Читать книгу Hannah’s Gift: Lessons from a Life Fully Lived - Maria Housden - Страница 21

DOCTORS HAD GRADUALLY DECREASED THE AMOUNT OF Hannah’s sedative and then removed the respirator tube from her throat. After all she had just been through, I couldn’t believe how good she looked. Although she had lost a lot of weight, her voice was hoarse, and the skin on her cheeks was raw where strips of tape had held the breathing tube in place, Hannah had spent the day laughing, talking, sipping juice, and watching videos with Will. I had even managed to wash her hair, using a plastic bowl and a sample of baby shampoo that one of the nurses had scrounged around to find for me. Hannah had insisted that we pull it back into a huge pink bow.

Now, she was about to eat her first solid food in over a week.

“Dinner!” the nurse announced with a flourish, lifting the lids on the tray in front of her to reveal a plate of mashed potatoes, cups of Jell-O and pudding, and a bowl of chicken broth.

Hannah frowned. She wasn’t impressed. She poked her finger into the potatoes, and then folded her arms across her chest.

“No way, José. I’m not eating that. I want pizza,” she said. The nurse smiled.

“Hannah, the doctors ordered these foods for you because they will be gentle on your throat and tummy. Tomorrow, maybe, you can have pizza.”

Hannah looked steadily at her for about ten seconds. The nurse didn’t move.

“Get Dr. Tony,” Hannah said.

When Dr. Tony arrived, the nurse explained the situation. Dr. Tony tapped a finger on his clipboard the way he had that first morning when Hannah had stopped him in his tracks. He looked at Hannah. She returned his gaze.

“Well,” he said finally, “I am Italian, so I know why Hannah feels the way she does about pizza. If I hadn’t eaten anything in a really long time, I’d want pizza, too.”

Twenty minutes later, a second tray was delivered from the cafeteria. The nurse set it on the table in front of Hannah. Dr. Tony peeked his head into the room and winked at me, grinning from ear to ear.

“Ta-da!” Hannah said, lifting the lid. She let out a shriek, and I saw the reason for Dr. Tony’s grin.

There, in the middle of the tray, sat two slices of pizza and a dish of chocolate ice cream.