By JD Rockel
Chapter Twenty
The three of them arrived at the hospital emergency entrance. They nearly ran through the door.
“Mom, have you called Dad and Mr. Weston yet?” Rosa asked.
“Yes, I did. I called as soon as I was notified by the school. Dad is getting a cook to cover for him and Mr. Weston is coming from a repair job.”
“Mom, the lady at the information desk said Jerry’s in surgery,” Ella reported. “I asked that his doctor come see us as soon as he’s out of surgery. Hopefully, Mr. Weston is here by then.”
“This may be the hardest part of the whole event, sweetheart. The waiting.” Renata gathered her two daughters under her arms like a mother hen and led them to chairs in the waiting room.
“Mom, what will I do if Jerry doesn’t make it?” Ella was near tears again. “I didn’t make the time to tell him I forgive him.”
“Ella, I expect you have prayed for Jerry as we will do again in a moment. While I know he lost blood, your quick actions kept the loss to a minimum. I’m sure the surgery is to repair the cut vessel.”
“But what about his head? He hit his head very hard and was unconscious. He may never wake up.”
“One thing I have learned about life, my dear, is that anything can happen. Our trust in God is necessary for all the unknowns of life. That includes the good and bad decisions we make. Whether your decision to wait until Christmas break to talk with Jerry was a good decision is not important. What’s important is that you are ready to forgive him and talk honestly about what happened. Now, for all the things we need from God, let’s pray together.”
The three of them held hands and bowed their heads. Renata prayed, “Almighty God, we worship you, Father, Son, and Spirit. We don’t understand why awful things like this happen to us. But we do know that you are the Creator, the God of this universe. The Bible says you have named every star. I can’t imagine how that’s possible. If you care about the stars to name each one, you must care so much more about us. We ask that you heal Jerry. We know that you can. Strengthen our faith in you. We love you and thank you in Jesus’ name. Amen”
Rosa and Ella whispered ‘amen’ amidst their tears. As they raised their heads, Mr. Weston came in the emergency department door. He came straight to the women.
“Ella, my dear girl. Please, I must hear the story from you.”
Ella ran to Mr. Weston and hugged him. “Mr. Weston, Jerry saved me from being accosted by a senior student. The guy slashed him with a knife and Jerry fell backward, hitting his head on the floor. He was unconscious when the paramedics cared for him and brought him here.” Ella paused as tears flowed down her cheeks. Harold stroked her hair tenderly. “He lost so much blood. I did my best for him.”
“I’m sure you did, dear. I’m sure you did. Jerry has never said a bad word about you. I feel you are part of our family already. I’m going to let the receptionist know I’m here.”
“That’s good. We did ask for the doctor to come and talk to us once Jerry is out of surgery. We assume they are repairing the artery in his arm.”
Harold went to the receptionist and began to provide his personal information. Tony arrived and got to his family in short order.
“Ella! Oh, my dearest, I have been praying so hard. I won’t ask you to relive the experience until you want to.”
“Mom and I have most of the details, Dad,” Rosa offered. “I think what we need right now is quiet while we wait. It’s been a long day and it won’t be over for some time. Harold Weston is over there giving them whatever information they need. I’m sure he will be glad you are here for him. We all are.”
A doctor eventually came out to talk with them. Everyone stood up and gathered around him. Harold took the point position.
“Mr. Weston? I’m Doctor Alexander. Your son is doing well. We repaired the cut artery. It was unusual though. Normally, a cut like this goes completely through the vessel or tears it. The repair takes quite a bit of careful work. This cut was almost exactly halfway through the artery and very clean. We only had to tack the edges together. It was already lined up for us. This was a first for me. Never saw one like this before.”
“I understand Jerry was unconscious when he arrived,” Harold said. “Did he wake up before surgery?”
“No, he didn’t. He is currently getting a CT scan and an MRI. We want to see exactly what damage there may be. He might wake up from the surgery, or he may need more time. Once he is in his room, you may all go see him.”
More waiting. The small talk revolved around fun little adventures that Jerry and Ella had experienced during their short time together. Harold told some stories about Jerry and John when they were young. They were just embarrassing enough that Rosa and Ella giggled as they listened.
Eventually, a nurse came to escort the group to Jerry’s room. When they arrived, Ella went straight to Jerry’s left side and tenderly held his hand. A large bandage was wrapped around his forearm. Ella saw it and cried again. Rosa went over to hold her.
Harold went to Jerry’s right side and stroked the hair on his son’s head. Jerry’s right arm had an IV needle connected to a saline bag. Ella remembered what the paramedics did for Jerry.
“Jerry, I’m here with you,” Ella whispered tenderly. “The doctors fixed your arm. You can wake up any time you want.” Ella spoke softly, not knowing if Jerry could hear her or not. Jesus, I know I haven’t been the most obedient or the most loving to you. I’m sorry. I know you died so Jerry and I can live forever with you. I want to be obedient to you and follow your lead in my life, and I pray that Jerry would choose to do the same. Please heal him quickly. I thank you in advance for what you will do. Amen.
After an hour, it was decided that everyone should go home and sleep. They would come back in the morning.
Saturday was much like Friday night. Jerry lay there asleep. At least that’s what Ella tried to convince herself of. The whole family was there including John who was missed during the fray the night before. Liam agreed to stay home with Lee and Sofie.
A new doctor walked into the room and introductions went around the room. Rosa and John had stepped out of the room for a while and returned as the doctor was talking about Jerry’s condition.
“The scans of his head show a very mild concussion. I am honestly surprised he’s not awake. He responds to some stimuli so he’s not completely comatose. It is encouraging that he is breathing on his own and all organs appear to be functioning normally. We are feeding him intravenously for now and will watch him carefully. Otherwise, we need to wait.”
“And pray,” Renata added.
“I can’t argue with that,” the doctor agreed.
The families stayed with Jerry all day Saturday. There was no change in his condition. His heartbeat was steady, blood pressure was good. He just wouldn’t wake up.
“Jerry, we are leaving now,” Ella said tenderly. “I wish I knew what you are doing inside your head. I want you to come out so we can talk again. I will be back after church tomorrow. I love you.”
Church was not as joyful as it usually was. Jerry hadn’t been coming after the event, but today was painfully different knowing Jerry was in the hospital. They went through the motions trying to have confidence that God would work a miracle for Jerry.
After the service, they were surrounded by caring families. Ella heard her name from behind. Turning to see who it was, Emily beckoned for her to come. Ella followed her to a wall near the coat room.
“Emily, I knew your family was coming here, but somehow we never connected. It’s good to see you despite the circumstances.”
“Ella, I need to tell you something about the attack on Friday. I was there in the hallway when Jerry was slashed and fell. I know this will sound weird, but I saw something you need to know about.”
“Weird? What are you talking about, Emily?”
“I don’t want this to spread, and you will understand why when you hear it. I saw two angels protect Jerry when he was attacked.”
“What? Angels? I need details, Emily. Is this part of your gift?”
“I don’t know. This is the first time I’ve seen anything like this. It was just for a moment. There were two figures, all white like they were glowing. One was holding Jerry’s arm like he was pushing it out of the way. The other appeared when Jerry fell backward and hit the floor. It’s like the second angel was keeping his head from hitting too hard.”
“I’m not saying you didn’t see something, but you must admit this is hard to believe.”
“I totally agree, Ella. I wouldn’t believe you if you told me. But I have a picture too.”
“What? A picture?”
Emily took her phone from her pocket and scrolled to the shot. She held it up for Ella to see.
“I know it’s just a fuzzy blur of light, but it’s right where Jerry’s head is. I was holding the phone taking pictures and snapped this one just as Jerry hit the floor. I wasn’t looking at the phone when I took it; I was looking straight at the angel. I had no idea I had a picture of it until I looked at the pictures later.”
“Emily, I promise I won’t tell anyone at school about this. I don’t know why God would let you see them, but it must be part of His bigger plan. Please send me the picture so I can show Jerry when he wakes up.”
“Ella, you mean he hasn’t opened his eyes yet? I just figured he was fine since the angels were there.”
“I expect it would have been much worse. Thanks, Emily, and please keep praying.”
Ella returned to her family. With all the attention from their friends, Ella hadn’t been missed. The Westons and DeLucas grabbed a quick lunch on the way to the hospital. When they got to Jerry’s room, they returned to their positions as though they were ready to rehearse a theatrical scene. The vigil continued for another hour. Tony and Harold were standing at the foot of the bed making small talk. Ella persevered in speaking sweetly to Jerry. She continued to wonder what was going on inside his head.
Why won’t you let me go back to my family? I can hear them talking to me. I hear Ella’s voice. Is that you, Jesus? This is only supposed to happen when someone is dying. Why am I seeing the light and the angels? I assume they are angels. I have been questioning you, Jesus. I have been questioning your words in the Bible. Rosa and John say they are all true, but some of it is so hard to understand. The part about your sacrifice for us is beyond my understanding. Why would you go through such torture and then die on the cross?
I did it because I love you, Jerry. Come. Follow Me.
Ella was leaning near Jerry’s ear, whispering. “Jerry, I talked to Emily this morning. You know Emily. She’s in my Algebra class, first period. Anyway, she told me something very odd, but very exciting. She said she saw two angels protect you during the attack. Crazy, I know. But she even got a picture of one of the angels.”
Jerry opened his eyes, turned to Ella, and said, “I know. I saw the angels too.”
Ella’s eyes opened wide in astonishment. Without looking up she cried out, “Mr. Weston! Jerry’s awake!”
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