1
Bella: “mummy make it stop! Please make it stop!.”
Me: “oh my God baby! Please hold on, Nurse! Doctor! Honey is it your head?!”
Bella: “Mummy, it was my leg but now It’s everywhere, everywhere hurts please do something!”
Me: “Can anybody hear me!!! My daughter is dying!”
Bella: “ mu—mmy! M—.. i can’t breathe” Me: Doctor! Nurse! Come my daughter is dying. Come fast”
*Thundering of feet*
Doctor: Breath Bella!, Breath. Take deep breaths. Nurse Delia get me a syringe and a bottle of ibrufen 100 milligram, nurse Ebere please can you escort Mrs laura out of the room”
Me: “Bella! Please be strong! Please be strong for Mummy! Okay?!”
Nurse Ebere: Mrs Laura please let’s leave”
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Me: “Nurse will my daughter be okay? when will the doctor be out?”
Nurse Ebere: calm down Mrs Laura, this is just one of Bella’s pain crisis, maybe I thought you would be used to this, please you need to be strong for bella”
Me: “which kind of mother would I be if I get used to seeing my daughter in pains?”
Nurse Ebere: “please don’t cry, bella will be okay, remember she’s a fighter, okay? Now where is your husband?
Me: “He’s on his way here with the girls”
Nurse Ebere: alright, please be strong, if your daughters meet you here crying, what do you think they will do? I have to go, I have to do some rounds before my shift is over, but once am through, I’ll come see you okay?”
Me: “alright Nurse Eby, thank you”
Nurse Ebere: I also definitely hope I don’t come meet you crying!?
Me: “lol no I won’t”
Nurse Ebere: oh your husband’s here, don’t look too far, he’s at the counter, let me run before your girls catch me”
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Me: “Hey, girls!”
Denise and Ellie: “hey mum! We ‘ve missed you, please can we breath now?”
Me: “ oh I have missed you more, did you have your dinner?”
Denise and Ellie “yes mum,
Kenneth: hey honey, how are you?”
Me: am alright boo”
Kenneth: where’s bella?
Me: she’s inside with the doctor
Kenneth: *rubs my arms* she will be alright? She’s a strong girl.
Me: ok Hun, girls stay close, don’t move far! In fact sit here.
Kenneth: easy hunnie…easy.
Doctor: hello Mr and Mrs Udeh
Me: doctor how is my bella? Can I go see her now? Is she still in pain?”
Doctor: calm down Mrs Laura, your daughter is fine. I gave her some painkillers, she will come around Soon please relax. Meanwhile I would want to speak to both of you”.
Me: Doctor what’s wrong? Is anything wrong!? Tell us doctor”
Doctor: Mrs. Laura it’s no cause for alarm,
Both of you should see me in my office, nurse Delia can keep an eye on your girls.
Kenneth: come on, relax.. don’t get all panicky.
Me: Hun, why shouldn’t I be?, I have watched these exact scenario play out a whole lot in movies, now it feels like déjávu. The doctor always comes with bad news.
Kenneth: let’s try to be optimistic, at least for the sake of Bella.
Me: alright hunnie..for Bella. Girls sit put, Don’t bother nurse Delia”
Denise and Ellie: yes mum”
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Doctor: come in Mr. and Mrs. Ude, please do have a seat.
Me: doctor please tell us, is anything bad going to happen to bella”?
Silence
Doctor: okay, Mr and Mrs Udeh, take a look at this in my hand . This is a MRI scan of Bella’s legs. Look closely at the left leg. There’s a big mass of tissue there. It’s ball like. Remember she’s been complaining of excruciating pain, on her left leg ever since she got admitted?
Kenneth: yes we remember.. vividly.
Doctor: well this is the reason. It’s bad enough that she is already a sick cell patient and as I have explained to you, SS patients have pain Crisis because of the inability of blood to flow to other parts of the body. So imagine if you had a tap that the water ran slowly and in a tiny line, okay, what if someone or something blocks that tap that ran in slim line. Obviously you know you won’t get water again and even if you waited, it will take ages before you get water. That exactly is how it feels for Bella”.
Me: omg my Bella! Sickle cell has put my daughter’s life on hold, heck she never had a life in the first place, now this too”?
Doctor: calm down Mrs. Laura please. There is a remedy to that”.
Kenneth: what could that be doctor?
Doctor: she needs to get a surgery done to remove that mass of tissue.
Me: *crying* This is the third surgery, Bella would be undergoing in 3 years” doctor when can we do the surgery?
Doctor: anytime from now,
Kenneth: can you give us a date, so we can make the necessary preparations and payments.
2
A day before Surgery.
Me: Bella lift your arms, let me check for any swellings”
Bella: no! No! Mum you would tickle me”.
Me: no I would not, how dare I”
Bella: hahahaha mum your hilarious,
Me: alright baby it’s Time for your lunch.
Bella: I don’t feel like eating”.
Me: why baby? You always loved food. What’s wrong Hun?
Bella: nah mummy, I don’t feel like it.
Me: You need to eat to be strong and also take your meds.
Bella: but mum, what’s time without family, I wish all of us were here.. just like before. We would take turns to say the prayer before food.
Me: oh baby, you are tearing me up. And who said we can’t have lunch, as a family again”?
Bella: but mum where is everyone?, I don’t see Dad or Denise or Ellie.
Me: wait for it Hun..
Kenneth, Denise, Ellie: surprise!!!
Bella: wow!! Dad, Ellie, Denise, I have missed you plenty.
Kenneth: missed you too princess
Ellie: Bella I brought all our toys so we can play”
Denise: Hey little sis, I have missed you too.
Me: alright settle down guys, we are about to have lunch. Let’s pray”
Kenneth: Bless us o lord
Me: and this the gift
Denise: which we are about to receive
Ellie: From thy bounty
Bella: through Christ our Lord Amen!
Bella: mum, dad, Denise Ellie, I love you all.
Me, Kenneth, Denise, Ellie: we love you more.
3
Two weeks later
Denise: Ellie have you seen my hair brush?
Ellie: no I haven’t, ask mum
Denise: mum have you seen my hair brush”
Me: no baby, check your dressing mirror”.
Denise: it’s not there, I have checked everywhere, maybe I’ll ask Dad”
Denise: Dad! Have you seen my hair brush”
Kenneth: no princess I haven’t.”
Denise : Now where could it be
Bella: I have seen it before somewhere”
Denise: where could it be Bella”.
Bella: aha! Now I remember, it’s under your Bed.
*Goes to check*
Denise: I found it! Thanks Bella, how did you find it?”
Bella: “oh it’s just nothing, found it while I was too weak to move after my pain Crisis”
4
A year later.
Kenneth: Bless us oh lord
Denise: and these thy gifts
Ellie :which we are about to receive from there bounty
Silence
Ellie: mum! Mum! Earth to mummy
Me: oh hunnie, am sorry
Ellie: it’s alright, just that it’s your turn to finish the prayer, because Bella’s gone”
Me: through Christ our Lord Amen
Ellie: mummy, Please Don’t cry, or be sad because you will make me sad too.
Me: oh don’t worry about me, am fine
Kenneth: you sure hunnie? I can bring you dinner up stairs.
Me: no hunnie, don’t bother am alright”
Ellie: mum don’t worry about Bella, she’s in good hands, and I can bet that she’s having dinner with God right now”
Kenneth: Really?
Ellie: yes Dad. Now who can guess what Bella is eating right now with God?
Denise: obviously noodles
Me, Kenneth: hahahaha you got that right sweetheart.
Ellie: you’re absolutely correct sister, and do you know what God might be telling her.
Me : no what would God say hunnie?
Ellie: God will say,” Bella you love food, do you want more?“
Kenneth, me, Denise: hahahahahha Ellie, exactly”
Me: yea… Bella loved food, just like me.
Arueze Chisom Precious, a passionate writer can be reached through sommytilly1402@gmail.com
