GENK DUDA ACUTE
99. Don't Be Too Long Late

Toni never asked Wulan to follow her again. He immediately got dressed and then left the room. Without knocking again, Toni broke through her mother's room. The Head Nurse was sitting with a panicked face next to Bu Anderson who looked extremely pale.

"Come, Sus.” Toni scoops her mother's tiny body into a crib. Behind Toni, Wulan has arrived. The woman immediately greeted Toni who was walking in a frenzy while hugging her mother. Ms. Anderson was unconscious.

"Which hospital, Mas? Let me drive" said Wulan, watching her husband's steps.

Two nurses ran behind them. The younger nurse carried two small bags she had prepared as the Nurse Chief checked Ms. Anderson's vital signs.

Toni turned down the stairs. “Do not drive, I will. Nothing, you're behind me.”

They all came out of the side door.

“Car lock—car lock!” yelled Wulan backwards, commanding who could give the car keys. Apparently a housekeeper was already standing in the doorway. Hearing Wulan's words, he immediately ran to the long table and opened the drawer.

“Car key, Bu.” The housekeeper, who had just met Wulan, handed her the car keys. Then, he opened the door leading to the side porch.

Wulan ran ahead of Toni towards the car and opened the middle door.

“Sus, up!” wulan shouted, asking the nurse to get in the car first. After deftly opening and closing the middle seat, Wulan entered and straightened her thighs.

“Sini, Mas! Here—” Wulan patting her thighs.

The housekeeper opened the car door for Toni. The man immediately brought Bu Anderson's body in and placed his mother's head over Wulan's thigh. Then, half ran around the car and got behind the wheel.

It was not yet midnight, even the traffic on the highway was still heavy. Tony drove his car as fast as he could. He looked back occasionally to see if his mother still survived.

“Mas—hunt Mas, Mami her hands are very cold.” Wulan held her mother-in-law's hand. The old woman's hand felt extremely cold within her grasp.

“Mami—Mami, don't sleep now, Mi ...,” call Toni from the front. “Lan, wipe Mami's cheek. Call, Lan—call,” toni ink from the front seat.

Wulan followed what she was told, she started rubbing her mother-in-law's cheeks. “Mami, we'll soon be happy. Mami is patient,” said Wulan with a vibrating voice.

Actually the hospital was not too far away, but the atmosphere was so gripping that the trip felt long. On the way, Toni called the hospital to have the medical team willing in front of the ER.

Ms. Anderson was immediately raised to a push bed as soon as she arrived in front of the ER. Toni dumped her car keys to a security guard. Then, along ran after Wulan and two nurses who accompanied the bed into a room surrounded by curtains.

The nurse answered all the doctor's questions. Ms Anderson was fitted with a hose to help her breathe through a ventilator.

Ms. Anderson was in cardiogenic shock due to a failure of her pumping heart function. To make a more precise diagnosis, at that time the doctor also performed an EKG. Cardiogenic shock can cause the condition to worsen quickly, so it is very dangerous and can be life-threatening.

Toni restores her hair when she hears the doctor's explanation. I just nodded in agreement when Ms. Anderson was immediately pushed to enter the ICU room.

Within minutes, two new tools were re-attached to the woman's body. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), to increase blood flow and oxygen supply throughout the body. Also the installation of a pacemaker, to restore the heart rhythm to normal conditions.

With the condition of Bu Anderson who previously was not too good doctors may hesitate to say that the woman had to wait for a miracle in her recovery efforts.

As a child, Toni did not stop hoping, so that she was given the opportunity to present the happiness that had always been awaited by her mother.

Ms. Anderson was lying in the ICU. Toni and Wulan were sitting on an iron bench not far from the door of the room. While looking at the doctor who was handling her mother-in-law in the room, Wulan massaged her husband's shoulder.

“Mami must be awake, Mas.” Wulan spoke in a voice almost whispering.

Wulan pulled her husband's arm so that the man would lean on her. “Kasian Mom, Lan. I was too busy all this time. She often left Mami alone at home with only her nurse. Rarely talk. I was wrong,” Toni said staggered.

“Mami is okay, Mom. Mama still exists. Definitely wake up,” said Wulan, patting softly on her husband's back. His throat felt choked as it held back the crying. If Toni is weak, Wulan decides to be strong for the sake of the man. He hoped, that way, they could more easily get through it.

At first Toni and Wulan thought that Ms. Anderson would wake up overnight, two nights but, in fact, it has been more than a month the woman fell asleep in the ICU room.

Toni and Wulan take turns coming to the hospital. Wulan was there the whole time while her husband worked in the office. At night, Toni comes to wait for her mother for a while, and they return home together.

Sometimes Toni and Wulan spend the night in the hospital. The two sat in a whisper in a cold iron chair until they fell asleep. Sometimes they go home to get their clothes and go back to the hospital. All the visitors just look behind the glass. It is not a light ordeal for couples who are back together and expect a whole family to be at home.

Both look tired. A gloomy face, dark circles under the eyes due to lack of sleep, as well as a lack of physical exuberance.

A month later, Ms. Anderson was lying in her ICU bed, and Dean and Winarsih returned to the hospital to stop after checking the womb.

Dean again stood in front of the glass wrapping his hands around Toni's shoulders. His eyes were fixed on Bu Anderson who was lying down with various hoses. Nothing can be done as long as the woman is unconscious. Although it looks impossible but Toni is sure that her mother will wake up.

“Mommy's accident time was like this. Long time unconscious. But, I'm sure, if Mami would wake up. Like now, Mami will also wake up. We will always wait. Although long, I will still wait, De.” Tony smiled next to Dean.

Dean massaged his best friend's shoulder. The two men then twisted the body, and walked back to the iron bench where their wives were sitting telling stories.

“Udah done chatting?” dean asked Winarsih.

“You home?” Winarsih justifies the strap of her bag.

“If you still want to talk to Wulan, it's okay. I'll sit down first. Ordinary you are worried about leaving the children too long,” said Dean then sat next to his wife.

“Iya. In a moment, yeah. I have not given tips to Ma'am Wulan how to stay healthy during pregnancy. Definitely now Mbak Wulan is a bit more tired,” said plain Winarsih.

The three people who heard this looked at each other. Especially Tony and Wulan. Dean looked at his best friend. “Eh, has it worked? Not nervous, lo!” Dean chuckles.

Toni shakes. “Enggak—don't, belom. Uh, yes, which?” tanya Toni held onto Wulan's arm which threw a puzzled look at Winarsih.

“Eh, don't know. I don't know,” said Wulan while shaking her head.

“Well, this is you improvising?” dean asked Winarsih.

“Lho? Unchecked. I guess I already, Ma'am.” Winarsih. “Mbak Wulan is pregnant. That's a different breath. His tired face was different too. My son wants four, Mas.” Winarsih pinched her husband's thigh as she blushed saying Wulan was pregnant without asking first.

“Masa, anyway, Bu Win?” Toni looked at Winarsih with enthusiastic eyes.

Winarsih. “Hopefully, Mas.” Winarsih smiled.

“Udah kayak midwife of your village, Bu.” Dean pinched his wife's cheek.

“Lan, I went to the pharmacy on the first floor.” Toni did not hear Dean's voice calling her. He ran to the elevator to go to the pharmacy to buy a test pack.

To Be Continued