Carolyn had just went back home after celebrating Christmas with her mother Nancy, her aunt Nelly, and several other family members and friends. Some people were getting ready to celebrate the new year but Carolyn was already back to work prepping the store for the new year sale. It was the mid-morning of December 30th when Carolyn received a phone call from her mother. She was in the hospital waiting room waiting to hear from someone as to what happened to Nelly. Nancy explained that the hospital called her early this morning because she is listed as Nelly’s emergency contact.
Just as Nancy was talking to Carolyn a Dr. Goldwin walked up to her.
“Hold on Carolyn, a doctor is here to talk to me,” Nancy put the phone down close to her chest.
Dr. Goldwin told Nancy that her sister was in a car crash and is stable now but in a coma. She has a broken right arm, two cracked ribs, and a concussion. Nancy began to cry as the doctor asked her if she wanted to see her now.
“Yes, of course I want to see her,”
Carolyn was still on the other end of the phone call trying to get her mom to talk to her, “mom, what’s going on? Mom?”
Dr. Goldwin and Nancy walked into the elevator to go to the second floor.
“Carolyn, your aunt was in a car accident and is in a coma now. I’ll call you when I know more,” Nancy said.
"Okay mom, but I’ll be there in a few hours. I pack a bag and head out the door,” Carolyn said.
Before Nancy could say anything else, Carolyn hung up. Nancy knew that her daughter would drive back up there no matter what she told her anyways. When the elevator reached the second floor and the doors opened, fear and worry hit Nancy. She didn’t know what her sister was going to look like. Dr. Goldwin told Nancy as they walked down the hall that Nelly was very lucky to be alive. Even though she is in a coma now, she has a fifty fifty chance of coming out of it.
At the end of the hall was room 213. Dr. Goldwin took Nancy inside, and there she saw her sister lying still on the bed. Nelly had a rather large bandage on her head and tubes running to two IV bags. They put a blanket on her so Nancy didn’t see her arms.
“Nelly, I’m here. It’s your sister Nancy,” she reached out and gently touched her face.
Dr. Goldwin folded down the blanket to show Nancy that the right arm was in a brace at the moment. Nancy started to cry again as she felt bad for her sister. The doctor told her that he will be back later to check on Nelly and that if she needs anything, to just go to the nurses station that they passed on the way to the room. Nancy thanked the doctor before he left the room and then she picked up Nelly’s left hand. She held her hand gently and prayed for her to heal and wake up.
Carolyn was already in her car and heading back to Green Bay. She couldn’t help but fear the worst. She’s in a coma so it must be bad. Is she going to die, she thought. Because the holidays weren’t over yet, a Christmas song came on over the radio. Carolyn almost switched the station until she realized it was a favorite of her aunt Nelly’s, “Oh Come All Ye Faithful”. Could that be a good sign, she thought. Carolyn tried to stay positive that her aunt will be alright and that they will welcome in the new year together.
Meanwhile back at the hospital, Nancy sat by her sister’s bedside and waited and prayed. She contemplated on calling their brother Nelson. Would he want to come to the hospital and just wait… No, probably not, she thought. Nancy did decide to call Nelson after all and let him know. All he asked was for her to keep him updated on Nelly’s progress. The nurse on duty came in to check on Nelly and then asked Nancy if she could get anything for her.
“No thank you, my daughter will be here in a little while, so maybe then we will get something to drink,” Nancy said.
Once Carolyn did arrive in Green Bay and got to the hospital, she got the room number from the receptionist. She hurried onto the elevator and hurried off once she got to the second floor. When she found room 213 she slowly opened the door and peeked in.
“Mom? Aunt Nelly?”
Nancy stood up and looked at Carolyn as she walked in. She saw the tears start to run down her daughters face as she looked at her aunt. Carolyn gave her mom a hug and asked her how she was. Nancy teared up and said that she has been praying and praying but Nelly hasn’t moved. Carolyn touched her aunt’s shoulder and told her that it was her favorite niece Carolyn.
“Aunt Nelly, you have to wake up,” Carolyn said.
Carolyn stood and stared at her aunt for a few minutes and quietly prayed. Then she asked her mom if she wanted some coffee. Carolyn stopped at the nurses station and asked where she could get some good coffee. Down in the cafeteria was a Starbucks counter so Carolyn got two coffees from there. By this time it was almost three in the afternoon and because neither one of them had eaten since the night before, Carolyn also bought two turkey sandwiches.
Nancy and Carolyn sat by Nelly’s bedside and waited for something to happen. Nancy told Carolyn that the doctor said there’s a fifty fifty chance that Nelly will recover. So fifty fifty could go either way, Carolyn thought. Trying not to think the worse, Carolyn reminded her mom how aunt Nelly would always make them laugh no matter what the situation was. That led to them reminiscing and talking about past events that included Nelly. Nancy even brought up a few memories from when she and Nelly were teenagers. She told Carolyn how they would be grounded for a week because of something they did that their father didn’t approve of.
This remembrance of fond memories led into the evening hours when the doctor stopped in and suggested that they go home to get some rest. He reassured them that if there was any change with Nelly that the hospital would call them. So, even though they were hesitant to leave, they did and went back to Nancy’s house. They had something else to eat and watched a little TV before going to bed. Deep inside, Carolyn was afraid of losing her aunt. She wasn’t emotionally prepared to lose someone at this time in her life. She also feared for her mother and how she would handle it if Nelly died.
The next morning, Carolyn and her mom got up early. They downed a cup of coffee and then headed up to the hospital. When they arrived at Nelly’s room a nurse was walking out.
“How is Nelly?” Nancy asked her.
“I’m sorry but she’s still in a coma,” the nurse said.
Carolyn and her mother went in and stood by Nelly’s bedside. They held hands and prayed over Nelly. They asked God to do what he wants with her but to please bring us some kind of peace to them soon. The day continued on with some tears at times and a little laughter at other times. They tried to make the most of the situation and even talked to Nelson on the phone to keep him updated. After talking with Carolyn, Nelson decided to come into town to see his sisters and niece. He lived about an hour away so he wouldn’t get there until four o’clock.
When he did arrive, he called Carolyn on her cell phone. She went downstairs and out to the parking lot to get him. He was happy to see her again even though it was just Christmas day when they saw each other. Carolyn told him that there still hasn’t been any change in Aunt Nelly’s condition. When they got to the room, Nelson followed Carolyn inside. He saw his younger sister Nelly lying in the bed all bandaged up. Nelson gave Nancy a big hug and told her that no matter what they will make it through together.
Nelson walked up to the bed and looked at Nelly’s face, “okay little sister, you have to come back to us now.”
Another hour passed and all they could do was wait. Nelson suggested that they all go and get something to eat and then come back. So, that’s what they did, they went to a local steak place that Nelson likes when he’s in town. During dinner, Carolyn heard some other crazy stories that her mom, aunt, and uncle used to do when they were young. Who would have thought that memories would flow so freely when someone you love is possibly dyeing? Is that what it takes to remember good times, Carolyn thought.
The three of them left the restaurant around seven pm and went back up to the hospital. They ran into Dr. Goldwin as they got off the elevator and asked them how Nelly was. Once again there hasn’t been any change. Nelson asked the doctor if it was alright for them to stay late. He wanted to bring the new year in with Nelly even though she was in a coma. Dr. Goldwin smiled and agreed. He understood that this could be the last new year for Nelly. Carolyn, Nelson, and Nancy walked into room 213 and looked at Nelly.
“She looks so peaceful. I hadn’t noticed that before,” Carolyn said.
“Nelly, it’s Nancy. The new year is coming soon so you have to wake up and celebrate with us.”
“Yeah, come on sis, we can dance the way you like too,” Nelson smiled.
Nelly was still quiet and motionless as she lied there on the bed. Nelson sat down on one of the chairs and turned on the television. As he flipped through the stations, Carolyn mentioned the Dick Clark’s New Year show was going to come on soon. Until then Nelson put on a Christmas movie. He stated how Nelly always loved Christmas romance movies.
Nancy smiled, “that’s true, and she always made me watch them with her.”
The three of them knew that even though they were enjoying each others company with stories and such, that they were in a hospital and had to keep the noise down. Nelson mentioned that they needed some kind of beverage to toast with when midnight came, so Carolyn went to the small snack room down the hall. She found the soda machine and got three cans of cranberry Sprite. She asked one of the nurses at the station if she had some plastic cups. So, Carolyn walked back into Nelly’s room with the soda and four clear plastic cups.
“Here we go, all set for the countdown,” Carolyn set it down on the table.
The next couple of hours the three of them watched the movie, visited, and periodically talked to Nelly. The doctor did say that it’s possible for coma patients to hear the voices of their loved ones. Nelson eventually turned on Dick Clark’s New Year show. They enjoyed some of the music but Nelson made a comment that the new age stuff just isn’t as enjoyable as the older music.
“You’re starting to show your age Uncle Nelson,” Carolyn smiled.
“Well, you just wait, you’ll understand what I mean.”
As the time passed, it was about five minutes until midnight so Carolyn opened and poured some Sprite into three of the glasses. She then handed her mother and uncle each a glass, and then walked over to her aunt Nelly. She bent over and whispered into her ear.
“I would really like to have a drink here just for you when you wake up Aunt Nelly,” Carolyn touched Nelly’s shoulder.
Carolyn smiled as she looked at her aunts face and then looked up at the TV. Nancy and Nelson got up with their glasses and stood next to the bed. As the song finished and the countdown started, Nancy, Carolyn, and Nelson were ready to toast. At the stroke of midnight the cheering on the TV started but the hospital room was quiet. The three of them looked at Nelly and hoped for a miracle but she didn’t move.
Nelson held his glass up over Nelly anyways, “well, we have a whole new year full of hope and the past years full of memories. To Nelly.”
“To Nelly, I love my big sister,” Nancy raised her glass.
Even though she felt disappointed that Nelly didn’t wake up, Carolyn raised her glass, “to Aunt Nelly, may she awaken wherever God wants her to awake.”
The three of them smiled and drank from their glasses, when the nurse peeked in.
“Happy New Year,” the nurse said softly.
“Happy New Year,” they said simultaneously.
As they stood there and watched the end of the show, Nelly whispered something.
Carolyn looked down at her aunt, “did you hear her say something?”
“No, I think that it was on the television,” Nelson said as he watched the show.
Nelly slowly blinked her eyes and tried to lick her lips.
“Aunt Nelly, it was you,” Carolyn was stunned.
Nancy grabbed Nelly’s hand, “come back to us sister.”
Nelson looked at his sister, “Nelly, we’re all here for you girl”, and then he pushed the call button on the remote for the nurses station.
As Nelly opened her eyes all the way she slowly glanced around. She saw Nancy off to her left, Nelson at the foot of the bed, and Carolyn on her right. She starred up at Carolyn and whispered again.
Carolyn bent down to hear her, “what do you need Aunt Nelly?”
Nelly looked at her niece, cleared her throat, and said with a raspy voice, “I could go for that drink now.”
Carolyn’s face lit up as she smiled at her aunt. Nancy kissed her sister on the cheek and welcomed her back.
Nelson tapped Nelly on the foot and teased her, “there you go again, always looking for attention the hard way,” he smiled.
The nurse walked in and saw that Nelly was awake, “I’ll go page the doctor.”
“Boy, are we happy to have you back,” Carolyn said with a smile, “Happy New Year Aunt Nelly.”
This concludes the, Tis The Season Stories series. I hope that you all enjoyed this series as well as your holidays. Thank you for being a faithful reader of mine and I hope to continue the new year with new material. I am thankful and grateful for your all of your support. Without your encouraging words from time to time I may not have made it through the year. So, thank you again and have a Happy New Year.
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