Temporary Stay

"Let's get straight to it Miss Azurine-," before he could continue I cut him off. Doctor Stoner had come back to my room to speak on whatever it was they needed me here for. 

"Well since I'm gonna be here for a while Dr. Stoner, please call me Ravana." Given that I was technically dying and I was gonna be staying for a while, I just wanted some familiarity with the person I no doubt would be communicating with the most. He seemed to contemplate my words for a moment before he proceeded with his previous statement, "Miss Azurine, starting first thing in the morning we're gonna need to run some checks on you because there is a possibility that the virus may have been spreading more than we initially anticipated."

Even though I was a bit hurt that he wouldn't call me by my name I respected his determination to stay professional, so just to continue the conversation I asked, " so… you'll basically be conducting experiments on me?" There was a tiny tick in his jaw, which I could tell was from him grinding his teeth too hard. Maybe it was because he was averse to something like this, or he just didn't like the way that I phrased it why he appeared just a bit more cold than he already looked. 

Nonetheless, he continued, " I wouldn't go so far as to say they will be experiments but rather just us testing a few things using small vials of blood and how they will react to certain chemicals."  To prevent upsetting him further with my voice I just nodded and let him move along, "Miss Azurine I would suggest trying to get as much rest as possible because you're going to need your energy." 

This time it was my turn to grit my teeth because he was obviously lying about what was really happening here, but I didn't know if he was lying for my own good, or the hospital's, or even for science. I let it slip and when he began moving to exit my room, before he was fully out I questioned him one last time. 

"Dr. Stoner," his hand hovered over the doorknob, but he made no attempt to leave, so I proceeded to ask "Am I the only one affected by this disease?" He was still in the same spot when a minute had passed, before he finally decided to respond to my question, "even though the cases are few, you are not the only, but that is all I can say on the matter" 

Within a few seconds I could no longer hear his footsteps, and for the third time today, I was left with my thoughts. I tried to sleep,and tried and tried, and tried some more, but there was no rest for me, so I went over to the window and even though I couldn't open it, I watched. 

For an hour or two I just observed, it was a rare occurrence for me to be able to slow down like this and appreciate what I was seeing. It wasn't much given my location and not to mention the large wall standing in my way, but I watched what I could see. 

The next morning was like anything you'd expect from a hospital, a shining light came through my room. Swearing in my head, I definitely remember pulling back the curtains and turning off the light to go to sleep. I heard someone clear their throat and it was just now that I realized nurse Joy was standing to the other side of my bed. 

Ahh so she was the culprit. 

"Good Morning, Miss. We have to get you prepped for the tests Dr. Stoner will be conducting today, which means you need to be fed, bathed and connected to this IV within the next hour so please refrain from going back to sleep."  I took a moment to actually look at nurse Joy and she was just an average middle aged woman, and though I tell that she would be ten times better than boobs for brains becky, I could feel the same condescending gaze from her. 

I sighed inwardly at how nobody here was different from anyone no matter what they looked like, save for Dr. Stoner who was just a bit nicer than everyone else here. Instead of responding, I just managed a curt nod in her direction and went to the bathroom where I found my bathroom necessities, but I didn't bother unpacking as I just wanted to have a quick shower and get back to the bed. I'll admit that while the pain medication was working, there was some pain and aches but nothing too severe. 

I quickly went through what I assumed would be my routine for the next few days, and once the IV was connected to my arm, nurse Joy left to call Dr.Stoner and I hadn't realized I had fallen asleep until I was woken by him. We went through the regular test I had done before that was the blood and heart checks, and he explained a few more steps and precautions we would need to take for the upcoming examinations. 

I really had a whole day of tests to conduct and due to the IV I was never hungry, just a dull ache in my stomach that wouldn't go away. I couldn't drink or eat anything, not even water, because of the CT scans that were being done. It was an unpleasant  day, needle after needle constant drugs being injected into my body. I failed to see how this was not experimenting as I finally lay in the bed assigned to me for the first time in hours. 

After a few minutes Dr. Stoner walked in holding my information sheet on his clipboard, "How are you feeling?" As I was about to respond and I knew he was about to document it so I made sure to go in detail with everything, listing the fatigue and nausea I was feeling as a result of the multiple drugs coursing through my system. I didn't neglect to mention the dull ache in back which seemed to concern him more than any other piece of information. 

"Miss Azurine, I might have to do a closer inspection of your back, do you mind lying on your stomach for a moment for me please, although I must say, you may be experiencing a few bruises here and there because of laying down all day, but just to be sure I'd like to check."

"Yea, sure no problem." He assisted me in moving the IV to the other side of the bed to prevent the tubes from being under my stomach. Since the back of the gown was already opened, he moved the gown slightly off my shoulders and began prodding around some specific areas of my back. 

"Okay, Miss Azurine, I'm going to need you to tell me if you're feeling pressure or pain when I lightly press on an area," to which I nodded in understanding before he began. True to his word he checked every inch of my back lightly pressing and recording any signs of pain as he went along. When he was done and I was back in my gown properly and sitting up in the bed, he turned to me and started explaining what was happening, " You have a bit of bruising on your, left shoulder bone as you tend to lean more to that side when you're asleep, and some on your 7th and 8th ribs on each side, which may just be because of laying down practically the whole day. Your lower spine however, is definitely due to the virus, however the pain for now seems inconsequential, so just a night of rest should do."

That was a relief to hear, " thanks Doc, I appreciate it. " 

"No need to thank me, it's my job, I'll administer another dose of the pain medication through the IV, which should help you sleep better." Once he was done, between the exhaustion of the day and the drowsiness of the medication, I only managed to hear a faint goodnight before I collapsed into a deep sleep.