Riiingggg! The sound of the telephone broke the night’s silence. I rolled over and checked the caller ID. It was my mother.
“Hello?” I answered, blinking my eyes and trying to wake up.
“Dave? I can’t breathe…”
“We’ll be right there.”
Calls like that made me nervous. Mom had already died on us once before, but they were able to bring her back. She had asthma and a heart condition, and calls from her in the middle of the night were always frightening. The last one led to a midnight run to her house and a frantic, highly illegal race through the streets as we tried to get her to the ER before we lost her for good. At least now she lived much closer – just a few blocks away. I nudged Sarah awake.
“Mom’s in trouble again. I gotta go.”
“I’m coming with.” she said, as she swung her feet out from under the covers and pulled on a pair of jeans.
A warm and gentle August rain stroked my face as we walked out to the car. A faint, distant rumble of thunder rolled in the distance. I clicked on the wipers and pulled out of the driveway. It was a quick two block drive to Mom’s house. We parked in front and walked up the steps to the small wooden porch I had built for her just a few weeks before. The front door was unlocked and Mom was sitting on the couch, with her jacket on and purse in hand, ready to go.
“Are you ok?” I asked.
She shook her head no. Her face looking pale, chest moving heavily as she tried to draw air in.
“Did you try your oxygen?” I asked.
“It’s…not…working,” she struggled to get the words out.
I looked down, checked the power to the oxygen concentrator her doctor has ordered for her. It was plugged in, the light was on. It seemed to be getting power, but when I tried it nothing happened. No noise. No air. And Mom was getting worse. We had to go.
“Ok, it’s gonna be alright, we’ll get you to the hospital.”
I held out my hand to help her up from the couch. She took it, standing silently for a moment. She looked at me, then at Sarah. She shook her head slowly, saying nothing, her lips held tight. I took her arm and helped her toward the doorway and we stepped out onto the porch. We turned to walk down the steps and I suddenly felt her full weight as she collapsed, knocking me to my knees on the steps.
“Mom?” I lifted her head and looked into her eyes through the soft rain. They were empty. She wasn’t breathing. I turned to look at Sarah.
“I’ll call 911…” she said, running back inside.
I pulled Mom back up to the porch and laid her on her back. Sarah was back outside in a moment and she started CPR, trying to bring her back.
“One-one thousand, two one-thousand….” Sarah counted as she pushed hard on Mom’s chest.
I heard the sound of sirens through the rain. I knew they’d have a hard time finding the address – Mom lived in a confusing little subdivision. Even the people who lived there sometimes got lost. I told Sarah I was going to try and find them, help guide the ambulance in. I ran to the corner and down the block, towards the lights flashing in the distance.
I yelled, but they couldn’t hear me. They were too far away. I waved my arms, but they couldn’t see me through the rain. I watched as the ambulance turned down the wrong street, and I took off running again. Two blocks later, I caught another glimpse as they turned, heading back my way. I stood there, the rain streaming down my face as they finally pulled up alongside me.
“Did you call for an ambulance?”
“Yes. She’s down there. That way.” I pointed and they sped off towards the house.
I watched the taillights fade as they drove off and heard another roll of thunder in the distance.