Page 5 of Lost and Found

I go in and once again, I’m taken back by how beautiful she is in the midst of the bruising, stitches, cuts, and tubes. I check out the head wound to make sure everything seems okay and it does. The swelling seems to have subsided.

As I head out of her room, Stacey, one of the nurses catches me. “Dr. Reid, there are some people here about Paige Reynolds. They say they are her in-laws.”

“Okay, I’ll talk to them.” I head out to the waiting room where I find an older couple, dressed as if they are going out to the Ritz, instead of checking on their daughter in law’s medical condition. “Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds.” They both stand up and nod their heads. I extend my hand out to them. “I’m Dr. Reid. I’m one of the doctors overseeing Paige’s recovery. However, I’m afraid by law I can’t disclose any information about her except to immediate family. Do you have a way we can get in contact with them?”

Mrs. Reynolds scoffs at me. “She was raised by a great aunt who passed away years ago. Aside from my son, she had no family,”her tone is cold and unkind. I’m slightly shocked by her demeanor. “I only wanted to know why she survived and my son did not?”

“Mrs. Reynolds, we did everything we could, but none of them were discovered at the time of the accident. There’s no telling how long any of them were stranded on the highway after the accident. During that time, their injuries worsened and their health deteriorated. I’m afraid Codi’s injuries would have required immediate attention in order to have a chance at survival. I’m very sorry.” I try my best to give her the answer she’s searching for, even though she’ll never really get that answer.

I watch as they leave then head out too. As I’m making my way out to my car, one of the police officers that is on the force with DJ, hollers at me. “Reid!” I turn around and see Tyler Goldwyn coming toward me. “Hey, did you oversee the patients that were brought in earlier from the rollover wreck on the highway?”

“Yeah, Codi and Paige Reynolds?” I ask him, to clarify we’re talking about the same patients.

He nods. “Yeah. Her purse was found in the vehicle and there is an emergency contact listed, Dr. Arden Hall.”

I stop and it’s like my foggy head gets perfectly clear. Dr. Arden Hall is a pediatrician that works at the local children’s clinic that I volunteer at when I have time. I don’t often deal with head wounds there, but I can dress a wound and write an antibiotic just as well as any other doctor. Paige is the friend that Arden is always talking about. They are as close as sisters. I even remember seeing Paige now, coming in with a little boy with a head full of blonde hair and calling Arden, auntie. Suddenly, everything makes sense.

“I’ll give her a call,” I tell Tyler, before climbing into my SUV. I sit in the front seat and just stare out the window for a while. I know I need to call Arden, but I hate delivering news like this to people, it’s even worse when you know them. Finally, I pick up my phone and scroll through my contacts, until I reach Arden’s name. I rarely call her, usually only if one of her patients is in the hospital, or office and need to see her.

She answers on the third ring sounding worried. “Reid, what is it?”

“Arden, I have to tell you something. Your friend Paige,” I pause.

“Yeah?” she asks, and I can hear a tremble in her voice.

“She was in a car accident at some point today. She was brought in a few hours ago along with her husband,” I explain.

I hear her release a shaky breath. “Is she…okay?”

“She’s stable now. She had internal bleeding and suffered a miscarriage, which Dr. Mendoza took care of. She also suffered a Hematoma, so I went in and relieved the swelling from that. She’s stable, but in ICU now.”

I can tell she’s crying, but she’s trying to not let on to that fact. “What about Codi and Corey?”

“Codi was brought in, but his injuries were severe and they would have needed medical attention immediately in order to have a chance at survival.We lost him before we even got a chance to try. I’m sorry, Arden.”

I hear a sob and I close my eyes at the sound of emotion. “What about Corey?”

“There was a child with them, but he was DOA on arrival as well as the other driver,” I tell her, before dropping my head back on the headrest. “I’m sorry I would have called sooner, but I didn’t know her name. I knew she looked familiar, but I couldn’t place it. Once I found out her name, that really seemed familiar, but it wasn’t until they told me that you were her emergency contact,” I explain to her, but I feel horrible for not figuring it out sooner.

“Can I see her?” she asks.

I was ready to head home and go to bed, but I’ll stay with Arden. “Yeah, I’ll wait for you in the parking lot.”

****

It takes about ten minutes for Arden’s red BMW to fly into the parking lot with the emergency flashers on. I climb out of my SUV and make my way over to her. As she steps out of the car, I’m surprised by her appearance. Arden has a very signature look. She’s tiny, and I mean super petite, so I’ve never seen her without a pair of heels or anything other than a dress or skirt. Right now, she’s in what I assumed she sleeps in;a pair of shorts, tank top, with a zipper hoodie thrown on haphazardly, and flip flops. Her hair is wild as she tries to smooth it down. The bewildered look on her face makes me reach out for her. I pull her into my arms and just give her a moment to collect her breath.

“You okay?” I ask. She nods against my chest.

When she pulls away, I can see that she’s gotten herself together. Despite her clothing, the way she has her chin held high, looks much like the Arden I’m used to. “So, tell me the truth, how bad is it?”

We make our way back toward the hospital. “It’s hard to say. We don’t know how long she was trapped in the car after the wreck, and as you know, time is always of the essence in the medical field.Earlier is always considered better, but she did pull out of the surgery fine and she is stable now, but only time will tell.”

She nods her head. “You said on the phone she suffered a Hematoma. How serious was that?”

“It could have been worse. Luckily, I was able to relieve the swelling and I checked in on her before leaving, and the swelling was still down.Which is a good sign.”

“Could she have permanent damage from it?”

---