Positively Alex

Rain poured from the clouds as though a thousand water hoses had been left on. Water filled the ground and began to manifest puddles where the land could not absorb anymore. Alex sat in front of the door watching his playground grow. Oh, how he loved to splash in the puddles.

“Grams?” Excitement consumed him.

“Alex?” she replied coyly.

“Grams…..please.” his eyes were full and eager to bust through the door. There was nothing like running in the rain and splashing in the water. No trips to the park, zoo, or even camp compared to being able to play in the rain.

“Go.” She said. “But don’t get wet.” She laughed.

“Grams…really.” Alex bolted out the door and into the downpour. Cynthia moved from her chair to the covered porch to watch her grandson.

The front yard was no longer a lush green field of growing Kentucky bluegrass; now it was the largest slip-and-slide in the neighborhood. The slope between the yard and the sidewalk created the ultimate fishing hole. Alex was holding a stick in his hand and reeling with his other…. “Grams….I caught a whale.” Jumping up and down, Alex reeled and reeled. Cynthia smiled and enjoyed the show.

“Mom. Where are you?”

“Out here, honey. Come to the front porch. Your son has caught a whale.”

Through the door, Toni looked out into the yard and saw her son fighting the fishing pole to pull in his whale. “Give it some slack, Alex, then reel. Remember a little slack, then pull. You got this, bud.”

“Thanks, Mom. Yeah….that worked. Imma gonna get him this time.”

“Mom. Really. You let him fish for whales in this storm?” Toni rolled her eyes at her mother.

“Look, we could be making and eating cookies and watching who knows what on the television. He wants to fish for whales in the ditch during a rainstorm. I love it. Reminds me of you and climbing trees. There was not a tree in the area that did not have your conquering tag on it.”

Laughing, “Yeah…except Mrs. Morrison’s oak tree. That woman would not let me near that monster while she was alive. Maybe I should go try and climb it now?”

“For sure. Would you like me to go ahead and call the ambulance for standby?”

“Mother!”

“Just saying.”

“I GOT HIM. I GOT HIM. MOM.GRAMS. I GOT HIM. LOOK AT HOW BIG HE IS.” Alex stood grinning ear to ear and leaning up against his caught whale from the drainage ditch.

Applause and whistles were shouted from the porch.

“Let me get your picture, and we can put it in your scrapbook.” Toni pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of her son’s magnificent catch.

Off to his next adventure, Alex took off running. Splashing and singing. “Rain Rain don’t go away. I want you to stay so I can play.”

Toni and Cynthia set under the protection of the porch roof and watched as Alex played game after game after game. He swam the Atlantic Ocean, explored the caves of Drisdol (wherever that is), discovered the water world planet of Wet, and do not forget the whale that he caught first off. Galloping through the yard and creating title waves of tsunami proportions, Alex embraced the rain with one adventure after another.

“Mom,” Toni began. “You know this is bad, right?’

“What? Allowing a boy to play in the rain?”

“You know what I mean. Alex should be inside. Out here he could get sick.”

“You mean worse than he is now?” Cynthia did not even make eye contact. She remained focused on her grandson. “Toni, the doctors have told us that he only has a little time left. I am not about to make it miserable for him. Or me. It is hard enough.”

“I know, Mom. I know. I know.”

The two women sat on the porch as Alex frolicked through the yard in childish playfulness. His energy, strength, and vigor to tackle each new adventure made it extremely difficult to see the illness that was killing him. He knew that he was sick but did not care. All he cared about was slaying the next dragon and storming the castle of King Garden Gnome.

“Do you think he will get tired anytime soon?” Toni chuckled.

“Not likely. He was super stoked when the weather man said it was going to rain today. He has been lying in wait at the front door for his downpour. I figure we will find him asleep under a tree when he finally runs out of steam.”

CRACK. BOOM. Thunder and lightning exploded through the sky. Alex came running up to the porch. “Guess I can’t play no more, huh?”

“No, sir. But you will need to wait right here while I prepare my front area inside the door for your soggy behind.” Cynthia laughed.

Alex smiled and looked at his mom. “I had fun today, Mom. I love the rain.”

“I know. I could see you having fun. It makes me very happy to see you having this much fun.”

“Mom, can I ask you a question before Grams gets back?”

“Of course.”

“Am I going to die?”

Toni was stopped in her tracks. She did not realize that he was aware of his condition. “What do you mean? Are you going to die?”

Cynthia stopped and hid behind the door. She wanted to hear the conversation without being a part of it. How did Alex figure out his condition?

“Mom. I watch enough TV to know that when grown-ups start whispering or stop talking when kids come into the room, there is something wrong. I have been watching you and Grams for the last week. Since my doctor visit with Dr. Skoll, his face was not happy. It was sad. Your eyes changed and …” He paused, “Grams, well, she is giving longer and more hugs. Not that I mind, but sometimes they are very tight.”

Cynthia began to cry quietly.

Toni looked into his eyes; there was no pain, no sorrow, only questions. “Yes. You are very sick. There is nothing the doctors can do. They told us that you were going to die. But I don’t want you to be scared. That is why I did not tell you.” Her voice was sturdy, but sincere. “I should have known that I could not keep it a secret. You are always way smarter than I am. Except in math. You suck at math.” She laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

“Mom. I am 8. Of course I suck at math. You are old.”

“Listen here, little man.” Toni poked at his forehead, and the two started playfighting.

Cynthia composed herself and came to the front door. “Alright, I got one thick blanket and 14 gazillion towels to get you from the front porch to the bathroom where you can get in the shower and get cleaned up, then dressed. Try not to leave a trail of clothes through the house this time. Haha.”

“Grams. You’re funny. I was only going to toss my underwear back out of the bathroom to see if they would land on the ceiling fan.”

“That figures.”

Alex sprinted down the hallway of towels dripping all the way to the bathroom. “See, barely any water anywhere. I am fast…for a dead man.” He smiled his huge toothy smile and closed the door before he could get in trouble. Toni and Cynthia looked at each other and shook their heads.

“He knows, Mom.”

“I know. I heard you two.”

“How, I have no idea. But it does not seem to bother him.”

“It’s Alex. I swear that kid has X-ray vision and hearing.”

“I agree.”

“What are we going to do?”

“Nothing. He knows. He don’t care. I am going to let him live the best life he can. I am going to keep the rules and boundaries in place, but we are going to have fun.”

“Good. I like fun.”

“FUN! Did someone say fun?” Alex popped out of the bathroom stark naked, shaking his butt back and forth, laughing hysterically.

“Alex Thomas Potter! Stop that and get dressed. I know I created it, but I don’t want to see it now.” Toni was trying to be firm but was enjoying her son’s youthfulness.

After dinner, the three sat on the couch and watched old episodes of various shows. All of which they had already seen a million times, so if they got to talking, they would not miss anything that they could not catch up on. Alex fell asleep on Cynthia’s lap. He had not done that since he was a little, little boy. It was almost like God was telling her to enjoy this time. Toni took out her camera and snapped the memory.

“Mom, do you want me to put him to bed?”

“No. I am going to embrace this moment. Tomorrow he is likely to not to want to even hug. I will take this and I will probably sleep right here. I will pay for it in the morning, but it will be worth it.”

“Alright, I am going to go on to bed. I need to pray and get some sleep. Who knows what adventures tomorrow will bring.”

“Good night.”

***

“TONI!!!!!!!! TONI….COME HERE …. IT’S ALEX.”

“911 what is your emergency.”

“My grandson is not breathing. I live at 1913 Iroquois Trail. My daughter I doing CPR now. Please hurry.”

“Ma’am. I have a unit on the way there now. Continue doing CPR.”

“FIRE DEPARTMENT.”

“In here!”

“Ma’am, can you tell me what happened?”

“We were asleep on the couch. I woke up, and he was not breathing. God, help my grandson. Do not let him die.”

“Ma’am. I will take over. Let me in.”

“Ma’am. Please, let me save your son.”

Toni reluctantly moved out of the way and watched helplessly as the first responder evaluated and began CPR. Next came a team of paramedics. Quickly, they got Alex on the gurney and out the door. Toni and Cynthia followed closely behind.

At the hospital, they could hear them working on Alex, and he was not responding. Tears flowed and gasps for air became the norm. Tina, a trauma nurse, collected them and escorted them to another room where they could be alone until there was something to know. She offered some oxygen to help Cynthia, which she declined, and begged that they save her grandson.

“Mom.” Toni cried. “Did we do this? By letting him play outside today?” Deep, uncontrolled sobs controlled her words.

“No. NO. We let him be a little boy. That is all we did. We did not make him sick.” Cynthia spoke firmly and confidently, though every ounce of her insides was crawling with guilt.

What seemed to be an eternity passed when the door opened. Looking up from their prayer state, their eyes eager with hope though their hearts were fearful of dread.

“Mrs. Potter? I am Dr. Stines. Your son had a seizure which caused his brain to forget to tell his heart to pump. That is the bad part. The good part is that you found him in time, we got to him in time and it appears that he is stable. We are going to keep him for a few days and run a few tests, but right now, he is fine.”

The two women gasped with relief.

“Can we see him?” Cynthia pleaded.

“He is being moved to a room upstairs. As soon as he is settled in, I will have the nurse come and get you.”

“Thank you, doctor.” Toni muffled out between grateful sobs.

“Mom, he is okay.”

“Yes, dear. God is good.”

When the nurse came to get them, they had fallen asleep from exhaustion. Her voice startled them, and Cynthia fell to the floor. “Mom? Are you alright?” Cynthia looked at Toni and laughed, “Did I bounce?” Shaking her head, Toni replied, “No, Mom. You went splat.” With the help of the nurse, Toni was able to help Cynthia up from the floor, and they were escorted to Alex’s room.

“Mom. Grams. HI.” Alex was sitting up in the bed, and his color was good.”

The two ladies were confused. The doctor said he was stable, not talking. Stable means they saved his life; talking is ….

“Mom, did I misunderstand the doctor?”

“If you did, I did. I am just as confused.”

“What’s wrong with you two?”

“Honey, you had a seizure and quit breathing. We had to call an ambulance.”

Alex interrupted, “yeah I know. I was watching It was cool to see them work on me.”

Cynthia and Toni looked at each other and then Alex.

“I have to tell you something,” Alex said with a smile.

They moved closer, still in disbelief of what they were witnessing. None of this made any sense to them.

“I am not going to die. Well. At least not right away. I am going to get better.”

“Alex?” Toni started.

“Mom. I am going to be alright. When I quit breathing, I saw Jesus. He told me that he loved my playful spirit in the rain and that he wanted me to stay here and teach others how to have fun. Even you and Grams.”

“Mom?”

“Toni?”

“Just wait and see. The doctor wants to run all kinds of tests and things, but they are going to find out that I am not sick anymore. It’s okay. But I am tired. All that playing today made me tired. And while they were working on me, Jesus and I played tag. That was really fun. Good night.” Alex laid down and fell fast asleep.

Each lady gave him a kiss and walked into the hallway. Exhaustion and confusion covered their face.

“Mom, I don’t understand. Is this possible? Is he cured from playing in the rain?”

“Um. I don’t know. I mean if Jesus wants to heal him, he certainly can. I have never heard of someone being healed by catching a whale with a stick, slaying a dragon or storming the castle of a garden gnome. But hey … I am believing that he is healed.”

***

Cynthia and Toni arrived early at the hospital. Alex had been taken for a battery of tests and scans. They tried to pry information from the nursing staff, but they were not talking … at least not to them. However, Toni overheard one whispering about how this was not possible. After a few hours of tests and scans, Alex was back in his room and eating lunch.

“Hey, honey. How are you feeling?”

“Like this.” And pranced his fingers over the top of his lunch tray.

“Well, you certainly look a lot better than when you were lying on my floor,” Cynthia said.

“Yeah. Sorry about that, Grams. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s okay, kiddo. But don’t do it again, alright. Grams has an old heart and that really hurt.”

“No promises. You know I still have my teenage years and young adult years to give you another heart attack.”

“Mrs. Potter.” A voice came from the doorway. “I am Dr. Links. I work with Dr. Skoll.”

“Hi doctor. What is going on?”

“Well, if that is not the million-dollar question of the night.” He began. “Alex had a seizure last night, and his heart stopped. This we know and is indisputable. Now, what we cannot figure out is that all the tests, bloodwork, scans … all of it … we cannot find the condition that we said would kill him. There is no sign of it anywhere. He is completely healthy.”

Cynthia collapsed to the floor in joyful sobs. Whispers of adoration and thankfulness were all she could say. Toni stood in shock hanging on every word. When the doctor finished, she said, “He is not going to die?”

“No. He is not going to die. He is going home.”

“See, I told you, Mom. Jesus healed me.”

Toni turned to Alex and witnessed a glow that was not there before. A radiance that was perfect as could be. A peace that she wanted more than anything. Her little boy was going to live. It was a miracle.

***

News spread throughout the town about how Alex had become healthy, though many knew of his condition. As the word spread, they were swarmed with questions about how. All Toni and Cynthia could tell them was Jesus saved Alex. However, Alex took great pleasure in telling about his adventure in the rainstorm and that because he played in the rain, Jesus wanted him to teach others how to play again and quit being so boring.

The next big rainstorm that hit, Cynthia and Toni watched from the porch as Alex went on another adventure, but this time, throughout the neighborhood, you could hear the joyful noise of children … young and old … slaying dragons and fishing for whales.