The Miracles, Tragedies and Terrors
By: Grace Elyse Wilson
***This is the story of a woman's miracles, tragedies, and terrors, and how she gets through them. Written from the woman's point of view.
Dedicated to: my Dad who is an author, and also the one that inspired me.
Character Bio:
Name: Shirley Matthews
Hair: Curly, Long, Red Hair
Eyes: Dark Blue
Family: Bob (husband), Jake (1st child), Billy (2nd child)
Favorite Color: Purple
Favorite Food: Lasagna
Favorite Animal: Giraffe
Favorite Activity: Hiking
Favorite Book: Hunger Games
Favorite State: Kansas
Favorite Word: Discombobulated
Favorite Dog Breed: Bull Dog
Favorite Hobby: Writing Stories about herself
Favorite Number: 72
Birthday: March 18th
Job: Stay at home Mom
The Horror Because of the Nap
I was 2 weeks away from having my baby. The closest hospital was 3 hours away. My husband Bob and I knew that I would have to get to the hospital quicker when it would be time to have my baby. Knowing that, I planned to drive to a hotel when I was a little more than a week away from my due date. I packed everything I needed to bring to the hospital. I spent the week grocery shopping for my family and doing laundry so they would have clothes and food while I was away. During the weekend, I cooked the good they would need and printed the boys some new chore charts. I made a checklist to make sure my family had everything before I left. I still had 1 day before I left, but I wanted to be sure not to forget anything. I also made a checklist for my suitcase to make sure I had everything that I needed at the hotel. I didn't get enough sleep, and I was very tired. I knew I wasn't awake enough to take the drive, but I knew I had to, because Bob had to stay with my sons, Jake and Billy. I got ready quickly and made sure I had everything on my checklist and that my family had everything they needed while I was gone.
I put my suitcase in the trunk of our smallest car (because Bob, Jake, and Billy needed the bigger one), and then I got in the front seat and started the car. I got on the road and turned on the radio. I didn't find anything good on the radio, so I attached my phone to the car and listened to my playlist. There were 47 songs on it, so it lasted me almost the whole way. I think. When I was about 1-1/2 hours into the drive, I started to fall asleep. I feel asleep and while I was asleep, apparently the car went off the road and drove out in the middle of nowhere. I woke up in the car with the car upside down! I ran out of the car, surprised to be alive, and walked away from the car. I looked at the car in fear and right before my eyes, the car blew up! That scared me so much!
I started running while crying. While running, I fainted. When I woke up, I was breathing very hard. My vision was blurry. It took about 10 minutes for my vision to return to normal. I stood up, and my back ached. My arms and legs did too. My head was throbbing really hard. I felt like I was dead. I lay there for 2 hours. I was very scared about what I was going to do. I finally got enough strength in my legs to stand up. I started looking for something. Anything. A noise, a shelter, water, anything. The best thing I could find was a thorn bush with a big brown rock next to it and a cave right behind it. I found 2 pieces of wood and made a small fire with it. I found a bigger piece of wood and pushed it under the fire to where the fire was on the bigger piece of wood. I started walking in the cave. I kept walking and walking and walking. The small bit of light from the fire wasn't very helpful. All I could see was darkness and the little bubble of dim light. I walked a little deeper, and then the fire went out. "C'mon!" I shouted, and then a bat flew into my face screeching! I kept backing away from the bat, but it stayed right there in my face. When I finally backed up far enough to where I was out of the cave, the bat flew back way deep into the cave. I found a lot more wood, enough to build a small bonfire, and made a small bonfire inside the cave. The bat flew out of the cave and kept flying until I couldn't see it.
I knew I should probably go to bed. I found a rock to use as a pillow. I set the rock about 7 feet away from the fire, put out the fire, and went to sleep. I didn't sleep very well, though. I kept waking up in the middle of the night with my head throbbing because of the rock being my pillow. I woke up at 4:00am. I was very tired and had to use so much strength just to pick my head up. I took so much strength to bring myself to walk outside. When I finally got out of the cave, I shouted, "Hello!" to see if anyone was near. I got no answer. I knew I would be there awhile. I collected a lot more wood to last me probably about 3 fires and brought it into the cave. I made a fire and warmed my hands. Even though it was in the middle of the summer, I was freezing.
I thought about my kids. They are probably as happy as can be, not a single bit worried about me. They are so lucky. Wait. Now I thought about it, and the truth is that I am actually dumb. I could be just like them if I weren't so dumb. I would be safely at a hotel if I weren't so dumb. If there was such a thing, I would probably win the dumbest person on earth trophy. It's all my fault! To think I had enough courage to go to the hotel, when I knew I was too tired to make it all the way.
I just need something to eat or drink. I just need something to keep me strong for as long as I am out here. I just need someone to chat with. While I was out there, I decided I should make use of the time, so I started thinking of names for the baby. I thought of Jared for the baby if it was a boy, and I thought Jade would be a nice name if the baby was a girl. I thought about a lot of other names, but those 2 were my favorite. I had 13 boy names and 16 girl names. I fell asleep next to the list written in the dirt on the ground.
I shivered a lot, so I built a fire and gathered more wood before I ever fell asleep. I woke up, my back aching just like it had been every time I woke up since I had been in the middle of nowhere. I got up and started doing the small list of chores I had to do to try to survive. I had to collect fire wood, get fresh leaves for every time I would sleep, somehow (I used a different way each time) get the ash from the last fire out of the cave, and make sure there were no dangerous animals around. So far there weren't any animals except for that bat the first day I was there. I was in the middle of collecting wood when I fainted because of dehydration. I woke up with my back aching worse than it has ever ached, and right then and there, I knew this was going to be the hardest time of my life.
I was thirsty. I was tired. My hunger was getting higher.
I was about 1 week away from giving birth to my 3rd child. I was so scared. I didn't know what I was going to do. I looked up at the sky and saw a boulder falling! When it came closer, it fell very painfully onto my hand. An hour later my finger started to swell. "I hope I will get out of here before my baby is born," I thought to myself as I yawned and fell asleep. It was 12:00 when I fell asleep. I adapted to using a hard, brown rock as a pillow. So far I had succeeded in surviving out in the wild. I did not expect to be lost for so long. I was about 6 days away from having my baby then. I looked around to see if anyone was around me, and I saw a spider as big as a chair! Not even thinking, I ripped the only piece of nature out of the ground, held it by its roots, and smacked the spider in the forehead. There were about 15 thorns stuck in my forearm. It hurt badly. As I ripped out the thorns, I tried to control my pain. I walked forward to see if there was anything in my cave that could stop the blood, and I found nothing. I wished I didn't exist at that moment. Thoughts rushed through my head like I have no food, water, hardly any shelter, and nothing but an empty canteen. How will I survive? How will my baby survive?
I woke up feeling really gross, and just thinking about that made me miss my kids, because I remembered when my oldest child Jake had said, "Three days, no shower, smell the love!" I started weeping so hard I thought I would drown in my tears. I tried to make myself stop for 30 minutes, and when I finally pulled myself together I let out a scream as loud as I possibly could. I started to scream at myself, "I'M 5 DAYS AWAY FROM HAVING MY BABY!!! HOW COULD I LET THIS HAPPEN?!?" I looked around at the place where I was, the place where there's nothing but pain. I got up to walk around the place of pain and saw a big patch of wheat in a place I had not explored yet. "Did I just find a farm?!" I thought to myself excitedly. "Am I free?" I started to run through the field full of joy, and I took a glance around. "THERE IS NO FARM?" My joy went away. All I needed was a washcloth or a basket of food. Even just a photo of my kids would make my day. I wished I could redo the last 4 days. I walked back to where I was before I ran through the wheat field and grabbed a few pieces of wheat on the way back.
I walked into my cave and stepped on a pinecone. "OWW!" I screamed. I wished I didn't throw my shoes in anger when my car went off the road. I kept walking deeper and deeper and deeper. . . . "HSSSSS," I heard. I started to turn around so I could exit the cave, but before I could turn completely. . . SNAP! A rattlesnake bit me. The snakebite was incredibly deep. I got a little scared since I knew rattlesnakes were poisonous. My youngest child Billy wrote a report on rattlesnakes. "Oh, Billy, how I miss you!" I screamed. I could hardly bear being away from my kids and husband, 5 days away from my family. I couldn't stand it. I just couldn't stand it. "How could I let this happen?" I thought. "Is this just a dream?" I hoped. I reached down to pinch myself but stopped myself with my other arm. I didn't want to know. I just hoped that I would wake up clean, not hungry or thirsty, happy with my family in my nice, warm bed. All I did at that point was think about how I could be in my nice, soft, comfy-cozy bed and then wake up happy and ready to make eggs and bacon for me and my family instead of how I was then: cold, hungry, thirsty, tired, dirty. . . The list could go on forever!
I woke up early in the morning thinking, "Yay! 2 days away!" But when I looked up and remembered where I was, I got scared I wasn't going to be at the hospital in time. I started to hyperventilate. I started to think soothing thoughts like maybe my baby will be born after its due date and things like that. I tried to allow myself to calm down, but it didn't work. My emotions started to go crazy! I was scared, sad, confused, disappointed, hurting, tired. . . All I needed was a little bit of happiness at that time. "How could I disappoint myself like this?" I said quietly to myself. I thought and thought and thought. I remembered my lucky marble in my pocket and started telling it how it let me down. In the middle of a sentence, I threw the marble. "Am I really talking to a marble?" I said quietly to myself. "My baby," I said more quietly than I have ever talked before.
I freaked out. "How am I going to get to the hospital before it's time for my baby to be born?" I said a little louder. I ran faster than I have ever run before trying to hopefully find the edge of this ginormous ditch. I kept running and running. I ended up closing my eyes and saying a few little prayers that I will find something to help me get to the hospital. I opened my eyes, and after running for about 4-5 minutes, I saw a very faint and tall mountain. "Yes!" I said, out of breath. I sat down and took a little break, but the break only lasted for about 30 seconds, because I was so desperate to climb the big mountain. I started running again. I ran and ran and ran. When I was finally about 20 yards away, the mountain disappeared. "What?" I said in utter disappointment. "How is this possible?" I was determined to see what was going on. I reached down and pinched myself. "It's not a dream," I said to myself in my head. I started walking this time.
I saw a very faint figure and heard a loud, "Cut!" I walked forward and heard what I thought was someone yelling at another person. I walked closer, and then the figure was very clear. It was a person! It was a man! It was a man with dark brown hair in a tuxedo holding a megaphone. I gasped in excitement! The man looked at me. I was speechless. I didn't know what to say. Finally I blurted out, "Do you know anything about disappearing mountains?"
The man looked at me funny. "It is part of a movie I am making. The mountains are special effects. What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Uh, I just found my way here. I'm pregnant, and I am 1 day away from having my baby. I have a big problem."
"I see your problem."
"Do you have a vehicle or something I could borrow to get to a hotel?" I asked.
"I do, but what happened to yours?" he asked.
"Well, it's pretty dumb that I would do this, but I was driving to a hotel, and to make a long story short, the main thing that made me lose my car is. . . well, I was tired and kind of, sort of, partly. . . Well, I fell asleep, and I guess, while I was asleep my car went off the road, and by the time I woke up, I guess I kind of drove off into the middle of nowhere. When I got out of my car, I walked around to see where I was, and when I turned around, well. . . my car blew up," I said.
"That is pretty dumb," he mumbled under his voice. "So to make a long story short, your car blew up?" he asked.
"Yeah," I mumbled under my own voice.
"I do have one vehicle I don't need," he said to me. He walked me over to an ice cream truck.
"Great," I said to myself.
"It was in a scene for my movie, but we don't need it anymore."
"Don't you need to return it to where you got it from?" I asked.
"No," he said. "I used to be in the ice cream business. When I retired, they let me keep the old truck as a farewell present," he said.
I jumped into the front seat of the truck. He handed me the keys. "Thank you!" I shouted and then closed the door. I started the truck and started driving away. It was about 8:00 by the time I got to the hotel. I checked in and went to my hotel room. It was so nice. I turned on the lights, got in bed and turned on the TV. As soon as I found a good channel, it was time. It was time to have my baby! I called the hospital and told them I needed a room, and I told them my name. Very nervous and excited at the same time, I threw on my shoes, turned off the TV, and opened the door. I ran to the elevator, pressed the down arrow button, went into the elevator, pressed the "floor 1" button, and screamed at the top of my lungs full of joy. When I reached the 1st floor, I ran out the door to my (ice cream) truck. I turned it on and drove to the hospital at the top of the speed limit. When I got to the hospital, I got into the first parking spot I saw. I ran into the massive hospital. I ran to the front desk and told them that I called. They brought me to the room, and I got all hooked up. I asked if there was a phone I could borrow. When I got the phone, I called my husband immediately. He did not answer, so I called his cell number, and this time he picked up. I told him I was at the hospital and that the baby was coming. He seemed very nervous. "Oww!" I screamed. I told him to come immediately and told him that I would be ok. Then I hung up. "Oww!" I screamed again.
When my husband, Billy, and Jake came, the doctor told them which room I was in. When they came in, I gasped with joy, then let out a big "Oww!" My husband came to the side of the bed and held my hand. Jake turned on his video game and turned down the volume, because he knew that I needed quiet from when Billy was born. Billy just climbed in a chair in the room and took a nap. "Oww!" I screamed once more. I had to say in the hospital for 4 hours. At 12:41 the baby was finally born! I woke up Billy, my husband and Jake and showed them their new little sister.
"What's her name?" asked Billy.
"Her name is Liberado Despues Abandonado Matthews. Which means 'Delivered after Deserted.'"
"Can we call her Libby?" asked Jake.
"Of course," I said. "This was truly a miracle week," I said. Then we got in the car and drove home.
The Sacrifice Because of the Sickness
I was home. I was scared. My baby wouldn't stop crying.
I was almost positive my baby Libby was sick. I ran to the phone and called the hospital. I told them that I thought my baby was sick. I explained to the doctors how she was pale, very hot, and how she would not stop crying. The doctors told me I should come to the hospital and get Libby checked out. When we got to the hospital, they did everything they needed to do to find out if she was sick.
"How old is she?" one of the doctors asked.
"About 13 months old," I said. "She has been almost perfect and has been doing everything perfectly. I know something is wrong with her," I said.
They finished up and told me that Libby was sick. They said that she was very ill. I was really scared. I asked what we would need to do to help her heal. The doctor said the only way to help her is by feeding her at least one more bottle of milk than usual a day. At first I was happy that something so simple could help Libby get better, but the doctor wasn't done speaking. "But there is one problem," the doctor said. "If you get too close to your baby for too long, you could get sick also, but if your baby doesn't get the milk she needs, she could die."
"Couldn't I just eat more to get better?" I asked.
"No. If you catch the disease that your baby has, you will most likely die," the doctor said.
"So the choices are I die or Libby dies?!" I asked.
"Yes. I am really sorry," the doctor said.
"We have to go," I said. I picked up Libby, walked out the door, put Libby in her car seat, got into my seat, closed the automatic doors, started the car, and drove away. I thought about the decisions. I wanted Libby to live and have a happy, long life, yet I wanted to live to take care of my family, and if possible, Libby. I thought about what I should do all the way home. When we got home, I still didn't come to a decision. I brought Libby inside, put her in her crib, and told Jake and Billy to watch her. Jake got the basket of burp cloths, little hats, diapers, toys, blankets and wipes. Billy got his DS. My husband and I went into the room farthest away from the nursery where Jake and Billy were so they wouldn't hear the news and get scared. I told my husband the news. It was quiet for about 10 minutes. I finally said, "I want to die. Libby still has so much life to live. Also, you know the boys have always wanted a little sister. Don't you agree?"
It was silent for another five minutes.
"Yes," my husband finally said. A tear dripped down his face.
"This is the right decision," I said.
"You're right," my husband said.
I went to the nursery and told the boys to go play.
"I am playing!" Billy shouted.
"Shh! You will wake Libby!" whispered Jake.
"She's asleep?" I whispered.
"Yes, ma'am," whispered Jake.
"Good manners. Now go play in the toy room," I whispered.
They both went to the toy room. As soon as I shut the door, Libby started crying again. I picked Libby up from her crib and then picked up her bottle. I fed her and slowly rocked her. I was scared about getting sick, but I was happy that Libby was drinking her bottle. She started crying again, so I picked her up, burped her, and put her back in her crib. She fell asleep. I walked out the door and closed it. I went and told my husband that I needed to go to the store and get some more hand sanitizer. When I was just about to walk out the door, I remembered I needed to get my keys. I got the keys and told my husband just to make the kids a frozen pizza and that he could have the leftover sushi. I got in the car and drove to the store to get some hand sanitizer. I looked in all the aisles but could not find a single bottle of hand sanitizer. I asked one of the people who worked there if they had any. They said that they had one bottle left. I got it and paid for it, then went home. By the time I got home, it was 7:55, so I sent the boys to bed with one squirt of hand sanitizer. As soon as I tucked the boys in, I was just about to walk out the door when I collapsed! I didn't feel well all of a sudden. The boys jumped out of bed. Jake stayed next to me, and Billy went to get Bob. When Billy and Bob finally got to me, they all helped me to my bedroom. I got into bed and was breathing really hard. Bob told the boys to go to bed. The boys didn't know what was happening, because we never told them.
In the middle of the night, Jake came into my bedroom and asked me what was going on. I told him the whole thing that happened in the hospital and told him what was going to happen. He started crying, and I told him that it was worth it, and I would be in heaven then, and that would be even better.
"That makes me feel better," Jake said.
I told him not to tell Billy since he would not take it as well since he is younger. Jake stopped crying, said "I love you" to me, and went back to his room. It made me cry to think he cared that much. I said a little prayer and went to sleep.
When I woke up, I carefully walked into the kitchen and made myself a small bowl of grits. When I finished my bowl of grits, I went to put the bowl in the sink and heard something coming from the boys' room. I put my ear up to it and heard the boys praying! As soon as I heard that, I went and put the bowl in the sink. Then I went and prayed myself.
I stayed in bed all day watching Iron Chef America. Each time I would finish an episode, I would pray and then watch another episode. When I finished all the episodes on the DVR, I said one more prayer and then fell asleep. I woke up at 8:44. I felt fine! I ran into Libby's room, and she was laughing! I picked her up. She wasn't pale, and she wasn't hot! I called the hospital and asked if they could get Libby and me checked out. They said yes. I got Libby and myself dressed, and we went to the hospital. Libby got checked out first. She was well! Then I got checked out. I was well too! We still had a little bit of sickness in us, so the doctor gave us each a prescription. Libby got a liquid one, and I got pills.
I told the kids and Bob that we were both perfectly well again. This terrible tragedy turned into a miracle!
No comments:
Post a Comment