It was here that Dr. Freenold and his team would provide immediate care to stabilize their patient. They would eventually be joined by
Rehabilitation Nurses, Occupational Therapists,
Orthopedists, Physiatrists, Psychologists, Nutritionists, Physical Therapists and Speech Therapists.
Successes and failures over the two years since the center opened, highlight the fact that no two brain injuries are alike; each requires specific individualized care, with the hospital team, patients and families each playing a vital role in the process.
CHAPTER 31
Miriam looked with disdain at the tray in front of her. She had a throbbing headache and a high-pitched ringing in her ears. On a plastic plate there was a small piece of baked fish, a dollop of mashed potatoes and eight skinny string beans. A small salad with oil and vinegar dressing, a roll with a pat of butter, a cup of rice pudding and a glass of lemonade rounded off the meal. This is supposed to be health giving nourishment? She decided to eat everything but the roll and butter. She ate the food quickly hoping that it would help with the headache.
She pushed the tray aside. I wish Mike would get back with news about Thomas.
She glanced at the door as if that would summon his appearance, but instead she saw a woman peeking into the room; looking first at Miriam and then at the other two women in the room, while trying not to be too conspicuous about it.
“Are you looking for someone?”
Caught in the act, Emily responded, “I’m so sorry to disturb you, I’m looking for Miriam Walton. I was told she was in this room.
Surprised, Miriam replied, “I’m Miriam Walton. If you’re here to introduce me to Jesus, somebody already beat you to it. I’ll tell you what I told him, I’m okay in that department, but I do appreciate your concern.”
Emily laughed, “Oh, it’s nothing like that.
Actually, I came to ask you a question. I’m Emily Peyton. I believe that my son Thomas Mortinson and his fiancée were at the dance when the stage collapsed, and we can’t locate either of them. Patricia at the Emergency Command Center in the park told me that you asked about him and insisted that his name be added to the missing list. She also told me that you claim to be his mother.”
Miriam froze. What little color she had quickly drained from her face.
Concerned about the woman’s condition,
Emily rushed to the bedside. “Are you okay?”
She grasped Miriam’s hand and felt a strong response. “What’s wrong? Do you know something about where Thomas is?” When she received no reply, she reached over to the side table and poured a glass of water. She handed it to Miriam, who sipped it very slowly to create as much time as possible before she would be compelled to reply.
Finally, Miriam put the glass down and turned to Emily. Their eyes met, and something passed between them; some sort of an empathetic bond. With a shaky voice she said, “I’m Thomas’s birth mother. Thomas’s father, Thomas Wendell Mortinson, died in combat in the war. Thomas was born two months later.” She stopped to collect her thoughts. “I was so shattered by his death, so full of self pity that I gave up my son. I’m not proud that I did. At the time I had no money, no job and no permanent place to live. I wanted Thomas to have a better life than the one I was heading into; one with no future in sight. I saw him briefly the other day and in a way I’m glad that I made that decision. You and your husband have raised a fine young man.”
Miriam saw the look of surprise on Emily’s face. Emily grabbed a chair and sat down as the news caused her legs to feel weak. “I can see that this comes as a shock to you. I’m sure you never thought that after all these years, I’d come looking for my son.”
Emily remained silent for a while as she mulled over what Miriam was telling her. She reached out for Miriam’s hand and grasped it firmly. “You’re right. Walter and I talked about it often as Thomas was growing up. I’ll be absolutely honest with you; I hoped that you would never show up and ruin the perfect story-book family we became. Yes, he is a fine young man. My husband and I are so proud of what he has become, but most of the credit goes to Thomas himself.”
Miriam hesitated for a moment and then asked, “Has he ever asked about me?”
“Well, there was a time when he was eight. We thought that he was old enough to understand what was at stake. We asked him if he would be agreeable to our adopting him. He thought about it for a few days and then told us that he didn’t want to be adopted. He said something about keeping his true identity. While he didn’t speak of you specifically, we were certain that somewhere in the back of his mind he harbored the thought of meeting you some day. He believed that if he was adopted that opportunity would be cut off. We honored his decision and never discussed it again.”
“His true identity. That’s a pretty mature concept for an eight-year-old.”
“I agree. He’s always had a serious nature. I’m glad you’re here, Miriam. I think Thomas will be anxious to meet you. Walter and I will help in any way we can.”
“I appreciate that.”
“Have you seen him tonight?”
Tears welled up in Miriam’s eyes. “Yes, I have. I was at the dance when the stage collapsed. I was filming him on my cell phone when the stage fell on top of him. I was pushed backwards as I tried to do something to help him. Then I was knocked down and suffered a concussion when the crowd of people tried to escape. It was awful. Thomas was hurt, and I couldn’t help him.” She saw the look on Emily’s face and realized that she hadn’t known about Thomas being injured. The poor woman.
“You saw Thomas get knocked down by the stage?” she asked, half knowing the answer and half hoping that she had misunderstood Miriam.
The answer came amidst the tears streaming down Miriam’s face, “Yes. I thought you already knew. I screamed to him, but it happened so quickly. He couldn’t hear me.”
Emily leaned over and put her arms around Miriam. Tears flowed freely from both.
“A friend of mine, Mike Tolliver, is trying to locate him right now. He’s the attorney I used to find Thomas. I’d show you the pictures, but I lost my phone in the confusion. I can’t even call my husband because my phone records were in the phone. He must be worried sick.”
Miriam sat back against the pillow. “You know, life is really funny at times. When I married Nathan, we agreed not to have children because his business required that he travel frequently. He felt, and I agreed at the time, that it wouldn’t be fair to put the responsibility of raising a child squarely on my shoulders, but freedom from parenting comes at a price, as does all freedom. In this case the price was loneliness; loneliness so overpowering that I needed to seek help from a psychiatrist. I never told Nathan about my feelings or visiting a shrink because I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to explain my feelings without telling him about Thomas. I know that a marriage is supposed to be based on trust, with no secrets, but I guess I felt too much guilt about giving Thomas up for adoption. Even though I received professional help for several years, the loneliness never left me. A day doesn’t go by that I don’t think about what it would have been like to raise my son. I know that this must be difficult for you to understand.”
“Not as much as you may think, Miriam. I’m no stranger to feelings of loneliness. The reason that Walter and I took in Thomas as a foster child was mostly because we were unable to have a child of our own. When we were first married I became pregnant and had a miscarriage. The second time, I was so careful, thinking that the miscarriage was my fault. When the baby was born, it was a boy and we named him Thomas. He only lived four days. We were both heartbroken. Walter took it especially hard; he wanted a son. The doctors ran some tests and hit us with a bombshell. There were some genetic defects on both our sides that greatly reduced the odds of a healthy child. They advised us not to attempt to get pregnant again.”
Emily stopped for a minute to wipe away the tears that were cascading down her cheeks.
“Now you talk about feeling lonely. I was not only depressed, but I was impossible to live with. I was certain that my marriage was going to end at any time. All the joys of impending motherhood that I had experienced for nine months came crashing down into my miserable world.”
Miriam leaned forward in the bed and hugged Miriam. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. It wasn’t until I hit an emotional rock bottom that I finally hit on an answer.
Adoption would take too long but becoming a foster parent could provide the solace that was desperately needed in our lives. I was surprised when Walter enthusiastically supported me.
We received Thomas when he was three months old. The minute I held him in my arms all feelings of sadness left me. The similarity of the name wasn’t lost to us. It strengthened our resolve to be the best parents we could possibly be. We believed that there was a force somewhere that wanted Thomas to be with us. The road wasn’t without challenges, but Thomas turned out to be a fine young man who has made us very proud.”
“Didn’t anyone else ever try to adopt him?”
“That’s the funny thing. The only time adoption came up was when Walter and I considered it. I guess that force was looking out for us, Other than that time, the agency seemed content with keeping Thomas in a stable environment.”
Suddenly the room was silent. They looked at each other and suddenly burst out laughing. Miriam said, “Aren’t we a pair?” “Yes, but a pair of what?” Laughter again.
“You know, Miriam, I think that if we had met sooner, we would have become good friends.”
“I believe you’re right. Let’s make sure that nothing gets in the way of that happening now.” They hugged once more.
* * *
As Mike Tolliver approached Room 359 he saw that Miriam had a visitor. “Well, what do we have here?” As Emily turned around, Mike recognized her immediately from the pictures of her and her husband in his files.
Miriam turned towards the door, “Oh, Mike, this is Emily Peyton,” she said excitedly.
“I’m pleased to meet you Mrs. Peyton. They told me downstairs that you were looking for Miriam. I’m glad you found her. I ‘m afraid there is no news of Thomas yet.”
“I told Emily about what I saw.”
“They are still bringing patients into the hospital. It takes time to get enough information to identify everybody and enter the data into their computers.”
Miriam spoke, “I was out at the park about an hour ago. It was really chaotic out there. Why don’t I call my husband? He’s in the best position to tell us what is going on.”
Emily stepped out into the hall. She was about to call Walter when she received a call from him.
“Emily, thank God you answered.”
She responded with, “I was just about to call you.”
“Look, they found Thomas and he’s on the way to Owensburg General right now. I don’t know his condition. All they told me that he is not conscious. The ambulance left about five minutes ago.”
“Thank God they found him. I’ve got news too. His birth mother, Miriam Walton, is here in the hospital. She was out at the park and was taking pictures of Thomas when the stage fell.”
“Oh, my god, the poor woman. Did she see it happen?”
“Yes. She was taking pictures when she saw the stage fall on him. Then she was knocked unconscious. She seems very nice. I feel so bad for her.”
“Well, it looks as if the rescue effort is well along now. Wes and George can take over from here. I’ll be right over. I sure hope Thomas isn’t hurt too badly. Is there any sign of Louise yet?”
“Not yet. I’ll go back down to information desk. They have a record of her being at the park, but she still hasn’t showed up anywhere. She should have been close to Thomas when the stage fell. Look, I’ll meet you downstairs in the main lobby. I’ll keep after the information desk until they have a record of what room Thomas is in. Please get here soon!”
“Don’t worry, the siren will be on. Love you, Em.”
“I love you too, Walt.”
* * *
Emily returned to the room to share the news about Thomas. They were relieved, although all they knew was that he had been found and that he was on his way to them.
“I’m going to go down to the main lobby and hound that information desk until they tell me where they’ve taken him. Walt’s on his way. I’m meeting him down there.”
Mike thought for a moment and said,
“Maybe I should go with you.”
Miriam asked, “What about me?”
“I know that you want to be there, but that just isn’t possible,” Mike answered. “You’ve been confined to that bed with a serious concussion. We talked about this before, Miriam.”
“I know we have. That was when we didn’t know anything, but now we know that Thomas is going to be here in the same building, if he not here already, I’ve got to see him.”
He gently took her hand in his. “Miriam, we’ve been on this journey for many months now. Another day or two isn’t going to make a bit of difference in the great big scheme of things. If you don’t follow the doctor’s orders you will jeopardize your health and make a reunion with Thomas that much more difficult. Work with me on this.”
“I know you’re right Mike, but it’s so damned hard. Okay, I’ll be good.” Looking first at Mike and then at Emily, she added, “But promise me you’ll keep in touch, no matter what you find out. It’s going to be unbearable just sitting here waiting.”
Mike squeezed her hand. “I know it will be and I promise that I will keep you updated as soon as we find anything out. I have your phone number.”
He and Emily smiled at Miriam and left the room.
* * *
Louise wandered around Tiecher Park for several hours, trying to find some news about Thomas. She asked at every tent that was set up; stopped every person who would take the time to speak to her and then backtracked in case they had more information.
“Have you seen Thomas Mortinson?” Nothing! Most of the people she talked to knew who he was, but no one had seen him. Finally, exhausted, she sat down on a bench and dozed off.
She was awakened some time later by a policeman. “Are you all right, Miss?”
She explained her dilemma and asked if he knew where Chief Peyton was. The deputy called on his radio and was told that Walter had left the grounds to go to Owensburg General Hospital.
“Can you contact him for me? I was at the dance with his son, Thomas. I’m sure he’ll want to talk with me.”
“Louise, are you okay. We’ve been frantic looking for you. We thought you were hurt in the accident.”
“I’m okay, but Thomas was under that thing when it fell. I’ve been trying to find out something about his whereabouts.
“We know where he is. He was rescued awhile ago and transferred to Owensburg General.
I’m headed there now. Put Officer Gordon back on.
I’ll arrange for him to transport you to the hospital.
I’ll meet you there.”
Minutes later Louise was sitting in a police car, with the siren wailing, on her way to join Walter and Emily at the hospital.
CHAPTER 32
Emily and Mike stood together on the information line. “The wait is shorter this time.
They opened up two more desks,” Mike said.
“Well I guess they have more people to deal with now. It shouldn’t be much longer. At least we know that Thomas is in the system.”
Minutes later, they reached the front of the queue. This time they were processed by the other lady at the desk. Emily asked, “Can you tell me where they’ve taken my son, Thomas Mortinson?” She spelled the last name for the lady.
“He’s been moved to the ICU.”
“What floor is that on?”
“Oh, not the one in this building. You have to go around, past the west wing to the George Bennett Baxter Trauma Center.
They will guide you from there.”
Emily’s legs went weak for a moment, but Mike stepped forward to support her. “What’s wrong with him?”
“I don’t have that information, Ma’am.
They’ll be in a better position to tell you about your son’s condition over there. I don’t have that kind of information.”
Mike guided Emily to one of the few seats that were empty in the lobby. “Now, don’t get all worked up just because they sent him to some other building. It may just be that they ran out of beds in this building and borrowed the space. In this kind of situation, I’m sure they do that all the time. Walter should be here any minute. He’ll have his siren on and parking sure won’t be a problem for him.’
Emily no sooner got the words out than his car pulled up in front of the building; he jumped out and spun through the revolving doors. He headed right for Emily. ‘How’re you holding up, Em?”
“I’m good Walt. They told us at the desk that Thomas was around the corner at the Trauma
Center.” Emily stopped for a minute and said,
“Where are my manners. Walt this is Mike Tolliver. He helped locate Thomas for Thomas’s mother. Mike, this is my husband Walter Peyton.” The two men shook hands.
“I’ve located Louise. She called me while I was on the way here. I had a car pick her up, so she should be here any minute now.’ As he was speaking, they heard the approaching siren. “That must be her now.”
They met in front of OG and headed to
Walt’s car. Two minutes later the four passed through the ultra-modern entrance to the George Bennett Baxter Trauma Center.
They could never have imagined what lay behind those doors.
Tenderly Beats the Lonely Heart Page 9