After Cynthia collapsed, panic and worry arose in Rosemary's bosom.
'Cynthia! Cynthia!'
Rosemary called out in fright, 'Nurse, please help!'
She cried as her child looked pale, bluish like a dead corpse and almost seemed lifeless as Rosemary held her in her arms. Shaking her, trying to wake her up.
There was no response from Cynthia.
The nurses came hurriedly, rushing to the place where Cynthia was with Rosemary.
'What happened?'
Inquired the same nurse who had instructed them to stand in the queue.
'Help nurse! Please Help!'
Rosemary pleaded with all her might. The nurse touched Cynthia's forehead, then the neck, and lastly the chest.
'Emergency! Bring the stretcher?'
Yelled the nurse to her fellow workers.
'No need?'
Rosemary got up with Cynthia in her arms, rushed out heading to the emergence room. The doctor examined Cynthia's condition, 'She needs an x-ray, right away!'
Doctor Sandy said to his nurse and helper.
Cynthia was taken to the x-ray room. Within a few minutes, the results came out. After Doctor Sandy cross-examined the results from x-ray imaging and combined it with Rosemary's statement, Doctor Sandy came up with a hypothesis and after a while he declared Cynthia to be transferred to a ward until her condition was stable.
By this time, both of Cynthia's parents were available. Mwanza Graciano, the husband of Rosemary, was standing beside his wife by Cynthia's bedside, in the ward holding hands and praying inwardly for their daughter's recovery, when the doctor walked in with a diagnosis in his hands, with a sad look on his face.
'What is it, doctor? What's wrong with my daughter?'
Rosemary couldn't help it but asked with a squeaky shaking voice, trying so hard to calm her nerves and not sound alarmed.
Doctor Sandy sighed deeply before saying, 'I am afraid the cut is too deep, and it has directly gone into the hippocampus which is responsible for memory.'
He paused to let the couple digest the news, then carried on, 'When the hippocampus is damaged, the patient suffers memory loss, and it can be hard to recover new memories.' Doctor Sandy explained firmly.
Tears were already welling up in Rosemary Graciano's eyes. Sad emotions can't be avoided when you receive such dreadful news about your beloved daughter.
'Does that mean my daughter will never remember us, or her family ever again?'
Mwanza queried while holding his emotions in. He had to be strong for his family. He can not break down right now.
The doctor looked at the unusual pair, searching earnestly for what to say to them that would be a little comforting yet not jeopardizing the truth.
Then he turned his head to look at Cynthia lying unconscious on the hospital bed and finally words came out, gently, from his mouth, 'Not all hope is lost. Your daughter can overcome this condition by keeping her mind extremely active.'
'How, Doctor? We are more than ready to do anything to make her get better. She is our only child.'
Rosemary posed an emotional question, with a glimpse of a little hope in her voice.
Doctor Sandy beamed excessively, 'She has to start playing games and I would suggest virtual reality games. It's the only thing that can help her recover quickly. Other than that, there is no medication for this kind of condition.' Doctor Sandy thoroughly elucidated on the situation confidently.
Rosemary looked at her husband after a bit of light was shed in her heart and mind. She anticipated that the doctor's treatment process was what they could afford, at least she thought.
She loved her child so much that she was willing to do anything for her. She would even go to the ends of the earth if that's what it took for her to be whole and all she wanted was for Cynthia to be well again, so that she could be able to recognize her, and call her mommy once more. She did not comprehend a moment when her daughter perceived her as a stranger every day that came next.
'Oh -- Ok, we will go buy one, right away.'
Mwanza Graziano jumped in gently, keeping his cool.
'Not necessarily? We happen to have a couple of them within the hospital. You can just pay the hospital bill and will be able to give her the best treatment.' Doctor Sandy tried to simplify things for Rosemary and Mwanza.
The couple looked at each other, still holding hands, while the other hand of Rosemary held tight Cynthia's right hand.
Rosemary gave a light cough to clear her throat, before phrasing her most troubled question, 'How much could that be?'
Rosemary and Mwanza Graciano, waited worriedly for what was their biggest problem of their life. Her husband worked as a security guard. That meant that he wasn't earning that much money. On the other hand, Rosemary was a homemaker, though she did side hustles and worked as a waitress on weekends.
At this very instance, Cynthia woke up but no one noticed her. So she pretended to be asleep because she was in a confused state. She was like a newborn baby with no past, about the future no can g, unless you have suffered amnesia before. She did not know where she was, or who she was? At this moment she was just existing because all her memory was gone. She is overhearing the conversation, curious, wanting to know more.
Who are these people? Why are they in my personal space? I can understand what they are saying, yet I don't recognize their voices, it looks like they are discussing. It about me? Cynthia wondered at her thoughts but later decided to blush off everything and dived into her imagination.
Doctor Sandy roughly calculated the figure in his mind, 'That will be fifty thousand US dollars, to complete the whole medical procedure.'
There was silence in the entire ward like a vicious tantrum had dropped from the sky. Rosemary gnashed her teeth. They definitely did not expect, and it could not have been predicted, they can't afford that much. Mwanza Graciano's salary was about two thousand US dollars per month. Rosemary's side hustle brought in one thousand two hundred US dollars, their total sum coming to three thousand two hundred dollars. How will this play out?
'Can we pay installments?'