Chapter
14
“Mr. Carter, I’m discharging you.”
It was the next morning, and Dr. Fergeson had just come in,
telling Nick that he was going to be released from the hospital.
“Discharged?” Nick asked.
“You mean I’m going home?”
“That’s exactly what I mean,” she said. “I’m going to examine you one last time, give
you a prescription for some meds, and send you on your way.”
Nick gaped at her. “B… but
I thought I was really sick,” he stammered.
“Shouldn’t I be in the hospital?”
“It’s doing you no good to be here right now,” Dr. Fergeson
said. “There’s nothing I can do for you
at this point. I want you to go home and
get lots of rest, but there’s no reason to keep you here and make you pay the
hospital bills any longer. You’ll do
fine at home for now.”
Nick felt mixed emotions.
Of course, he was glad to be going home.
He didn’t like being in the hospital.
But still, it scared him, knowing that he was deathly ill, or would be,
and that he was on his own, away from experienced doctors that he trusted. What if something went wrong?
Dr. Fergeson could sense his worries. Her tone softened as she said, “Listen, Mr.
Carter, I know you might be a little nervous about this. But I assure you, for now, it’s for the
best. You do have a serious condition,
but it’s a progressive one, meaning that while it will get worse later on, it’s
not bad right now. You can live a
perfectly normal life at this point in time.
Eventually, you’ll notice some symptoms as the condition gets worse:
fatigue, yellowing of your skin, maybe even some pain. But that won’t come until later, and even
then, there’s no reason why you should be in the hospital. The only thing we can do is give you a new
liver, and that could take awhile.”
“How long?” Nick asked softly.
“That’s hard to say. It
could take a few weeks, a few months, maybe even more than a year,” Dr.
Fergeson replied.
“A year?!” Nick exclaimed.
“Will I be alive in a year?!”
“That’s hard to say too,” Dr. Fergeson said softly. “It depends on how fast your condition
worsens.”
Nick sighed softly, but said nothing. There was nothing more for him to say.
“Anyway, I’ll be back a little later to check you over one last
time. In the meantime, you just relax
here. I’ll see you later,” Dr. Fergeson
said, and breezed out of the room.
Nick sighed again, and picked up the phone beside his bed. He immediately punched in the number for
Brian’s cell phone.
***
A little over an hour later, Nick was dressed and signing his
discharge papers.
Dr. Fergeson came into the room and handed him a slip of
paper. “This is a prescription for some
drugs that should prolong liver function as long as possible. Take two a day, after dinner.” Nick nodded. “And I’d like you to make an appointment to
come see me in another month, so I can see how you’re doing.” Nick nodded again, and they set up a
date. When they were done, Dr. Fergeson
said, “Well then, Mr. Carter, you’re on your way. I’ll see you in a month. Take care.”
“Thanks,” Nick said, with gratitude he didn’t feel. “See you.”
“Ready to go, buddy?” Brian asked.
It was he who Nick had called to pick him up and take him home.
“Yeah,” Nick said. He
climbed slowly off the bed and followed Brian out of the room.
***
