Chasing Time by Thomas Reilly

Author:Thomas Reilly
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: best plot twist books, best inspirational fiction, suspenseful books, heartwarming books, magical realism fiction, best medical suspense book, book series
Publisher: BDHorizons, LLC
Published: 2023-04-04T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Following his deplaning in Philadelphia and drive home to Wilmington, Tony entered his living room and observed Andrew sitting on the sofa and reading a magazine. “How is your mother?” he asked anxiously.

“It’s been so quiet, dad. Mom has hardly uttered a single word, and she never even stirred from her bed all afternoon. She has no energy at all. I hate to be morbid, but I think we all better start preparing for the end. Perhaps you should just plan on staying home from now on.”

“I don’t have any more travel plans. Why don’t you get back to Mary and the kids now? Thanks again for coming over.”

They hugged each other, and Tony bid his son goodbye. He then entered the family room, where Ann was lying in her bed. “Are you awake?”

She struggled to turn her head to face him and stammered in return, “Yes, how was your trip?”

Tony spent the next several minutes describing his meeting to Ann, who listened quietly with a curious expression on her face. When finished, Tony exclaimed, “Your suggestion to focus on the key was a smart one, and it led me to uncover this new information about the Roman olive oil merchant. It’s amazing how similar our stories are, and the key is the common link. However, now it seems like a dead-end trail. I don’t have any more clues to pursue. I’m so sorry.”

Ann struggled to sit up in her bed and started speaking in her faltering voice. “You did everything you could; don’t ever forget that. Perhaps the key doesn’t want to be found just yet. I still believe that if it’s meant to get a message to us, it will find a way to do so.”

With her energy sapped just from the mere act of talking, she sunk back into her bed. Tony watched her forlornly as he contemplated her words. She’s probably right, he thought; it seems out of our hands now. While he reluctantly agreed with her reasoning, it didn’t alleviate the feelings of disappointment and sadness at his failure to help his wife with her torturous disease.

The following Monday, Tony drove Ann to Dr. Gladstone’s office for her latest appointment with the neurologist. Dr. Gladstone took this opportunity to explain additional details on the progression of ALS and where Ann stood on this spectrum.

“Early-stage ALS, which Ann has already experienced, is characterized by muscle weakness, usually in the hands, arms and legs. During the middle stage of ALS, muscle weakness spreads to other parts of the body. Patients develop problems with walking, swallowing, and speaking, although they generally maintain their mental and reasoning abilities. As ALS advances to the late stage, most voluntary muscles become paralyzed. During this stage, eating and drinking usually require a feeding tube, and breathing is assisted with a ventilator. Ann’s disease has progressed much more rapidly than I had hoped since the initial diagnosis several months ago.”

Turning to face her directly, he continued. “Ann, you are in the middle

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.