She sped off to The County General Hospital first. The complex maze inside left her breathless. With her baseball cap and dark shades on now, she was barely recognizable. The hospital had no listing of Ellen Andrews. Racing back to her car she headed for The City Hospital. “Here she is, Ellen Andrews,” the information clerk said. “She’s in ICU ma’am. Go straight down that hallway, make a left, and take the elevators to three.” Gwen wanted to race down the hall but it seemed something else now controlled her emotions. It may have been that she did not want to face what was at the other end waiting for her or she was in extreme denial. Whatever it was, it pulled hard on the reins of her heart. She walked calmly down the long corridor as she looked up at …show more content…
“Hang in there, babe.” When she hung up, she stared at the machines attached to her mother. Ten minutes later a tall physician dressed in green scrubs with a surgical mask loosely tied around his neck, approached her. “Hi, I’m Doctor Cage.” “Hi, I’m Gwen Haley, Mrs. Andrews’ daughter,” she said standing. He hesitated for a moment, now fully aware of who she was. “It’s nice meeting you, and I love your work. However, I am sorry we had to meet under these conditions. I need to be very honest with you—at this point, your mother is gravely ill. Her heart is extremely weak and if we removed the tube that’s helping her breathe she would probably die,” he said softly. “We have done everything possible to keep her alive.” Gwen doubled over as her body shook hard. He helped ease her into the chair. “I won’t be far away. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask. Take all the time you need to spend with your mother,” he said. When she finally regained partial composure, she knew it was time to talk to Rose. Dialing her number, she cried, “Hurry, Rose, she’s at The City Hospital here in ICU and not doing