Just Another Day

JUST ANOTHER DAY

           The day began like any other day.

           Sharon Taft opened her eyes wide enough to read the red digits on the clock. Reality struck quickly. It was Saturday, the first day of the weekend and it belonged to her. She could do whatever she wanted.

           Weeks at the Peterson Insurance Agency were filled with long workdays. As the assistant to the president, Sharon had little down time. Lunch was consumed at her desk, swallowed between phone calls. She was trapped by the workload, but that suited Sharon perfectly. Not one to complain or shirk from responsibility, she thrived on feeling involved and helping the office hum smoothly.

            Occasionally, her boss, Ralph Stevens, would ask her to come in during the weekend to oversee a project, but such events were few and far between. The unspoken arrangement at the Peterson office was that all employees put in long weeks in exchange for two weeks of normality.

           As Sharon began this day, she was prioritizing what needed to be done. There were the usual basic errands that failed to fit into her weekdays, combined tasks that could be handled in the morning hours. But on this particular Saturday, she would need to go and visit with her parents.

           Sharon had spoken to her mom earlier in the week.

           "Sharon, your father isn't feeling too well," her mother reported.

           "Has he been to the doctor?"

           "You know, he doesn't believe in seeing the doctor. I believe the last time he saw the doctor was about 10 years ago when he fractured his wrist. I doubt he will take my advice this time."

           "What's wrong?"

           "He has no energy. Just lays around. Says his back hurts."

           "I'll drop by on Saturday. Just keep me posted if there is any change."

           Sharon realized seeing her family would open old issues. She loved her parents and her brother Ted who often dropped by on the weekends. But they would invariably tell her not to work so much, not to spend so much money and to find a nice young man and settle down. She had heard it all before and tried to ignore their attempts to improve her life. So, she would drop by at lunch today and see everyone.

           She pulled her compact car into the guest parking lot at the condo. She was pleased that her parents had purchased the condo a few years earlier. Living there meant little maintenance, close neighbors and safe surroundings. Her parents enjoyed the one-story unit which had easy access just a block from a grocery and drug store. She took a deep breath and readied for the meeting.

           She knocked on the door. Her mother, Anna, opened the door and tried to smile. "Oh, hi, honey. I'm glad you came by."

           "You hadn't called me in the last couple of days. I was wondering how Dad is doing?"

           Anna nothing, but stepped aside to reveal her dad on the sofa. He waved and offered a smile. "Look who's here?"

           Sharon crossed the room to the sofa. "Hi, Dad. How are you feeling?"

           "Oh, OK, I guess. Just no get up and go."

           She patted his hand, which was cold as ice. "I'll go make myself helpful in the kitchen."

           Sharon found her mother making sandwiches at the counter. "Mom, he looks horrible. I've never seen him so gray. Has he talked about seeing the doctor?"

           Anna shook her head slightly, eyes on the sandwiches. "No. He won't go. But he seemed happy when I told him you were coming by today." She raised her head and whispered. "Don't bring it up, not now. Ted should be here in a few minutes. Let's have lunch and then we can talk about it."

           A few minutes later, Ted knocked on the door and let himself in. "Well, hello all. Just in time for food, I guess." He waved to his dad and went into the kitchen. Lowering his voice, he said, "So, how is he doing today?"

           Anna whispered, "About the same. Go and see if you can get any more information from him. Lunch will be ready soon."

           Sharon and her mother finished preparing lunch and set the table. As the family approached the table to sit down, she saw her father slip silently from his chair, practically melting onto the floor.

Immediately her mother shouted, "Frank, Frank" and ran to catch him before his head met the kitchen floor. There was great commotion as everyone tried to assist. Her father remained silent and began to experience what appeared to be a seizure. Anna removed his glasses and dentures so he would be more comfortable.

Ted immediately called 911, providing directions and describing what they had seen. He punctuated the conversation with "Yes" and "No, I don't believe so" and appeared to remain calm during the situation.

Frank remained motionless on the kitchen floor. Anna seemed in charge of her husband, placing a towel under his neck while speaking to him quietly and reassuringly the entire time.

A few minutes later, a siren was heard as the ambulance arrived. Ted went to meet the responders and guide them to the condo. The ambulance crew buzzed into action, asking some of the same information provided on the phone. Had he eaten? Did he appear coherent? How did he appear earlier in the day? Did he sleep well? Their intensity and rapid actions immediately comforted Sharon with the belief that things would be OK. She tried to smile and support her mother as the men saw to the patient. Ted had taken the role of information gatherer, leaving Sharon to see to Anna.

The entire episode occurred quickly, perhaps 20 minutes, then Frank was loaded onto the gurney and whisked away.

Sharon, her mother, and Ted remained in the kitchen after the ambulance left. They stood amid broken dishes, opened bandage wrappings and debris. Frank's glasses and dentures rested on the counter. No one moved for several minutes.

Finally, Sharon said, "Do you know which hospital he was taken to?"

Anna replied, "Garden Grove, I think."

Ted nodded.

Anna asked, "Aren't we going to drive over?"

Ted said, "They said to wait a few minutes, so they could have him settled in and paperwork would be ready."

Sharon stated, "I'm going over now. Mom, you can ride with me if you want to."

Anna said nothing, merely grabbed her handbag and headed for the door. Ted followed and locked the door.

Each person in Sharon's car must have been in various states of shock. Unexpected things had happened quickly. They felt like they were walking through a dream. The only conversation in the car involved where to park at the Emergency Room entrance. The family silently entered the hospital, moving forward as one. Sharon took Anna's hand, but Anna withdrew it quickly as they approached the desk, placing her fist on the counter.

           Anna announced, "We are here to see Mr. Taft.       

The nurse glanced at the clipboard. "He's in ER Room 8. The attending doctor will be out shortly. Please have a seat."

"Can we see him now?" Anna repeated.

"Not until the doctor talks to you."

Sharon and Ted took seats in the nearby waiting area, hoping that Anna would join them. Instead, she paced back and forth until a doctor appeared.

"I'm looking for the Taft family," he announced.

           "Right here," Anna said.

           "Let's go into this office," he gestured toward a nearby open door,

           The chairs in the room were placed in an arc around the edges of the small open space. The doctor sat at the edge of the semicircle.

           "I'm Dr. Mathews," he smiled weakly. "Please be seated."

           "I'm Frank's wife, Anna. Of course, we are very concerned about Frank. I hope that he just had a fainting spell. He hadn't had a lot to eat…"

           "Mrs. Taft, Frank is deceased."

           The doctor's declaration hung in the air like a large, dark cloud. No one spoke but Sharon looked at her mother and Ted and they shared the same blank, expressionless faces.

           Ted said, "What? What happened?"

           Dr. Mathews raised his clipboard and scanned the information. "It says that Frank had a coronary episode and likely died on the way to the hospital. There was practically no pulse by the time he was brought in."

           "I…I can't believe it." Anna was sitting next to the doctor. "How could that have happened? He didn't seem to be in distress until we sat down to lunch."

           "We'll know more shortly. But you indicated that he had been suffering from back pain for several days. That, plus his gray pallor, may indicate that he had some type of aneurysm. That often is accompanied by back pain, perhaps it ruptured or was damaged by the act of sitting in a chair. Was he a smoker?"

           "Yes, for many years." Anna was staring at her hands, twisting her wedding ring.

           "Well, smokers are at risk for many health concerns, including aortic aneurysms. Plenty of people have a tendency for aneurysms, especially folks over 70 who continue to smoke."

           Ted, Sharon, and Anna remained sitting. Sharon began to feel as though she might faint, so she stood up to take some deep breaths. She was hesitant to break into the silence but wondered what would happen next.

           "I'm very sorry to be the one to break this news. I understand your shock and confusion. All that I can contribute is to remind you that there are two paths to death: the slow and the quick. The slow path is often filled with prolonged suffering or chronic illness. In these instances, death brings peace to both the family and patient. The quick path is much easier on the patient, often with little or no suffering. But the family is unprepared for what occurs and can experience many unanswered questions, even some traces of guilt. They wonder what they could/should have done to stop it. You will need time to absorb and adjust. But understand that in such events, the patient likely did not suffer. That may provide you with some comfort in the days ahead."

           Sharon finally said, "Thank you, Doctor. Those words are reassuring. We would not want Dad to have suffered."

           Ted asked, "What happens now?"

           "The doctors are finalizing their paperwork. It will take a while. I know it is all quite unexpected, but have you made plans for a funeral?"

           Anna nodded. "Yes. We have pre-made plans with the Edgerton Funeral Home."

           Ted and Sharon exchanged glances, but said nothing.

           "It was your father's idea and we thought that when the time came, it would be one less horrible detail to consider. You know, Frank was always the planner."

           Ted spoke up. "Tell you what, Mom. Let's go home now. Sharon and I can take care of details from here." He stood up.

           "Ted, I would really like to see him one more time. Doctor, is that possible?"

           "I'm afraid not. Several procedures were underway at the same time. I don't think seeing him would be a good idea."

           "I understand. We were together for so many years, it seemed like the usual way to say good-bye. I would like to go home now, Ted. Are there papers to sign now?" Anna looked stunned but somehow less frightened.

"I can get those for you in a few minutes. You can all wait here. It won't take long."

Ted, Sharon, and Anna remained seated while the paperwork was being completed.

No one had yet cried. That stage was yet to come. For now, three people sat in the small semicircle, waiting for the momentum of the event to propel them into action.

It had begun as just another day. Everything in their respective worlds had changed in an instant. None of them could recognize the importance of this day, which involved a specific life-changing incident which most people will eventually experience.