His body shivered as he emerged from the water, he had little to no control of his body as he was pulled from the swimming pool.
He could see worry written all over his coach’s face and the crowd. He felt a sharp pain on his right knee and he could barely hear what the people around him were saying. The last scene he could recall was that of his mother calling his name and running towards him.
Jeff woke up in the hospital bed with casts on his head, chest and right leg. He turned and saw his mother sitting by his side, she was fast asleep.
“Mum.“
“Oh…My boy, are you okay? Do you need me to call the doctor?”
“Mum, I’m fine. Where am I?”
“You are in St. Anthony Hospital.”
It all now came back to him, how he was pushing himself harder and harder to beat his personal best record which was the school’s best swimming record. He knew that if he had any chance of making it in the tournament he has to do better. He remembered getting close to the edge and then because he was too fast he crashed into the board, head first and then his body. Tears rolled down his eyes as he saw the cast on his right leg staring back at him.
The doctor came in. “Great, you are awake. So you are quite luck, the hit to your head wasn’t severe. You suffered a mild concussion but we still have to keep you for some days to monitor you. And you also suffered a broken ankle and some cracked ribs. So even when you are finally discharged you will take at least two months to heal properly.”
The doctor pat his mother on the shoulder and quietly walked out.
Jeff began rehabilitation after a month and half. It took more from Jeff than expected, it was a painful process, but his mother was always around the corner to cheer him on. She was his Pilar of support, drove him to the hospital for check ups, drove him to the gym and always encouraged him not to give up alongside his persistent coach.
The school had a replacement in his stead in the case Jeff couldn’t make it for the finals. But to the joy and amazement of the school Jeff was on point for his return before the finals.
It was a day before the finals and Jeff was already in the car waiting for his mum to take him to the gym when he saw her walking towards the car slowly and suddenly collapsed. Jeff quickly dialled 911 and after some few minutes she was taken to the hospital.
After spending some hours in the hospital, the doctor came and informed Jeff that his mother had appendicitis and is up for surgery so as to remove it.
“Can I see her before she goes into surgery?”
“Of course you can, but you have to be brief.”
Jeff looked at his mother who had supported him through his rehabilitation and knew he has to be there for her now as he is the only living family member she has. She was fast asleep. He bent down and kissed her on the forehead and whispered some prayers.
He wiped is eyes dry as he walked out of the room and his mother was wheeled off for surgery.
Jeff woke up to the sound of the alarm on his wrist watch. It was 6am, he quickly approached a kind nurse and asked after the well-being of his mother. “Yes, she’s out of surgery and the surgery was successful. She’s asleep now.” Jeff thanked the nurse and left a note for his mother when she wakes up.
The drums were loud, the cheerleaders performed energetically and the hall was packed. Jeff could see his class mates and school members rooting for him. He looked from side to side and saw his opponents, they all looked ready. Some he had heard of and some he hasn’t but he knew this was his moment. He looked into the eyes of his coach who was all smiles and gave him a thumbs up. He stretched his body and moved forward following the prompt of the referee alongside his opponents from other schools.
A look at the water made him a little dizzy as he remembered crashing into the board and breaking some bones in the process. He quickly squat, took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He look at the seat were his mother usually sat down but it was empty. He felt a sharp pain in his heart. He stood up after he had caught his breath and said, “this is for you mum.”
They all dove into the water after the blast of the whistle from the referee. Jeff remembered the words of his coach every time he came up for air that he should focus on himself. He swung his arms, twist, flapped and pushed himself like he had never before. He was really motivated. He could hear the screams coming from the fans cheering for them. They had made a couple of turns and the all to familiar sound made him to know that they were now in the final lap. He pushed himself the more and worked on his strokes as he moved closer to the finish line. For a moment he slowed down as the memory of the incident flooded his mind but he quickly pushed it off and got to the finish line. When he came outside of the water he could hear the people shouting his name.
After a brief deliberation amongst the judges the results was released. It was a tie, Jeff and the former champion, Derek tied. But there could be only one winner. The judges checked the computer and went into further deliberation. Jeff was already beating himself up for slowing down the pace before touching the line. All of a sudden he could hear his mother calling out his name. He followed the sound of her voice and saw her in a wheelchair with the assistance of the nurse he met earlier. He couldn’t stop smiling as rushed over to her side and hugged her. “You made it.”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world, You did great. I’m proud of you regardless of what the result might say.”
The judges finally came to a conclusion. The crowd were eagerly awaiting the results. One of the judge picked up the mic and said after a careful deliberation and analysis of the result we came to the conclusion that Jeff came first by a second, base on the length of his arm. The whole crowd went into a frenzy as they celebrated the winner. Jeff couldn’t believe it, Derek shook his hands and congratulated him on the victory. His coach and some school members picked him up and began to haul him into the air.
Their medals and trophies were presented to them shortly after the celebration subsided.
Jeff rushed over to where his mother was, took off the medal from his neck and placed it around his mother’s neck. They both hugged each other tightly as cameras continued to click all around them.
“Thank, you mum for believing in me.” They both laughed and cried at the same time.