Chapter 19
After 15 minutes of driving down the road in silence, the boys finally
saw the
hospital in the distance. As they came closer to the hospital, the
young men
all took in a deep breath and silently prayed that their friend would be
alive
and would again be the Brian that they all knew and loved. After
circling the
parking lot a few times, the boys finally found a parking place. They
all took
in another deep breath as they exited the Jeep to head towards the
hospital
doors. They quickly made their way to the front desk and waited
patiently
until the nurse on duty was finished talking on the phone. “May I help
you?”
asked the nurse as she wrote down something on a piece of paper. “Yes
ma’am our friend Brian Littrell was brought in just a few minutes ago.
We
were wondering where they took him exactly.” said Howie. All the guys
quickly noticed the change in the nurses expression. “Um, yes sir.
Your
friend was brought in just a few minutes ago, but they are working on
him in
the emergency room. I will have a nurse come down and escort ya’ll to a
private waiting room. Please sit over there and the nurse will come alone to assist you shortly.”
As the boys took a seat in the small waiting room a voice came over the
P.A.
system “Code blue case in Emergency Room, Code blue case in Emergency
Room.” All the guys quickly looked at each other as those words rang
throughout the hospital halls. “Oh my gosh guys. What if that is Bri
they are
calling the Code Blue about? Doesn’t Code Blue mean cardiac arrest or
something?” softly whispered Howie with a fear filled voice. In
response,
the rest of the guys looked at the floor, afraid to come to the reality
that it may
be Brian that had gone into Cardiac Arrest in the Emergency Room on the
lower floor. They were brought back from their thoughts when a young
nurse
quietly cleared her throat and spoke. “Are ya’ll with Brian Littrell?”
the only
response she received was a nodding of four heads. “If ya’ll will
please
follow me, I will take you to a private waiting room where you can wait
until
they bring Mr. Littrell up after they stabilize him. It should only be
a few
moments of waiting” The four young men obediently rose from their seats
and followed the nurse to the elevator. They rode in the elevator in
complete
silence, all taking sudden interest in the floor again. They then
arrived on the floor
where the Intensive Care unit was located and solemnly walked out of the
elevator and followed the nurse to a small but cozy waiting room. The
waiting room contained a couch, 3 chairs, a television set, a small
refrigerator, and a small microwave. The guys quietly found their seats
and
the nurse told them to wait there she was going to go and make sure that
Brian was brought to the Intensive Care Unit and that they could see
him.
They thanked the nurse and she left and again turned their gazes to the
floor.
The nurse returned 10 minutes later and the guys quickly rose to their
feet,
anxious to hear any information the nurse may have had about their friend. They quickly notice the expression on the
nurse’s
face; a expression of regret and sympathy. She quickly tore her gaze
away
from the young men that stood in front of her and said,”I’m sorry,
um
they haven’t brought Mr. Littrell to this floor yet. I will come back
and tell
you when he is here.” She then turned quickly and made her way towards
the
door. She turned around quickly as she felt a hand on her arm turn her
around and she looked into a pair of tear-filled emerald green eyes.
“Please
ma’am tell us what is wrong. I can tell that something isn’t right.
Please tell
me, this is my younger cousin we are talking about. Please tell me. I
need to know if he is ok. The guilt is becoming too much, please tell
me.” begged
Kevin as his tears escaped his eyes and rolled down his cheeks. “I..I
guess I
can tell you gentlemen, you will hear this sooner or later. Mr.
Littrell was
supposed to be brought up here by now, but they had some
complications in the Emergency Room just as they brought him in. I’m
really
sorry. Now if you gentlemen would please excuse me. If I find out
anything
new, I will inform you immediately.” The nurse then turned again and walked
out
the door. When the guys heard the soft click as the door was gently
shut,
they all collapsed in their seats, the tears they were holding in
started to flow down their
faces with no sign of stopping anytime soon. With sorrow in their
hearts,
they sat in the waiting room as tears kept falling from their eyes,
anxiously waiting for
any news on Brian.