Difference between revisions of "Al had a stroke"

Latest revision as of 13:14, 4 June 2019

{{ | date=07/02/2018 | summary=Alma finds Al at the hospital. | cast=

• Alma
• Alexandra
• Aaron

| place_name=DMC Harper University Hospital | log=Somewhere, a machine goes 'PING'. The DMC Harper University Hospital is a state of the art facility that only a little bit looks like it was recently bombed. But that's just hospitals. Machines in hallways, nurses who look rushed and hurried, doctors who look exhausted and just a little angry. Fortunately, when Alma states who she's here to visit, she isn't directed toward the ICU. Rather, the patient rooms for general admittance. Al has her own, small suite. A TV is turned off. She lays in the bed, her room with a view of the next building over. Hair down, everything cast in sickly hospital lighting. She doesn't seem to notice Alma enter, instead with her attention concentrated on a book of crossword puzzles. A deep frown pressing her lips tightly together as she taps her pen against the page.

There is no crow here. There is a young woman. Her hair is glossy smooth and pinned back. Her hands are scrubbed clean. She's wearing a flowing dove grey salwar with no obvious pockets to speak of but there is a bit of color crossing her chest, a colored bag slung across her shoulder. She's holding a wooden puzzle. The plain wood has been tinted with colors. When she felt the buzzing hum of magic in a room down the hall from where she was headed, she stops and peeks in the room.

Al doesn't look up from her puzzle book until Alma is a few steps into the room. But when she does, it's with a furrowed brow. A look of recognition, but not quite fully there. A person she recognizes but can't quite fully place. "Um. Hello?" she says, racking her brain, lowering her puzzle book. Little notes scribbled to herself in the margins.

Alma cautiously approaches. Alma is very deliberate. extremely so. She maintains a friendly, yet mildly neutral face. She's monitoring every little motion sigh and expression Al presents. She tracks how tired or exhausted Al is after every sentence uttered. Here is a person in a hospital with a concusion? head injury?

"Hi Alexandra. It's Alma." Alma looks down at the wooden puzzle she made for the teenager down the hall and considers that maybe it belongs to Al instead. "Here, this is for you." Alma sits in the chair next to Al's bed.

"Oh, um, thank you," Al answers, as the name registers. Jogging a bit of her memory, refreshing bits of connections. "Oh! Um, hello. It's... Did Aaron ask you to come visit?" she asks, as she slides the puzzle in front of herself on the little wood-veneer tray that she's set her puzzle book down on. That didn't sound right. Did that sound right?

"No, I just happen to be passing by. I'm visiting a kid down the hall. I didn't realize you were in the hospital. What happened?"

"Um, just a..." Al pauses, and turns her attention to a little notebook also on the table. She flips back a few pages. A close eye can watch her penmanship degrade with each turn further into the past. Looking at the letters in her crossword, it's still not quite up to its normal precision now. "I'm sorry, I can't quite make this out. Um. I had a... Um. A minor..." her hand gestures by her temple, as she fishes for the word. "Incident."

Alma leans in a little bit to see the section of the page Al is referring to. There's something like 'TRANES IN ISKm....***** TACK' with a lot of scribbling. It's extremely difficult to read but Alma has a guess for what it is. "You had a transient ischemic attack? a mini stroke?" She pauses before continuing.

Al seems pleased that the answer was arrived at. The words sound familiar, at least, though she's having trouble remembering them herself. But the pleasure with the answer quickly countered by how difficult it was to find, leaving her frowning again. "That's it. But the doctor said he expects a full recovery in a couple days."

Alma nods, "That's good. Will you be able to go home soon? Do you have someone to help out with tasks around the house? I can help. Do you have any pets or anything you'd like me to check on?"

"Oh, um... I think Aaron is handling those sorts of things? But thank you. I'll be... Fine. I just need a little bit to get myself back in. Um. Back in... Shape," Al turns her pen over in her hand, a little more clumsily than Alma has seen her do it in the past. She fumbles it, and ends up barely catching it. Setting it down on the table, swapping it out for the toy Alma's brought.

"I think you'll be back in shape in a few days. Your condition looks good to me. Your body is already doing the work. It's okay to rest your mind right now. You don't need to exercise it at the moment. Resting here is good. And when you get home, continue to rest. Let Aaron help out with things until you feel better. Have you learned any breathing exercises?"

"Oh. Um. Thank you for the advice," Al doesn't really sound thankful, though. She presses and tugs at pieces of wood on the puzzle box for a moment, turning it over in her hands. With a sigh, she sets it aside, too. "Oh. You should let your friend Zach know that my family is visiting. And he may want to stay... Um. Outside."

"I will tell him that you are doing better, but I will let him know about your family too. What do you think of the wood puzzle? I've made a few for people at the place where I volunteer."

"It's very nice," Al answers from her bed, though she's pushed the puzzle off to a side of the tray across her lap. "Just be sure he gets the message sooner, because he'll want to stay out for a... Minute. Or two. Oh. Um, so," she picks her pen up again, "And tell him he should be grateful to both of us that he knows."

Alma looks concerned. "I will, definitely. a minute outside?" Alma starts typing on her phone to Zach, "Alexandra recovering in hospital from a transient mini stroke. prognosis ok. she said to let you know that her family is visiting and you may want to stay 'outside'. for a 'Minute' or 'two'. is it weird hermetic thing or maybe you room at her place? I guess hermetic family would be awkward. you can crash at my place if you need to. if you need to stay outdoors, you can set up in my backyard." Alma has no fucking clue what Alexandra meant, but she figures that whatever jumble she gets to Zach will at least give him a heads up.

Al pauses, a frown on her lips. "What? That doesn't make any... Um," she gestures with a roll of her wrist again. But she lets it go. "Tell him whatever you want."

And just then, Aaron walks in through the door. Clearly he went all the way home, because he's dressed in a suit, and not one he had at Al's place. It would seem, that if he is the him that is in question, the message should have probably been sent sooner. He pauses inside through door. "Oh, hi," he says.

Alma tells Alexandra, "I'll tell him and he can figure it out. He's resourceful." Alma looks as Aaron comes in the door. "Oh hi Aaron. I was passing by and discovered Alexandra here. We've been chatting a little. She said maybe she'll be out in a few days. I don't know if she's told you yet. I can help out with aftercare so that everything doesn't fall on the two of you. I'll call you." Alma looks between Aaron and Alexandra, with the thought that maybe she should leave and give these two their space.

"Aaron!" Al cheers as Aaron announces himself, smile spreading on her lips. "You're back! Did you bring the, um, the things? Or something to eat? I'm starving," she sighs, tilting her head back into the pillows stacked behind her.

"I brought some things," Aaron says with a smirk on his lips. "I am unsure if they're _the_ things, though. You were still fairly out of it when I left, Al. But I knew you'd want some stuff, so I got some things together." He lifts up a canvas tote which contains an empty notebook, an assortment of pens, and a few other things from her place. "Sorry, but they wouldn't let me bring up food. Something about carefully monitoring your intakes right now."

Alma is relieved and happy that Aaron is here to be with Alexandra. "I'm glad you are here for her. each other." She touches Aaron's shoulder and looks him directly in the eye, no shit she means business. "Look, let me know if I can be of any help. Seriously, I'll come by and do chores. manage mail, anything. This is what I do. I help people. It's part of my tradition. Neither of you have to do this all on your own, you've got me to help. We're a community." She looks at Alexandra, "I hope you get better soon. I think your condition looks good given your circumstances. It's promising. I'll be on my way now, unless you need me to do anything."

"Oh, um. Thanks again," Al says, pulling her puzzle book back up. Giving a glance over it, and quickly setting it down again. "We'll be sure to keep you on the... Um. The dialer." She gestures with her pen. "Did you bring a real book? This gift shop one is awful," she holds up the trashy romance.

Aaron purses his lips and pulls them to one side, wrinkling his nose, and then shakes his head. "Sorry, no, I honestly didn't think you'd be up for it yet, to be honest," he says, resting a hand on her shoulder. "You were _really_ out of it when I left."

He turns his attention toward Alma, and looks at her for a moment, then nods with a smile. "Thanks, Alma," he says. "It means a lot. I'm sure we'll manage, but it's good to know you're available."

"I'm fine. I mean, I'm not... I know I'm still a little fuzzy but I'm getting better," Al objects with a frustrated sigh. "My parents are in the building. Have you run into them yet? I'd bet they're hunting for you, if you haven't. So you might want to take the... Um. The," she wipes her eyes, "Prepare."

Alma nods, and leaves }}