Page 16 of This Life and All the Rest
“Nice to meet you. I’m Doctor Hendrick, the cardiologist working on your father’s case. And this is Doctor Bashum. He’s your dad’s neurologist.”
I cock my head to the side and turn my attention to the taller, darker man.
“Neurologist?” I ask, and he nods. “Why does he need a neurologist?”
“It’s standard practice with patients like your father,” he assures me. “Your father suffered a trauma, and it’s my job to monitor his progress and assess when we can consider bringing him out of the coma.”
“Okay.” I suck my lip into my mouth and run my teeth over the soft skin.
“Can we speak to you a moment?” Doctor Hendrick asks. “We’d like to fill you in.”
“Yes, definitely.” I’m eager to know more and I’m sure it shows. “Please.”
“How much has your mother told you?”
“Oh, um,” I open my mouth to correct him,stepmother, but I stop myself. It’s not like it matters right now. “Not much. Just that three days ago he suffered a severe heart attack. He’s in a medically-induced coma.” I swallow hard. “We have to see what happens.”
They both nod, then take turns explaining to me exactly what happened with my dad’s heart. Words likesevere,cardiac arrest,andpotential brain damagemix together, causing my own chest to tighten and my head to fog.
They don’t know what caused it. They’ve ruled out a brain bleed. There’s no sign of chest trauma. He’s healthy and active, blah blah blah.
“Now, generally after seventy-two hours, we can start to bring the patient out of their medical coma, but we’ve already spoken to Mrs. Washington, and we’d like to hold off for a bit longer,” Dr. Hendrick says.
“Why?”
“Some of our tests have been inconclusive,” Dr. Bashum says slowly, and my eyes widen.
“What? What does that mean? Is he not progressing? Is there brain damage? Is he going to die?”
My questions are rapid fire, my voice strangled, and I stare at the doctors’ faces to try and read any sort of hint. Any sign. They give me nothing, and it makes me even more anxious.
“We’re not saying any of that,” one of them says. “It’s too early to tell, which is why we’d like to wait until we can run a few more tests.”
“Your father has the odds in his favor,” the other says. I’m staring at my dad’s chest through the panicked tears welling in my eyes. “He’s young and healthy, and your brother started CPR within a minute of your dad’s collapse.”
My head jolts back.
“What?” I whisper, swinging my attention back to the man who was speaking. Doctor Bashum. He’s blinking at me expectantly. “My brother?”
“Yes, your brother,” Dr. Bashum repeats. “He was there with your father at the time of the incident. He started CPR and called emergency services immediately. The biggest factor in determining prognosis after a cardiac arrest is the time between the attack and when the patient receives medical care. Your brother resuscitated your father within minutes. Seconds, possibly. It saved his life.”
The information hits hard. My mouth drops open and I finally let myself look at my dad’s face. If I focus just on his eyes and forehead, I could almost believe he’s simply sleeping. It would be like this never happened.
Macon saved my dad’s life.
I clear my throat and say the first thing that comes to mind.
“Stepbrother.”
“Pardon?”
“Stepbrother,” I repeat. “Macon Davis is my stepbrother.”
SIX
“You sure youwant to do this?” Casper calls from across the parking lot as I climb out of my car.
I nod and slip a cigarette between my lips. Casper cocks his head to the side.
