Navy SEAL Dad by Metsy Hingle

Author:Metsy Hingle
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Silhouette
Published: 2002-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

Six

“Well, Commander, the tests came back pretty much as expected,” Captain Hayes, the doctor at the naval hospital informed him. He pointed to the X rays. “The damage from the explosion was limited primarily to the right eardrum. The hearing loss here is the most extensive, nearly 60 percent. The left ear, however, appears to be fine.”

“So what’s the next step?” Mac asked.

“As I explained when we spoke the last time, it’s a relatively simple procedure. We’d have to do some preadmit measures, but you’d virtually be able to come in on the morning of the surgery. I’d use a local anesthetic, perform the surgery, and after a short stay in recovery, we’d send you home. You would need someone to drive you, since your equilibrium will be affected for a day or two.”

“How long before we would know if the surgery worked?”

The older man removed his glasses and polished them with his handkerchief. “It’s hard to give you an exact date. But usually there should be some evidence of improvement inside of a few days.” He put the glasses back on and met Mac’s gaze evenly. “I’d want you to come back in a week and let me administer some tests to see if there’s been any improvement.”

“And if there hasn’t?”

Captain Hayes sat back in his chair. “Then there’s nothing we can do, unless you’re interested in being fitted for a hearing aid.”

“I’m not,” Mac said.

“No, you indicated when you first came in that it wouldn’t be an alternative.”

And it wasn’t. Not as far as Mac was concerned. The way he saw it, he couldn’t remain a SEAL without the surgery. And even then the surgery would have to be successful. But the truth was, his remaining a SEAL was no longer an option. Despite Rachel’s refusal to marry him, he was sure he was making headway. And he had no intention of giving up this battle until Rachel was his wife. That meant keeping his promise to Rachel and resigning his commission. Just the thought of doing so still left an icy knot in his gut—but it was one he would learn to live with. He wasn’t the selfish bastard his father had been. He refused to pursue a livelihood that would cause Rachel to shed tears as his mother had, that would risk leaving P.J. to grow up without a father. Even now he could remember that awful sound of his mother weeping at night, of his brothers never sharing those special moments a father shares with his son. He would be there for Rachel. He would be there to teach P.J. how to throw a baseball, how to swim.

“Commander?”

“Sorry, sir,” Mac said and dragged his thoughts back to the present. “You were saying?”

“As I explained earlier, this surgery is not without risks. There’s a chance that the procedure will fail. If it does, you may find your hearing unchanged or you may find it diminished further.”

“I understand, sir. And I’m prepared to go through with the surgery.

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