As time went on, they still spent as much time as they could together, although with tough jobs and three kids now, it was not as often as they would have liked. What time they did get together was cherished and they made the most of it. They weren’t teenagers anymore but still made passionate love to each other at least once or twice a week, usually shipping the kids off to one of the grandparent’s houses for the night.
By the time Sidney was seventeen she was a junior in high school, and the boys were sixteen and fifteen as sophomore and freshmen respectively. Sydney was involved in some sports but mainly was kind of a nerd. She studied a lot, hung out with a few friends, but mostly stayed in her room. The boys both played sports, but never the same ones. Steven was a football player, and Thomas (his buddies all called him Tommy) was a skinny basketball player on the junior varsity team.
Jennifer still worked for the hospital, but had been promoted to charge nurse for her shift at the emergency department about two years prior. Matt had changed companies after a few years, due to some females sexually harassing him on the job, so he now worked for a smaller consulting company that helped out larger corporations temporarily.
Matt had been on the way home from one of his consulting clients in the next town over when he got into the accident. It could have happened to anyone, but luck wasn’t on his side that night. He had gotten to a 4-way stop, looked both ways, and saw an approaching truck. It looked to be slowing down, so he went across.
Apparently the truck driver had been slowing down, but was also falling asleep at the wheel. He never even saw the other car going through the intersection when he plowed into him. The truck pushed Matt and his car a further two-hundred feet down the road, before the car spun off and rolled over a few times landing in the ditch.
Matt was rushed to the hospital on a back-board and neck brace firmly in place. The trucker was injured but not severely, mostly due to his body already being a bit limp from being a sleep. The police also later found him slightly drunk, so he was arrested for suspicion of DUI and possible vehicular assault charges.
Matt got to the hospital, and Jennifer had been working that evening shift. She was a mess as she alternated between crying for her injured husband and trying to continue directing the nurses to do their work. Finally she gave up and sat in the waiting room, sniffling and crying.
Several hours passed, and at this point her kids were waiting with her, along with both sets of grandparents. A doctor came out in scrubs and gave them the mixed news. Matt had made it and would survive, however he was now in a medically induced coma to allow brain swelling to go down. They would let him down from that medication in about two days or so. At that point, it was all on Matt if he was going to come out of the coma or not.
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Jennifer’s side of the story
I couldn’t believe it. I know I was in shock for a long time, but still have trouble processing it to this day. My love, my soulmate was breathing, but wasn’t with me. I sat at his bedside for the first few days, even after they removed the coma-inducing medicine. I held his hand and spoke to him, giving him an update on the kids and everyone else.
After a week I had to return to the kids and home, but came to visit every night for as long as I could, and spent the weekends with him. After a month of this, I still visited, but had to keep up a strong front for the kids at home. They missed their dad as much as I missed my husband.
Matt’s best friend Jim was also a huge help. He came around to help with the kid’s events and homework. On the nights that our parents couldn’t help, he stayed with them while I went to visit Matt.
I now recognize that this was the beginning of my downfall. I had no idea what was going on, but at the time, needed any help I could get. With Matt not around, I was on overload pretty much every day with no outlet for my sorrow.
After about two months, Jim invited me out for dinner on a Friday night. The kids were all going to spend the night with friends, so I thought it might be good to get out for a night. We went somewhere nice that Matt and I both loved. Even now, I recognize that everything revolved around Matt. God did I need him in my life.
“This is one of Matt and my favorite places,” I remember telling him.
“I have only been here once, but it seems like a great place. I know this is tough, but remember I’m here to listen if you need a shoulder to cry on,” he said.
We talked all through dinner about our past, the things we liked and of course Matt. Jim made me feel a little better by reassuring me that Matt was one of the toughest guys he knew and would pull through.
After dinner, he dropped me off at home. He walked me to the door and gave me a long comforting hug. When we separated, he gave me a quick chaste kiss on the lips, and said good night. The kiss was awkward to say the least, so I rushed inside and closed the door.
I didn’t know what to make of things, so did my best to ignore Jim the following week and let his calls go to voice mail. He sent me a text apologizing for the awkward kiss and just wanted to let me know he was trying to help during this trying time.
Eventually, I answered his call later the next week and agreed to meet for lunch. I think it was understood that there would be no funny business, but we did have a nice conversation. It felt good to have an adult to talk to that understood the hurt of missing Matt.
We left and agreed to meet again a few days later. He took me to another similar lunch at a bistro and we had some sandwiches. Again he kept things friendly and genuinely seemed to care. He invited me out to dinner and a movie with some other friends that Friday night, and I thought it would be good to get out.
I was still visiting Matt, although not as much as at first. I stopped in to see him that Thursday evening and just sat with him holding his hand. I told him that I missed him terribly and loved him so much. I couldn’t survive without him, and that every day was a struggle.
I told him that Jim was trying to help, but he could never take his place. He lay there breathing, and for a moment I had a flash of extreme anger that he would leave me alone like this. The moment passed and was replaced with a deep sorrow and guilt for those feelings. Here the love of my life was in a coma and might not survive, and I had the nerve to be angry at HIM?
“Honey, I need you to come back to me. I don’t know how much longer I can make it without you,” I told him.