The Runaway Woman

The journey to hospital seemed endless, but soon they were turning in through the gates. ‘We’re at the hospital, Mum. You’ll be all right now,’ Lucy told her mother but there was no response.

When they arrived at the emergency department doors, Lucy quickly scrambled out of the ambulance, and the driver and attendant lifted out the stretcher with her mother still unconscious. Keeping her safe between the two of them, they hastened across the tarmac and in through the emergency entrance, where the trauma team was waiting.

Lucy followed. Her voice trembling, she glanced up to the skies and prayed, ‘Please, Lord, don’t let her die. Don’t take her away from us.’

A world without her mother in it would be a bleak prospect indeed.

Inside the hospital, Lucy’s mother was rushed away. From the corridor, as the door swung shut behind the stretcher, Lucy caught a glimpse of her mother, white as chalk, the medical staff already closing in around her.

A minute later, the ambulance crew reappeared. One of them paused to reassure Lucy, and when she asked if her mother was going to be all right, his answer was gentle, but evasive. ‘I’m sure the doctor will be out to see you as soon as your mother is stabilised. I can assure you, though, she is in the best of hands.’ That said, he hurried on his way.

A few minutes later, Lucy was relieved to see a nurse approaching. ‘How is she?’ She clambered to her feet. ‘Please … will she be all right?’

The nurse had a gentle manner. ‘Your mother is not yet conscious, but she is stabilised,’ she said kindly. ‘The doctors are now assessing the full extent of her injuries. Meantime, it will help us if you could explain how exactly she sustained those injuries.’

‘I’m not altogether sure,’ Lucy explained. ‘Dad said she stumbled and hit her head on the fender. She hasn’t been too steady recently. Only a short time back, she had a nasty fall in the street. It shook her confidence, and left her frail and nervous. She’s been unusually quiet of late … not at all like her old self.’ The tears she had tried so hard to keep back now ran down her face. ‘Please, Nurse, she will be all right, won’t she?’

‘That’s not for me to say. She does have serious injuries, but like I say, she is much calmer now.’ The nurse was sympathetic, but she had no way of knowing the full extent of the injuries. ‘We’ll know what to expect after the doctors have concluded their examination. It will be some time yet, before they can talk to you, so I wonder, rather than sitting here worrying, how about I take you for a cup of tea?’

‘No!’ Lucy was adamant. ‘Thank you, but I need to speak with the doctors.’

The nurse was patient. She had been through similar situations many times, and she knew how frantic the relatives could be while they waited for news of their loved ones. ‘Please, will you come away for a few minutes? Worrying won’t help your mother. I’ll let them know where we’ll be, and in any case, we won’t be gone too long. Just long enough for you to take a breath and talk to me about your mother.’

She pointed to the door behind Lucy. ‘You’re badly shaken up, and I do understand why you don’t want to move from here. But just a few steps away, through that door, is a little café where we can sit and wait and it’s more comfortable than here. The doctors will be a while yet, so how about the two of us go through to the café and find ourselves a pot of tea? Then you can tell me what happened to your mother after she had that first fall. It’s important that the doctors know the full history.’

‘I’m frightened to leave her,’ Lucy murmured, wiping the tears from her face with her hands. ‘I need to stay here.’

The nurse laid her hand over Lucy’s. ‘It’s Lucy, isn’t it?’ She had gathered that information from the ambulance men.

‘Yes.’

‘Right then. I promise you there is nothing you can do just now. The doctors will be with your mother for some while yet, Lucy. They will also need to take X-rays, and that will add a few more minutes. So, like I say, we have time for a chat and that hot cuppa you look like you desperately need. Just a few minutes, then we’ll come back.’

Lucy thought of her mother, hurt and in trouble, without family near. ‘Are you sure they’ll know where we are if they need me?’

‘You have my word.’

‘They will let me see her soon, won’t they?’

‘That is for the doctors to decide, but I hope it won’t be too long now.’ The nurse hesitated. She knew how very serious the injuries were but, like Lucy, she had to wait for the doctors to conclude their assessment. Meantime, there was little more she could tell Lucy. ‘Look, instead of sitting here in this draughty walkway, let’s go to the café. It really is just a few steps away. When we get back, we might know more.’

‘My family are on their way. They won’t know where to find me!’ Lucy began to panic.

‘Yes they will. I’ll contact the front desk, and let them know.’

Talking constantly, she led Lucy through the door and along the empty corridor. ‘The café is open all night,’ she informed Lucy. ‘The two of us can enjoy a hot cuppa in warmer surroundings, while you tell me all about your mother.’

When Lucy made no response, except to turn and look back towards the door, the nurse drew her attention. ‘I know it’s difficult,’ she said gently, ‘but try not to worry, eh?’

Lucy merely nodded.

The corridor was long and curving, with not a soul in sight. All Lucy could see in her mind’s eye was her mother, frail and broken.