seemed asleep, but her breathing was short, shallow,
labored. The nurse checked her blood pressure but read
nothing. He switched bags for another containing sodiumchloride
and added vitamins, turning the machine up to
pump the fluids faster.
After he left, I watched her chest rise and fall, too
slowly it seemed. Her hands had no grip. When I opened
her eyelids, the pupils pointed in different directions. The
nurse returned and rechecked her blood pressure.
“Stay with me,” I whispered, leaning over the side of
the bed, pleading, “Stay with me.”
As I repeated the words, I thought back to what Dr.
Rizek said earlier: her thirst was probably from the high
salinity in the mixture they’d been giving her since Sunday. I
prefer believing she somehow knew her life was coming to
8