I lay there struggling for air, the fire-chief straddling me, pumping my lungs with his huge hands. I had never met the fire-chief before. But somehow, I knew this was him. For a moment we looked right into each others' eyes. But he never seemed to notice. Then, he was off me. For a second, I thought I must no longer be struggling for air. Then he was pounding my chest - very hard! Too hard! So this was what CPR felt like. If I'd had any strength at all I would have plowed my fist right into his jaw to make him stop. But I didn't. These people were trying to help me. But it was no use. I still couldn't breathe.And now, apparently my heart had stopped. But at least I wasn't struggling to breathe anymore. Then an oxygen mask was clamped to my face by the fire-chief's large hand. And I knew they must be rushing me to the hospital. It was all too much. My mind became a swirl. And I went to sleep.I woke up in a rush, sitting up, checking to make sure I was breathing. Then I realized I hadn't. I had woken up in a rush all right. But I was still lying down, unable to move. And as for breathing, that was being done for me. Tube in my throat. Oxygen mask around my head, now held in place by a strap rather than the fire chief's hand. I expected to hear the sound of a patient monitor, like on all those hospital shows. But I didn't. Either it was too faint, or the shows exaggerated it. I realized that TV shows were my only frame of reference. I had never been in a hospital room before, or at least not one where somebody was dying or near death, as I was now. I tried to look around, but couldn't see too much of the room. I was apparently too weak to even turn my head. And besides, I was no longer wearing my glasses. So I wouldn't have been able to make out much at a distance. There was a tube in my throat. That probably meant there were other tubes, other places in my body, if the TV shows could be trusted. It was a thought I didn't want to entertain.Here I was awake in a hospital room, all alone. That must mean I was stable. And I took it for a good sign. How long would it be before somebody else knew I was awake? Would that patient monitor which I couldn't hear, let somebody else know that my vital signs had changed? Or was that only on Star Trek? And had my vital signs changed at all? Just being awake, might not register any change on the monitor. If I could have done more to let somebody know I was awake, I would have. But all I could do was open my eyes, and I couldn't do that very well. I tried to make a sound, tried to scream. But I heard nothing. Maybe I'm deaf, I thought. But there was no reason for me to be deaf. Then again, there wasn't any reason why I should have stopped breathing. No reason why my heart should have stopped. Sure I was a little overweight, but most Americans were these days. So, how long would it be before somebody came? Didn't they make rounds and check on each patient every so many hours? How long had it been since they had checked on me? How long would it be before they checked on me again? What if they forgot me? What it they forgot me forever? Surely somebody would check on me. Perhaps I would be found by the janitor in the middle of the night. And he or she would become a hero for reporting that I had awaken. Though I might scare them to death in the process. Perhaps I would be forgotten here forever.Perhaps I had died. And they were just waiting for somebody to come by and take me to the morgue. But no, I still had the oxygen mask on. They wouldn't have left that running if I were dead. Perhaps it wasn't running, and they had just left the unstrapping of the mask to the cleanup crew. They didn't ever explain that on those TV shows. Yes, I was going to go crazy if somebody didn't show up pretty soon. Perhaps I should go back to sleep. But I couldn't. I was much too wide awake.Rating PG; Reading Level Very Easy 3rd Grade; Longest Word: Excruciatingly
About the Author: About Dale Stubbart I have written and self-published over 50 books. I also help author authors get their works self-published. My wife and I enjoy several worlds - the spiritual one, the natural one, the fantasy one, and the human one. Our goal is to live in Paradise. I publish all of my books as both paperbacks and e-books. I publish most of my books as audio books. This gives readers the widest possibly array of formats in which to become part of my stories, depending on which reading method works best for them. I write books in several genres. In some of my books, I share personal stories. Sometimes somebody sees me as a character in one of my books. But then that character does something, which would totally be out of character for me. They say that people write about what they know. I don't let that stop me from writing about the unknowable. I'm a Spiritual Consultant and write spiritual books including Our Seven Brains, The Language of the Wind, and Yellow Bear. I write sci-fi / fantasy books including The Dancer, The Wizard without a Wand, and Dragon's Tears. I write reference books including Consulting 101 - The Basics, and The Word of the Rose. I write food books including Browse and Bask the Book of Life and Other Restaurants I've Dreamed Of, and Strawberry Cheesecake Applesauce. My fiction books including Thunderation, The Night the Stars Went Away, and Just Like Down Home. My children's books include Capri, Danwe of the Vase, and Of Violet and Brunettes. I'm a Computer Consultant. My computer books include Designing Your Website to Use Less Energy, In Search of a Right-Brained Computer, and Hi5ive. My romance books include Gill McGillicutty, Ribo Quadrilobe, and Every Man's Dream or Nightmare as the Case May Be. I'm an Environmental Lifestyle Consultant. My save the Earth books include The Xybrid Vehicle, Saving the Earth One Beard at a Time, and Traveling with Multiple Chemical Sensitivities. Poems that Make you Smile is my poetry book. I also include poetry and very short stories in some of my other books. Most of my books are not limited to one category or genre. My books are not formulaic or boring. My books are clean, uplifting, fun, and humorous. People say they find themselves right there in my books. They've compared my writing to Richard Bach - Jonathon Livingston Seagull. They tell me that What Would Terry Do? is the funniest book they've ever read. This book tells how my life might have happened, how I might never die.