Escaping Debt & Death

Chapter 3- It happened so fast!

Caroline

The blaring of my alarm jolts me awake. I was just getting into the sleep. I have half an hour before I wake the kids. I choose to do this as a form of mental fortitude.

I get to the treadmill for a brisk walking session. It's not much exercise but I try. I'm not unhappy with my post partum body, but my job requires me to sit for at least six hours a day, so I use this as a form of physical activity. The house is silent. Trevor is already gone, so it's just me and the kids. My mom lives in the guesthouse. After my dad passed she sold everything and I offered her the guest house to stay. It's not much, a one bedroom with it's own private living space and kitchen. I'm glad to have her close to see her grandkids grow up.Lung cancer stole my dad just before my eldest boy was a year old.

Trevor's mother followed a few years later. Cervical cancer spread to her stomach and it was downhill from there.

A month later, our baby girl left us. She had a long hard fight in the NICU. She was supposed to be our fourth and final.

I felt like I was going crazy. Trevor pulled away from me more and more every day, enveloping himself in one of those online games, unbeknownst to me at the time, draining our savings. A heart attack took his dad three years later, catapulting him into a deep depression.

I finish the last of my coffee in a gulp and call the kids down for breakfast. Simple yogurt and fruit. They hate heavy meals before driving, and our mornings is an almost two hour drive as they all go to different schools. Because of their spaced age, my eldest Dominic is in high school, Michael is in middle school and Giovanna is in Pre-K.

The boys are dressing themselves while I dress Giovanna. Thankfully she's in a good mood this morning because usually it's like wrestling a crocodile to put on socks.

We're out the door by 6a.m. on the dot.

I drop off Michael first, then Dominic.

It's just me and Giovanna for another half hour. I placed her in a pre-school closer to my workplace in case of emergencies I'd be able to get there quickly.

I'm handing over Giovanna to her teacher as my phone rings, it's Deon from the warehouse where Trevor works...

I'm shaking as I make the u-turn to the hospital. I call my mom to make arrangements for the kids when they get home from school. She'd have to babysit until I get back.

After I tell her Trevor had an accident at work, I dial Jamie's number to let her know I won't be in. She picks up on the second ring "Hey babe” she's barely awake I can hear it in her voice. " Hey I won't be in today, Trevor had an accident at work I'm headed to the hospital now."

"Oh my God is he ok?!" she's fully awake with the news "I don't know, last I spoke to his supervisor he was unconscious."

As I say it out loud I realize that my voice is shaking and as much as I'd like to hold it together I'm worried. "Do you need me to do anything?" Jamie's voice is shaking on the other end of the of the line. "Nothing much, please let Damien know, I don't think I can talk to anyone else right now." "Ok babe, you update me as soon as you can ok…I'll check on you if I don't hear from you by midday" we discuss what needed urgent attention on my desk and she hangs up as I'm parking at the hospital. I'm glad I have a friend like her to lean on. I've been burnt so many times by persons who claimed to be my friend that I've become wary.

Deon is waiting for me at the entrance of the hospital. "What happened?" I asked, holding back the tears. My mind and heart are racing on two different frequencies. He updates me while guiding me through the busy waiting area to Trevor's attending doctor. "Doc, Mr. Ainsley's wife is here"

Deon introduces Dr. Warner to me. After the exchange of introductions, Dr. Warner guides me to Trevor's room to discuss his condition and treatment plan moving forward "Mrs. Ainsley, your husband suffered a severe blow to his head. We've induced a coma to assist with his recovery." Dr. Warner looks at me solemnly "Apart from his head, he has fractured two of his ribs and broke his left wrist. He's gonna be down for a while even when he is awakened."

"All of this because of a forklift malfunction?" I ask Deon who looks bewildered as Dr. Warner gives his intern instructions to treat Trevor.

"The belt snapped and everything came crashing down; "It happened so fast Caroline, by the time I shouted to him he was under the pallet and boxes."

Deon zones out as if he's replaying the moment in his head.

I thank Dr. Warner as he motions us to enter the room where Trevor is hooked up to machines. His left hand is in a cast. There's a tube in his mouth to assist with his feedings. That's when I feel it. It hits me all at once like an ocean wave crashing down, pulling me under. I sit in the chair and hold his un casted hand as I sob uncontrollably.