“We will need to move her down to I.C.U.” she says as J is coming in with a huge box of pizza, filling the air with the scent of pepperoni and onions, and a bag with a six-pack of Coke. “Your grandmother needs more personal attention and needs to be monitored constantly. If her levels become steady and rise then she will most likely be moved back up to this floor but in another room.” The therapist walks out. I turn to grandma, as she looks at me with a perplexed face.
“What’s going on?” J asks, as he is opening the box on my bed, removing and biting a cheesy slice of pizza, in a teasing fashion. While I hold grandma’s hand, I begin explaining to him the blood oxygen level situation.
“And so, as you heard, they will need to move her to a different floor, I.C.U. They told me that I need to pack up everything, since we will not be returning to this room.”
“Don’t worry about it. Relax. Have some pizza.” He says, trying to comfort me.
We almost finish the pizza, when a doctor and some nursing staff come in and tell us that it won’t be long before she is moved. They advise us to make sure that we are taking all of our belongings. They also inform us about the visitation hours for the I.C.U. “Every even hour, 10… 12… 2… and you can only stay for 15 minutes,” the doctor says.
“But I have been here with her for four days. Do you think they will let me stay with her?” I ask.
“Sorry, but I can’t answer that. You will need to ask the person in charge of the unit.” We finish our conversation and he walks way.
“Grandma! Please” I beg. “Please, relax and stop fidgeting. You need to get your oxygen level up. If you don’t they are gonna move you to I.C.U. Please… I don’t want you to go there.” She looks at me, as though telling me she is doing her best, to make me happy but things are out of her control.
It is about nine o’clock when hospital staff members come in to transfer her out of the room. Within ten minutes, I am evicted from my room and transferred to the I.C.U waiting room.
“You’ll need to wait in there.” The staff member says. “You need to wait a couple of hours while they tend to her. Come back around midnight.” He suggests.
After dropping off my belongings in my car and talking with J outside the hospital, I return to I.C.U. However, I refuse to comply with the staff member’s recommendation. I begin to demand that I be allowed to be at her side.
To my disappointment they reply, “Sir, visitor hours are every even hour. Your grandmother was just brought in. We must tend to her first before letting any visitors in. You must return at midnight when you will be allowed to see your grandmother but for no more than twenty minutes.” I look at my watch. Frustration overcomes me, knowing I have a grueling hour and a half to wait.
“11:59 and 29 seconds… 30… 31…” I think to myself; as I watch the second hand on my Fossil watch, move backward before moving forward. “57… 58… 59…” I continue. “buzz… buzzzzz…” rings the intercom system.
“May I help you?” the female voice says.
“Yes, its midnight and I am here to see Carmen Cortez, room 2514.” I state in a “matter of fact” tone.
“One moment please.” The voice replies.
“Click…” sounds the door.
I storm in, walk down the long hallway ignoring the receptionist, and search for my grandmother’s room.
“Grandma are you okay?” I ask her as she is sitting up in her bed. “I’m sorry but I couldn’t come in, but they told me that visiting hours are every other hour which meant I had to come in at midnight.” I continued.
Once I am satisfied with her status. I turn and walk over to the nurse’s station, across from her room. “Excuse me,” I say. “I would like to speak with the person in charge.”
Moments later a female nurse says. “Good evening, how can I help you?”
“Hello my name is C. I am Carmen Cortez’s grandson and I have been here since Friday…” I continue telling her what has occurred on the fifth floor and her rants about people trying to kill her, “and I would like to have your permission to stay with her here in the I.C. Unit.” I conclude.
”Sorry sir, but you are only allowed fifteen- to twenty-minute visits. That is hospital policy. You WILL need to leave after the time and can re-visit her every other hour.” The nurse says in a firm tone.
I turn around and walk back to room 2514. Grandma is sitting up right in her bed. “Grandma,” I say with a sad tone in my voice. “I will not be able to stay with you. These people are telling me that I can only stay for twenty minutes then I have to go out and wait until the next visit hour.” I’m irritated at the hospital for having such a policy, that I take it out on my grandma “See,” I say sharply, “If you would have relaxed up stairs we wouldn’t be down here and I wouldn’t have to leave. I’m gonna go home. I will be back tomorrow.”
She looks at me with a disappointing eye, as if to say, “What did I do? I did my best, mijo.” I kiss her, tell her that I love her and walk out. You never think about it, until after it happens. Thus, I would have never thought that my sharp comment to my grandmother would have been my last. Now, I will live on regretting my final words.
“J, listen they kicked me out of the I.C.U. So I am going home. I don’t think I will be back tomorrow, so I want you to keep me informed of everything. I’ll call you in the morning, so you can give me an update. Later.” It is late at night when I leave him the message. As I drive home, on a desolate freeway, I can’t help feeling sad and angry because I could stay with her. Why couldn’t the hospital bend the rules? I simply wanted to stay and comfort her. “I guess it was for the best,” I say to myself trying to rationalize the situation.
“They will give her more personal attention, especially since she is right in front of the nurse’s station.” By the time I got home, my body was ready to collapse. The adrenaline was wearing off. I am tired. I now looked forward to resting on my personal bed and taking a nice hot shower.

part 6 later