Chapter 3: Accident and Aftermath

It seemed like some kind of joke. Wes and I were talking, things couldn't be going better. He worked his lawnmower over the curb and walked across the street, looking back at me and talking.

I saw the old Chevy coming up the street. It seemed to be going too slow to do anything. Surely Mrs. Crowley would slam on the brakes and yell at Wes to watch where he was going.

She kept coming. I heard a crunch as the tire ran over the lawnmower. She still kept coming.

Wes wasn't smiling. It looked like he was trying to cry out but I heard no sound. How could he twist his body like that? I heard someone screaming, then realized it was me.

It got quiet. I covered my face with my hands. Make it go away. Make it go away.

"Leslie. Leslie. LESLIE!"

I dropped my hands. That was Mom's voice. But she was in the house with Sam. I looked over at the house and heard her again. Over near the car. Where I didn't want to look.

"It's Wes. We've got to help him. Run in the house and get the quilt and a pillow off the couch."

I forced my body to move. I got the items she wanted and brought them out. I went over to the car.

Wes was all twisted and mangled. I could see a pool of blood underneath him, getting larger by the second. Mom was holding out her hand for the things I brought.

"The blood."

"It's Wes, Leslie. Give them to me."

I gave her the quilt and pillow and took a step back. I leaned against the side of the car and threw up in the gutter.

Mom had Wes covered and was starting to babble about the ambulance. I went over to her and pulled her up, hugging her for dear life.

"Mom? Is Wes going to be OK?"

"He's got to be. Pray for him. We all need him."

The ambulance came up and a couple of guys got out. They were trying to put a brace on Wes but the car was in the way. Sam got in the car and moved it back.

Somehow Sam and I were hugging each other when they were ready to take Wes in the ambulance. They could take one of us. Sam and I wanted to send Mom but then there wouldn't be anyone to drive to the hospital. Sam went with the ambulance.

It took forever to get to the hospital. First, Mom invited Mrs. Crowley in for a cup of tea. A cup of tea, for God's sake. While I put on the water, Mom packed a bag for herself, made a couple of calls to handle Jaz and let Dad know Wes was in the hospital and I had to get some sweatshirts for me and Sam. Then we had to drive Mrs. Crowley home and walk her to her door.

I held onto Mom all the way to the hospital. It wouldn't have made any difference if we'd gotten there sooner, we had to wait. Sam said they pulled her off him and took him in an operating room at the end of the hall.

A doctor came out and was all set to take Mom off alone. She brought us with her.

Wes had two broken legs and a broken back. He was in a coma. They didn't know if he'd ever wake up again.

I just found love and it was taken away from me in an instant. It wasn't fair. How could he do this to me?

Mom was saying something to the doctor. About something else.

That's when he told us about his kidneys. Both kidneys had been destroyed in the accident. He could go on a machine that we couldn't afford or he could get a transplant of a kidney. But there weren't any kidneys.

At that point I didn't want to go on living without Wes. I looked at the doctor. "Take mine."

He started arguing. They use kidneys from accident victims, I was a minor.

"I can live with one kidney, right?"

He was going to argue some more when Mom told him it wouldn't do any good. She also told him we'd had tests done before and Wes and I were a perfect match. He went off to call our doctor to get the results sent over.

He was in a pretty good mood when he came back a few minutes later. He put me in a wheelchair and we went downstairs and did some more tests. It was probably a half hour later when the doctor told us all it looked good.

The next thing I knew, I was being wheeled into the elevator and into a room. They put on a hospital gown that showed my butt. Mom seemed to think it was funny. Then the nurse came in and said the doctor had ordered an enema and everyone had to leave.

I got through that, then they gave me some pill that made me feel real stupid. The doctor came in and told me he was proud of me. I asked if it would hurt and held me it would be like being kicked but I could have drugs if it hurt too bad. I said I didn't want drugs. They gave me a shot to make me even dopier. I don't remember much after that.

I woke up. I felt dopey, but different from before. I saw this thing in another bed in the room, wrapped in plaster. I called for my Mom.

She came running in the room a minute later.

"Mom? Is Wes OK?"

"He's fine, honey. He's got your kidney and now he's healing."

I went back to sleep.

The next time I woke up it was Friday morning. I'd been under since Tuesday afternoon. I could feel where they took out the kidney. Kind of a dull ache. Not too bad.

Then I found out they had a catheter in me and a bag for all my pee. God, how gross. I told the nurse to take it out. She said my doctor had to order it out. When he finally came in the room, he told me he would. But it would hurt to pee the first few times. I told him I didn't care.

They gave me lots of water and juice. All the food was mushy. Nothing I could even chew. The time came when I had to pee and Sam helped me get into the bathroom. It felt so weird needing help to stand up without falling over. I was wiped out by the time I sat down on the toilet.