At last ‘A life’
By Julie D Cole
Chapter 32 Panic Over

Angela took us to the waiting room where she sat us and said that it was best if we let Gran get some rest whilst they kept an eye on her. She said she could try to arrange somewhere for mum to sleep if she wanted to stay all night. Mum accepted after a bit of pressure from me.

As we chatted it turned out that Julie also knew Angela from school since they’d both been in the school swimming team so she was extra friendly. I told that I wanted to meet the doctor on my own so I could find out more as mum was too upset to ask questions.

I met the doctor about 30 minutes later and he understood that I was the grandson and not a grand-daughter. He didn’t seem to object and I didn’t care what he thought at that time since my prime interest was to assess the situation. Angela had obviously told him about our family background and she’d told Julie that at school she’d always felt that there was something different about me.

Then I asked the doctor about the seriousness of the stroke and he said that it was still early doors but since Gran had been able to activate the alarm they’d managed to carry out a scan within a few hours of the stroke and quickly determined that there was no bleeding so he was quietly optimistic. There was paralysis but Gran had seemed distressed and confused and had been mumbling. He asked me about Judith so I told him about her and how it had made Gran so unhappy.

He took a few notes and so I asked him if Gran would recover and if she was at risk for another stroke. He said to be patient and wait for 24 hours and they’d given her some drugs that should help. He said we should not leave Gran alone for a while assuming everything was OK and to also arrange for some special care assistance. Then he asked about me and why I was at the hospital dressed as I was and if I’d discussed it with my doctor or with a therapist. I told him some of the background how this had started and how I’d felt better each day and was much more confident.

He said that he recommended to see my GP sooner rather than later and that he had two former colleagues who dressed and lived as women but they’d had to overcome a lot of problems and difficulties. He was nice and I liked him and appreciated his advice.

I had a chat to mum and Julie and said that my opinion was that we should not stay any longer and all go home and come back the next day. It seemed like a lead weight had been lifted from mums shoulders and I wiped the tears from her eyes.

Gary and Sally appeared as we chatted to Angela who gave us her mobile number so we’d keep in touch. She gave us the number to call the following morning to check the progress and we headed off to the car.

We were quiet as Gary drove us home and then I said that nobody had eaten and insisted that we picked up some Pizza if only for the benefit of Sally and Gary. Julie had an appetite as well but mum and I didn’t feel hungry.

When we arrived home I told mum what the doctor had said to me and that I was going to make an appointment. I told her that I also wanted to visit Gran with her the following day and that we should think about how to look after Gran so she wasn’t alone. She decided to take a nice long bath hoping that she would feel better and as Sally, Gary and Julie scoffed the Pizza I called James to update him and apologized for the waste of money and lost weekend.

James was very talkative and also very kind and he showed genuine concern. I was surprised how easy it was to talk to him and he tried to make me laugh a little bit with silly stories. He told me that his former girlfriend had stopped calling him so it was safe to visit anytime I wanted. Something inside me wanted to visit but at the same time I thought this might not go down too well with Sally.

He said he’d call me over the weekend if I didn’t mind and without thinking about it I just said ‘I would like that’.

Mum had a restless night and I got up a couple of times to check on her. Each time Sally woke up and asked if I was OK and snuggled me to get me warm. I was grateful to her since I was able to fall quickly back to sleep. Then she woke me around 8am that was early for a Saturday and suggested we make breakfast for once.

It was nice to have a family breakfast and afterwards I called the hospital and the news was good. Julie and Gary dropped mum and I off at the hospital and then took Sally to her flat to pack a suitcase and help her in case Jessica tried to cause trouble.

Julie was ready for a confrontation with Jessica but I told her that I was going to deal with her on Monday and then I intended to see Kate to discuss my suspicions and her obvious incompetence. Julie would have preferred to punch her nose.

Gran was sitting up in bed as we arrived but she wasn’t too sure where she was or what had happened. She seemed confused and twice she held my hand and called me Judith. Mum looked on and tried to ignore it. Eventually she said ‘Mum this is Chris’ and Gran just said ‘Are you sure? You’re wrong this is Judith.’

We stayed for 2 hours and mum chatted to Gran a little bit but mainly we let her rest. The doctor visited and his report was good but he did say she was still a bit confused. I felt that I wanted to know more about Aunt Judith so I suggested to mum that we go around to Grans and tidy up thinking it would give me an opportunity.

So we left Gran and took a taxi to her home and as we entered two neighbors were waiting who mum said had lived close to Gran since mum was a little girl. They were anxious for news so mum invited them in and I made some tea.

They assumed that I was Julie so mum didn’t say anything and they all sat down in the lounge and mum told them that Gran was going to be OK and thanked them for helping the medics when they arrived so that Gran could be attended too quickly. Mrs. Parkinson had a spare key to Grans back door for such emergencies.

I sat in Grans chair and looked at the book. I was keen to open it and look through it but felt I either did this with mum or with Gran since it was private. I had to push the table out of the way to resist the temptation.

Both ladies kept looking across at me as they chatted with mum about Gran and I hadn’t realized that she’d had a small stroke before whilst I was away at college that was the reason she used a walking stick. They asked how Christopher was and what he was doing and I looked at mum as she was trying to decide about the answer. She didn’t know what to say so I jumped in and said’ Oh he is doing very well now and has been promoted at work and seems to be very happy. Mum looked relieved.

Then I changed the subject to ask how Mrs. Parkinson’s son was since he used to be hanging around the gate with friends when we visited and sometimes talked to Julie. It distracted attention away from me as she told us how proud she was of him.

Then the other lady, Mrs. Merrill said that I was getting more beautiful and that I reminded her of Judith. Mum smiled and said that mum had reacted just the same and it had pleased her a lot. Mrs. Parkinson said Judith was a wonderful young girl and she’d been a regular babysitter for her and mum as they grew up.

They asked if Christopher might come later as they’d like to see him again and I said he’d be coming around soon but he was supposed to be in Birmingham.

When they’d left mum apologized for not responding and said she’d not wanted to say anything that might upset me. I just said now wasn’t the right time to deal with it and so I’d diverted them as much as I could.

Then I asked if we could look at the book and mum said I should look through it whilst she tidied round. She said it was OK since it was time that I learned all about Aunt Judith and that she would explain things in time and encourage Gran to do the same.

To be continued