John considers his Mustang one of his most prized possessions. Every weekend, he sets time aside to wash and polish the car so that it always looked its best. One Saturday morning, John was washing his prized Mustang while his daughter, Lily, played outdoors.
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Lily asked if she could take her scooter in the street. There were barely any cars passing by so John allowed her to. The next thing he knew, Lily was screaming. It was a scream that would give John nightmares for the rest of his life.
An isolated home
John made sure he kept a close eye on Lily, calling out to her from time to time when he thinks she was going too far. He liked this neighborhood. It was just half an hour’s drive to the city and isolated enough to have a lot of peace and quiet.
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No neighbors were complaining in case he revs up his Mustang and there were days when he can even go for a speedy ride around the area. Lily had inherited his love for speed but for now, she is limited to her scooter.
A blood-chilling scream
As he got into the act of cleaning his prized Mustang, John’s attention started to fade from Lily. He was so concentrated on polishing the surface that he almost forgot that Lily was out in the streets. That’s when he suddenly heard the scream.
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John turned around in panic, fearing the worst. What he saw was Lily pointing at something in the ground, looking very scared. Then, she suddenly yelled, “Daddy, look out!” He could not see what Lily was pointing at because of the suds.
She could not look
It was like a scene in the movies where everything seemed to happen in slow motion. She looked on in horror as tears started to fill her eyes. John could hear the fear in her voice and knew that he had to take her warning seriously.
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John started jumping up and down, trying to see what was on the ground that got Lily so scared. He ended up slipping on the soapy water. Lily watched as her father fell backward, his head hitting the pavement hard. Lily screamed and told John to get up.
She was on her own
Nobody was around to help them out. Lily knew she was on her own. She had to keep her father safe. Lily ran to where John lay and tugged at his arm, trying to drag him away from danger. But John was too heavy. Lily yelled for help but nobody heard her.
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Lily was now desperate to save her father. She no longer cared about the danger anymore. Lily pulled on her father’s arms one more time. This time, she was able to drag John’s body a little. Thanks to the soapy water on the ground, she was able to move John to the grass.
The call
But the danger was not over. John’s head was bleeding and it looked like he was losing a lot of blood. Lily was frantic. She could not stop crying as she hugged John. She was fearing for her father’s life.
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Lily quickly ran inside the house to look for a smartphone. Lucky for her, she did not search for long. John’s phone started ringing just as she got inside and all she did was follow the music. Lily sees that it was her mother, Isabella, calling up.
Rushing home
Lily quickly answered the call and yelled at her mother to come home immediately because Daddy is hurt. As Isabella drove home frantically, she called 911. When she arrived home, she saw John lying on the ground with a little puddle of blood on his head.
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Isabella asked Lily what happened but Lily was too upset to talk about it. John was in and out of consciousness. Isabella tried to control the bleeding. When the ambulance arrived, John lost all consciousness and was no longer responding.
An emergency operation
When they got to the hospital, Isabella was informed that John was taken immediately to the operating room. An emergency operation had to be performed because of the huge wound on his head. All they can do for now is wait.
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While waiting, Isabella tried to talk to Lily about what happened. But the poor girl was still visibly shaken. Every time she tried to talk about it she just ended up crying hysterically. Isabella decided to stop asking questions – what happened must be traumatizing to Lily.
Waiting for updates and answers
All Isabella could do at that point was to pray that the surgery goes well and that John would be able to explain for himself what happened that afternoon. Isabella tried to calm Lily down and assured her that they will be seeing her father soon.
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Hours went by and there was still no news from the operating room. Isabella was worried sick. She would pace around the room from time to time. Not getting updates at all seemed to be a bad sign. Not knowing what was going on behind those doors was nerve-wracking.
Getting some news
Finally, a doctor arrived at the waiting room. Isabella stood up and met him at the door because Lily was sleeping. The doctor had downcast and eerie energy around him. Isabella could feel her heart pounding as she expected bad news from his vibe.
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The doctor apologized because the operation took longer than anticipated. He then told her there were a few complications and a crucial decision must be made. Isabella’s hands started to go cold. “You need my permission to do what?” she asked nervously.
A big decision
There was only one thing left that they could try but the operation was still experimental. There was no certainty that John would make it. Lily yelled at her to go for it, startling both Isabella and the doctor. Lily said they should try everything to save her father.
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But this was not an easy decision to make. There were a lot of things that needs to be taken into consideration. For one, why were the standard procedures not working? Perhaps if they know how the accident happened, there would be a better solution.
Finally speaking up
Isabella approached Lily carefully and asked as gently as she could if she can tell the doctor what really happened. She added that this could help save her father. “I know it’s hard but please try your best for your father.”
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Lily really wanted to help her father but she was having trouble processing the horrible moment herself. The doctor told her it was important so he could figure out how to cure her father. Lily then agreed to speak but only to the doctor.
Rushing off
Isabella found the request odd. Why was Lily being secretive? But she had no choice at that point. It was important for the doctors to know the truth and Lily was finally willing to talk. So, she allowed the doctor to talk to Lily alone and left the waiting room.
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Soon, the doctor rushed out of the waiting room. He ran to the operating room without talking or taking a look at Isabella. Isabella entered the waiting room and asked Lily what happened. Lily simply told her that she told the doctor everything.
The wait is over
Isabella told Lily that she was proud of what she did. She still had no clue about what happened but she did not want to put Lily into the pain of going through it for a third time so she did not ask any questions. Isabella decided to wait until the doctor tells her himself.
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An hour had passed when the doctor rushed out of the operating room. “We did it. He’s not conscious yet but the operation is done and he is now in stable condition.” Lily cheered and Isabella let out a sigh of relief.
Give him time to recover
Lily asked the doctor if she can see John. The doctor replied that they will have to wait for John to wake up from the anesthesia. He informed Isabella that John was taken to the recovery room but she and Lily can wait for him in his private room.
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Isabella was so happy and relieved that John was going to be okay that she forgot to ask the doctor what Lily told him. She and Lily went to the private room and she got busy tidying up the place so John would be comfortable.
He had amnesia
When John regained consciousness, he was immediately brought into the private room by the doctor and a nurse. He had bandages around his head and he was hooked to different machines. When he saw Isabella and Lily, he asked who they were.
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Isabella looked at the doctor, confused. She asked if the memory loss was normal. But the doctor looked confused as well. He signaled to her and Lily that they should talk outside the room. Once outside, the doctor admitted to them that the memory loss was unexpected.
He had to stay in the hospital
The doctor explained that it could be because of the concussion or a result of the operation on his head. Lily asked if John’s memory would come back but the doctor said he could not give a certain answer until he was sure what caused it.
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For now, John had to stay in the hospital for observation and further tests. His head injury was not a joke so he might have to stay for at least a few weeks. As a daddy’s girl, Lily was devastated that her own father did not recognize her anymore.
Finding out the truth
Isabella and Lily worked hard to help John remember. Isabella brought photo albums and videos to the hospital to help jog back his memories. In less than a month, John was able to regain his memories slowly. Soon, John was able to go home.
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The doctor was giving Isabella instructions on John’s medicines and home care. It was only then Isabella realized that she still had no idea what happened that fateful day. She finally got to ask the doctor what Lily told him.
It was a snake
The doctor said Lily noticed something moving in the ground but she thought it was just the garden hose John was using. She realized later that it was a snake. She yelled at John to warn him and John slipped because of the soapy water, which caused the head injury.
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When Lily told him about the snake, the doctor immediately checked for bite marks and he found one in his ankle. The reason why John’s organs were shutting down is that the snake was poisonous and there was venom spreading through his bloodstream.
A new start
Now that they knew about the snake bite, they did a blood transfusion and administered antivenom to stop the spreading of the venom. And it turned out that they were just in time. Had the venom spread more, John would probably not be able to make it.
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Isabella shuddered at the thought of John not making it. When John was able to recover fully, they decided to move to another house in a part of town that was further from the desert. And their small family was able to restart their lives in a safer neighborhood.
