Page 54 of Still Her
“Oh, and the rest of the band will be here shortly,” Jack informs her.
“Ooh! You might want to visit the oncology unit. That’s the biggest one in the hospital and there’s quite a broad age range there. I bet you’d find a lot of fans!” She squeals. “And if you’re up for it, you could drop by the NICU while you’re waiting for the rest of the band to show up. It gets lonely there for the parents. They could always use either a distraction or some support.”
“Great, let’s start there then,” Jack smiles, his dimple popping again. She stands and points us to the elevators, thanking us profusely while clasping her hands together and bouncing on her toes.
After riding the elevator up to the 5thfloor, we are careful to step quietly as we make our way down the hall to the reception desk. Apparently, the employee from downstairs called up here to let them know to expect us, because the nurse at the reception desk looks up at us, beaming with anticipation. After introducing herself as Katy, she leads us down a hallway to where there is a unit secured by a long line of windows allowing a view into a nursery full of incubators, all of which either have a nurse or one or two parents hovering around it. Not one is unattended, and while I’m not sure why, it makes me blow out a heavy breath.Ohh…
It’s when Jack brings a hand up to rest on the back of my neck that I realize I uttered that emotion out loud. We take in the scene as occasionally some of the parents look up at us with vacant expressions before turning back to their babies. I don’t expect anything more. That is until I spot a young father look over his shoulder and do quick double take before keeping his gaze set on Jack. It darts briefly to me and then back to Jack, surprise in his eyes, and his mouth half open. Without looking away, he gently pats his wife’s shoulder and she looks our way. It takes a few seconds longer for the recognition to dawn on her face than it did her husbands, but the brows above her tired eyes lift up slightly and her hand comes up to cover her mouth. When she pulls it away, her lips are trying to form a small smile and her eyes have started to glisten.
Jack gives them a wave and a nod, as well as a cautious smile. The husband’s smile gets bigger and he turns to say something to his wife. She smiles and gently nods, but stays where she is as her husband makes his way to the door. We walk back down to where he is preparing to exit, pulling off his isolation gown and disposing of it before coming out the door.
I place both hands on my husband’s left hip, all of a sudden overwhelmed by the emotion that’s come with being in this haven for sick babies.
“Jack?” The husband tries to confirm, his expression tired but awestruck. “Of Turn it Up?”
“Yeah,” Jack says, reaching out his hand. “What’s your name?”
“Kevin,” he answers, taking Jack’s hand and giving it a firm shake, still looking as though he’s trying to wake up from a dream. “My wife and I love your music. We actually made it to your show when you were in town last time,” he says to Jack, who gives him an appreciative smile before he turns to me. “And my wife, Linda, is totally addicted to that Top Dancer show. You’re on that right? She recognizes you.”
“Yeah,” The word comes out in a squeaky whisper as I nod.
“What’s going on with your little one?” Jack asks, gently.
We listen attentively as Kevin explains how Linda unexpectedly went into labor at thirty four weeks while they were visiting family upstate, and all of the complications and scares that came with delivering a preemie baby at a hospital that was ill equipped to deal with it.
“She’s going to be okay,” Kevin concludes. “She just can’t go home yet and we don’t want her to be without at least one of us at any time until that happens.”
“Of course not,” I agree as Jack and I both nod. “Can we say hi to Linda?”
“I’d love for you to meet them both. Hang on,” he stops a nurse that is walking by, whom at first tells us that we’re not allowed into the nursery, but after a few moments of deliberation, she comes up with a compromise.
Ten minutes later, baby Ruby’s incubator has been rolled into an adjoining sterile room, and after putting on gowns and gloves, Jack and I are allowed in to see her. Linda looks exhausted with dark circles under her eyes and messy ponytail, but she puts on the best smile she can manage and a slight glow comes to her face when we both introduce ourselves and gently hug her.
After introductions, we gaze in through the plastic of the incubator to see the tiny little being, and all of the wires and machinery that are keeping her alive. I can’t even imagine how hard their situation is, but we ask how they’re doing none the less.
Before we leave, Kevin pulls out his phone and asks if he can get a picture.
“Yeah, absolutely,” I tell him as I reach out to take his phone, sure that they’d like a photo of them with the front man of Turn it Up.
“Oh, we meant of you two with Ruby,” Linda tells us. “I’m not going anywhere near a camera right now.” The poor thing gestures to herself and her disheveled appearance. I shake my head at her self-deprecation, but Jack and I happily pose with Ruby, leaning over either side of her incubator. Hopefully that’s a good one for her baby book.
Before we leave, Jack hands Kevin Ron’s card, and tells him to use it if they need anything.
As we make our way back to the elevators where Doug and Shane are waiting for us, Jack’s phone goes off in his back pocket. He pulls it out to find a text from Matt announcing that they’ve arrived.
With no hesitation, we all climb on the elevator and ride up to the oncology unit.
JACK
That was one cute baby, and it was a thrill meeting her parents, offering them support and taking their minds off of their situation, even if it was just for a few minutes. As for the rest of the night… it’s an epic blast. The rest of the guys meet us on the oncology unit, and Josh even brought along one of his guitars, just in case. Both staff and kids alike are happy to see us, some showing their excitement enthusiastically, while others are a bit shy.
At some parts of the evening, the five of us do something with the kids all together, like play circle games, and at other points we split off and cater to kids that have different interests. Chris finds a nine-year-old boy that can hand him his ass at video games, and it doesn’t matter which one. Matt and I meet a couple of boys that are twelve and thirteen and teach them how to play Euchre. Occasionally I look up and see Mayzie doing Christmas crafts with some younger kids while letting a tiny little girl in kitty-cat pajamas play with her hair, or helping some other girls put up decorations in the common area while they try to mimic some of her dances that they’ve seen on TV. She’s a natural, only putting her smile away if one of them is telling her something and she wants to show that she is listening intently. But whenever she puts her smile back in place, it doesn’t fail to light up the room.
Later in the evening, we leave the common area to visit kids in their rooms. Ryan, one of the boys we played cards with, shows us his room where he has one of our posters on the wall; the one from our current tour in fact. As all four of us take turns signing it for him, my emotions collide with each other. It’s such a thrill to have a young kid look up to us, but it’s a bummer that he stays in the hospital for such long periods that he’s settled in enough to put up posters.
One of the highlights of the night is when one of the nurses, Dyan, tells us there is a ten-year-old girl with leukemia who is big into music, and while she’d be thrilled to see us, is very shy. She gestures us to follow her and so we all head to her room which is, like all the others, decorated to make her feel at home. We find her tucked in bed and reading a book that she looks up from when she sees us hovering in her doorway. She has a pink scarf wrapped around her head and her slightly sunken eyes go wide as she glances between the four of us as the nurse makes her way to her bedside.
“Emilee,” Dyan greets her, sitting down next to her. “Do you know who these guys are?”