Chapter
19
Dr. Fergeson hurried into one of the exam rooms to find Nick
Carter lying on the table.
“What happened here?” she asked to the group of doctors and nurses
that were hovered around him.
“He was brought in unconscious and in respiratory distress,” one
of the doctors responded.
“Okay, well, I can take it from here. He’s a patient of mine,” Dr. Fergeson said.
The doctor nodded and left the room.
***
Jane Carter sat in the emergency room waiting room, her hands
clasped tightly together in her lap, waiting for some word on her son.
She eventually looked up to see Dr. Fergeson enter the room. Dr. Fergeson noticed her sitting there and
walked over to her.
“How’s Nick doing?” Jane asked worriedly.
“Mrs. Carter, I’m afraid Nick has fallen into a coma,” Dr.
Fergeson said.
Jane gasped. “Oh no,” she
whispered. “What caused it?”
“It’s his liver,” Dr. Fergeson said. “It’s failing, and therefore, toxins are
building up in his body. I’m sorry to
have to tell you this, but the way this is going, I wouldn’t give Nick more than
a week without a liver transplant.”
Jane gasped and tears filled her eyes.
“We’ve moved him upstairs into the ICU so we can observe him more
closely,” Dr. Fergeson said. “If you’d
like to see him now, you may.” Jane
nodded tearfully. “Okay then, come with
me,” the doctor said, and led Nick’s mother up to her son’s room in ICU.
***
“Nicky,” Jane whispered, her voice catching. “It’s Mommy.
I’m here, sweetie.”
She sat next to Nick’s bed, talking to him as she had done when he
was just a little boy. But now, memories
of his childhood flashed back to her, as she wondered if this would be one of
the last times she got to spend with her son.
She ran her fingers gently through his blonde hair and then let
her finger drift slowly down his sallow cheek.
It killed her seeing her precious son lying there so feeble and
helpless. She had never experienced
anything like this with any of her children, and it was slowly killing
her.
Suddenly, her cell phone rang, startling her. Jane quickly pulled it out of her purse and
turned it on.
“Hello?” she asked.
“Mom?” came a voice. “It’s
BJ.”
“Oh, hi, sweetheart,” Jane said.
“How’s Nick doing, Mom?” BJ asked, her voice filled with
worry.
“Not so good, honey,” Jane said.
“He’s in a coma.”
She heard BJ’s tearful gasp on the other end.
“The rest of the kids and Dad and I want to come up there to see
him. Is that okay?” she asked.
“Sure, honey, you guys can come if you want,” Jane said.
“Okay,” BJ replied. “We’ll
be there in about a half an hour, okay?”
“Okay, hun. I’ll see you
guys then,” Jane said.
“Okay, bye, Mom,” BJ said, and hung up.
Jane put her phone back in her purse and turned back to Nick. “That was BJ, honey,” she said. “She and Daddy and Leslie, Angel, and Aaron
will be here to see you soon.”
She studied Nick carefully and hopefully, looking for some sign
that he could hear and understand her.
She gave his hand a squeeze, but nothing happened. Tears filling her eyes again, Jane sunk back
in her chair and cried.
***
