by Vivian Ward
I replayed the doctor’s words in my mind as we left the doctor’s office. The spinal confusion concerned me, but I was glad that the doctor didn’t seem too alarmed by it. Sensing my mind was preoccupied, Dale interrupted my thoughts as we were getting back in the car.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked as Nevaeh buckled herself into the backseat.
“Just trying to wrap my head around what the doctor told us,” I explained.
“Mom, what did that doctor mean when he said all those things?”
Dale turned to look at Nevaeh as he adjusted the rear view mirror, “He said that your spine has grown together a little and that the medicine seems to be helping you.”
Yeah, if it were only that simple. Driving along, I continued to think about Nevaeh, the doctors, and all the testing. How am I going to keep paying for all of this stuff? I still owe close to fifteen hundred dollars on the x-ray and MRI, and that’s only because I put down a hundred bucks on the day of the testing. I just got her regular doctor visits and labs paid off, I have no cash and my credit card is maxed. Business better pick up so I can pay for these two specialist visits and her testing.
“Kimberly? What’s wrong?” Dale asked, perplexed by my silence on the way to my house.
“Nothing,” I lied.
We continued to drive in silence until we pulled up to the house. Dale helped Nevaeh out of the backseat as I dug through my purse to find my keys to the front door. My bag slipped from my grip, sending all the contents flying all over the driveway.
“Shit,” I muttered, bending down to pick everything up.
“Here, let me help you,” Dale offered.
Once we were inside, I flopped onto the couch. Dale sat beside me and offered a foot massage; I graciously accepted while Nevaeh went to her room to draw.
“You know, Thanksgiving is only a few weeks away. Do you have any plans?” he asked.
“I’m not sure, but normally we have Thanksgiving at my mom’s house. You?”
“No, but I was hoping we could spend it together.”
“I know I’d love it, and I bet Nevaeh would too.”
“We could have it at my house. You could invite your family; they’re welcomed to come here” Dale said.
“I don’t know if they’ll go for that. My mom’s been talking to me more, and so have my brothers, but I don’t think they’ll come over to celebrate the holiday with us.”
“Talk to them, see what they say,” he said.
If I was going to get my family to agree to have Thanksgiving at Dale’s, it was going to take some work. I called my mom that evening and presented the idea to her. At first she refused instantly, but I talked her into thinking about it. Now, I had to work on my brothers. Lying has never been my strong suit, but I pulled it off by telling my brothers that mom had already agreed. She had a sweet spot for me since I was the only girl; I would continue working on her until she finally said yes.
After quite a bit of persuasion, my mom finally agreed and told my brothers what we were doing. It wasn’t easy; I had to tell her how Dale came to Nevaeh’s doctor appointments and how much they’d bonded over the summer. If it weren’t for Nevaeh, I don’t think my mom would’ve ever agreed to come. Dale was excited that I’d talked my family into it; he began making big plans for the holiday.
Chapter Nine
On the eve of Thanksgiving, I worked hard in my small kitchen preparing deviled eggs, homemade apple pie, and my famous St. Louis salad. Nevaeh worked vigorously beside me, trying to keep pace with me.
“Can I help sprinkle the sugar on the pie?” she asked me.
“You sure can! And when we’re done with that, you can help me stir up the filling for these eggs. Dinner’s going to be so good tomorrow, Nevaeh, I just know it!” I pinched a bit of flour off the counter and playfully dusted Nevaeh’s nose with it and added, “My little baker.”
We had a marvelous time cooking and baking together in the kitchen, but by the night’s end, Nevaeh was worn out. My tiny eight-year-old passed out on the couch shortly after 10 PM. After carefully covering all of the food and putting it in the refrigerator, I carried her to bed and turned in for the night. We had a big day ahead of us tomorrow that would be filled with more cooking at Dale’s house, but I couldn’t wait to spend our first holiday together. I was even more excited that my family was joining us. It meant so much to me that they were starting to come around.
In the morning, I awoke to the alarm clock blaring. Still groggy, I shut it off and headed straight for the shower. Determined to look my best, despite all the cooking ahead of me, I was going to get all made up before I woke up Nevaeh. It would make for a much easier morning. Just as I was stepping into the shower, someone grabbed me from behind with a loud booming voice.
“Ahh!” I screamed, nearly falling into the shower with my slippery foot.
Nevaeh giggled from behind, “Morning momma!”
I grabbed my chest, covering my racing heart. “Nevaeh! You scared the hell out of me! Why would you do that?” I laughed.
Nevaeh smiled, “I don’t know. I thought it would be funny,” she said, twisting her hands together as she shrugged her shoulders.
“That’s not nice,” I said, still trying to catch my breath. “I’m going to take a shower real quick so we can start getting ready to go to Dale’s house.” I closed the shower curtain as I began washing. “Do you want to wear your pink dress or the purple one?”
“Mom! You know that purple’s my favorite color! I want to wear the purple dress!” she exclaimed before chanting “Pur-ple dress, pur-ple dress!”
“Okay, I got it!” I teased. “Go ahead and brush your teeth real quick, then go get dressed. Momma’s got a lot to do today. We have to get ready, pack up the car, drive to his house and then cook over there. Are you excited for today?”
“Yeah,” she answered, with a mouthful of toothpaste. “I can’t wait to see grandma and all of my uncles!”
As I showered, I thought of how this was beginning to look like a little family. I beamed with joy as I envisioned us spending every holiday together and being happy. Before, it had always been us and my mom and brothers. Occasionally they’d go to Lorraine’s house, but usually only for Fourth of July. After the car was packed and we were buckled, we began our journey to Dale’s house. My stomach knotted in anticipation of making this our best holiday ever.
Meanwhile, Dale was at home, tidying up his kitchen, trying to set everything up in preparation for our arrival. When we arrived, he helped get Nevaeh out of the car as he scooped a couple of the dishes under his arm.
“Thank you,” I appreciated his help.
“No problem. I’ve been working on getting the kitchen set up so we have enough room to cook and we’re not stepping on each other’s feet. I hope you like it,” he grinned.
When I walked inside, I was shocked to see the dining room table completely decorated with a beautiful candlelit centerpiece in the middle of the table. The pristine white linen tablecloth appeared freshly pressed. Each chair at the table was set with a festive placemat which featured autumn leaves and wine goblets next to each mat, opposite of the napkin wrapped silverware.
“You really went all out, didn’t you?” I asked, astonished.
He shrugged, “It’s our first holiday together and I wanted it to be special,” he kissed my forehead. “I also want to impress your family; it’s imperative to me. Here, let’s go put these in the kitchen and get busy cooking.”
Shortly before dinner was ready, the doorbell rang. My mom, Terrance, Jason, Tony and Jason’s girlfriend were finally here. Showtime. Dale and I gave them a short tour of the house before we sat down to eat. Much to my surprise, my brothers were on their best behavior. Momma must’ve given them a stern talking.
Throughout dinner, the men joked and laughed while momma and Nevaeh talked about school. This is so wonderful. I was glad to see everyone having a great time and getting along. Maybe now they’ll understand he’s a good g
uy. If he were able to impress my oldest brother, the others would gladly accept him as well.
After our Thanksgiving meal, everyone laid around with puffy, stuffed bellies as we watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on the DVR. Nevaeh eventually grew tired of watching the show while all the grown-ups discussed various holiday celebrations.
“Momma,” she said tugging on my shirt, “I’m ready to go to bed. Can we go home?”
“Yeah, baby, we can go home. Let me just tell Dale goodbye and get our coats.”
Eager to leave, Nevaeh grabbed her coat as I informed everyone that we were leaving. My mom and brothers gathered their coats and followed us out.
“Night, Nevaeh,” he called to her as we began walking out to the car.
“Bye Dale!” She waved, “See you later.”
A couple of weeks after Thanksgiving, I went into Nevaeh’s room to wake her for school. As I flipped on the lights, I noticed that Nevaeh hadn’t moved a muscle all night while she was sleeping. That sweet thing, she must have been zonked!
“Nevaeh, it’s time for school baby. Wake up,” I whispered as I lightly shook her arm.
“Mom,” she groaned, “my back really hurts. It’s so stiff again. Can I have some of my medicine?”
Taken aback by my daughter’s statement, I headed to the kitchen to get her medication. Maybe she just slept weird. It’s odd because she’s been doing so well. I wonder what’s causing this all of a sudden.
“Here you go honey,” I handed her the medication and a glass of water. “Take this and I’ll start getting your clothes out.”
“I don’t want to go to school today momma. I hurt. Can I just stay home?”
Remembering what the doctor said, I replied, “No, it’s important that you go to school. Remember the doctor said it’s important for you to stay physically active, and going to school will help you do that. You can always rest when you come home.”
“No, mom, I don’t think I’m going.”
I was still rummaging through Nevaeh’s closet trying to find a warm sweatshirt for her to wear that chilly day. “Nevaeh, you have to go to school. Besides, this is your last week before Christmas break,” I added, trying to convince her that she would only have to go a couple of more days.
“No, Mom, look!” Nevaeh said as she attempted to move. “I can’t move my legs at all!” she began to panic.
“What?” I spun around to see what she was talking about.
Sure enough, when I looked at my daughter, she was stiff as a rail and unable to bend from her waist down. Her whole lower body were as if it was stuck in a sitting position; she couldn’t stand up straight.
“Nevaeh!” I exclaimed, alarmed of her sudden onset of symptoms. “When did all of this begin? How long have you been like this?”
“I don’t know. I was pretty stiff yesterday. Lorraine gave me some medicine while I was at her house and by the time you picked me up, I was feeling a little better. When I went to bed, it started coming back but I figured I could wait for more medicine until the morning.”
“Oh, baby. No, if you hurt, you need to tell me. Every time! Sometimes you might have to wait a few hours until you can have another dose, but always tell someone so we know. I could’ve given you some right before bed. Were you only stiff yesterday or were there other days?”
She looked down at her legs and stared at the blanket until it became fuzzy from tears in her eyes. “I’ve been hurting for about a week. I just didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t mean to worry you and I was hoping that it would go away.”
“Sweetie, you have to tell me these things. It won’t get better on its own. You have to have medicine when this happens. I’ll call your school and let them know you’ll be absent today. Hopefully, you’ll feel better tomorrow.”
At this point, this was all I needed. I couldn’t afford to miss work right before the holidays. In dire need of cash for Christmas presents and money for bills, there was no way I could miss work. There was also the fact that I only had two points left until I would be terminated if I missed any more work. I called my best friend to see if she could come sit with Nevaeh while I went to work.
“Lorraine, I have a big favor to ask,” I announced when my friend answered the phone.
“What is it?”
“Nevaeh can hardly move. I think it’s her AS again and she must be having a flare-up. There’s no way she can go to school so I was hoping you could come sit with her today.”
“Well…I have to take Tyrone to work today because his truck is in the shop, but I can come over as soon as I drop him off.”
“Okay, what time will that be?”
“Around ten o’clock.”
“Oh, no. I have to be at work at nine. There’s no way you can come over earlier?”
“Hold on a sec,” she put the phone down and began calling for her husband.
I could hear a muffled conversation between the two of them as she asked her husband to bring her to my house and keep their SUV.
“Okay, I’m back,” she announced. “Tyrone’s going to drop me off at your house in about 45 minutes and then he’ll take the SUV to work and come pick me up when he gets off.”
“Perfect! You’re a life saver. I’ll see you in a little bit.”
Relieved that Lorraine was on her way, I called the school before I jumped into the shower. Washing my hair, I began to wonder if I should call the specialist. After a deep conditioning and some thought, I decided that it would be best if I did. This, after all, was Nevaeh’s first real flare-up since she’d been on the methotrexate and NSAIDS. Not wanting to take any chances, I made the phone call as soon as I was dressed with my wet hair wrapped still wrapped in a towel.
“Dr. Newton’s office, this is Samantha, how may I help you?” a polite young woman answered the phone.
“Hi, this is Kimberly Harris. My daughter Nevaeh Harris started seeing Dr. Newton a couple of months ago for AS. She’s having a flare-up so I wanted to call and see if it was necessary to make her an appointment.”
After the chipper woman had gathered all of Nevaeh’s information and symptoms, she asked me for a call-back number so the doctor could call me back. Shortly after hanging up, Lorraine was walking up the front steps when I spotted her.
“Come on in,” I called to my friend as she opened the front door.
A chilly gust of cold St. Louis air blew into the house, promising to instantly cool the heated room.
“Oh my goodness! It’s so cold outside,” Lorraine said, shivering as she took off her black goose down coat.
“Yeah, it is,” I agreed. “Nevaeh’s in her room. I called the doctor’s office as I was getting ready for work. I gave them the home number to call back on in case he calls while I’m busy at work. I figured you could keep the phone nearby and answer when he calls.”
“Sure. What do you want me to do?”
“Just answer any questions he has and see if she needs to be seen,” I said as I filled her in on Nevaeh’s most recent doses of medication and her latest symptoms.
“Will do. I’ll keep the little monster entertained, and I’ll call you once I hear from the doctor.”
“Thanks,” I said, slipping on my tan winter boots before heading to work.
Anxiously waiting while I served and bussed tables, I wondered how Nevaeh was doing and when the doctor would finally call back. Every chance I got, I pulled my cell phone out of my waitress apron to see if there were any missed calls. By the time my lunch break rolled around, I had called to check on Nevaeh and see if the doctor had called.
“How’s she doing?” I asked Lorraine.
“She’s been complaining a lot about how much pain she’s in and how stiff she is. I feel sorry that I can’t give her more medicine.”
“I know,” I agreed. “Has the doctor called back yet?”
“Nope, not yet. How’s work been?”
“Busy! But I’m glad. With Christmas right around the corner, I need to finish up my s
hopping for Nevaeh. I was actually hoping to get her at least one of her significant items on her wish list.”
“I’m sure you will.”
“Listen, I have to get back out there. We’ve been so busy that I think every Christmas shopper from here to Cape is coming in for lunch today. I’ll talk to you later.”
That was the last time I would get to call Lorraine for the day. The lunch rush was overwhelming as guests waited in the front lobby to be seated at the next available table. I was relieved when I had a missed call on my phone from Lorraine. I checked to see if she had messaged me since I was unable to talk, and she had. Anxious to see what she had to say, I snuck into the bathroom to read the message.
