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Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
Before And After the Divorce - 10. Lacy's Status and Its Effect
Dominic and I are waiting what seems like an eternity. But I'm watching the clock on my phone, and it's only been twenty minutes. I'll give it to thirty then I'm going to try to find something out. Dominic cried himself to sleep after ten minutes. Two minutes after my self-made deadline, a doctor comes out.
"Mr. Pastore?"
"Over here."
"Maybe you can put the child down and walk a little way away. Close enough that we can see him, far enough he won't overhear."
I lay Dominic down across two chairs and follow the doctor to the corner away from where we were sitting. Knowing the news can't be good after the doctor's comment, I follow slowly.
"I'm doctor Alberts. I'm covering for Dr. Hsu in his absence. Sorry I didn't get out to talk to you earlier, but I was paged and only got here a few minutes ago, just long enough to get filled in and set up surgery."
"So, she's still alive?"
"Yes, but at this point, that term only loosely fits. She had a CT scan and an MRI before I arrived. Both were negative for a tumor, but there are now three other problems. First, she's had a cerebrovascular accident, CVA, more commonly known as a stroke. Second, related but probably not the cause of the CVA, but just as concerning is an aneurysm. Well, two, to be perfectly accurate. One has already ruptured and is bleeding into the cranial cavity, or the inside of her head. The second is putting massive pressure on her brain. Massive is relative, the brain can't withstand much external pressure at all. I wanted to update you before I operate to relieve the pressure and attempt to drain the second aneurysm. She's being prepped as we speak. The third problem is possibly the worst. Lacy technically died twice. Once just as she got put into the ambulance on the way here and once while she was being evaluated downstairs. The teams got her breathing again and a fair heart rhythm, but the first time she was resuscitated, it took six minutes. She may have been without sufficient oxygen for as many as five minutes before the paramedics started treating her. The second time, while she was being evaluated here, it took 21 minutes to get her heart going again. She was on oxygen, and is now on a ventilator, but I'm afraid the brain was deprived of a sufficient level of oxygen long enough to have caused brain damage. We won't know how much unless and until she wakes up."
"And what do you see as the chances for that to occur?"
"I don't normally like to deal with odds or chances, but without giving you a number, I have to say that her chances of survival are quite slim. The chance of survival with any sort of quality of life is... Sorry, almost zero."
"No. She came back from the tumor. She has to beat this too."
"While that is possible, it is very unlikely."
His pager buzzed.
"I'll be back out after the surgery to give you another update, probably ninety minutes or so. They're ready for me."
"Thank you..."
But he'd already slipped away. Hurried, but not panicky fast. I realize I'm hungry. Forgetting that I grabbed the pizza boxes on our way out of the truck. I see them and take out a slice. A nurse comes over to escort us to the O.R. waiting area. I ask her to share the rest of the pizzas with the staff, lift Dominic up carefully, trying not to wake him, and follow.
Downstairs in the ER, the wait seemed longer than it was. I was afraid that putting Dominic down again would wake him, so I sat down, still holding him. I'm starting to drift asleep when I hear someone calling my name.
"...ore? Dylan?"
"Huh? Oh, sorry nurse. I must have nodded off there."
"No apology necessary. Dr. Alberts has finished with the surgery. Lacy is in recovery; he'll be out in a few minutes to talk to you."
"OK. Thank you, nurse."
I check out the time and see that an hour and 45 minutes has passed since we came up. Reasonably close to the doctor's 90-minute estimate. A few minutes later, the doctor does appear. I'm wide awake again.
"Hello again, Mr. Pastore."
"Dylan, please. Sorry if I don't stand up."
"Not necessary, let him sleep. As I'm sure the nurse told you, Lacy is in recovery now. The blood has been drained from her cranial cavity and the second aneurysm. She's being administered with Tenecteplase, a clot buster, to help prevent further CVAs. We've also giving her a fairly high level of oxygen, 8 liters per minute, hoping that will somewhat counteract the previous lack of oxygen. Now it's a waiting game."
"When can we see her?"
"How old is the boy?"
"Dominic is seven."
"If you do bring him in, you'll need to prepare him in advance. Lacy is hooked up to a lot of machines with a lot of wires and tubes. It may do him more harm actually seeing her like this. Either way, a nurse should come out in about a half hour to show you in."
"Thanks Doctor Alberts."
"It's nothing. I just wish the news was better."
Another wait, this time it is shorter than promised. It's not even fifteen minutes before another nurse comes out looking for me.
"Can I see her now?"
"I'm sorry, no. Her heart has stopped again and they're trying to resuscitate her in the recovery room. Someone will come out shorty to give you another update."
"Shit. Thank you, I guess."
"I'm terribly sorry."
"Not your fault. You just have the shitty job of spreading the bad news. Oh, damn. That wasn't nice. I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it. I've seen much worse reactions to similar news."
The nurse leaves and the time drags. It's almost a half hour later when Dominic starts to stir.
"Is mommy OK?"
"The doctor drained some blood from inside mommy's head and they're taking care of her right now. Hopefully we'll get another update soon."
"I'm sorry I fell asleep. I was praying and just couldn't stay awake any longer."
"That's OK. Are you hungry?"
"No. not really. More scared than anything else."
Another few minutes later, Dr. Alberts comes through the doors and motions for me to go where he is. I point at Dominic, and he shakes his head no.
"Stay here Dominic. I'm just going to go over there and talk to mommy's doctor. You'll be able to see me the whole time."
"OK, then can we see mommy?"
"We have to see what the doctor says."
"Oh. OK."
I put Dominic down and walk over to the doctor.
"I didn't think you'd want him to hear this in clinical terms. Lacy's heart stopped again shortly after arriving in recovery. We tried for a long as we could but were unsuccessful resuscitating her. I'm sorry. Your ex-wife has passed."
I stumble a little bit and the doctor reaches out and helps support me.
"Fuck. How do I tell Dominic?"
"I will have a hospital social worker come and help you through it. They're specially trained in giving bad news to families, particularly children. Wait here for one moment."
He heads to the nurse's station, says something to the nurse there, who nods. He comes back to me.
"It will be easier if I stay with you until Mrs. Hollander arrives. If you go back to Dominic first, you may have to say something to him beforehand. I think it best if we let Mrs. Hollander help you through this."
"Yes. I could use all the help I can get."
It's not even a minute later when Mrs. Hollander arrives. The doctor again says he's sorry, shakes my hand, and leaves.
"Let's go talk to your son. I have a room on this floor for notifying families with the worst news possible. What is your son's name and age?"
"Dominic. He's seven."
"OK. You can hold him, but I think it will be better if I do the talking."
"Of course. I have no idea what to say."
We walk over to Dominic, who is sitting there, sobbing quietly.
"Hello Dominic. I'm Mrs. Hollander. I work at the hospital here to help families get through tough times like these. Can you take a short walk with your father and me?"
"Sniff. Yes."
We get to her room. It's equipped with a table, mini fridge, and a cabinet.
"Would you like a water, or a snack of some kind?"
"Can I get both?"
"Sure. Come with me and pick something from the cabinet."
She grabs him a water out of the fridge, and he grabs a ham and cheese Lunchables. They come back and sit at the table. She suggests he sit on my lap. After giving him a couple minutes to have a few bites and putting a box of tissues on the table. she starts...
"I don't have napkins, so feel free to take a tissue if you need it. Dominic, you know your mom looked very sick when she left your house, right?"
"Yes. It was worse than any time when she had the tumor."
"That's true. Unfortunately, it doesn't get any worse. Your mommy isn't going to get better this time."
"Is she in, like a coma?"
"No, honey. Your mom has passed away. Do you know what that means?"
I could see Dominic trying to hold back tears and be brave. That only lasts a few seconds.
"It means she's dead."
The waterworks begin again. Mrs. Hollander motions me to hold him tighter. I hug him, holding him long enough for his cries to mostly subside.
"Can I still go see her?"
"Yes. You're being very brave. I'm proud of you, and I'm sure your father is, too."
"Very proud."
"Can we go now?"
"Let me check to see where she is, and I'll take you to her. Just stay with your dad for a minute."
As she gets up, she looks at me, smiles, and nods. My interpretation is that she thinks it went as well as it could have. She goes and makes a call. Just before she hangs up, I hear her say 'we'll walk slow.' Apparently, they still need a little more time to make her presentable, but no so long that we have to wait.
"OK, Dominic. I can take you to see her now."
We get up and Dominic stands between us and takes one of our hands in each of his.
"In case I stumble, I won't fall if you're holding on to me. Everything is a little blurry through the tears."
"That's fine. You have nice soft hands."
He doesn't know how to respond to that, so he remains quiet. We walk past what must be the recovery room into a standard hospital room. Lacy is lying on the bed. All the wires and tubes have been removed. Her head is still wrapped with gauze and tape, but otherwise, she just looks asleep. Dominic walks up to her on one side.
"Can I touch her? Like, hold her hand?"
"Yes. You can."
Dominic puts his hands over the top of her left hand. I stay right behind him and have my hands lying gently on his shoulders. I can hear him whispering something, but I can't make it out. After about two minutes, he says 'goodbye mommy,' turns to me and ask if we can go home.
"Is there anything I need to do right away, Mrs. Hollander?"
"No. We have your contact information, correct?"
"Yes."
"I'll give you a call tomorrow and help you with what needs to be done. Not much can happen tonight."
I look at my watch and see it's almost 11:30.
"Thank you. I need to get Dominic home to bed."
"Yes. You take care of him."
She whispers to me that he probably won't want to leave my side, so suggesting he sleep with me would be a good idea. We say goodbye and head home. Dominic is a little happier when I suggest he sleep with me. Like Mrs. Hollander surmised, he wouldn't let me out of his sight. Made the nighttime bathroom necessities a little tricky, but we were able to give each other at least a little privacy by facing away from each other while we urinated.
Tomorrow looks like it will be another tough one.
Next up - "Funeral Preparations and Legal Matters"
I guess I took you all on an emotional roller coaster ride. Good news in one story, awful news in another. Hopefully you all got through this one without emptying a box of tissues. I actually needed a few myself. It's amazing how one can get so attached to his characters that he feels their pain.
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If you liked this, check out my other stories on nifty. You'll need to search for my email address, some of those may violate GA guidelines (lee.666.wilson@gmail.com)
LRW
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
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