The incessant, high pitched, beep of the machines bounced around in my head as I stared

straight ahead, the strong smell of antiseptic stinging my nose. If I hadn’t known there was an

actual person laying in that hospital bed, I wouldn’t have thought twice if somebody had told me

it was empty. But he was there, beneath the feeding tubes and IVs, my grandpa was there. He

lay still, no noise exciting his body except the rhythmic whoosh of machinery forcing him to

stay alive.

I was ripped out of my trance as the sliding door to my left was yanked open, a bald

headed man entering the room. I recognized him as one of the nurses that had been caring for my

grandpa. He glanced over to where I was, “I just have to do a quick exam if that’s okay” he

grunted. “Oh yeah, no worries, do your thing” I mindlessly replied.

Moving from the bedside, I rubbed the circles beneath my eyes and watched as the exam

began. I quickly became unamused by the way the nurse was handling my grandfather. He was

treating him as if he wasn’t even a person anymore, showing no signs of compassion or respect. I

began to work up the courage to say something, my stomach churning as I picked at my nail

beds. “Hey-,” I was immediately cut off as the nurse spoke over me “all done.” All done? It had

only been a minute or two, how could he possibly be done? Before I could even think of a

response, the nurse quickly left the room, the sliding door closing with a resounding clank.

I rolled my eyes as I moved back to my grandpa’s bedside. I had just placed his frail hand

into my own, when the door slid open again. I looked up and felt my shoulders loosen as a tall

Polynesian walked in. “Hey Pops,” I whispered as he made his way to me. “Hey, how is he?”

Standing up I gave him a hug as I updated him. “Okay I think, the nurse just got done with his

exam, but he didn’t really tell me anything.” A slight nod was the only reply I got as he replaced

me in the seat next to my grandpa, the squeak of the cushion now familiar to me. “Whelp I’m
gonna head out, but I love you” I said as I made my way to leave. “Love you,” he replied,

returning his full attention back to my grandpa as I slid the door closed.

Hours later, I sat alone at my kitchen table once again lost in thought. The smell of

antiseptic had now been replaced with the familiar smell of spring scented candles and the

haunting sound of the life support machines now replaced by the shrill barks of my dogs as the

garage door creaked open.

“So? Any news?” I immediately questioned as my dad entered the kitchen. “Yeah there’s

news.” “Well? What is it?” I pushed. “Apparently after his surgery, his potassium was super low

so they tried to raise it up,” he explained, his shoulders tense. “Okay and?” I questioned. “And I

looked it up and apparently they gave him almost double the potassium they were supposed to,

which is why his kidneys aren’t working anymore and why his brain function is so low.”

“So…so what do we do now? Is he going to get better?” I asked. He looked at me, tears

that I had never seen before welling in his eyes, and spoke softly “I don’t know, I really don’t

know.”