Part 5 Arrival at the hospital

As soon as I got home, I packed quickly and sped off to the hospital. I was horrified at the idea of Nechama getting to the hospital before me. I have never driven so fast and with such disregard for basic traffic laws. Columbia Presbyterian is about 45 minutes from my house. Unfortunately, the Van Wyck was in the middle of their ingenious multi-billion dollar plan to build an air train and all cars were being diverted to the service road. I was driving like mad and fell into a panic. Driving this way was not easy considering that I was panting heavily and was totally numb in my hands and feet. I called a friend to try to distract me. I arrived with plenty of time to spare and my fears of being late were unfounded. She arrived almost an hour later. As we entered the emergency room, the doctor from the evening before, saw us. She did not want us to wait in the ER for no reason and sent us directly to the ICU. I was happy that I was with Nechama and afraid at the same time. But I had no idea that we would stay there until she died. The camp nurse Miriam G., who became a close family friend, arrived with Elana. They had brought all of her suitcases from camp and her special blanket. Actually, throughout the hospital it was referred to as a “shmata” (rag) considering there wasn't much left of it. I sort of came to believe that as long as the blanket survived so would she.