The Long Way Home

by Phillip Overton

  ****

  “Simon, can you hear me?”

  “Stand back, we’re getting something.”

  “Simon if you can hear me I want you to squeeze my finger.”

  Simon blinked his eyes open a little, the bright fluorescent lights burnt his pupils.

  “Simon its Mummy, can you hear me?”

  Simon tried to open his eyes once more, squinting to see where he was.

  “Dad?” He said before closing them shut again.

  “We’ve got him back.” One of the doctors said loudly. “I want him stabilised ASAP.”

  “I’m on to it.”

  “Simon, its Mummy. Everything is going to be alright do you hear me?”

  Everywhere around him there was noise. Somewhere close by a machine was beeping frantically, outside in the hallway a crowd of people were hurriedly talking followed by the sound of heavy footsteps and the sound of a trolley being wheeled past, cutlery clinking together.

  “Dad!” Simon yelled as he sat up straight in bed.

  “Hey, take it slowly little soldier,” the doctor said untangling the drip line that had become wrapped around Simon’s arms. “How about we try little movements first okay, we don’t want to rush things too fast now do we?”

  “Simon its Mummy. Mummy’s here now sweetie, it’s alright.” Rowena pushed through the small crowd of nurses to throw her arms around her son. “Mummy’s here sweetie.” She cried hard into his arms.

  “Mum?” Simon asked trying to focus on the blurred face that was now pressed up against his. “What’s happening?”

  “Everything’s alright now sweetie. Everything is going to be fine.”

  “Nurse, can you phone Mr Small right away and let him know his son has just come out of the coma. Now please! The number is in Simon’s file.”

  “Yes doctor.”

  “Where am I Mum?” Simon asked, scared by all the sudden movement around him.

  “You’re in the hospital sweetie.”

  “What happened?”

  “Don’t worry about that now, everything is going to be alright. You just need to rest and take things slowly okay? Can you do that for Mummy?”

  “Yes.” Simon replied softly, confused and clawing at the tubes under his nose.

  “Just wait a second little man.” The doctor stopped his hands from pulling the oxygen tubes off before the nurse had a chance to see to it.

  “Mum?” Simon called to her, frightened by the sight of tubes and wires stuck all over his body.

  “It’s alright Simon, I’m here.” She soothed him.

  “Simon I need you to help me a little bit.” The doctor asked. “I need you to calm down so that the nurses can check that everything is alright. Can you do that for me?”

  “Yes.” Simon spoke up, his little heart beating wildly from all the excitement. He looked around him, the faces and surroundings were becoming clearer now. He could see his Mum at his side still crying and the doctor standing beside the bed, crouching over him.

  “Do you know where you are right now?” The doctor asked.

  “In the hospital?” Simon asked tentatively as he looked around the room. It was a small room, cluttered on one side with a lot of monitors while the other side had some chairs and a small table sitting under the window. The table was adorned with fresh flowers and cards while the chairs were filled mostly with stuffed toys.

  “That’s right Simon. My name is Doctor Hart. I’m one of the doctors here at Gosford Hospital that has been looking after you. Now I know that there are a lot of scary tubes stuck to you at the moment, we are going to take them off soon, but for now we are going to need you to keep them on while we check to make sure you are better. You see this one here?”

  Simon looked at the clear tube the doctor was holding. It went from one of the machines beside his bed all the way to his nose.

  “This one here has been helping you to breathe while you’ve been asleep. We actually had a bigger tube that sat over your mouth like a mask but we’ve already taken that one away, just like we’re going to take the rest away soon. I’m going to ask you some questions now, do you think you can answer them for me?”

  “Yes.” Simon said as he watched the nurses fussing over some of the tubes that were connected to him.

  “How many fingers am I holding up?”

  “Four.”

  “What colour shirt is your Mum wearing?”

  “Yellow.”

  “That’s good. Can you tell me what day it is today?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “That’s alright, there’s no need to rush. It’s Friday just in case you were wondering. Now can you remember what happened that caused you to end up in the hospital?”

  “No.”

  The doctor looked at him a little concerned and paused to make some notes on his folder. Simon looked at his Mum still sitting beside the bed holding his hand.

  “That’s cool, maybe you can let me know later when you remember. Would that be alright?”

  “Yep.”

  “What grade are you in at school Simon?”

  “Grade three.”

  “That must be fun, is it?”

  “Not really.” Simon shook his head and let out a brief laugh.

  “I bet that was easy to remember hey?” The doctor paused to write down some more notes in his folder. “Before I go, I was wondering if you could tell me what the last thing you remember is.”

  “I umm,” Simon paused. “I remember seeing Jesus and my Nanna, Grandma and Grandpa.”

  “I see,” the doctor said calmly, still writing in his folder while nearby Rowena sat up pale from the shock of what she had just heard. “Can you tell me what that was like Simon?”

  “Umm, at first I felt bad like I was in trouble or something but then he made me feel good like he forgave me for whatever I did.”

  “And your Nanna, Grandma and Grandpa, what was it like seeing them Simon?” The doctor asked without looking up from his folder as he madly scribbled down his notes.

  “Kinda weird I guess, ‘cause I’ve never seen my Nanna before. She died before I was born.”

  “So how can you be sure it was her Simon?”

  “I just knew it was her, even though she looked young like my Mum.”

  “And what about Jesus, what did he look like?”

  Simon paused remembering vividly the series of events on the rocks by the beach. He had no idea how he had ended up here in the hospital, maybe he had slipped on the rocks and banged his head.

  “He was wearing long clothes, they sort of looked like a dress but it wasn’t a dress, it was white and gold and he had long hair, and sort of had a beard.”

  “Do you think you might have been in heaven Simon?”

  “If you don’t mind doctor,” Rowena interrupted. “But I think my son has been through enough without you trying to complicate his mind with these sorts of wild notions.”

  “I’m merely trying to establish a series of events Mrs Small, aimed at helping stimulate cells of memory….”

  “Mum, it’s alright.” Simon cut him off. “I don’t mind.”

  “Okay sweetie but after this you have to promise Mummy you will get some rest.”

  “I will.” Simon replied before he turned back to the doctor. “No I don’t think it was heaven ‘cause I was standing on the rocks at the beach.”

  “You don’t think they have beaches in heaven Simon?”

  “It’s not that. It’s just that my Grandma and Grandpa were there, and they’re not dead so it couldn’t have been heaven.”

  The doctor looked up but said nothing as he shot a sideways glance across the bed at Rowena. He finished scribbling down his notes and closed the folder. A nurse entered the room behind him and made her way around to the side of the bed to check on the intravenous drip that was connected to Simon’s arm. She jotted down something on the clipboard hanging on the end of Simon’s bed and then proceeded to check on the oxygen tube still taped in place under hi
s nostrils.

  “I think that can come out now nurse, we’ll monitor the I.V. and once this one is finished we might see about getting Simon something to eat.”

  “Yes doctor.” The nurse replied, gently peeling the adhesive tape away the best she could allowing Simon to breathe freely through his nose once more.

  “Simon, thanks for talking to me, I’ll leave Mum to fill you in on everything you have missed out on. I’m sure you’re going to have lots of visitors tonight, just remember to take it easy, get your rest and listen to what the nurses tell you. Hopefully by morning we’ll be able to take the rest of these tubes away. I’ll be just outside in the hallway so if either of you need anything please feel free to ask.” With that the doctor playfully patted Simon’s leg with the folder and followed the nurse out of the room.

  “Oh sweetie!” Rowena tried to hold back the tears as she leaned in and hugged him tightly. “There’s something I needed to tell you about Grandma and Grandpa, but you’ve been asleep for over a month.”