Scared Of Healing

Last Day

I walk into Ellie's room with a fresh set of clothes that I had Luke go buy, and she smiles an infectiously wide smile. I can't help but smile back, "how are we feeling sunshine?" I ask. She giggles excitedly, "good" she replies. I grin as I walk towards her and put the clothes on the end of the bed, "can I help you up?" I offer, holding my hand out for her to take. She takes my hand and slowly stands up, stopping and closing her eyes to let her dizzy spell pass. I frown, "still getting dizzy?" I ask. She nods, "just a little bit" she says quietly, opening her eyes and smiling at me again. She grabs the clothes, "can I get changed?" she asks. I nod, "do you need my help or are you all good?" I ask. She giggles, "I think I'll be alright" she says. I chuckle, "ok, I'll be out with Crystal. Let us know if you need any help. Otherwise, grab your mask and come out when you're ready" I say excitedly. She lets out an excited little squeal and I can't even imagine how she would be feeling right now; she's been here for months and been without a home for even longer. I can't wait to see her comfortable and happy as part of my family.

I walk out of the room, to the mini surprise party we have created for Ellie. I got everyone here; Crystal, Calum, Ashton, Luke, Luke's fiancée, Sierra, who she hasn't even met yet! Even Maggie has come up to say hi!

Ellie walks out of her room, dragging her IV pole behind her, and even through the face mask, I can see the massive smile as she sees everyone standing around the nurses station. We are all so proud of her. She has gone through so much and still manages to be so resilient and happy. Ellie walks up to us and brings Crystal and I into a hug and everyone starts applauding and cheering. I feel a few tears drop onto my shirt and pull out of the hug slightly to look at her face. I can instantly tell they are happy tears and re-tighten the hug. Ellie laughs out a cry and I smile, "we're so proud of you sunshine. You deserve so much and I hope we can give it to you" I say. Ellie smiles and nods as her tears dry up a little.

At this point, parents and patients have come out to see what all the comotion is about. Parents look on, admiring the scene as the teenagers watch, confused. A lot of them have been here for a couple of days for things like broken bones or appendicitis. While these things are definitely concerning and should be seen to, they really have nothing on what Ellie has been through the past few months. All they're seeing is a party for a kid they've never seen. A few of the longer term patients would have noticed the constant stream of doctors and nurses through the room and all have similar expressions as the parents, being able to understand a bit more.

Ellie gets hugs from everyone before they have to get back to work. Crystal takes Ellie's IV pole and I press my hand against her back, "we're gonna head down to paeds and get you all set up to go home" I say. Ellie nods with a wide smile across her face, "lets go!" she says excitedly. I smile and we walk to the lifts and press level 2 to my office. The lift quickly descends down before the doors slide open and the three of us enter the floor. I smile at the nurses before directing Ellie and my wife to my treatment room. "Wanna come sit up here for me Elle, and we'll switch you to a HITH drip instead of the pole" I say, gesturing to the exam table. Ellie smiles and jumps on the table. I look to my wife, "wanna do it?" I suggest. Crystal nods, walking over to Ellie. I pass her the tray of equipment and she smiles, grabbing the gloves. "You ready to get rid of this pole sunshine?" my wife asks enthusiastically. Ellie smiles, "am I ever! this thing is so annoying" she jokes. Crystal laughs, grabbing the wipe. She quickly twists off the IV line and drops it on the ground. "I'm freeee!" Ellie jokes and we all giggle. Crystal grabs the tube connected to the home infuser device and twists it onto the end of Ellie's PICC. I clip the device bag around her waist before putting the infuser in it. Ellie smiles down at it before looking up to me. I smile, "one of us is going to be at home with you every day and we'll change it at lunch time. Same rules as with the normal line, if it starts to hurt, get red, or leak, you have to let someone know. You're pretty good with that stuff though" I say. Ellie nods, "when you say one of you... does that mean any of you?" she asks. I nod, "yeah, we'll remind Cal how to do it tomorrow" I say. Ellie nods, giggling excitedly like a little girl, "I'm so excited" she squeals. I laugh, "we should get you outta here then!" I say. Ellie jumps up "let's go!" she says. I laugh, grabbing her hands, knowing she's gonna get dizzy again. She groans as she loses her vision and I chuckle, "forgot about that didn't you" I say. She nods, "I'm all good now though" she says.

Crystal takes the bag off the IV pole and chucks it in the bin before joining us at the door. Ellie puts her mask back on and we walk out. We hop back in the elevator and go down to the ground floor. We walk out and head to the staff car park. I help Ellie get in the car, making sure her IV doesn't get caught on anything before Crystal and I hop in the front and we start driving home.