My mother had just left my room after another visitation. I was recuperating after my lung transplant operation which happened two weeks ago, so I was still hooked up to all manner of cords which made sleep extremely awkward in my present state.
An Asian lady with graying hair wheeled in my dinner.
“Thank you,” I said to her, and she smiled in return, and walked out.
It was lasagne. The food here at the Alfred was actually pretty damn good, at least in my opinion. I know hospital food is supposed to stink, but I gobbled it down quickly. Then again, I was pretty hungry.
I could’ve watched some television, but it was just free to air tripe. I decided to read some manga on my tablet. One series I’d been enjoying recently was Domestic Girlfriend, about a high school student who begins a relationship with his teacher. I know it sounds kinda trashy, and I won’t disagree with you. But I found it entertaining, anyway. It passed the time.
After I was done with the first two volumes, the last vestiges of daylight had well and truly disappeared. I stifled a yawn, and put down my tablet.
As I mentioned, it was difficult to get into a comfortable sleeping position when all manner of cords are protruding from my body. You can only do your best.
On some nights I just resolved to get as comfortable as I possibly could, close my eyes, and rest. If I could fall asleep, that’d be an added bonus.
Over time, my eyes grew heavier. The nurse on the night shift occasionally passed through, but her footsteps were quiet. It somehow put my mind at ease, knowing that people were active around the hospital at this time.
My eyes snapped open. I glanced at the clock, and to my disappointment, it read 1am. Of course, it wasn’t a surprise I could only maintain a very brief sleep.
The nurse working the night shift stepped inside. She’d introduced herself as Kate when she begun earlier.
“Name, date of birth?” she asked. My room, like the others at this time of night, had the lights turned off. Still, I could discern that she was quite short, about 5′ 3, with blond hair tied back into a bun.
“Ah, Florian Enkelman, 14th October,” I told her.
“Florian, this is your medication. It will help you sleep.”
I swallowed the tablets and grimaced at the bitterness of them; next time I should take them with a more flavourful drink, if they’d allow it.
Kate left. Within minutes my head quickly began to feel heavy, and with a sigh I closed my eyes.
*
The room was still dark when I reawakened. Suddenly I could hear voices. Two figures were standing by the large windows, which grants an excellent vantage point of the city. They were two nurses discussing something.
They didn’t seem aware that I’d awakened. My body still felt incredibly heavy; moving it at all felt an almost impossible task.
As I observed the two nurses, it dawned on me that they were arguing about something. I recognized Kate from before, who’d given me the sleeping pills. The other nurse was an Asian woman in her 30s with long black hair.
Kate wanted to give me a certain kind of medication. But the Asian nurse argued that they weren’t authorized to administer it to the patient.
Without warning Kate slapped her fellow employee. Why was this happening? They finally noticed I was awake, and Kate approached me. My vision blurred, and my head grew heavier than ever.
*
For the weekend, my family had driven down south to the Mornington Peninsula. The weather hadn’t been kind to us, though; the sky was dark and overcast, and the wind was blustery and strong.
“Should we head back?” I ask in my father’s Holden Commodore.
“We’ve already come this far,” my mother replied, but her voice carried an edge, so my nerves weren’t exactly soothed.
We piled out onto the beach, and began laughing when we saw how deserted it was. To our right, near the shoreline, an older man was walking his dog.
Seagulls cried out above us.
We change into our swimming gear, and just as I’m about to wade into the shallow depths of the water, my mother warns me, “Florian, I know you finished your lessons, but you’re still an inexperienced swimmer. Don’t go out too far.”
I grin. “I know, I know.”
I find that even in these shallow depths, submerging myself in this current is very entertaining as the tide is so boisterous, I suppose due to the wind. Making the trip was worthwhile after all, I reflected.
My family eventually climb out of the surf and dry themselves off, prepared to relax on the shore. I’m still having too much fun being rocked by these waves, however.
“Remember, stay close to us, Florian!” my mother calls out.
I throw up my hand with a thumbs up gesture.
The wave crushes me out of nowhere. I’m flattened, not sure at first of what’s happened. In the distance you hear shouts. I try to move, but my body won’t obey my commands. It feels heavy. Actually, it’s the immense pressure of the wave that’s creating this heaviness.
My vision is blurry. I try to rise up, but without success; I fall back down. I feel so weak.
“Florian…”
I’m confused. The voice is new. I know the person is referring to me. I still can’t see properly; did water get in my eyes?
“Florian, do you know what happened?” The same voice. A male voice. It’s calm. His tone helps me to relax.
“You had a seizure. A grand mal. You fell out of your bed, bruised your right arm quite badly. We’ve given you medication to help with the pain, but on top of your antirejection drugs, we’ll need to look into your epilepsy.”
I take barely any of this in; I’m so disoriented.
“I feel so weak…” I moan.
“As expected. You can only rest for now.”
The doctor, who I presumed he was, left my room.
*
The seizure left me so exhausted, even all the cords protruding from my body couldn’t prevent my getting some sleep.
When I rose, it was 3pm. My mother, Julia, was seated at my bedside, a look of deep concern etched deep in her eyes.
I quickly felt guilty at causing further pain for her. She had enough to worry about.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
“Not bad really. My body feels a little weak, and my arm is a little sore, but no big deal.”
I smiled, trying to reassure her. She smiled back, somewhat more faintly.
“Mother, do you remember that weekend trip out to the Mornington Peninsula?”
Her smile faltered, and she seemed to think things over. “That miserable day where you got tossed by a humongous wave.”
“Yes, exactly. Well, I dreamed about it, and when I woke up, the doctor was telling me I’d had a seizure.”
Mother wasn’t sure what to make of this. What should she say, anyway?
I wasn’t going to tell her what happened last night between those nurses.
“I got you this,” Julia said. From a bag she produced a Bento Box. Just down the road from The Alfred was Shuji Sushi, who sold delicious sushi rolls as well as bento box treats. The hospital didn’t seem to mind her bringing them.
“Ah, thank you so much,” I said. I quickly gobbled it up. I was ravenous.
“How’s Tom?” I asked. My brother.
“Very busy, as usual,” Mum replied. “Busy with work, and busy looking for a new place. You know how much he hates living with Jaroslav.”
Jaroslav is my brother’s roommate. Property in Melbourne is so expensive, Tom had little choice but to find shared lodgings in the city. Unfortunately the person he ended up splitting the bill with ended up being an alcoholic who left the place a complete pigsty. Tom would come home from work and find mice droppings and dog shit littered around the place. Jaroslav couldn’t be bothered to clean it up.
Fortunately, he and his partner Sam were close to landing their own home, in Balaclava. It was a nice area, and ideal for each of their respective jobs.
I chatted with my mother until dinner. When the tray was brought in, she bid me farewell.
I picked at the potato, pumpkin and fish halfheartedly, feeling somewhat tense at the approaching night. Would that same nurse be on again? Kate? Then again, the bento box had been quite filling.
I ate what I could of the meal, and put it aside.
At 8:30pm, a male nurse I didn’t recognize entered my room with my medication. He was a handsome guy in his early 30s with smooth brown skin, and dark hair.
“Hello Florian. I’ll be your nurse tonight. My name is Julian. Please take your medication, thank you.”
As instructed, I swallowed the tablets, trying not to gag at their bitter aftertaste.
I looked up at him, unsure whether I should ask him this. “Julian, do you know Kate? She was the nurse on last night.”
Julian paused. He looked puzzled, then said, “there’s no Kate working in this section of the hospital, Florian.”
“Oh…” is all I said in reply.
Julian left the room. I slumped down on my bed, feeling heavy once more.