the TV off, and she must have heard my last few remarks to the doctor. “I’m so sorry, Alan. I heard what you said to the doctor. Tommy, why don’t you head home now, and I’ll be there soon. I want to speak to Alan for a few minutes.”

“Okay, Mom. I’m sorry, Alan.”

“Thanks, Tommy.”

He left then, and Ginnie stood up and put her arms around me. I reciprocated, and we stood there like that for a minute. She could feel me tremble, and she patted my back. “I’m so sorry for you. Is there anything I can do?”

“No, not right now. I’m going over to the hospital to say goodbye to Dad. I’m sure the nurses will tell me how to proceed from here.”

“I’ve faced this a number of times with family members of patients who have died. Please let me know how I can help in any way once you’ve talked to them.”

“I appreciate that.”

“I’d better go now. I’ll call you tomorrow,” she said as we released each other. We went downstairs together, and I said goodbye to her and thanked her again for her kindness. Then I got in my car and drove to the hospital.