Waiting for Her Soldier Read Online Free PDF Page A

stand. The woman clicked away at her keyboard for another thirty seconds before finally breaking the silence.
    “I’m not seeing anything,” she said matter-of-factly.
    “Can you please look again? I’m sure he’s here. One of your nurses told me he was admitted earlier today.”
    “It’s a computer, if he was here, he’d be in the computer,” she said rudely. “I don’t know what to tell you.”
    “Listen,” I said, feeling myself start to lose my temper, but trying to remain calm. “I have been waiting and waiting. And I’m not just talking about waiting in the visitors area by the reception desk; I’m talking about months and months and months while my soldier was overseas. He was admitted today, I’m almost 100% positive. If he wasn’t admitted, then there must have been some reason why. Please have a heart about this.”
    “Fine, ma’am. I’ll take another look, but if it’s not in the system I can’t do nothin’ about it.”
    She started tapping away again, but she looked like she was faking it, pretending to search the database just so she could get rid of me sooner.
    “Nope. Nothin’ here.”
    “I’m not leaving until I get a real answer from someone,” I said bluntly.
    One of the more senior receptionists was just getting into the hospital and she could tell something was going wrong. I’m not ashamed to admit that I was on the brink of making a scene. I would do whatever it took to get me in front of Darren sooner.
    “Is there a problem, ma’am?” the head receptionist asked in a far friendlier tone.
    “I hope not. I’m trying to find a soldier who was just admitted here. His name is Sgt. Darren Henderson. He just came back from Afghanistan.”
    “Let me look take a look,” she said, pushing aside the younger receptionist to get at the computer keyboard. The keys tapped and the mouse clicked for what seemed like decades. I waited patiently, hoping that my persistence would finally yield some good news.
    “Ok, I’ve found him. He hasn’t been assigned a room yet. As soon as he was admitted he went into prep, and now he’s in surgery.”
    “Can I see him?” I asked meekly.
    “Not while he’s in surgery, ma’am. Doctors and nurses only.”
    “Well, when is he going to be out?”
    “Five, six hours. But could be as long as eight.”
    “Eight hours in surgery? What are they doing to him?” I asked, the panic in my voice bordering on the edge of hysterics. Was it possible that things were much worse than I’d been led to believe?
    “It’s a complicated and meticulous procedure, ma’am. If the shrapnel isn’t removed completely, there’s a risk of infection and that could mean a possibility of eventual amputation.”
    My heart skipped a beat as I heard those last words. The receptionist seemed to pick up on my unease, because her next words were more reassuring.
    “Ma’am, that’s only if the procedure isn’t performed properly. That’s why it takes so long, our doctors are very careful. We all want the same outcome here, and that’s for our soldier to get the medical attention he deserves. Dr. Williams is the head surgeon on this case, he’s one of the best in the state. Sgt. Henderson is in very capable hands right now.”
    I breathed a slight sigh of relief. It’s funny, but I was more worried about Darren in this hospital than I’d ever been when he was serving in the Middle East.
    “Ok, thank you. That’s reassuring.”
    “Sweetie, you should go home and get some rest. You’re gonna worry yourself sick waiting here through his surgery. Go home and take a nap or go get yourself some lunch. Do something to get your mind off things. Waiting here isn’t going to make the surgery go any faster.”
    “But I want to be here the moment it’s done.”
    “Give me your cell number and we can call you, ok?”
    “Ok,” I said, and proceeded to give the receptionist my number.

CHAPTER 13
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    I walked out to the parking garage to find my car among the