Page 29 of Denying Davis
“Trust me, I am.”
My thoughts turned to Davis and the dinner we’d enjoyed. Tacos and margaritas. Something so simple, and yet it was without a doubt one of the best dinners I’d had in a long time. It was probably the company, of course.
“I’m not letting my twenties pass me by. I promise.”
She started to reply but was interrupted by the unceremonious arrival of a large woman in seafoam green scrubs. The woman carried a metal clipboard and studied us from behind rimless reading glasses.
“I’m Nurse Karen, the attendant on duty,” she told me after I quickly introduced myself. “And I’m glad to see you here. Your mother was asking for you earlier.”
“She was?”
“She was pretty confused when she arrived.” Nurse Karen nodded. “We think she hit her head when she fell, and she might have a concussion as a result. We’ve run a battery of tests.” Karen addressed my mother. “You’re looking a lot better than when you came in.” She walked over to Mom’s other side, checked her blood pressure and the various machines she was hooked up to, and took notes on Mom’s chart. “Oxygen saturation levels have improved, but we’ll keep you on oxygen for a while longer. We’ll give you a dose of Lasix that should make breathing easier and reduce the pain quickly, and we’ll provide regular nebulizer treatment as well. How are you feeling? Are you breathing more comfortably now?”
“I am.”
“That’s an encouraging sign, right?” I asked.
“We’re doing everything we can to make sure your mom is comfortable. Dr. Matthew Sparks is on duty tonight,” Karen said, turning back to me, and I realized it wasn’t really an answer to my question.
“When do you think we can see him?” I asked.
Karen waved a hand. “We’re in the middle of a pretty busy evening. I can’t tell you, but I do know you’re in the rotation.” She looked at Mom again. “I just need to check her vitals now. Do you need anything, Ms. Green?”
Mom shook her head.
“All right,” Karen said briskly. “I promise we’ll be in a few times this evening to check in.”
“So, she’s staying here overnight,” I concluded.
Karen nodded.
“Any idea how much longer than that?”
“No, the doctor will make that determination.” Karen studied the machines and leads hooked up to my mother. “But I would guess at least tonight and tomorrow. Still, I’m no doctor. That could change.”
I cringed inside. A huge chunk of me didn’t want to even consider the kind of hospital bill we’d get out of this. Emergency room visits alone usually required at least five hundred out-of-pocket.
More money we didn’t have.
Karen said goodbye and exited the room. Once we were alone again, Mom’s eyes turned sad. “Honey—”
“Don’t,” I said preemptively. “Don’t worry about this. We can get through this. I promise.”
“But when you consider the—”
“Shh.” I squeezed her hand one more time. “Just try to rest, okay? Don’t think about the bills. We will figure something out.”
We had to. No choice. It was as simple as that. We’d figure something out because we had no other way out. I wouldn’t deny my mother the medical care she needed. No way.
But that night, as I fell into a fitful sleep in the chair next to her bed, the anxiety wouldn’t go away.
My fitful sleep at the hospital didn’t last very long. About an hour after Karen saw us, the ER doctor woke me up with a soft shake of my shoulder.
“I know it’s late,” he said when I opened my eyes. “And you’re probably going to have a nasty crick in your neck tomorrow morning. We’re not known for our comfortable chairs.”
“That’s okay.”
I stretched, and my attention fell on my mother, who had somehow managed to fall asleep as well. It made her look even sicker, as if she was on the short path toward death’s door.
