Delayed Diagnosis Episode 24
Written by Kingsley Olanrewaju Efughi
I tried to clear my vision. I blinked slowly and my eyes opened gradually. I was staring at the ceiling, and…what was that? Okay just the fan rolling slowly with a squeaking sound after each circumvolution.
I moved my head and was surprised to find myself on a bed. I looked round the room as I tried to recall the previous events. Where was I?
It didn’t come rushing back..rather I recalled it bit by bit, I had been searching for the shadow abi? What happened after that? Where was Andy? I had donated blood then Rasheed had told me that the Shadow had been admitted…so what happened?
I tried to get up but I couldn’t. I couldn’t lift my legs. They were not obeying. I counted 1-5 mentally planning to jerk my body up when I got to 5 but no such thing. My legs were not responding. I was flat on my back on the bed. And the helpless feeling was one I hated. I almost panicked but I closed my eyes in frustration.
A voice woke me up. “When I was just a little girl, I asked my mother, what will I be….would I be pretty..would I be rich…here’s what she said to me…” The voice was singing softly and it was very lovely. It forced my eyelids open and I turned my stiff neck to check the source.
I saw the same nurse who had taken the blood from my arm. The day before. (It had to be morning now..because if I was not mistaken I could see sunlight spill into the room)
“Quel sera…sera…whatever will-” she noticed I was awake and stopped. “Welcome back..Mr Rex..you almost caused me my job you know?”
She blushed slightly( or maybe my eyes were just red) “one thing is for sure..I’m never taking blood from anybody again..ever!”
My mouth was dry and it tasted like an abomination. I tried to speak. “W-what happened”
“You fainted that’s what happened…conked out! You must have been really stressed out”
“Hmmm..” I tried to move my arm but I noticed a needle was connected to it. I was receiving an intravenous drip.
“What’s the time please?” I croaked
“Hmmm..always in a hurry Mr Rex..its 10 minutes after 9.”
She smiled “in the morning”
My eyes were immediately wide. “Morning…I’ve been sleeping since?”
“Believe me its a good thing you fainted if not if you didn’t get to rest something worse could have happened”
I was silent. Then I frowned. “Wait..how’d you know my name?”
“Oh..your wife and your parents were here this morning to see you..I’m supposed to summon them the minute you were awake”
My wife?? That would be Olivia… I had totally forgotten about them..my parents also they would have been worried. It seems my brain was still slow.
“Wait..you say they’re here?”
“Yes..lemme go and get them…very nice people..and they all love you very much”
She turned and I found my full voice by force.
“Wait! Nurse..Ify..Nurse Ify!”
She turned
“Please I’d like to see Dr Rasheed..the short doctor first..its very important.”
“Hmmm..he left early this morning before 4 am…”
Damn!
“However he left this note for you”
She raised the metal tray and brought out a note.
“I won’t say I didn’t read it cause I did..I didn’t really understand it anyway but I remember he referred to one patient as Shadow last night..that brought some very disturbing questions to my mind..” She came closer and handed the note to me. I took it with my left hand, as my right was busy receiving a drip.
Rest well, Mr X sends his regards, he’d contact you if the need arises. As for your partner. He pulled through the most dangerous part early this morning. Its safe to say his life has been saved. He’s still heavily sedated and needs to recuperate. As for the shadow..its safe to say you shone the light…you know what that means
I folded the note as best as I could with one hand and stared at the ceiling. Trying to count the seconds before each fan blade passed.
Andy was alive..thank God..it wasn’t over..but his chances were about 90% now I hoped..and the shadow was dead..he had died on the operating table..and i had been the one to ‘shine the light’ in the form of 4 bullets shot at him..i wonder how many had touched him…the important thing was one had and mortally too.
No more crazy notes and messages..no more crazy laughter and yours killingly no more..
“I have so many questions I can’t ask….but why do you keep on referring to doctor Bode as Dr. Rasheed?”
I shrugged weakly. What did it matter? I doubted she would ever see him again. I had a feeling His work in this hospital was officially done.
She stared at me for some seconds.
“let me get your beautiful wife and your lovely parents..they have been worried sick..they wanted to stay here and watch you sleep..” She sighed emotionally and I knew she was a hopeless romantic. “If not for Miss Benita…that woman has no sympathy at all..she drove them out and even claimed your wife dumped her and ran off without getting discharged”
She hurried off in good spirits. I could bet the ‘miss Benita’ was the mean fat doctor who had been attending to Olivia before…little wonder she was ‘miss’ and not Mrs.
I felt fine now. Not weak or dazed or confused and as I stared at the ceiling fan, I wondered what explanation I would give to my parents. One thing was sure: I was tired of thinking of lies..no more lies ( well unless a suitable one came by itself..because one thing about my brain..it always seemed to have plans of its own)
My family(Olivia was family now) trooped in. I was still staring at the fan just watching the blades and humming a beat to the squeaky sound. I believed I was getting a melody. The room I was in was just a section at the end of the hall seperated by the normal blue curtain. My bed was against the wall and another stood tobthe side. Although it eas empty. Mt dad moved the curtain aside roughly and I lit up once I saw them. They looked healthy and fresh. Olivia sat in the chair and the gown she had on,I couldn’t really tell the colour..my eyes were not yet fully adjusted to the spill of sunlight in the room, from the solitary window, but I could tell the gown matched her well. My dad who wheeled her in was decked out in one of his numerous khaki shirts and shorts. He always loved knee length shorts, his long hairy yam legs were on display and gave the impression of how deadly a kick would be. He had to bend a little (instinctively) when he passed the door as he was almost as tall as it. My mother followed in one of the gowns I remembered from my childhood, something my immediate elder sister used to call her ‘uniform’ and I knew she had rushed here impromptu. I noticed all the clothes they had on in mere seconds but I also noticed the trio of them had the same expression on! Worry! They wore it like a cloak and i could see it reflecting from three pairs of eyes.
“Rex what happened?” She was at my side.
“We received a call from this hospital early this morning that you might need-_ _ b-blood” she said the ‘blood’ with a shudder. Blood was a no go area to my mother not that she got nauseous at the sight of it but the concept and what it stands for, or to be precise what the lack of it stands for is something she shied away from. She hated calling anything related to death in the same context with herself or family,as a matter of fact she was always positive in her words always using positive words to describe when we fell sick, always saying “you’re strong” even days when I was too sick and weak to move. I remember her always saying “I am rich!” Periods when her shop wasn’t turning in much capital and my dad was inbetween jobs or to be honest had gambled away some jobs. She would continually say “I am rich” most times my stomach growled something entirely different in reply.
(maybe its the saline solution, but I’m feeling quite descriptive)
Anyway, My dad spoke up “they said you were giving blood, who were you giving blood to?”
“It was just a sign I saw. A donate blood sign. It touched me I decided to try free donation..there are plenty lives to save”
“Rex, where is Andy?” He asked straight to the point.
I had no response to that. I could see their faces, it was like they held their breath waiting for my reply.
Suddenly I couldn’t lie anymore. It was the least I owed them. I had dragged them into the middle of something they had no idea about and it was unfair that I hadn’t been more upfront with them before now.
“Andy is in recovery..he was shot last night.but the Dr said he scaled through” The only word they heard was ‘shot’.
“My God! Shot!!”
“Rex..look at me..what is happening?”
“Rex what have you gotten into?”
Olivia: “so where’s he now? How did it happen?”
Too many questions. I winced on the bed as if I was in pain and they stopped their firing for a second.
“Are you okay?”
“Wait..calm down boy”
The nurse Ify returned. She smiled at my family.
“He should be very fine now..I just need to check his vitals and his blood pressure then he can be released”
The possibility of getting out of the bed was to sweet. I swung down with energy that contrasted the way I had been behaving just seconds before.
Both my parents and Olivia were quiet as they watched in silence.
It felt good to have the needle out of my arm and she was apparently satisfied with my blood pressure reading.
“Iemme give you some privacy” she announced after she replaced the stethoscope around her neck. My heart rate was normal she announced I had just been over stressed before.
“Please that other doctor..she shouldn’t come here and try to drive us like before. She’s on her own this time around” my dad said with a frown. I knew he didn’t like the way she had handled them earlier.
“Not to worry sir, her shift is off” nurse Ify answered him with a cheerful smile as she left us.
I tested the ground and I felt fine. Although my legs still felt rubbery..I tried to add a little weight on my heels as I got up slowly I could feel my legs now, although it felt like a thousand pins being released. I kicked out each foot and was rewarded with a sharp ‘crack’ sound from the knee joints, I stretched.
They kept on looking at me. “Rex, can you walk?..are you okay?”
I assured them i was..then “whatever it is you are in put it on a hold. I don’t even want to know now. Please we need to see Andy”
I nodded. Although I didn’t know where he was I also needed to see him.
We filed out of the hospital. With me leading the way and my dad pushing Olivia’s wheelchair behind me. Followed by my mom. I heard my mother say “I hate hospitals and This their antiseptic smell”
It took some time but finally I saw the doctor lady who had immediately attended to Andy when he had been brought in the night before. She was in regular clothes. Her shift must have ended but she seemed like someone so committed to the job that she still hung around.
“Excuse me, please my brother was brought in here last Night..gunshot wound. Please can we see him. No matter how brief.”
She put down what she had been reading and studied me. I pleaded with my eyes, she also studied my family hurdled to my side.
“Hmm..you’re his family?”
“Yes we are”
She got up. “Please follow me”
She led the way and we followed. I thought she was leading us to the ICU or wherever Andy was, but instead she led us to a little office.
“Please have a seat” she gestured to a group of chairs while she went to rhe window and opened the blinds. The window was on the outside and sunlight dances through the wooden blinds.I didn’t feel like sitting, I wasn’t liking the vibes I got from this office. The posters on the wall for one. Most of it talked about dealing with grief with captions like Even the best surgeons can not stop the divine call
Hmmm…divine call? There where pictures of crying people being hugged by doctors and further captions like ‘grief is healthy. Consult with us and let us get through it together’
I didn’t like what I was seeing or where my head was going. But still..maybe it was just her office.
“Your brother…” She turned to my parents “your son..was very strong..the resemblance between the two of them is striking”
This was the first time I was hearing Andy and I looked alike. But I was focused on her use of past tense. What did she mean by was?
Apparently my parents were thinking along the same lines and I could feel their eyes roaming round the walls at the pictures and the meaning.
“What do you mean was?” My dad asked her.
She took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. “This is the part of the work I hate..”
“Oh no..” Someone gasped I think it was Olivia or was it me??
“The damage the gunshot did to him was just to much..he actually stabilized a bit..but he wasn’t brought here on time the blood loss was too much and …..” I spaced out for some seconds. I could only see her lips move but not hear the words that she said. “….I’m very sorry, we did our best but…”
I spaced out again. I looked to my parents. I could see their eyes wide in shock and disbelief my mom looked like reality had just given her a serious backhand slap. She couldn’t even make her usual positive assertions like “he’s alive” right now. I could see a single tear roll down Olivia’s cheek my dad’s eyes were closed. With a strange expression on his face. Andy had been like a second son to him. Most times I felt they even got along better than he did with me.
The doctor was still rambling on but I wasn’t listening.
“Doctor that’s a lie..its not possible!” I got to my feet.
“I understand how you feel believe me but-“
“No you don’t understand how I feel if not you won’t try to convince me” maybe I was the one in denial now. But I couldn’t believe this..no way!
“Please accept my deepest sympathies..we have a family consultant. He’d be with us shortly. I understand how hard it is to deal with the loss of a loved one. Recently I lost my-“
“Where’s the body?”
She blinked “its still on the table..please have a seat I know how-“
“I need to see him”
“Of course you’re his family but its against policy for you to see him the way he is now. I hope you understand”
“No..you need to understand..I need to see him now..that’s the only way..please you need to let me. I beg you”
“Rex its okay” my mother called out. Her voice was breaking and I knew the tears were not far off.
“No mama..I refuse to believe this…” I turned to the doctor “please all it would take is just one second..just one glance what would it cost?”
I could see her battling with herself. She kept on looking at us. From my dad to me then my mother and Olivia( the tears were flowing freely and noiselessly now) the pity in the doctor’s eyes was what shook me the most..my God if Andy were dead… I shook the thought out of my head. He wasn’t dead I believed this stubbornly he wasn’t… But I was feeling some kind of strange heaviness in my chest.
She got up and for a second I feared she was about to ask us to leave.
“I can only take one of you into the theater..and its just for a second only”
“That’s all I need”
I looked at my family. My dads eyes were still closed and he kept rubbing his head as if dealing with headache. The first sign of tears had appeared in my mothers eyes and Olivia….Olivia was visibly shaken..she kept looking at me through glassy eyes as she blinked away the tears that was fast resembling a waterfall.
The doctor who if I remember correctly had been referred to as ‘Mary’ by Dr Rasheed led the way to the door.
“A doctor would be with you shortly..please try and speak to him…once more I’m deeply sorry for your loss” she said to my parents before leaving.
She left the cabinet sized office and I followed her. I turned back as I closed the door and the look on their faces had me cursing myself, cursing the chief, cursing the shadow..but mostly I cursed myself I tried to keep the guilt down as I walked behind doctor Mary but
I kept on thinking what if? What if I had never called the shadow? What if I hadn’t missed the first time I shot at him? What if I hadn’t even taken the papers in the first place?
I was so lost in the land of guilt that I didn’t notice she had stopped. I walked straight into her.
“Oh! I’m so sorry”
She righted her self “its alright .you’re depressed which is why I would strongly advice you not to look at his body..its an image you can not unlook at and it remains imbedded in your memory for life”
I nodded “please this is something I just have to do..you must understand”
She shrugged and led the way.
I followed her into the room. It was empty now and I could see about two waste bins filled to the brim with discarded plastic gloves. All were red with blood. I shuddered..Whose blood?
She handed me a pair of gloves and a face mask. “You won’t be touching anything but you must have these on”
She led me to an inner room. “Any unfortunate case is kept here for the first few hours in case the family request for autopsy. We have a morgue on the ground floor and he would be transfered later today”
I could see the body on a table at the end of the room covered with a white sheet. My heart began hammering. She walked to the body and pulled the sheet just under the chin revealing the face. For a second I was scared of the truth. I remained rooted to the spot I felt like running out of the room but instead I walked over to the table and looked at the face.
“I’m so sorry for your loss”
I looked at her. Looked at the face again. My loss? This felt like a gain!! I almost wept out in relief but I had respect for the dead. No matter how I had hated this person now he was dead.
She still looked at me with her brows raised waiting for me to say something.
“Doctor…that’s not him”
“Its not?”
“No its not” this was the shadow..terrible crazy assassin and Sule’s killer! he hadnt gotten to the hospital on time and his diaphragm had ruptured while he bled to death.
“But you said…”
“Another person was brought in here with a stomach wound…he’s the one I’m Asking about”
“Oh..my…I’m so very sorry…so so sorry..please forgive me (for a second I almost panicked…hope she’s not ‘sorry for your loss’ again) I’m sorry the other person survived..he’s still heavily sedated but he would be fine”
I finally released the breath I had been holding. She covered the shadows dead face. “I need to inform your parents it was all a mistake” she seemed embarrassed but glad that it was a mistake after all. I followed her out of the theater dumping my gloves and face mask in the waste bin as I passed”Believe me the biggest mistake was saying I looked like that man”
I stayed back while she broke the news to my parents. Their son was alive and she was very very sorry for the misunderstanding. The relief on my parents face was worth it and Olivia’s face brightened immediately.
“So where is he now?” My father asked her.
“He’s actually still in intensive care..he’s deeply sedated”
“We’d need to see him” my dad demanded
“Please I can’t allow that not yet”
“So after what you just put us through you’re still going to deny us this request? Haba!” he threw his hands up in exasperation and she raised hers in surrender.
“Okay okay..the thing is later today he’s going to be moved out of intensive care..then you can see him..but for now the most I can do is afford you a narrow view through the window and all you’d see is him sleeping”
“We’d take what we get” he got up and as if it was his designated job, he handled the wheelchair. Pushing Olivia out the door. I stepped aside to let them pass and then waited for my mom and the doctor to step out.
“Just slide the door” she instructed me as she passed and I did as she requested. It seems the lock had been damaged and could only be locked with the key.
By now I had gotten used to the fact that the hospital was massive with unending passages and corridors (judging from my frequent visits to Dr Rasheed not to talk of my encounter with the shadow just two days ago) but I could never get used to the fact that there was always a different passage or a different door I hadn’t seen before. The Doctor Mary would always take another turn or open another door.
“We’ve been observing his other organs. So far the liver is fine but we still need to watch him closely.” She spoke up as we walked down a narrow hallway.
I looked through open windows, open doors or open curtains and a particular section on the right must have been the trauma section. Injuries,blunt trauma or maybe incision..whatever the case the most dangerous and horrible cases were in this wing. I saw some unspeakable things through a particular window and I wondered how some men could be so evil and unfeeling…I shuddered at the disfigured faces I had seen then quickened my pace to match my family’s as I had been lagging behind quite a bit.
“There he is” she stopped at a window and we all gathered around. “Pardon me..” She opened the door gently then disappeared inside. Few seconds later she parted the window blind for us and we all pressed our noses to the glass.
Andy was on the bed. I could tell it was him. His legs were too long to fit the bed and i could see his feet. They looked blue he was in their hospital gown and I squinted…I think I could see a bandage round his mid rif..or was it?
“Why is he using an oxygen mask?” I asked aloud. Not that the doctor could hear me. She was on the other side of the glass and was also studying Andy.
“I can’t really see above the bed” Olivia complained and I noticed that because of the chair her eye level was limited.
“Lemme help you” I assisted her to stand and she also saw Andy for some seconds before I helped her back in her seat.
Dr. Mary pointed to her watch then closed the blinds.
My parents looked at me. I now stood behind Olivia’s wheelchair and I held the handles.
My dad cleared his throat.
“Rex..” He trailed off. He shook his head weakly “Rex..what happened?who shot him?”
“It was a hired killer..hired assassin..he’s the one that died that the doctor spoke about”
“What happened…? hired assassin? Who wants you dead…what is going on?”
“Al..not here..let’s find somewhere private” my mother cautioned.
The doctor came back outside. “I’m sorry you had to look through the window but only the doctor is allowed in there..in a few hours I’m sure you’d be able to see him”
“No problem thank you doctor” my mother replied.
“I have a question please…why the face mask? Is anything wrong with his lungs or what…?”
“Not at all..” She smiled reassuringly “Actually we need to minimise abdominal movement as much as possible as is with the case of breathing deeply in and out. Its just a measure to let the stomach rest well..a bullet passed through after all..” She looked pointedly and intentionally at her watch. “Its the case of killing two birds with a stone” she explained hurriedly then she winced “maybe I used the wrong verb but you know what I mean..” She was hurrying off. “I’m so sorry about before..I wish your boy a safe and speedy recovery”
I wanted to ask her what the first ‘bird’ was but I let her go. I knew Andy was alright and that was all that mattered.
We all looked at ourselves. So what now?
“How did you people get here?” I asked.
“How else..public transport” my dad answered gruffly. I knew he was upset with me and rightly so.
“With Olivia?” I looked at her
“We took a cab” she said
“3,500!” My dad supplied grudgingly.
We were still standing outside the door and I could see a male doctor coming our way. I wasn’t too sure but he looked like the doctor I had assaulted two days ago, the one I mistook for the shadow.
“How do we do it…let’s all wait somewhere while I get the car so I can drop you at home”
“Where’s the car?”
“Its at the wharf”
“How on earth did it get there? Look we demand an explanation!”
The doctor was getting closer although he seemed to be making a phone call. I didn’t want him to see the wheelchair and link us to the double homicide of the two guards which had happened not up to 48 hours ago. Although the guilty person was now on his way to the morgue thanks to yours truly.
” Let’s leave the road first! And find somewhere private”
I turned and wheeled Olivia away and they followed me, with frowns on their faces unknowingly blocking the doctor’s view for the time being.
No one asked me any questions until we got to the waiting room. I had planned for them to sit and wait while I rushed to retrieve the car but there wasn’t a free space! it was crammed full with people, I noticed mostly nursing mothers. Judging by the children each woman had in their arms and from the sound(every child was wailing) I knew it had to be immunization day.
I turned to them “the wharf is not far..you should wait here I’d get a bike and bring the car back under 20 minutes”
“And bring what exactly?” My father countered rather angrily “Bring a car you say..is it your car? Then you’ll take us to somewhere that is not your house…” I could tell he struggled to control his voice “we didn’t come here together, Go and get your car we would find our way back”
The cries of uncomfortable infants at the sight of the needle was a constant sound amand he walked to my side and took hold of the wheelchair. Releasing it from beneath my grip. He looked at me once more then headed outside.My mother shrugged at me as she followed him.
Outside the hospital, the quietness was immediately welcoming but the Sun was on full blast. I squinted as I caught up to them.
“What of Andy’s mother?” My mother asked me.
“I didn’t want to call her..not yet at least she’s a widow and she worries a lot. Andy is her only child.” (His brother had faced a fatal accident when they were younger) I remembered his mother was expecting a grand child from Mona. He had told me something along those lines
“Don’t expect your mother and I..and even Olivia to stand here waiting for you. We came here separately..but we’re all going to have a long talk” he shook his head and wheeled Olivia away with something close to disappointment in his eyes and my mother asked me “so you…you shoot?”
They waited under a mango tree for shade. My dad watching the road for a free Taxi.
I looked at them from the short distance where they had left me standing. I knew they were both upset and maybe a little disappointed in me. When they had rushed to the hospital they had probably imagined the worst, but gun related violence was probably not one of them. I recalled how their eyes had both changed, as if seeing me in a different light.
So I just watched them for some minutes, no Taxi was forth coming but at least they were shaded, me on the other hand was bearing the scorching of 12 o’clock Sun. So I walked down the other side of the road in silence. I tried to remember the exact spot I had left the car. And as I flagged a bike I wondered if I could drive..
It would turn out we had left the car in between two immobile Trucks. In broad daylight I noticed that not all tires were complete. And from the look of things the trucks hadn’t been mobile in a long while. This was the spot of pepper sellers, fish sellers and the lot. They spread their sales in front of the car and also in front of the car which I had squeezed inbetween both Trucks.
I looked about the wharf trying to recount our steps the night before, after we had packed the car but it seemed during the day the place was very alien.
At the end I had to buy a lot of fresh pepper and also patronize the women selling fish around the car before they shifted talking within themselves in a thick dialect I couldn’t hope to decipher but I knew they were ribbing me in their tongue.
But I had five nylon bags in my hand. So they moved their baskets and tables out of the way.
My eye sight was good wasn’t it?..close to good I just had this squinting problem since I woke up Everywhere had seemed too bright even in the hospital but now with the Sun on full gear I almost had to squint my eyes to a thin line. If only I could see any glasses I could buy to shield my eyes..but I was surrounded by food alone.
I reversed the car successfully after many back and forth movement with growing imaptience from the marketers. I was almost fully out on the road,when a young man in a light jacket ran towards the car.
“You need to pay 5,000 fine for leaving your car there. Another five thousand for leaving it overnight”
I looked at him then continued the tedious task of reversing the car until I was out.
He tore something from a little blook, a blue slip then signed on it. “That’s 10,000”
He walked following the slow reversing movement and handed me the slip through my window.
“These two dead trucks…how much do they pay you everyday?”
“What kind of question is that?”
“Look I don’t have time..keep your paper” I handed him a thousand naira note and he collected it without a word. Even went as far as shouting at the women to give me space.
I decided to go through the hospital route on my way and when I saw them still under the mango tree I pulled over.
They got in without a word. My dad helped Olivia into the car and folded the wheelchair. She sat in the front seat and i was busy looking at her.
“How are you?” I asked.
“I’m okay..your parents on the other hand..they’re very upset”
Tap tap. My dad tapped the booth impatiently. I hurriedly pulled the lever on the driver’s door and unlocked it. He loadef the wheelchair inside then joined my mother at the back and I drove away in silence.
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