Chapter 26
When Olivia awoke the next morning, it
seemed like a perfectly normal morning.
The mid-morning sunlight streamed brightly through her window blinds,
leaving strips of light shining on her floor.
She could hear birds calling outside.
But then the memory of the night before
came back to her. She remembered the
phone call to Nick, the way she had talked.
Oh, God, please let it be better, she silently pleaded. Clearing
her throat, she softly tried to say, “Good morning.” To her total relief, it came out perfectly
clear.
Olivia sighed in relief. “Thank God,” she whispered, pulling back her
covers and climbing out of bed.
She had taken only three steps across
her bedroom floor, when her legs completely gave out on her. Olivia collapsed, falling hard onto the
floor.
Her mother heard the thud and came
running. “Olivia!” she cried in shock,
when she saw her daughter sitting on the floor. “What happened? Did you fall?”
“My legs,” Olivia whispered, her voice
trembling. “They just went numb.”
“Numb?
What do you mean?”
“I can barely feel them. I was just walking across the floor, and they
just went completely numb, and I fell.”
Melinda’s eyes widened. “Okay, honey. Just sit tight. I’m going to go get your father.”
She hurried out of the room and came
back a moment later with Randy in tow.
She had obviously already explained what Olivia had told her because
Randy didn’t ask how it had happened or anything.
“I’m going to go call Dr. Avery. Randy, carry Olivia downstairs,” Melinda
directed, heading downstairs to call the doctor.
Olivia’s father lifted her from the
ground and slowly carried her down the stairs and into the living room, where
he set her down delicately on the couch.
Melinda came into the living room a few
minutes later. “Dr. Avery’s with a
patient,” she said in annoyance, as if she couldn’t believe how a doctor could
be seeing someone else when her daughter needed him.
“Let’s just go to the hospital then,”
Randy said. “I want her to be checked
out as soon as possible.”
“Okay.
Carry her out to the car, and I’ll meet you there.”
Olivia stared up at her parents in
annoyance. They were talking about her
as if she wasn’t even there. Her legs
might have been numb, but her mind was fine.
They were acting like she was a baby.
“Come on, honey,” Randy said, scooping
up Olivia again and carrying her into the garage. He put her in the backseat and climbed into
the driver’s seat beside Melinda, who was already in the passenger’s side. Then they began their drive to the hospital.
***
“I wouldn’t worry, Mr. and Mrs.
Caisson,” Dr. Avery said later, after examining Olivia. “Some numbness in the arms and legs is
normal. It’s only temporary though, and
the feeling should return anytime.”
“What a relief,” Melinda sighed.
“But will this happen again? Will it happen often?” Randy asked.
“Yes, it could happen again, and
towards the… end…, it could happen more often,” Dr. Avery explained.
“Well, how will she be able to go
anywhere, knowing she could suddenly be paralyzed like this?” he asked angrily,
as if this was all Dr. Avery’s fault.
Dr. Avery sighed and turned to Olivia,
who had been silent throughout the conversation. “Olivia, I’m sorry to tell you this, but I
think it would be best for you not to drive from now on. It could be dangerous, both to yourself and
to others, to have you behind the wheel because of what could happen. If your arms or legs went out on you, or if
you passed out, you would easily cause a car accident.”
Olivia nodded. She hadn’t even thought about driving yet,
but now that he mentioned it, it seemed obvious that she wouldn’t be able to
drive anymore.
“What about going places? Can I still go out with people, as long as I
don’t drive, or am I confined to home?” she asked.
“You can still go out, as long as
someone will be with you at all times, just in case,” the doctor replied. “And,” he added, turning back to Olivia’s
parents, “I would recommend that Olivia not be left alone at home, at least not
for too long.”
They both nodded.
“Also, I think it would be best for
Olivia to start sleeping on the main floor of the house, if she’s not
already. That way she won’t have to go
up and down any stairs,” Dr. Avery said.
“That’s a good idea. Olivia, you can sleep in the guestroom
downstairs, and we’ll move to the guestroom upstairs,” Melinda said.
“Okay,” Olivia replied. The downstairs guestroom still gave her a
pretty good view of the ocean, so she was satisfied.
Olivia listened as her parents asked
Dr. Avery a few more questions, and then they were ready to leave. She signed her discharge papers, and a nurse
came by with a wheelchair to wheel her out to their car.
***
One week later
The past week had been one of the worst
of Olivia’s life. Her energy had slowly
faded, leaving her tired and listless all the time. She had spent most of the week in bed. The feeling in her legs that day had
returned about an hour after she had gotten home. Since then, they had gone numb on her
several other times.
Olivia had spent the past few days
bedridden, too weak to even sit up. She
knew that Nick had called several times, but she always told her mother to say
that she was sleeping. She didn’t feel
up to talking to him, even though she knew that eventually, she would have to. After all, he didn’t even know she was dying
yet.
***
As soon as Olivia woke up, she knew
something was wrong. It wasn’t her arms
or legs; they were fine. But she was
not fine. Her chest felt tight, and she
could barely breathe. Her face felt hot
and clammy, and she knew she had a fever.
She felt awful.
“Mom!” she rasped, but her voice just
came out a hoarse whisper. “Mom!” she
yelled again, louder this time. The
effort cost her though, causing her to gasp for air.
Faintly, she heard her mother’s
footsteps coming. Seconds later, Melinda
popped her head into the room. When she
saw Olivia, she gasped in horror and ran to her side.
“What is it? What’s wrong, baby?” she cried in a panic.
“Can’t… breathe,” Olivia gasped,
clutching at her chest in pain.
“Randy!” Melinda shrieked. “Call an ambulance!”
***
