John's Revenge
In Sickness and in Health
*September 20th 1998*
*Billie’s POV*
I sat on the tour bus and waved good-bye to Adrienne, Addy, Joey and Jake. Reprise were getting majorly pissed off with us and told us we had to finish the tour.
Mike was sitting in the corner, speaking to Estelle on the phone. Tré was eating Ben and Jerry’s. I decided to go and eat Ben and Jerry’s with Tré.
After 20 minutes, Mike came over and joined us.
“See, you can’t resist the Ben and Jerry’s,” grinned Tré. “Caramel Chew Chew?”
*Adrienne’s POV*
I walked back inside with the kids. Jakob was an angel. He slept through each and every night and barely ever cried, just stared at us silently with his beautiful green eyes. Well, for the first five days of his life, that is. Recently, he’d been crying in the night, like Joey had.
Addy and Joey looked up at me. “Mommy, when we go to nursey?”
“I’ll take you to nursery in a minute, just let me feed Jake. Go and get your coats and shoes.” They ran off and I tried to feed Jakob. He arched away from me, crying, so I gave up. I went to the hallway and saw Addy and Joey standing there, ready to go.
I put Jakob in his car seat, then I put on his hat and coat. He was still too small for shoes, so I made him wear two pairs of tiny socks. I buckled him into the car and then strapped Addy and Joey in.
I got in and started to drive towards nursery. We were listening to the radio and ‘Good Riddance’ came on.
“Daddy!” shrieked Joey and Addy. They started to sing along and were very upset when the song ended.
I pulled up to nursery. I got Jakob out as the twins clambered out of the car.
“Wait for me!”
They slowed down to stop and waited. They kissed Jakob on the cheek.
“Jakob’s cheek is really hot,” said Addy.
“Yeah,” mumbled Joey, patting Jake on the head. “Bye Jake, bye Mommy.”
“Bye sweetie,” I kissed Joey and Addy goodbye and walked them inside. They ran in, waving and started playing in the sand box.
“Hey Adrienne, is this the new baby?” Celia, one of the nursery workers, came up to me, smiling.
“Yes, this is Jakob.” I smiled proudly.
“Aww, he’s beautiful! He really is.”
“Thank you,” I said, still smiling down at him sleeping.
“When was he born?”
“September 12th at 9:41 pm, weighing nine pounds and ten ounces.”
“Oh, he’s only eight days old. He’s gorgeous!”
“Thank you, I’ve got to go now, the midwife is coming for a check-up.”
“OK, see you later.”
“Bye!” I took Jake out to the car and strapped him in. I touched his cheek. It did feel unusually hot.
It’s probably the hat and coat, making him too warm. I’ll ask the midwife.
I drove home and took him inside. I tried to feed him again, but he wailed, and arched away from me. Ten minutes later, the midwife rang the doorbell and I let her in. While I watched Jake, she got some coffee. She was the same midwife I had had with Joey and Addy, so we knew each other quite well.
Jake was being very quiet, he was barely moving at all. He seemed stiff. When the midwife, Sarah, turned the light on, he winced and started crying, in a high-pitched moan. I shivered. It didn’t sound right. At this, Sarah seemed very concerned.
“Adrienne, what’s wrong with Jakob?”
“I don’t know, he’s not usually like this,” I picked him up. He felt very heavy and stiff, yet his limbs were floppy. He arched away from me. His face was still burning hot.
“Put him on the mat,” said Sarah, leaving the coffee on the table.
I lay him down on the rug. He was quite pale, his head turned away from the light coming in the window. He was burning hot and I could see tiny beads of sweat moving down his face. I took his little hand and held it. It was cold. He looked at me, then he started twitching. His eyes rolled back and I screamed.
“Oh my God!” whispered Sarah. She ran out and grabbed the phone. I noticed I was crying as I picked up Jakob and held him tightly to me. He felt floppy and yet he arched away from me, kicking his legs.
“What is it? Is he OK?”
“Hello, ambulance please.” Sarah reeled off the address. She came back into the living room and put her arm round me. “Don’t worry, the ambulance will be here in twenty minutes. Now, I’m going to go upstairs and get a couple of things for you to take to the hospital, diapers, a change of clothes for Jake, for both of you, just in case.”
I rocked Jakob back and forth, singing lullabies in his ear, tears streaming down my face. Sarah ran back in, holding a damp cloth. She handed it to me.
“Put this on Jakob’s head, it’ll help cool him down, and take off his sweater,” she said, running back out.
Carefully, I lay Jakob back down on the rug. His eyes were closed now and he wasn’t moving. Terrified, I put my head by his chest. I could hear his little heart beating, and feel his breath on my face.
I placed the cloth on his head, every so often moving it around to his cheeks, desperately trying to cool him down. I heard a knock at the door, so I picked Jakob up and, wiping the tears away from my eyes, answered the door. Two paramedics walked in, just as Sarah came downstairs. I held Jakob whilst they looked over him.
“Mrs…” one of the paramedics began.
“Armstrong, Adrienne Armstrong,” I said, looking at Jakob.
“Mrs Armstrong, I’m afraid you and Jakob will have to come with us.”
I got up silently following them out to the ambulance. Sarah passed the female paramedic the bag she had packed, while the male paramedic got in to drive.
“OK, I’m Lauren and that is Mark,” she said as we drove off. “I need to take his temperature.” She got a thermometer out of a First Aid bag. Jakob arched away from her, kicking and whimpered.
As I stroked his head, he calmed and let Lauren place the thermometer in his mouth.
Frowning, Lauren withdrew the thermometer and made a note on a clipboard.
“What, what’s wrong? How is he? What temperature is he? What’s wrong?”
“Mrs Armstrong, I need you to answer a few questions.”
“First you need to answer mine.”
Sighing, Lauren put the thermometer away. Jakob let out a wavering, high-pitched moan and vomited.
Lauren passed me a cloth and I carefully cleaned up Jakob’s face. I noticed he seemed to be hotter. I placed the cloth down and went back to let him hold my finger. His hands felt cold.
I slowly rocked him back and forth. Lauren leant forward.
“Is there anyone I can call for you?”
“Uh, I’ll call my husband and my friend later.”
We pulled up at the hospital. I was led inside and shown to a room. Doctor Rowan, the doctor who had delivered Jakob, came in.
“Adrienne, may I take Jakob? Just to look him over, he won’t leave the room.”
Reluctantly, I passed Jakob to her carefully. She took him and laid him on the bed. She took off his baby-gro. He arched away from her, whimpering and moaning in the same unnatural way he had in the ambulance. She felt his hands and feet, then his face. She took his temperature again. She looked at him closely, then put his baby-gro back on and handed him to me.
I rocked him back and forth as he struggled to get away from me.
“Adrienne, when did you last feed Jakob?” She had a clipboard now and was writing on it.
“This morning, he woke me up at four, crying. I tried to feed him but he wouldn’t feed, so it must have been last night.”
“Have you tried to feed him again?”
“Yes, before I left to drop the twins off at nursery and when I got back home.”
“I take it, he didn’t feed at either of those times?”
“No.”
“Has he been drowsy recently?”
“Yes, but he hasn’t slept well for a few days.”
“Have you noticed any rashes on his body?”
“No, none. What’s wrong with him?”
Doctor Rowan sighed, placing the clipboard down. “Where is your husband?”
“Australia, finishing the tour.”
“Oh.”
There was a pause, then she spoke.
“Jakob’s symptoms point towards meningitis. I’ll need to take a blood sample before I’m sure.”
I noticed that I was crying again, so I wiped the tears away.
“Is it serious?”
“I don’t know. Like I said, I need to take a blood sample. If we’re lucky, we will have caught it early enough to treat Jakob.”
“And if we’re not lucky?” My voice was barely more than a whisper, but I know she heard me. She picked up her clipboard and left the room, muttering about a blood test.
I rocked Jakob back and forth as we sat alone in the room. His eyes rolled back into his head again and he started twitching. I ran out of the room, clutching him and sobbing, begging for help.
Two nurses and a doctor ran in. They put him on the bed and I stood in the corner as they whispered to each other about my son. I couldn’t do this alone. It wasn’t right. Billie Joe should be here.
*Billie’s POV*
I sat on the tour bus and waved good-bye to Adrienne, Addy, Joey and Jake. Reprise were getting majorly pissed off with us and told us we had to finish the tour.
Mike was sitting in the corner, speaking to Estelle on the phone. Tré was eating Ben and Jerry’s. I decided to go and eat Ben and Jerry’s with Tré.
After 20 minutes, Mike came over and joined us.
“See, you can’t resist the Ben and Jerry’s,” grinned Tré. “Caramel Chew Chew?”
*Adrienne’s POV*
I walked back inside with the kids. Jakob was an angel. He slept through each and every night and barely ever cried, just stared at us silently with his beautiful green eyes. Well, for the first five days of his life, that is. Recently, he’d been crying in the night, like Joey had.
Addy and Joey looked up at me. “Mommy, when we go to nursey?”
“I’ll take you to nursery in a minute, just let me feed Jake. Go and get your coats and shoes.” They ran off and I tried to feed Jakob. He arched away from me, crying, so I gave up. I went to the hallway and saw Addy and Joey standing there, ready to go.
I put Jakob in his car seat, then I put on his hat and coat. He was still too small for shoes, so I made him wear two pairs of tiny socks. I buckled him into the car and then strapped Addy and Joey in.
I got in and started to drive towards nursery. We were listening to the radio and ‘Good Riddance’ came on.
“Daddy!” shrieked Joey and Addy. They started to sing along and were very upset when the song ended.
I pulled up to nursery. I got Jakob out as the twins clambered out of the car.
“Wait for me!”
They slowed down to stop and waited. They kissed Jakob on the cheek.
“Jakob’s cheek is really hot,” said Addy.
“Yeah,” mumbled Joey, patting Jake on the head. “Bye Jake, bye Mommy.”
“Bye sweetie,” I kissed Joey and Addy goodbye and walked them inside. They ran in, waving and started playing in the sand box.
“Hey Adrienne, is this the new baby?” Celia, one of the nursery workers, came up to me, smiling.
“Yes, this is Jakob.” I smiled proudly.
“Aww, he’s beautiful! He really is.”
“Thank you,” I said, still smiling down at him sleeping.
“When was he born?”
“September 12th at 9:41 pm, weighing nine pounds and ten ounces.”
“Oh, he’s only eight days old. He’s gorgeous!”
“Thank you, I’ve got to go now, the midwife is coming for a check-up.”
“OK, see you later.”
“Bye!” I took Jake out to the car and strapped him in. I touched his cheek. It did feel unusually hot.
It’s probably the hat and coat, making him too warm. I’ll ask the midwife.
I drove home and took him inside. I tried to feed him again, but he wailed, and arched away from me. Ten minutes later, the midwife rang the doorbell and I let her in. While I watched Jake, she got some coffee. She was the same midwife I had had with Joey and Addy, so we knew each other quite well.
Jake was being very quiet, he was barely moving at all. He seemed stiff. When the midwife, Sarah, turned the light on, he winced and started crying, in a high-pitched moan. I shivered. It didn’t sound right. At this, Sarah seemed very concerned.
“Adrienne, what’s wrong with Jakob?”
“I don’t know, he’s not usually like this,” I picked him up. He felt very heavy and stiff, yet his limbs were floppy. He arched away from me. His face was still burning hot.
“Put him on the mat,” said Sarah, leaving the coffee on the table.
I lay him down on the rug. He was quite pale, his head turned away from the light coming in the window. He was burning hot and I could see tiny beads of sweat moving down his face. I took his little hand and held it. It was cold. He looked at me, then he started twitching. His eyes rolled back and I screamed.
“Oh my God!” whispered Sarah. She ran out and grabbed the phone. I noticed I was crying as I picked up Jakob and held him tightly to me. He felt floppy and yet he arched away from me, kicking his legs.
“What is it? Is he OK?”
“Hello, ambulance please.” Sarah reeled off the address. She came back into the living room and put her arm round me. “Don’t worry, the ambulance will be here in twenty minutes. Now, I’m going to go upstairs and get a couple of things for you to take to the hospital, diapers, a change of clothes for Jake, for both of you, just in case.”
I rocked Jakob back and forth, singing lullabies in his ear, tears streaming down my face. Sarah ran back in, holding a damp cloth. She handed it to me.
“Put this on Jakob’s head, it’ll help cool him down, and take off his sweater,” she said, running back out.
Carefully, I lay Jakob back down on the rug. His eyes were closed now and he wasn’t moving. Terrified, I put my head by his chest. I could hear his little heart beating, and feel his breath on my face.
I placed the cloth on his head, every so often moving it around to his cheeks, desperately trying to cool him down. I heard a knock at the door, so I picked Jakob up and, wiping the tears away from my eyes, answered the door. Two paramedics walked in, just as Sarah came downstairs. I held Jakob whilst they looked over him.
“Mrs…” one of the paramedics began.
“Armstrong, Adrienne Armstrong,” I said, looking at Jakob.
“Mrs Armstrong, I’m afraid you and Jakob will have to come with us.”
I got up silently following them out to the ambulance. Sarah passed the female paramedic the bag she had packed, while the male paramedic got in to drive.
“OK, I’m Lauren and that is Mark,” she said as we drove off. “I need to take his temperature.” She got a thermometer out of a First Aid bag. Jakob arched away from her, kicking and whimpered.
As I stroked his head, he calmed and let Lauren place the thermometer in his mouth.
Frowning, Lauren withdrew the thermometer and made a note on a clipboard.
“What, what’s wrong? How is he? What temperature is he? What’s wrong?”
“Mrs Armstrong, I need you to answer a few questions.”
“First you need to answer mine.”
Sighing, Lauren put the thermometer away. Jakob let out a wavering, high-pitched moan and vomited.
Lauren passed me a cloth and I carefully cleaned up Jakob’s face. I noticed he seemed to be hotter. I placed the cloth down and went back to let him hold my finger. His hands felt cold.
I slowly rocked him back and forth. Lauren leant forward.
“Is there anyone I can call for you?”
“Uh, I’ll call my husband and my friend later.”
We pulled up at the hospital. I was led inside and shown to a room. Doctor Rowan, the doctor who had delivered Jakob, came in.
“Adrienne, may I take Jakob? Just to look him over, he won’t leave the room.”
Reluctantly, I passed Jakob to her carefully. She took him and laid him on the bed. She took off his baby-gro. He arched away from her, whimpering and moaning in the same unnatural way he had in the ambulance. She felt his hands and feet, then his face. She took his temperature again. She looked at him closely, then put his baby-gro back on and handed him to me.
I rocked him back and forth as he struggled to get away from me.
“Adrienne, when did you last feed Jakob?” She had a clipboard now and was writing on it.
“This morning, he woke me up at four, crying. I tried to feed him but he wouldn’t feed, so it must have been last night.”
“Have you tried to feed him again?”
“Yes, before I left to drop the twins off at nursery and when I got back home.”
“I take it, he didn’t feed at either of those times?”
“No.”
“Has he been drowsy recently?”
“Yes, but he hasn’t slept well for a few days.”
“Have you noticed any rashes on his body?”
“No, none. What’s wrong with him?”
Doctor Rowan sighed, placing the clipboard down. “Where is your husband?”
“Australia, finishing the tour.”
“Oh.”
There was a pause, then she spoke.
“Jakob’s symptoms point towards meningitis. I’ll need to take a blood sample before I’m sure.”
I noticed that I was crying again, so I wiped the tears away.
“Is it serious?”
“I don’t know. Like I said, I need to take a blood sample. If we’re lucky, we will have caught it early enough to treat Jakob.”
“And if we’re not lucky?” My voice was barely more than a whisper, but I know she heard me. She picked up her clipboard and left the room, muttering about a blood test.
I rocked Jakob back and forth as we sat alone in the room. His eyes rolled back into his head again and he started twitching. I ran out of the room, clutching him and sobbing, begging for help.
Two nurses and a doctor ran in. They put him on the bed and I stood in the corner as they whispered to each other about my son. I couldn’t do this alone. It wasn’t right. Billie Joe should be here.