Chapter 48
Summer
“Thanks,” I smile, heading into the room. “Morning, handsome,” I greet.
Jake smiles. “Hi Sum.”
“How was your night?”
“Fine. Boring.”
Jake never did well just sitting around doing nothing. His mind always needs to be occupied. “Well, you’re getting a bath in a few minutes, and then Ray and I will come visit. I’ll just be next door, okay?”
“Any chance you could sneak me some grape juice?” He asks hopefully. Jake loves grape juice. He’s been drinking it since we met in kindergarten.
“Possibly. I’ll see what I can find,” I wink. Leigh comes in, so I tell him I’ll be back soon.
When I go next door, Dr. Crosby is there with Ray and Zander. “Good morning, Dr. Crosby. What did I miss?”
“Nothing Summer. We were waiting for you.” I take a seat beside Zander on the couch.
“Now that Jake is awake, we will continue to introduce information to him daily, and he’ll have a scan on Monday to check the back of his head.
From experience, it takes at least a week to heal.
As soon as it’s completely healed, I can discharge him.
Have you given any thought as to how you want to handle rehab? ”
I look towards Ray, but I know he hasn’t arranged anything with the state his mind was in. “No. I need to figure that out.”
“Perhaps take some time today to do that. I can provide a list of places here in North Carolina. There’s no rush, but in my experience, the sooner our patients can get on with their lives, the better for them.
I was going to speak with Jake about the procedure we performed on Monday and about his injuries.
I believe heavier conversations need to wait until he’s fully healed. ”
“Can I ask why you wait to provide info? I understand stress is bad, but it makes little sense to me at the same time.”
“I’ve had two adverse reactions with my patients in the past. The first successful procedure we completed, I told the patient the second day after he woke up about the length of his coma and the accident.
He had lost all his family, and he slipped back into a coma that night and never regained consciousness again.
I waited longer to update another patient and gave her the information more slowly over a few days.
Unfortunately, she had lost her child and wasn’t fully healed.
She smashed her head against the guardrail on the bed before the nurse could run into the room. Now I’m extremely cautious.”
“Understandable, Dr. Crosby. Wow. I’m so sorry.”
“My condolences,” Zander adds.
“Thank you. I’ll leave you to talk. When Leigh is done, I’ll go in and speak with Jake, then he's yours the rest of the day,” she says, getting up and leaving.
As soon as she leaves, I turn to Ray. “Please don’t take Jake away from me.”
Ray smiles. “I’ll do whatever Jake wants, Summer. Which means I’m likely moving.”
“Any chance you’re interested in Charleston?” I ask. Zander puts his hand on my arm. “Sorry. I’m just excited at the thought of Jake being nearby.”
“Ray. You have our full support. We will help you with whatever you need. Moving, job placement, and housing. Just name it. There’s a large group of us ready to be put to work,” Zander tells him.
“Thank you both. I need to let Erin know, too. That's going to be a mess,” he sighs wearily.
“Do you think she’ll cause problems?”
Ray nods. “Yes. I should wait until Jake is healed, but I feel bad delaying the conversation.”
“I don’t know the full situation, but Jake should come first,” Zander adds.
“True. That’s a disaster that can wait until later. I’ll start looking into rehab choices today between here and Charleston.”
“I can contact Holly’s mom. She’s a nurse at the Mt. Pleasant hospital, and see where she recommends?”
“Good idea, darling,” Zander smiles. “I can reach out to my contacts too, and the transport nurse we used. You’ll need to determine what you need for home care.”
“Never thought about that,” Ray says.
“We’re here, Ray,” Zander reiterates. “You don’t need to do this alone. Let’s see what’s out there, and then we can meet and discuss the options available.”
He nods as Leigh comes in. “Jake is all clean. Dr. Crosby is in with him now.”
“Thanks. Oh, can he have juice?”
“Sure. What kind does he like?”
“Grape,” Ray and I say at the same time, and we smile at each other.
“I’m not sure we have that, but I bet the vending machines do. Let me ask around, and I’ll let you know.”
Leigh tracks down grape juice on the third floor of the hospital for us, and Zander volunteers to go get a few.
Dr. Crosby returns and tells us we can visit now, so Ray and I head into Jake’s room. “Hey handsome,” I smile. Jake gives me a small smile as Ray and I take seats on either side of him. “What’s up?”
“Just processing,” he replies. I can still read him like a book. He’s unsettled and worried. Despite handling all this, it must be a crazy situation for him.
“What did Dr. Crosby tell you?” Ray asks.
“That I nearly didn’t wake up. I’m in a research trial. I need to be careful with the back of my head until it heals and then protect it for several months after that.”
“All true, and you’ll be fine, Jake,” I say, squeezing his hand. He will be great. I’ll make sure of it.
“Summer is correct. You are fine. With some rehab and you’ll be good as new, son.”
The sharp rap on the door makes me get up. Zander is standing in the hallway off to the side, so I step out. He has 4 bottles of grape juice for Jake. “Thank you, Dad. I’ll visit for a bit and then let Ray have some alone time and join you.”
“Sounds good, darling,” he replies before walking into the room next door.
I slip back inside and set the bottles on the table. “We have grape juice, Jake.” I open one bottle and grab a straw to let him have a drink.
“Nectar of the gods. Thanks, Sum,” Jake says with a yawn.
“Welcome. You’ve been up for a while. Why don’t you rest?”
“Are you both staying?” He asks. Part of him is worried we won’t be here if he closes his eyes. I can read the panic in him as if it were my own.
“Why don’t I let Ray stay with you for a bit, and I’ll just be next door?”
“Why?” Jake asks.
Ray catches on quickly. “Well, I thought we could spend some time together. Summer got to visit most of the day yesterday.”
“I’ll come have lunch with you two. How does that sound?”
“Okay,” Jake replies, so I kiss him on the cheek.
“Rest. Love you.”
“Love you, Sum.”
I slip out and go next door. “That was fast, darling,” Dad comments.
“Yeah. He was falling asleep, so I figured it was a good time to leave. I’m going to text Holly and see if her mom is working today, and Alex, then get some homework done.”
“I put feelers out too,” he smiles.