Mabel didn’t wait to get a reply. She ran up the
staircase. When she opened the door of her apartment, she saw Cynthia on the
floor.
“Cynthia,” she called and rushed
to Cynthia.
“The pain is serious o,”
Cynthia said as she opened her eyes.
“Why are you on the floor? Did
you fall?”
“No. I decided to slide to the
ground. Staying on the hard floor relieves me a bit.”
“Is the pain worse than
before?”
“Not really. But it is serious.”
“You scared Risi. I don’t know
what she thought had happened to you.”
“I think it is the way I slid
to the floor. When she ran out, I was calling her to come back but she did not.”
Risi and her
mother barged into the room.
“What happened?” Mama Risi
asked.
“I think the pain is getting worse,”
Mabel replied.
“Why is she on the ground? Did
she fall or something?”
“No. She feels a bit better on
the floor.”
“What do we do now?”
“Let’s start with the pain
reliever and the balm.”
Mama Risi checked
the take-away nylon she was with. She brought out the balm but didn’t see the pain
reliever drug.
“Ah ah, where is the pain reliever I bought na?” she asked rhetorically.
“Are you sure they gave it to
you at the pharmacy?” Mabel asked
“Yes I saw the lady put it in
the take-away nylon with the balm.”
“It may have fallen out when
you were running on the road.”
“I hope not o.”
She turned to
Risi and said to her, “Please check the staircase whether you will see if the
medicine fell off there.”
Risi left and
soon came back with it.
“Where did you see it?” Mama
Risi asked.
“I saw them where I met you,”
Risi said.
“How did it now drop there?”
“Aunty were you not the one
holding it?” Cynthia said and forced a smile.
“My dear, when I saw my
daughter crying and calling me, I didn’t know what I thought had happened.”
Mabel took the
drug from Risi and went through the leaflet while Mama Risi held the balm.
“Why are you reading the
leaflet like that?” Cynthia asked when Mabel was taking time. “Give me the
tablet let this pain reduce.”
“I want to be sure it doesn’t
have bad side effects,” Mabel said.
“It is ordinary pain reliever.”
“I know but I just need to be
sure.”
Cynthia made some
effort to sit up on the floor. Mabel gave her one tablet of the drug which she
held while Mabel went to bring water.
“Hope the water is not cold?”
Mama Risi asked.
“It is not very cold,” Mabel
replied.
“Bring it let me see.”
Mabel took the
water to Mama Risi who felt the bottle.
“It is cold o,” she said.
“That is the warmest drinking
water I have in this house,” Mabel said.
“Let me go to my house and
bring warm water then.”
“Anty don’t bother yourself,”
Cynthia said. “I will drink it like that. I can’t wait till you go and come
back.”
“I will not take time,” Mama
Risi said and left in a hurry.
“Please give me that water let
me take this medicine like that,” Cynthia said to Mabel.
Mabel poured out
the water into a cup and gave her. She swallowed the tablet, gave the cup back
to Mabel and lay back on the floor. Mama Risi came back with the drinking water
in a small can.
“She has already taken the
drug,” Mabel said to her.
“You would have waited a
little na,” Mama Risi said. “I just
hope the cold water does not spoil the medicine.”
“Water is water,” Cynthia
said.
“Ok o.”
“So what do we do now?” Mabel
asked.
“We wait,” Cynthia said.
“What about the massage?”
“Let the pain reliever start
working first.”
“Ok”
“You still want to stay on the
ground?”
“Yes, for now.”
Mabel went to the
kitchen while Mama Risi and her daughter went out to the verandah.
“Do you want to stay outside
there?” Mabel asked Mama Risi when she came out from the kitchen and saw them
outside. “You don’t want to sit inside?”
“I want to see everybody
coming into the compound,” Mama Risi replied.
“But ma, you don’t need to
bother yourself. I can handle the massage.”
“There is a way of doing it
for it to be effective. Let me finish what I started before I go.”
“Ok ma.”
Mabel went back
in and sat on the bed close to Cynthia and just looked at her sister, worried. After
about 15 minutes of waiting, Mama Risi came in.
“Are you feeling better?” she
asked Cynthia.
Cynthia woke up
from the sleep she was forcing herself to sleep.
“No ma,” she replied. “It is
still the same.”
“No improvement at all?”
“I don’t think so.”
“What do we do now?” Mabel
asked.
“Why not call Doctor Obinna
and ask him?” Cynthia answered.
“Do you want to go and see
him?”
“Just call him first let’s
know what he will ask us to do. This is looking like something serious.”
“Yes,” Mama Risi said. “If you
know any doctor you can call, please do. Let’s be sure there is nothing more to
this pain. I am surprised that the pain reliever did not work at all.”
“You know all these fake drugs
they are selling everywhere.”
“But that was why I insisted
on that brand. They don’t have fake products.”
“Ok.”
Mabel got her phone
and dialed Doctor Obinna, one of their church members and a family friend. It
rang twice but he did not pick.
“He is not picking,” she said.
“Keep trying,” Cynthia said.
“Maybe he is seeing a patient
now. I will call him later.”
“Ok just try one more time. If
he doesn’t pick, then leave him.”
While they were
still talking, doctor Obinna called back. Mabel answered and explained the
situation to him. He asked the nature and location of the pain and Mabel put
the phone on ‘loudspeaker’ so Cynthia could answer for herself. After
explaining to him, doctor Obinna asked if she had taken any medication. She
told him about the pain reliever and the balm. He told Mabel to give Cynthia
another tablet of the medicine and do the massage. He told them to come to his
office in 30 minutes time so he could examine Cynthia properly. When he was
done, Mabel hung up.
“So you are going to the
hospital now” Mama Risi asked.
“Yes we have to,” Mabel
replied.
Mabel got the balm and made to open it.
“What do you want to do?” Mama
Risi asked her.
“I want to do the massage,”
Mabel replied.
“Give that thing to me. What
do you know about massage?”
“Is it not to be rubbing it on
her back?”
“I told you there is more to
massage than that.”
“Ok oo.”
Mabel gave her
the balm.
“Cynthia turn around,” Mama
Risi told Cynthia who was lying on her back.
“Why don’t I take the pain reliever
first?” Cynthia asked.
“I think you should get the
massage first. So the pain reliever will take care of both the pain and the
immediate result of the massage.”
“Ok.”
Cynthia slowly
turned and lay on her belly. Mama Risi put the balm on the part of her back
where she the pain originated from and also where the pain radiated to. Then
she began massaging Cynthia’s back.
“My God!” Cynthia suddenly shouted.
(...to be continued...)
Nedu Isaac
No comments:
Post a Comment