“He’s going to make it,” Vivian said strongly.
“Yep, he is,” Torrey added.
All of a sudden, El’s eyes popped open.
“El?”
I stepped towards the bed his eyes connected with mine, then rolled to the back of his head.
His body began to shake violently while every machine in the room started to beep, chirp, and buzz. Alarms began to sound, and red lights were flashing. The IV that was attached to his left hand was snatched out, and blood squirted around as his body continued to flail so violently that he looked like he was on the verge of falling out the bed.
“OH MY GOD!” Vivian yelled.
“SOMEBODY HELP!” Torrey screamed.
I turned to run for help but was met at the door by a team of hospital workers who quickly went to work on Samuel.
“Stop that bleeding!”
“Stop him from falling from the bed!”
Commands were being given by everyone in the room. Somehow, Vivian, Torrey and I had moved into the corner of the room. I don’t know if someone told us where to go or we moved there voluntarily. We held onto each other watching the team of doctors and nurses work on Samuel.
Suddenly the shaking stopped, and the machine that had the line graphs started to beep a long continuous beep.
“We're losing him!” Someone yelled.
“I’m starting chest compressions,” Doctor McIntyre yelled just as he saw us standing in the corner.
“GET THEM OUT OF HERE!” he yelled while moving to climb onto the bed.
One of the nurses rushed towards us and pushed us out the door.
“I’m sorry,” she said while closing the door behind her.
We stood on the other side of the door, still huddled, waiting for someone to come out and tell us what was happening.
“What just happened?” I asked just above a whisper.
“I don’t know,” Torrey responded at the same volume.
“Please don’t take my baby,” Vivian prayed.
I didn’t take my eyes off the door to the room until Doctor McIntyre finally emerged. I had no idea how long we’d waited. I had no idea that the whole family had converged behind us until the doctor looked behind me to make eye contact with some of them.
Doctor McIntyre took a deep breath before he spoke.
“He had a seizure, probably due to the head trauma he suffered. Then he went into cardiac arrest. We are going to take him down to radiation to check for any skull fractures or brain bleeding. We will also check his heart. His condition is critical. We don’t know if he will make it through the night, but we will try our best to keep him alive. I would prefer that he rests for the night and not have any more visitors.”
He put his hand on Vivian’s shoulder before going back into Samuel’s room.
I turned around and saw my dad, mom, Keeva, and Kerem. I should have walked to them, but I turned and walked quickly to the hall in the direction of the women’s restroom. I burst through the doors of the two-stall bathroom, making it inside several feet before my legs gave out causing to me to fall to the ground. I heard someone come in behind me, but I couldn’t turn to see who it was because I couldn’t breathe. I was experiencing the same feeling I felt when Barry’s hands were around my neck. I started grabbing at my neck trying to figure out what was impeding my breathing. All I felt were my own fingers scraping at my skin.
I heard faint whispers saying, “I got you, baby. Mommy has you.”
But the banging of my heart in my ears made it hard to hear. I felt someone grab my hands.
“Look at me, baby. Breathe, breathe. There is nothing on your neck. You are having a panic attack. Breathe,” my mother directed.