Memories

Today, I volunteered at the hospital my nana works at, Mary Washington Hospital. My nana has been working there since 1987, so naturally, for all of my life she has been working at that hospital as an executive assistant to a high-level figure in the company that runs it (Medicorp). When I was younger, my dad and I would frequently visit my nana while she was working and we would have lunch together in the cafeteria. I would always speak to her friends and co-workers and got to know some of them very well. Needless to say, a lot of memories were made at that hospital. But some weren't as pleasant. In late July of 2009, my great-nana had a stomach virus. When I heard this, I thought this would pass quickly and she would be ok, even though she was in the hospital. The day after she had been admitted into the hospital, my parents and I were going to stop by and see how she was doing before going to IKEA to buy a new dresser for my room. When I saw her, she was in a very bad condition. It was also the last time I'd see her coherent. The next day as we were driving to visit her, she had a respiratory attack. To this day, I don't know what it means, and I don't think I need to know. The next few days just passed by in a blur. My great-nana was on a bi-pap machine for the remainder of that day and the next day. While on the bi-pap, she couldn't speak. We all knew that if she was taken off the bi-pap, then she would die. We didn't want to just keep her alive only on a machine. It wasn't what she wanted. So, we did what we thought was right (and was right), we took her off the bi-pap. She held on for forty-eight more hours before she passed away on 6 August 2009. It was a painful time. I would spend my days going in and out of her hospital room with my cousin and her husband, my dad's aunt, my nana, my mom, and my aunt. When I wasn't in the hospital room, I was in the waiting room outside. I felt bored a lot of the time. I don't know why. My great-nana was dieing, and I just felt bored. I didn't think, either. I just sat around with my family in boredom. I didn't want to think about the fact that she was dieing in that room. Everytime I could get away, I would. I would go for "walks" with my cousin and aunt ("walk" was codeword for a smoking break, but I didn't have any cigarettes, just stood with them). I also remember the bad cafeteria food we'd eat there, and the constant boredom as I stared out the window over the courtyard and imagined what it would be like if we didn't have to be there. I also remember leaving the hospital at 19:00. The atrium that had been so full of life and excitement was now quiet and dead. People were walking away from the building where there loved one's lay sick in beds. It was an almost peacefully melancholic sight. Now, everytime I go back to the hospital, I think about it. I remember those days of sitting there, bored out of my mind while great-nana was taking her last breaths. It was a horrible time for all of us. But, I will never forget the memories made at MWH, the good, and the bad.