Bandit Baby - S01 E08

Story 2 years ago

Bandit Baby - S01 E08

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 8

By the time I woke up, I was on the hospital bed.

I tried to recall what actually led to finding myself at that place.

By then, I had recovered part of my strength.

I was covered in sheet.

Within seconds, I recalled all that transpired.

I was about getting up from the bed when I recalled I wore only pant.

I looked underneath the sheet and discovered I was neatly cleaned and in a good pair of short.

As I was about getting up, I heard a voice from behind me.

“Oh! You are awake. Thanks to God.”

I turned and saw the bearer of the voice.

A figure eight Coca-Cola bottle shape fair complexioned average height female nurse with dimples on both sides of her cheek.

How best would I have described such an angelic being?

I began to wonder if she was on duty when we arrived and if she was there when I was cleaned up.

“Good morning,” I greeted.

“Good afternoon rather. How are you feeling now?”

“Oh! It’s afternoon already. I’m fine. Thanks to God.”

I took a deep breath and then asked.

“Were you here since morning?”

“Yes. Any problem?”

“No! It’s fine. It’s fine.”

“Then I’ll inform the doctor right away that you are awake.”

I watched as she walked out of the ward and wondered if actually she was the one that cleaned me up and changed my pant.

“What did she see? Did she really see?” I kept asking myself.

While still lost in that thought, the doctor entered and the nurse followed from behind.

“Good afternoon Mr. How are you feeling now?”

“I’m fine doctor.”

“I can see. I must say you did a good job back there. You have a lot to tell us. The hospital management is keenly interested to have an interactive session with you. The soldiers who brought all of you here are deeply grateful for your actions…”

“Doctor, how is the mother? Is she ok too? What of the kids?” I Interrupted as I became more uncomfortable with the presence of the nurse.

“Yes they are fine. You can come and see them. Are you the husband?”

“Yes. I mean no. I…I…I…”

“It’s ok. It’s ok. We understand. You still need enough rest,” said the doctor.

I stood up and we walked to the next ward.

“There she is,” the doctor said as he pointed at Enobong.

“She lost a lot of blood and if she was not attended to immediately by the medical team that brought her you here, she wouldn’t have made it.”

I got closer to her bed.

She was being transfused. She was unconscious and motionless.

I could not believe that the person I saw in the bus was the one on the bed.

I turned to the doctor to register my displeasure on the transfusion.

“We tested your blood and it did not match with her own, so we got to the blood bank and bought bags. This is the second bag. If this will not be enough, we will get another one.”

He paused then continued.

“The wife of the Governor is on the know. And all your bills have been taken care of by her.”

“What of the kids? Where are they?”

“Oh! Your babies are absolutely fine. But from the look of things, it seems they are preterm and as such we placed them in NICU.”

“What is NICU?” I asked.

“NICU is an acronym for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.”

“I don’t understand. What is that for?” I asked.

“Ok. Most premature babies need to be in an incubator or a heated cot for two to four weeks to help them maintain their temperature in a suitable NICU before reaching their original date.”

He moved to the other side of the bed, patted my shoulder and added.

“Your wife is a strong woman and so are your kids. In such a situation, most mothers and babies don’t usually make it. Hold on to your God.”

Then he turned to the nurse, “I’ll be in the office. In case of any development, let me know.”

The nurse nodded.

“Will she be ok?” I asked the nurse.

“She will. Everyone keeps saying that your wife is strong, but I say it was God’s doing.”

I smiled.

“The doctor mentioned the Governor’s wife, which governor? Where are we?”

“This is Lagos. The military medical team that brought you here had everything to keep your wife stable. The only thing they didn’t have were incubators for your kids. So they chose to come here straight without wasting time.”

“I see. So who cleaned me up when we arrived?”

“I did. You were soaked in blood. All of you. Your pant is still there in case you wish to go with it.”

I smiled.

“What will I be doing with a pant soaked in blood? Please dispose of it.”

I looked at the nurse again and we both smiled.

She saw it.

“How long will it take before she wakes up?”

“Who? Your wife? Ok, maybe tomorrow or even this night.”

“So can I see the kids?” I asked.

“No. Not now. You can talk to the doctor please.”

That was when I began to wonder why I was barred from seeing “my babies.”