Would You by Marthe Jocelyn

Author:Marthe Jocelyn [Jocelyn, Marthe]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 978-1-77049-022-2
Publisher: Tundra
Published: 2008-09-09T04:00:00+00:00

Word I Never Thought I'd Use About Claire

Flabby.

Medical Update

Dr. Hazel is the big star around here. He's more like a TV doctor than geeky Dr. Cooper: dark hair with silver threads, brown eyes that pay attention. The nurses flurry when he's expected or when he's in the corridor, with other doctors trailing.

So when Dad steps into his path today and says, “Hey, I'd like a word with you,” I can see the flank guards ready to drag him down. Mom went to pick up Aunt Jeanie, so she's not here to interfere.

But Dr. Hazel looks at Dad and he stops his sailing doctor-walk and puts on that special face for families. He ushers us quickly away from the nurses' station, into a little office with only one chair. So we stand, too close together. I'm sweating and I keep my arms pressed down, hoping I don't stink.

“Mr. Johnson,” he says. “And?”

“Natalie.”

“Yes, Natalie. I know this is a difficult time for you.”

“What can you tell us, Dr. Hazel?” Dad is fidgety, abrupt.

“We've been watching Claire very carefully,” he says. “And performing ongoing physical examinations. What we'd like to see is a response to any one of several tests that would indicate some cognitive function.”

“And?” says Dad.

It's way too hot in here.

“So far there's nothing.”

Nothing. He said “Nothing.”

“Nothing? But, that doesn't necessarily mean … You can't just say that's it, right? That she's a … a vegetable?” says Dad. “I've been doing some reading about this….”

Dr. Hazel sighs. Not out loud, but his eyes sort of click out of focus, like they're sighing.

“There are plenty of cases,” Dad goes on, “where the medical guys say there's no chance, but the patient somehow wakes up after a prolonged period of time and turns out to be okay. There was this one case I found on the Internet, about a man in Jacksonville, Florida, and he—”

“Dad,” I say.

“His family never gave up,” says Dad. “They talked to him and they prayed and they—”

Dr. Hazel pulls a pen out of the chest pocket of his white coat. He makes a note on his clipboard and then just taps the pen a few times till Dad pauses.

“None of us can discount what seem like miracles,” the doctor says. “But they are very, very rare. The more time that goes by without reaction, the more … the likelihood of recovery diminishes.”

“If she gets transferred to a bigger hospital?” says Dad. “Where they have more equipment?”

“Claire is getting the best possible care right where she is, Mr. Johnson. I promise you that. After surgery there's often a waiting period before we can assess how the body adjusts. We let the sedative subside and keep watching for… some sort of response to stimulation. At this point, we're about, oh, roughly thirty-six hours after surgery?”

“You would know,” says Dad in a voice tight with, I'd say tight with agony.

“Yes,” says Dr. Hazel, glancing at his gold watch. “We'll take a look at Claire again tomorrow morning, and likely schedule an EEG first thing Wednesday.

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