Never Waking Up...

The young girl slunk down the white, sterile hallway at her mother’s side. Her petite nose tingled with the scent of disinfectant, and the sickening odor of illness hung in the air. She hated the smell of hospitals. They took the elevator to the fifth floor and found room 525. Her grandpa lay in the room with countless miles of tubes protruding from his lifeless body. The constant sound of the breathing machine was the only noise to fill the silence in the room.

Her grandpa was a very brave man who preached the Gospel overseas in China. The Communist government did not tolerate any religious teaching in the country, but her grandpa still handed out little Chinese Bibles wherever he went. Since he had been breaking the law, his name was placed on a list. The Communists were not very kind to him, and one day a motorcycle hit him on accident as it was speeding by. Her grandfather had been hit hard and had fallen down onto the street. He was in a coma, and the doctors were not sure if he would ever wake up again. After spending some time in a hospital in China, he flew back to the United States along with a special doctor and two nurses. He was transferred into a hospital in Michigan where he continued to sleep in his own realm. Room 525 became his home, and relatives were always coming to visit and stay with him as much as they could.

The little girl was very sad and a little uncomfortable as she and her mother entered room 525. Little Bekka had never seen her grandpa quite in this state as he lay lifeless in the hospital bed. The doctors had shaved his head until he was completely bald. The slumbering man was so thin and pale. He didn’t even look like the grandpa who always teased her and laughed at all her jokes. Bekka started to cry because she missed the grandpa she remembered as a little girl. This man did not laugh and call her Peter or Charlie simply to be funny. He just lay there sleeping as his young granddaughter cried.

The girl’s mother told her that it was acceptable to cry. The mother asked if the young girl would like to hold her grandpa’s hand for awhile. At first she was very hesitant, but then she decided that perhaps that would be the only way he would know that she was present. She took her hand in his and squeezed tightly. A limp hand gave no response. She tried again. Still nothing. She sat there with her hand in his as droplets ran down her already tear-stained cheeks. Suddenly she felt a little squeeze from her grandpa’s hand. She thought maybe she had been dreaming, but one more grasp from his weak hand confirmed that this was no dream. Bekka knew that she would remember this moment for many years to come.

Later that year, Bekka had a special day at her school called Grandparent’s Day. She didn’t feel like going because she was afraid she would be the only one without grandparents in attendance. Laughing children were everywhere as they showed their grandmas and grandpas around the school. Bekka felt very left out among all her peers who proudly displayed their schoolwork to their grandparents. But as she sat in her chair, Bekka thought back to the day in the hospital with her grandfather.

Although her grandpa never woke up from his coma, Bekka felt very special that he had squeezed her hand before he had gone to heaven. It had meant more to her than anything else he could have done for his little granddaughter. Suddenly, Bekka did not feel so lonely after all. She knew and felt that her grandpa was looking down from heaven on her. He could see all of granddaughter’s hard work as he proudly looked down from heaven’s fold.

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