Six Months On (Episode 17) — The Great Escape (Part 2)

Tim Van Dusen
Jul 10, 2017 · 4 min read

Note: This is the continuation of a dream that I had that began in my previous post.

Just before 8 p.m., as I lay in the darkened room, a doctor and a woman in a lab coat stopped in the doorway in a heated discussion. The doctor was trying to calm the woman down.

“She’s made some important friends. We can’t interfere. We don’t have to sanction it but we can’t stand in the way,” he said.

“He’s not ready. He can’t be moved without my approval. He was severely overweight when he was admitted. That has to be addressed before we let him leave the ICU. Otherwise he’s going to be right back here in a matter of months! You might not be willing to try and stop it as his doctor, but as his nutritionist I insist that this be stopped!”

From the dark corner behind me I heard a slight movement that went unnoticed by the couple arguing in the doorway. I turned to look but it was too dark to see at first. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness I saw it. The hooded figure seated in a soccer chair shifted slightly in her seat. How long had she been there?

”Stupid nutritionists!” she uttered under her breath. She completely ignored me as I stared at her in the darkness.

It was the only part of the plan she hadn’t planned for. But who would have expected a nutritionists would try to bring the whole thing to a screeching halt. Weren’t they just glorified cafeteria workers?

The argument in the doorway continued for a few minutes until the nutritionist threw her hands up in the air in disgust and stormed off. Apparently she had given up the fight. I turned back to the hooded figure but she was gone.

Shortly after, I saw Tyrone and Tyrone walking through the hallway outside the door. They passed by again a moment later. Clearly something was about to happen. As I watched them go by I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye. Suddenly, the CPR manikin lying next to me stood up and I realized it was my brother, Brian. He had been there all day without moving.

“Time to go, Brother.”

As he said the words Tyrone and Tyrone came into the room. One of them opened the door leading outside and there were Dale and Brian (the nurse) standing by the opened back door of the ambulance. I felt the burst of cold air and saw the freezing rain coming down just outside the door. The two Brians and the two Tyrones lifted my stretcher up easily. Fred Smith, who had just come into the room with my new oxygen tank, grabbed my IV stand. As one unit, they carried me out to the ambulance. Once I was settled in and connected they closed the doors and off we went.

The road was slick and the driveway coming out of ICU was a steep hill leading up to the street. A sharp turn left was barely achieved and we slid onto the road as Dale gunned it to keep from getting stuck in the ice that was starting to accumulate. A short distance away there was a sharp right turn that went down the steep road that lead to the main hospital. I could feel the tires sliding as momentum started to carry us downhill. Dale was not getting any traction and keeping it straight was becoming more difficult.

As an oncoming car approached on the left he swerved to the right and we ran off the road and into a ditch about halfway down the hill. Dale jumped out of the cab and raced to the back to make sure that Fred and I were okay. We were both fine. Just a little shaken up. Dale said he couldn’t believe we had made it this far only to have the weather screw it up. It had been such a mild winter so far, who would have ever planned for this?

Susan did.

As Dale turned to inspect the damage to the vehicle he heard the sound of snow chains clanging down the hill. Through the open door of the back of the ambulance I could see the headlights of a tow truck coming right at us in the steady, freezing rain. As the truck came to a stop, both driver and passenger got out.

“Hey, Dale! You need some help?” yelled a familiar voice.

As they came closer I could make out my parents’ faces in the flashing lights of the ambulance.

Skeeter and Root Hog were here to save the day.

Things went smoothly from there as I was taken to the emergency room and admitted as a car accident victim. They checked me out and decided that while I didn’t seem to be hurt, they would put keep me around for a few days just to be safe. I was out of ICU and in the main hospital.

When I got to my room, Susan and the girls were there waiting for me. After recounting my adventure to the girls it was time for them to go home. Susan helped them gather their things and proceeded to walk them out to the car. As they left the room Susan remembered that it had turned cold outside and walked back across the room to get her jacket. She pulled the black hoodie over her head and walked to the door. Stopping for a second she turned to me and said. ”I’ll be right back. Will you be okay?”

I drew a breath behind my oxygen mask. “Yeah. I’m in good hands.”

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