Grandchild

"e;Mom!"e; Karen interrupted. "e;Look! It's raining and it's going to be really loud and scary! You know I'm afraid of thunder and lightening. I don't want to go to the hospital to see Grandma. I want to go home!"e;While having to visit--yet again 'the patient in Bed A,' eleven-year-old Karen Clark finally manages to temporarily 'escape' the hospital room with permission from her mother to get a drink of water. "e;Besides."e; Karen thought to herself. "e;The slower I walk the longer I can be gone. . . and I won't have to hear that stupid storm or see Grandma."e; Karen and her IMAGINATION briefly enjoy her 'freedom' from Room 426 by imagining using hospital equipment to race up and down the hallway. The fun ends when a nurses' face suddenly changes into Karen's Grandmother's angry face with scolding words. "e;You stop this foolishness this instant!"e; Her Grandmother clapped her hands forcefully when she shouted the word 'instant'. The powerful handclap coincided with an actual clap of thunder that caused a startled Karen to collide into a girl at the water fountain, who ultimately changes Karen's life forever.