14. Chapter Twelve
CHAPTER TWELVE
SAMMI
“D addy,” she mumbled, turning her head to the side.
All she wanted was her Daddy to hold her and never let go. Groaning in pain, she moved her head back to a comfortable position. Why did she feel so bad? Why was she lying down?
“Daddy?” she murmured again, cracking her eyes open.
The first thing she saw was the white panels on the ceiling. The second thing she realized was the awful smell.
The hospital.
Bolting upright, she winced and grabbed her head. Why was she at the hospital? Why was she hooked up to different machines? What was going on?
“Little One, you’re awake.” Daddy stepped into the room.
He immediately walked over toward her kissing her forehead before taking her hand. She stared up at him, questions running through her mind. What was going on? Why was she in the hospital, and why was Daddy here?
“W-what happened?” she whispered.
She could already feel the tears of frustration and worry pooling in her eyes. She was already feeling overwhelmed with everything, and she didn’t know what was going on.
“Shhhh,” Daddy gently said as he cupped her face. “I’m right here, we’re going to get through this together.”
“Going to get through what? What’s wrong?” She choked back a sob.
“You passed out at work. We took you to the hospital, and we were waiting on you waking up so the doctor could explain what was wrong. But we’re going to get through this together. No matter what.”
The way he was talking, he made it seem like she had something life threatening and was going to die, but he didn’t know that.
“Let me press this button so the doctor knows that you’re awake,” Daddy spoke, letting go of her face.
Whimpering from the loss of his touch, she made sure to keep her eyes on him the whole time. Sammi didn’t care that she was acting like a baby right now. She wanted Daddy close, his hands on her.
“I’m right here, sweet girl. Nothing is going to happen.” He gave her a small smile as he pressed the button.
Daddy walked back to her and immediately picked up her hand. She felt her body relax a little.
“You found me?” She looked at him.
He shook his head. “Ezekiel saw you faint and called me. We both brought you to the hospital. He stayed for a little while but needed to go back to the farm to make sure nobody needed anything since I was gone.”
Sammi looked away, feeling terrible that Gene wasn’t at the farm. He was the boss and was needed a lot and yet he was here with her.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“Sorry for what?” Daddy cupped her face and made her look at him.
“I’m sorry for taking you away from the farm. I didn’t mean to collapse. I don’t even know what happened.” Sammi closed her eyes.
She was feeling awful about taking him away from his work.
“Little One, don’t apologize. I’m right where I want to be. I know you didn’t mean to pass out. I’m not blaming you at all. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.” He softly spoke to her.
Once again, tears pooled in her eyes at his words. He was saying all these sweet things, and she knew he meant them.
“You’re awake,” a man said as he walked into the room. “I’m Doctor Mike Smith. I’ve been your doctor since you got here. How are you feeling?”
Sammi took a couple of seconds to really think about his question.
“Tired, a little achy, overwhelmed, and very confused,” she rattled off.
She figured this was when she needed to be the most honest. She hadn’t been to a doctor in a while, but he was the and the right person to maybe give her answers. And then she may not have to go to the doctor tomorrow and miss work. That would be great, so she didn’t have to miss out on half the day’s pay.
“It will get a little bit better. Thank you for being honest,” the doctor spoke.
Sammi looked at Daddy before looking at the doctor. “What’s wrong with me?”
Did she have cancer? Was she dying? Or was it all in her head, and she had just gaslit herself into believing something was wrong?
“Do you want me to talk with Gene in the room?” Doctor Mike asked.
This time, she didn’t look at Daddy. Part of her didn’t want him here in case something happened but as she was actually in this moment, she didn’t know if she could do this without him.
“I’m not?—”
“I want him here,” she reassured the doctor before Daddy could say anything.
“Are you sure? Because I can get him to leave if you don’t want him here to hear this.” Doctor Mike looked into her eyes.
She held on to Daddy’s hand tighter, not wanting him to leave. She was far too vulnerable right now for him to go anywhere else. If Doctor Mike gave her any sort of bad news, she didn’t know if she would be able to make it through.
“I’m sure. Wh-what’s wrong with me?” she stuttered.
“How long have you been managing your diabetes?” Doctor Mike asked.
Sammi blinked several times, not understanding the question. “What do you mean?”
Realization flashed across Doctor Mike’s face. “You have type 1 diabetes.”
He said that as if she was supposed to know what it was. It felt like he was just spewing out medical terms at her.
“Do you know what diabetes is?” he asked.
She shook her head and gripped Daddy’s hand just a little bit tighter. She had heard the term diabetes before, but she didn’t know anyone who had it or what it was.
“Type 1 diabetes is where the pancreas makes very little to no insulin, which results in high blood sugar. Your body needs insulin to help store glucose or blood sugar for energy,” the doctor explained.
Sammi couldn’t wrap her head around all the information.
“Have you noticed an increase in thirst and hunger? Needing to go to the bathroom more? Have you lost a lot of weight, had mood changes, feel tired and weak, and your vision has been getting blurry?” he asked.
Tears formed in her eyes as he spoke.
“I think? I know the thirst and needing to go to the bathroom is true. But I don’t know about mood changes, vision changes, hunger, weight loss, and feeling tired…” She trailed off. “Well, weight loss, yes. I’ve had to buy new belts recently. But as for all the other ones, I don’t think so. I’ve felt tired for years, but I don’t think I felt any more tired than normal. So that means I can’t have diabetes since I don’t have all the symptoms.”
She looked at Doctor Mike, and he gave her a small, gentle smile. That was all it took to crush her spirits.
“I’m afraid that’s not how it works. You have type one diabetes,” he gently said.
“What... what does that mean? Am I going to die? Do I need to get a transplant of some sort?” she asked.
Sammi looked up at Daddy, but he was looking at the doctor. His eyes were focused but also unfocused like he was in his own head. Was he having second thoughts about being with her? About them getting through this together?
“You’re not going to get any sort of transplant yet. And as long as you manage your diabetes, you’re not going to die. You’ll need to take insulin for the rest of your life. You’ll need to check your blood sugar levels throughout the day to make sure that they are at the right levels. You might need to change how you eat a little bit, but it shouldn’t be a lot,” Doctor Mike explained.
“I don’t... I don’t know if I can do this,” she whispered.
“I know it’s a lot of information to take in right now, but you are going to get through it. There are support groups here to help. It’s going to take a lot of work in the beginning, but it will get better,” Doctor Mike spoke.
She wasn’t so sure about that. She was living in the unknown now, and she didn’t like it.
“Am I going to be able to work?” she asked.
What was she going to do if she couldn’t? How was she going to help her brother pay his debt off? How was she going to dance with diabetes?
“You will be able to go back to work. I suggest you take several days off to learn about type 1 diabetes and how to manage it. And then, when you do go back to work, it might be a little bit different for a while as you learn things.”
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to do that,” she mumbled as she looked at Daddy.
He was still looking at the doctor, in his own head. He was definitely having second thoughts about being with her. Was he going to fire her when the doctor left?
“Gene?” Doctor Mike called out.
“Work won’t be a problem. She’ll take a couple of days off or even a week or two if she needs to get a handle on this. When she gets back, I will make sure that she is taking care of herself. I will make sure that everything is good,” Daddy declared without missing a beat.
She couldn’t help but have a little doubt in her heart as he spoke. Was he just saying that while the doctor was here? Was he going to back out of everything he said when the doctor left?
“Good. She’s going to need a good support system. It’s going to be overwhelming and tough for her, but with people surrounding her and making sure that she is okay, it will help a lot.” Doctor Mike nodded at the end. “A nurse is going to come in a couple of minutes to give you a couple of things and explain how to use them. Then, she is going to look at your insurance with someone else to figure out what they will cover and what they won’t. It’s going to be a lot of information, but she’ll have it all printed out so you can reference at home.”
Sammi knew she wasn’t going to comprehend much of anything the nurse said. She was already overwhelmed with so much information, and she couldn’t take any more.
“I’ll also be taking notes to make sure I understand as well,” Daddy explained. “I’ll attend meetings with her if I can and also research things on my own.”
Tears pooled in Sammi’s eyes as she looked at Daddy. He was really going to do all of that for her .
“Good. That’s really good,” Doctor Mike replied. “The nurse will be here shortly to talk to you guys about things.”
“When will I be discharged?” Sammi asked.
“Today, if everything goes well and the nurse feels like you have a good grasp on things. If not, we’ll keep you overnight and let you settle and talk to you again tomorrow.”
Sammi wasn’t sure how much was going to settle. This was life-changing she didn’t know how she was going to cope with it all.
“Did I do something for this to happen to me?” She looked up at the doctor.
He shook his head. “It was nothing you did. It’s an autoimmune disease. You’ve done nothing wrong”
An autoimmune disease because her body hated her. It never did what she wanted it to. And now it was throwing a wrench into her plans. How was she going to earn the money when said she was taking several days off?
She wasn’t.
Hopefully, Deccan would allow her to sell her house and give him the money. That will help alleviate a lot of the debt. But it would leave her without a home. She knew her brother would gladly let her stay in their parents’ house, but she didn’t want to be a bother. Especially now since she had diabetes.
“Rest. and the nurse will be here soon,” Doctor Mike offered. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to press the button.”
“Thank you,” Daddy answered.
Doctor Mike left the room, leaving her and Daddy to themselves.
“Rest,” Daddy kissed the side of her head. “I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”