Page 47 of Grounded
Scott nodded to Annie but made his way over to the other side of the bed where he could reach down and kiss Beulah on the cheek. “I needed to make hospital visits this week, so I figured I might as well come when you’re here.”
Annie saw her grandmother tear up and clasp his hand. “That was mighty sweet of you, Scott.”
“How about a prayer?”
“That’s what I was lying here thinking I needed.”
She reached out and took Annie’s hand and held Scott’s in the other.
“Dear Father, we are so thankful for your precious child, Beulah. Please guide the hands of the surgeons and strengthen her during and after this surgery. We ask that you bring Beulah into full recovery and give grace and strength to her caregivers. Amen.”
When they opened their eyes, a nurse was waiting.
“It’s time to go, Mrs. Campbell,” she said.
Scott squeezed her hand and slipped out with a wave to Annie. Annie held on to Beulah’s other hand. “See you in a little while.”
They wheeled her grandmother out of the pre-op room and down a long, well-lit hall. Annie watched until they turned a corner out of sight, and then she went up a floor where she would wait while the surgery took place.
After settling into a corner of the vast waiting area, Annie prayed for her grandmother and, like Scott had done, even for the doctors doing the surgery. After a few minutes, Evelyn stepped off the elevator with to-go cups of coffee in each hand and handed one to Annie before she sat down.
“Any word yet?”
“They just took her back about thirty minutes ago,” Annie said. “Are the men working?”
“They arrived after daybreak and started right away on scraping off the old paint.”
The door to the waiting room opened, and a nurse came out and asked for another family. Annie hadn’t realized she was holding her breath until she let it out.
Pastor Gillum, in a suit and tie, with his great white head of hair combed back in a wave, stopped by and had another prayer with her and Evelyn. An hour passed. Evelyn went with her to the cafeteria for toast and coffee. Afterward, they settled back in the waiting room, flipped through magazines and watched the news intermittently. The door opened again and a nurse called, “Campbell family.”
Annie jumped to her feet. The nurse smiled and said, “Come on back, please.”
Annie turned and motioned to Evelyn. “You’re family too,” she said. Inside the door, the nurse talked to them as they walked down the hall.
“Mrs. Campbell did fine,” she said. “She’s in recovery. I’m taking you to that waiting room. Someone will come and get you as soon as she is awake.”
In a few minutes, she and Evelyn were in the room with a groggy Beulah. Annie thought her grandmother looked so vulnerable, lying there with her leg stretched out and wrapped in bandages.
She smiled at Annie and held out her hand to her. Annie grasped it.
“How are you?” Annie asked.
“I’m still here,” she said, letting go of Annie’s hand to reach for Evelyn.
“Are you in any pain?” Evelyn asked.
“If I am, I don’t know it yet.” The corners of her mouth pushed up slightly in an effort to grin. “Did they say when I can go home?”
Annie fought to control a laugh. “They’re mostly concerned with getting you into a room right now.”
“I reckon.”
“The doctor won’t be by until tomorrow morning to check on you. Evelyn will come and spend tomorrow afternoon and evening with you. I can stay the rest of today.”
“No sense in that.”
Evelyn smiled at her. “We can watch soap operas like we used to.”
