4 nights ago, I sat with you in a crowded ER room
It began around 8 pm that evening..’there’s something wrong with my heart..I think’
I jumped to change. Threw a pair of jeans and a T-shirt on quickly, and without skipping a beat, we headed to the hospital. My inner thoughts ‘do the right thing. Rush him to the hospital. What if it’s true this time?’. You have a history of paranoia, but I did not show any doubt and I did not probe. I simply..drove…while assuring you ‘you’re going to be ok. Don’t hyperventilate. Don’t allow sinister thoughts into your head. Breath deep and relax. We should be there soon’
And there we sat..for 8 absolutely horrible hours. You looked as if, you were the only..healthy..one…in that harrowing full of pain, room
Automatic sliding doors, poor souls filling every corner..broken limbs, cuts, red noses, some holding paperboard bins to throw up in, are crying, are holding onto the person next to them for support, reading books, clutching at a blanket wrapped around them, or holding tight to a jacket slung on their knees..leaning back in their chairs snoring from exhaustion, or simply eyes shut but moaning in agony
You were called in for the 4th time now, to speak to the doctor. I heard his voice addressing you around the corner. And something compelled me, to quickly get up, and follow his voice, to where your obedient trusting eyes were looking at him, as he spoke in his caring manner
At around 3 am, the medical team, had finished performing every test they managed to do, on your heart. Everything looked normal. No damage to the heart, no signs of any abnormalities..except a higher than usual_although not extremely alarming_blood pressure. Such an enigma!
I waved a quick hello to the doctor wondering_where did I come from_and my eyes focused on..you
‘Have you mentioned to the doctor the sea salt you’ve been regularly adding to your drinking water the past couple of weeks?’
Like a toddler shifting weight from side to side and fidgeting in their chair…you glanced sheepishly at me, then shifted your glance to the doctor…then a downward gaze..
The doctor‘s questioning eyes, attempting to decipher what’s unfolding
‘..yah I’ve been drinking mineral water’
I interjected ‘actually, you’ve been adding sea salt to your drinking water’
Now, it was the doctor’s turn, to interject ‘NO..NO’
You apologetically murmured ‘I thought it was better for my health’
The doctor looked shocked, and not particularly amused ‘NOT FOR YOU! Your blood pressure is high!’
We left..
On our way to the parking lot, you laughed amusingly, and said to me ‘what would I do without you mama bear’
I remember looking ahead and responding without looking at you ‘drive. Do not make eye contact. If you do, I swear I will disable google on your phone so you stop googling and following health advice from a possibly 12 year’s old writing medical journals on the internet to mess with people’
You purchased a blood pressure monitor the very next day, as you were still paranoid. You tested yourself, multiple times..in the next couple of days. Well, apparently, when you stopped adding sea salt to your water bottle, shaking it as if you were back in chemistry lab in one of your high school classes..watching the bubbles form..you..were….cured! Your blood pressure..magically, became, normal, every single time you tested
Fast forward to yesterday, after you came in through the door…and looked innocently at me still sitting crossed legged in shock on the floor…after spending over forty minutes talking to…her..on the phone. I got up, walked to your brand new blood pressure monitor sitting on the console table, picked it up…looked at it…flashback of the agonizing night at The ER..and watched it smash into pieces
Your heart..is fine. But what about…mine? Who’s going to take my broken heart to the ER?! Who is going to..fix it?!