Whale Song (11 page)

My heart skidded to a stop.

My mother was lying on the floor in a crumpled heap next to the bed. Her eyes were closed and I couldn’t tell if she was breathing. I knelt beside her and checked for a pulse, just like I’d been taught in lifeguard class. It was very faint.

“
What do I do?” I cried out, jittery with panic.

The phone was on the nightstand beside me. I gripped it in one hand and punched in my father’s number. It rang five times, then his answering machine picked up.

“
Hi, you have reached the office of Jack Richardson…”

I held my breath during his message and anxiously waited for the beep. When I heard it, I began to sob. “Dad! Mom’s fainted again. She’s on the floor. I-I don’t know if she’s breathing. Are you there? Daddy?”

I hung up, uncertain what to do next. Then I dialed 911.

“
What is your emergency?” a friendly female voice said.

“
My mom’s fainted,” I sobbed. “She isn’t moving.”

“
Okay, honey,” the woman said. “Keep calm. What is your name and address?”

I gave her my information.

“
Okay, don’t hang up,” she said. “I’ll stay with you until help arrives.”

Warm tears trickled down my cheek, but I ignored them.

“
Mom, wake up,” I moaned.

It seemed like hours went by before I heard the wailing of an ambulance coming up the driveway. Later, I learned that it had been less than ten minutes. When I looked outside, I saw the ambulance lurch to an abrupt halt. Behind it was a familiar car.

Running to the top of the stairs, I waited, motionless.

“
Sarah?”

My father pushed past the paramedics and raced upstairs. “I got your message,” he said hoarsely.

“
Dad!” I sobbed.

He picked me up and carried me to my parents’ room. His face was deathly pale while he watched two paramedics prepare my mother for transportation.

I stared at her pale face. She was so still, so lifeless.

“
Mr. Richardson?” one paramedic said, securing my mother to a board. “You can follow us in your car.”

The two paramedics carried her downstairs. Outside, my father and I watched the ambulance doors slam shut with a resounding thud. In a frenzy of flashing lights and a piercing siren, the ambulance sped away.

My father rushed to the car. “Come on, Sarah. Get in.”

I don’t remember the drive to the hospital, but I do recall the intense fear in his eyes.

Bamfield General was busy that afternoon. People were crowded in the waiting area and we were forced to stand. Half an hour went by before we saw Dr. Anders. He and my father exchanged a few words―none of which I heard―then the doctor scurried off to my mother’s room.

“
She’s coming around,” my father told me.

“
What’s wrong with her?”

He impatiently brushed a hand through his hair. “They don’t know yet. Dr. Anders has ordered more tests. Mom will have to go to Victoria for them. As soon as she’s stronger.”

I didn’t want my mother to go anywhere away from me.

“
Why can’t they do them here, Dad?”

He swallowed hard. “The tests they want to do are special ones. And they’re very expensive.”

An hour later, Dr. Anders returned. “Daniella is fully awake and lucid,” he said. “Her breathing has stabilized and her pulse is normal. You can visit, but just for a few minutes. We’re making arrangements for a helicopter to take her to the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria.”

He led us to a small room where my mother was hooked up to a variety of strange, beeping machines.

“
Sarah,” she whispered, reaching for my hand. Her eyes were shadowed with pain and her grip was weak and shaky.

I leaned forward carefully and lightly kissed her cheek. I was afraid that my actions might hurt her. “Mom?”

She struggled to smile. “I’ll be okay.”

I didn’t believe her. I was petrified that she was going to die, that she would die holding onto my hand. Right there, right then. I tried to be brave, but I couldn’t stop the tears.

“
I…was…so scared, Mom.”

“
Don’t cry,” she pleaded.

I bravely wiped my eyes with my sleeve while my father leaned over and kissed her.

“
How are you feeling?” he asked.

She stared at him for a long moment. “My chest hurts a bit.”

“
We have to keep this visit short,” Dr. Anders interrupted. He checked one of the monitors, frowned and adjusted one of the liquids flowing into my mother’s hand. “We need to get her ready for transport right away.”

I followed my father back to the waiting room. It was oddly silent. The only thing that broke the silence was an occasional sniffle from my father or me.

Ten minutes passed.

Then fifteen.

Still no Dr. Anders.

“
Sarah?” a voice called.

I twisted in my chair.

Goldie and her grandmother stood in the doorway.

“We were in town, at the shop,” Nana explained. “One of the paramedics came in to buy a basket for his wife. He told us that Daniella had been admitted.”

“How’s your Mom doing?” Goldie asked me.

“She’s going to another hospital for some tests.”

Nana reached over and murmured in my ear.
“Hai Nai Yu…”

Dr. Anders interrupted us. “Mr. Richardson, I’m sorry it took so long. Your wife has just left. She should reach Royal Jubilee in about twenty minutes. She’ll be seeing Dr. Terry Michaels.”

The doctor and my father exchanged quiet words, then we left the hospital and headed for the car. I walked with Goldie while my father hung back to talk to Nana privately.

I quickly found out why.

“
I’m going to Victoria, to see your mother,” he told me. “I’ll have to stay there for maybe a week. We’ll see how things go. Goldie’s grandmother has offered to have you stay with them.”

“
Why can’t I come too?” I demanded tearfully.

“I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, Sarah. And you’ve got school on Monday. But I’ll be back as soon as I can. Okay?”

I glanced at Nana. “Okay.”

Goldie linked her arm through mine. “Can I come and help you pack?”

“Sure,” I said, suddenly exhausted.

My father dropped Nana off at her driveway and we drove home. Upstairs, Goldie and I stuffed a backpack with enough clothes for a few days. I tossed my bathing suit into it at the last moment.

“Are you sure that’s going to be enough?” Goldie asked.

“
Dad said I could always walk home and get more if I want.”

Her expression turned serious. “Are you…scared?”

I nodded. With a troubled sigh, I glanced around my room, closed the door and followed my friend downstairs.

My father drove us back to Nana’s and kissed me goodbye.

That particular day was one of the worst days of my life. I felt almost abandoned by my parents. If it wasn’t for Nana and her native wisdom, I think I would have gone insane.

That first night, I sat in the living room with the Dixon family. They taught me about the Nootka Indian ways. Nana told me stories about people who had been injured and then healed by ancient Indian herbal remedies.

“
I wish I had some of those herbs,” I murmured.

“
I think I have something,” she said.

She walked over to a cupboard, opened it and rummaged inside. A few minutes later, I heard her grunt with satisfaction.

“
This is what your mother needs, Hai Nai Yu. Put it under her pillow and it’ll take away her pain.” She placed something in my lap. “Don’t open it or the magic will escape.”

I examined the gift. It was a small, blue cloth pouch tied with a yellow ribbon. I pressed it to my nose and inhaled deeply. It smelled mysterious and fragrant, like the musky vanilla cologne that my father often wore.

“
Thank you, Nana.”

“
You’re very welcome, child. And don’t you worry about your mother. The Great Spirit will watch over her.”

I missed my parents more than I thought possible and the fear of losing my mother consumed me. As Goldie and I prepared for bed, I said a quiet prayer for my mother. I wasn’t sure if it was God or Nana’s spirits that were listening, so I prayed to both.

Much later, after Goldie was asleep, I stared up at the window and listened to the comforting murmurs of voices below. I could see nothing outside except for the moon. It was full and clear. Even the craters were visible.

Far off into the woods, I heard a lone owl hooting.

It was a long, lonely night for both of us.

The days passed in a blur of anxiety and phone calls. Each night my father called from Victoria to inform us of my mother’s progress. He explained that her new doctor had ordered a variety of tests. He sounded very technical as he struggled to tell me what the tests revealed.

“
The ECG shows that Mom’s pulmonary artery has an increased pressure. Her heart isn’t pumping properly. The doctors ran some other tests too―a CT scan and an MRI.”

“
What does that mean?” I asked impatiently. “Is she going to be all right?”

My father’s voice trembled. “It means…that her lungs and her heart are working overtime, honey. It’s a condition called
Primary Pulmonary Hypertension
. That’s why she’s been so dizzy. That’s also the reason she fainted.”

My heart felt as though it were in a vise. “But they can fix her…right?”

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

“
Dad?” I held my breath.

“
I’m here, Sarah. The doctors are doing everything they can.”

I spoke to him for a few minutes longer and he reassured me that my mother would be coming home soon. I asked when, but he couldn’t say for sure. After I hung up, Goldie and Nana questioned me about my mother’s health. I told them what my father had said, although I couldn’t remember the name of the condition my mother had.

Nana gave me a hug. “Your mother is as strong as a Nootka warrior. The spirits will watch over her.”

My mother remained in the hospital for over two weeks. Every few days my father drove home. I was so happy to see him, but I fiercely longed for my mother.

I raced toward her and she caught me around my waist, swinging me high into the air. She laughed, her face slightly pale but her eyes glittering with happiness. She looked beautiful in the sunlight.

“
Oh my,” she said. “You’re getting heavy.”

My father joined us at the water’s edge. “Don’t overdo it.”

“
I’m fine, Jack. Really, I am.” She turned to me. “I missed you so much, Sarah.”

She squeezed me and I wondered for a moment if she was ever going to let me breathe. When she did let go, I felt like a whale surfacing for air.

“
Hi, Mrs. Richardson,” Goldie called out.

“
Tell Nana and your parents I said thank you,” my mother told her. “I’ll drop by for a visit in a couple of days.”

With a wave, Goldie headed down the beach. “Sure, Mrs. Richardson. I’m glad you’re home.”

My mother smiled. “So am I.”

“
Me too,” my father agreed.

My parents gazed at each other, their hands entwined.

“
Me three,” I whispered.

That evening while my parents were watching TV, I crept into their room with the magic pouch that Nana had given me. I slipped it inside the zippered section of my mother’s pillow. Then I gently shut the door and went into my room.

Before climbing into bed, I knelt by my bedside. I prayed that the magic pouch would work―that my mother would be healed.

Unfortunately, neither God nor the Great Spirit was listening.

At first, the pouch
seemed to be working its magic. My mother complained that the cold dampness made her body ache, but other than that her ‘condition’, as they referred to it, appeared to be under control. Most of the time my parents called it
PPH
. Whenever I heard that phrase, my ears would perk up.

A week before Christmas, my father left early in the morning and returned mid-afternoon with a surprise. My grandparents. Nonna Sofia and Nonno Rocco lived in Vancouver, but for the past five months they had been visiting family in Italy.

“
Mom, Dad!” my mother exclaimed. “I thought you were still in Italy. What are you doing here?”

Nonno Rocco winked at me. “Visiting Sarah, of course.”

My grandfather was a burly man with a wide, infectious grin and snow-white hair. He was always full of jokes and stories. Nonna Sofia somehow put up with him, sometimes clucking at him in reprimand. She was a typical Italian grandmother. She wore her gray-streaked black hair twisted into a bun. I loved it when she visited us because she always cooked her secret family recipes and made cookies and delicious sweets.