Mr. Johnson insisted on staying at the entrance of the ICU even though he was told to stay at the reception. He had to rush to the hospital from work after he got the call from Stephanie's school and none of what the teachers said made any sense to him.
He kept asking, "How could she just slump while playing at school?".
He lost his wife to illness a few years ago and he has taken up the responsibility of their daughter since then.
Mr. Johnson vowed to his wife before her death that he wouldn't share the love he had for his family with anyone else and he never broke the promise.
He remained a single father even after 8 years, it was pretty difficult for him as he went on taking parental classes so he could be both a father and mother for Stephanie. Combining work with being there for her was quite challenging but every time he looks at her, he feels like the happiest man in the world.
The longer the doctors stayed in the ICU, the scarier Mr. Johnson was. He was trembling as he paced around in front of the ICU. Some nurses who saw him tried to calm him down and at a point, he broke into tears. He fell on his knee and started praying to God to save his daughter.
About 35 minutes later, one of the doctors came out to meet Mr. Johnson and they went to his office.
"What's going on doctor", Mr. Johnson asked with a shaky voice and the doctor explained how she was rushed in almost lifeless.
"Her breath was faint and we tried everything possible to bring her back to life", Mr. Johnson interrupted the doctor.
"So what happened", he asked with tears in his eyes.
"You really need to take things easy sir, she is fine but we need to allow her to sleep for a few hours", the doctor concluded.
It was a mixed feeling for Mr. Johnson as he was happy that nothing happened to his daughter. He couldn't help but shed tears as he returned to the waiting room.
He was there till evening and the nurses told him that Stephanie was awake so he could check on her.
Mr. Johnson rushed to the ICU and was excited to see his daughter but the excitement ended when she asked, "who are you, sir?" as he tried holding her.
He turned around to see if there was anyone else in the ICU but nobody was there. It baffled him why she struggled to put words together and it seems she couldn't recognize him.
"It's papa, don't you remember me?", he asked while holding her hand.
Stephanie only stared at him and gave no response. He tried talking to her but she wouldn't say anything.
He rushed to the doctor's office and when they confirmed it, they began to run a series of tests on her.
"This can't be, this mustn't happen", Mr. Johnson couldn't stop talking to himself while sitting in the doctor's office.
The doctor walked in with different papers and Mr. Johnson's heart was pounding since he didn't know what was happening.
"Mr. Johnson, I am sorry to break this news to you", the doctor paused as he checked the last file he was holding.
He continued, " these results show that Stephanie developed amnesia when she slumped, it is surprising because she did not sustain any head injury. For now, she can't remember anything but she will soon because only a small part of her brain was affected".
Mr. Johnson felt sad, and thinking about Stephanie's condition broke his heart.
She was discharged a few days later and he started doing everything possible to help her regain her memories. Returning to school didn't help her condition and staying around her always affected his time at work as well.
Every night, Mr. Johnson would cry and wished his wife was alive to help him through the difficulty he was having with Stephanie. The burden was becoming too much for him to bear, her condition was affecting him mentally.
Weeks passed, months passed but she wouldn't still remember anything.
They went to the hospital from time to time and the doctors didn't stop assuring him that she will get better.
Stephanie was learning new things but wouldn't just regain old memories and Mr. Johnson just had faith that one-day things would return to normal.
Stephanie's birthday was approaching and her dad started preparing. They usually have a big party on the 25th of December since she was born on the 24th of December.
"You will be 15 years of age in a few days and your mother would have been the happiest woman in the world if she was alive today", Mr. Johnson started a conversation while preparing dinner.
Stephanie stared at him as tears dropped from his eyes. She could feel his sadness and went to console him but her memories remained blank.
The next day, he took her out to get some groceries, and while in the store, Stephanie asked if they could get a Christmas light since she was seeing them everywhere.
"We have a lot of it in the basement, we will even set up our Christmas tree when we get home", Mr. Johnson replied as he patted her on the back.
On getting home, Mr. Johnson went to the basement and brought several cartons out. They started opening them and before they knew it, a huge Christmas tree was in the center of the living room.
Stephanie was excited and Mr. Johnson gave her the lights to hang on the tree. She gladly did it and was smiling, it was a fun task for her.
There were some toys in one of the cartons and she picked out one. It was a fairy so she asked if should keep it can keep it.
Mr. Johnson laughed and told her everything in the box belonged to her. She was surprised that she had so many toys and her dad told her how her mother loves buying toys before she died.
He continued, "You don't seem to like them anymore so I put everything in a box and had the intention of giving out some. That fairy was your favorite, it can be attached to the Christmas light and you do enjoy watching the wings flap when the light comes on".
"Can it fly?", Stephanie asked and he nodded signifying no.
"Let me show you how it works", he took the fairy from her and plug a small cable connecting it to the Christmas light.
Immediately he turned the light on, the fairy wings flapped very fast.
It was sudden and Stephanie wasn't expecting it, the buzzing sound from the fairy wing seems to have affected her and she fell to the ground.
Mr. Johnson was scared and he quickly carried her. He was about to put her in the vehicle when she opened her eye.
"What's wrong with you", he asked and she replied, "nothing papa".
The response sounded like Stephanie's before she had amnesia but he wasn't convinced enough.
"I had a flash when the wings flapped and I felt dizzy", she added.
Mr. Johnson insisted they went to the hospital and immediately he drove out of the compound, he met the mother of her deceased wife also approaching the gate with luggage.
He was surprised to see her, he quickly turned off the car engine so that he would help with the luggage, and to his surprise, Stephanie got off the car first screaming grandma.
Mr. Johnson paused for a few seconds and said to himself, "it looks like the fairy did magic".
He alighted from the car and went to join them while exchanging pleasantries.
Grandma said she didn't inform him because she wanted to surprise them.
They all went to the hospital together and the doctor said Stephanie was gradually regaining her memories. It was the best news Mr. Johnson has heard in the past 8 months since the issue started.
Stephanie's birthday celebration happened and it was huge. Friends and families turned out in large numbers to celebrate with them on Christmas.
After the party, Mr. Johnson placed the toy fairy in Stephanie's room and said to it, "My dear wife, I know you are in there. Please always watch over our daughter, I miss you".