Man of My Dreams by Teddy Hester

Author:Teddy Hester [Hester, Teddy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-05-12T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 10

Mick

“Birgitte!”

We enter the emergency room waiting area on a run. I’m close on Menuett’s heels. The woman who usually rivals Mrs. Santa Claus for grandmotherly smiles is pale and drawn. She jumps up when she sees us and rushes over. She and Menuett fall into each other’s arms, crying.

I embrace them both. “What happened, Birgitte?”

She pulls out of my hug far enough to dab her face with a wadded hankie. “He and Lukas were in the barn getting more hay for the stable. From what Lukas says, Alfred was up in the loft when an owl flew out, startling him. He must have been too close to the edge, because he stumbled back and fell out.”

“Where is he? Have you talked to the doctor?”

“Was he conscious?”

Menuett and I barrage her with questions. She blinks and shakes her head. “He wasn’t conscious when I called the ambulance, no. When they came and got us, they said it looked like he had a bad leg break. He was whisked away the minute we arrived. A doctor stopped to tell me he was taking Alfred to surgery, but I haven’t heard anything more since then.”

That won’t do. We need an update. Menuett looks up at me. Her pretty face is pinched with concern. Birgitte’s leaning heavily against me, and my arm holds her tight.

I jerk my chin at Menuett. “I’ve got her. Go see what you can find out.”

Before she gets too far in her investigation, Doctor Hoffmann finds us. “He’s out of surgery and in recovery, doing nicely.”

Birgitte bursts into relieved tears. “Thank you, Doctor, thank you.”

He pats her shoulder. “Don’t thank me yet. There’s a long road ahead. His left femur was badly broken. I put a steel rod in the bone during the repair, but he’s no spring chicken, and healing will take every bit of four to six months and maybe more.”

Fuck. That puts them at Christmas. He’ll go stir-crazy. The two ladies exchange a mildly horrified look with each other.

I pick up the slack. “Dr. Hoffmann, how long will Alfred need to stay in the hospital?”

“We’ll keep him here for at least a week, watching for complications.”

“And after that?”

“For several weeks, I won’t want him to put much pressure on that leg. He’ll be able to go to the bathroom, and that’s about it. He’ll need a seat in the shower. He’ll wear a leg brace until I determine he’s safe without it. A physical therapist will come to your house each week to work on building the strength back up in that leg so Alfred doesn’t overdo things too soon.”

“And he’ll try,” Birgitte mutters.

Dr. Hoffmann grins at her. “Most do try. Six months is a long time to hobble around when you’re used to full mobility.”

“Will he ever regain full mobility?”

“It’s too soon to tell, of course, but most people do. He’ll need to move every hour or so to keep the circulation going—nothing major—and PT will help. But he seems healthy enough for a man his age, and he’s been used to plenty of physical activity.

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.