As Caroline drove to the hospital, Mei-Li prayed the Our Father and Hail Mary over and over again, her Catholic upbringing coming through even though she hadn't been to church since Carlos's confirmation. They arrived at the hospital and walked over to the main service desk, "Audrey Lim-Melendez, where is she?" asked Mei-Li.
The receptionist looked up the information and said, "She's in room 308 of the ICU."
"Thank you," said Mei-Li. Mei-Li and Caroline walked to Intensive Care and found Lim's room. Mei-Li knocked and Melendez came out into the common area, "Dad," Mei-Li hugged him.
"Mija," he hugged her back and kissed her temple.
"What happened?" asked Mei-Li.
"I took your mother to the ER, they did a chest x-ray, and she has a pneumothorax. They don't know exactly what caused it, but they inserted a chest tube and they're going to keep her here for a few nights, as long as the chest tube is in at least," said Melendez.
"Did you call Carlos?" asked Mei-Li.
"I did, he's on his way from Berkeley," said Melendez, "I don't know how long it'll take him to get here though."
"With the way he drives that death machine, he'll be here in less than an hour," said Mei-Li. Melendez smiled to try to ease the tension and said, "I'll go wait for him in the lobby."
Melendez nodded and Mei-Li and Caroline turned to go the main entrance, Mei-Li wrapping herself in her coat since she was still wearing a dress and heels, "We should take you home so you can change into more comfortable clothes."
"I don't want to leave here," said Mei-Li.
"Your house isn't that far. You'll be more comfortable in jeans than a dress," said Caroline, "Besides, it'll take a while for your brother to get here."
"Fine," Mei-Li agreed, though once she arrived home, Mei-Li changed in a flash, so they drove back to the hospital. Mei-Li anxiously paced the lobby and said, "A pneumothorax. God, that's a new one."
"That's never happened before?" asked Caroline.
Mei-Li shook her head and sat down next to her girlfriend, "No, Mom's had to be rushed to the hospital for breathing issues before, but she's never had a collapsed lung."
Caroline looked over at Mei-Li and said, "I know it's not really any of my business, but is your mom's lung problem congenital?"
Mei-Li shook her head, "No," she paused, "A couple years before I was born, Mom got a SARS or COVID like virus while working the ER. Doctors never fully figured out what it was. But it left her with lasting pulmonary fibrosis that's just gotten worse over the years. Ironically, it's the reason Mom and Dad got together. But it's been rough."
"I'm sorry," said Caroline.
A few tears streamed down Mei-Li's cheeks, "Last year was the worst. Shortly after Christmas, Mom got pneumonia. She was sick at home for a week, then had to be rushed to the hospital and put on a ventilator for four days, spent another week in the hospital after that, then another two weeks at home. And we weren't sure she was coming off of that ventilator the first few days. And I couldn't stay long because I was still in med school doing my clinical rotations."
Caroline's heart broke for Mei-Li, so she took her hand and kissed it, "I'm here for you."
When Carlos arrived, everyone went back to the ICU to see Lim. Caroline squeezed Mei-Li's hand and said, "I'll be out here waiting."
Mei-Li nodded and the siblings entered the room, "Mom," Mei-Li said and walked over to Lim's bedside.
Lim saw Carlos and Mei-Li and looked over at Melendez, "Neil, I told you not to call them."
"Well, I didn't listen," said Melendez.
"How are you feeling?" asked Carlos.
"Like someone ran over my chest with one of our motorcycles," said Lim, attempting to lighten the somber mood.
"Mom," Mei-Li scolded.
"In all seriousness, Claire should be coming by with test results soon," said Lim.
They waited for several more minutes when Claire finally entered the room, "Mei-Li, Carlos," she smiled softly, but then gained a serious look.
"We'll go," said Mei-Li.
"No, we want you to stay. Go ahead, Dr. Browne-Murphy," said Lim.
"Your pulmonary function test results show that your pulmonary fibrosis has entered an advanced stage," informed Claire.
"How did this happen?" asked Mei-Li.
"We can't pinpoint the specific cause for the pneumothorax or the sudden flare up, but Dr. Lim-Melendez's pneumonia battle last year might have caused it to progress more quickly. Also too much activity and stress can cause a flare up. But usually someone has worsening symptoms to indicate exacerbation," Claire eyed Lim, knowing her boss's habit to ignore warning signs of declining health. Melendez and Mei-Li also eyed Lim.
Lim sighed and said, "I've been more stressed at work because of a few mass casualty events, plus there have been several holidays, and I might have had a cold over the past few weeks."
"Audrey," said Melendez.
"As a result of the progression, you'll need an increase in your steroid as well as oxygen therapy," said Claire.
"For how long?" asked Melendez.
"Permanently," said Claire.
"Can someone please use plain English to explain to the non-doctor in the room what's going on?" asked Carlos.
"Mom needs oxygen for the rest of her life and she's slowly suffocating to death," said Mei-Li bluntly.
"Mei-Li," said Lim.
"It's the truth," she said angrily.
"Mija," warned Melendez.
Mei-Li sighed and asked, "What about a lung transplant?"
"Mei-Li, no," said Lim.
"Mom," Mei-Li begged.
"Mei-Li, I'll be reaching the age limit this year. There are many other people out there who need lungs more than me. I'll pursue other treatment options," said Lim.
Mei-Li took a deep breath and choked back tears, "Fine."
"I'll leave you all alone," said Claire.
Claire left the room and Melendez turned to his children, "Mei-Li, Carlos, would you let your mother and I discuss something?"
"Of course," said Carlos.
"I'm going to go find Caroline and get some food," said Mei-Li.
The two of them left the room and Melendez turned to face Lim. He took a deep breath and said, "Audrey, we need to talk, and you're not going to want to hear what I have to say," Lim raised her eyebrows at him as he took a seat in the chair in her room, "Audrey, given your age and your failing health, I think it's time to start talking…retirement."
Lim's eyes widened and she said, "Neil, no!"
"Audrey, if you continue working, your job might literally kill you," said Melendez, "And you'll need to carry portable oxygen with you. You can't operate on people while wearing a portable oxygen concentrator."
"Then I'll stay out of the OR and do lighter desk work, maybe supervise the ER some too," said Lim and coughed.
"Audrey," Melendez took her hand, "I know you love what you do. But you've dedicated nearly forty years of your life to this hospital. You've been running it in the top position for the last ten years. You were St. Bonaventure's first female president. You've had a good career. You've earned a good retirement," said Melendez, "And I want you to be alive so we can spend our golden years together."
"That's just it Neil," Lim said and coughed a little, "If I retire, you'll become the president and Reznick will become Chief of Surgery. You'll still be working, so we won't see each other much. At least if I'm working, we can see each other here."
"But it won't be much longer until I retire; I'll be president long enough for Reznick to figure out who she wants to make Chief of Surgery. And then, we can do things together. We can go to Hawaii like you always wanted. We can try to watch all of the Harry Potter or Star Wars movies in 24 hours or read all seven Harry Potter books in a week. But I want you to be alive when I retire. I want to be able to walk Mei-Li and Carlos down the aisle with you if they get married. I want to be able to hold our grandkids with you if we become an abuelito and an ama," Melendez started to cry a little, "Audrey, you've had a great career, all while raising two wonderful, caring children, and having the privilege of having a sexy husband…"
"Neil," Lim laughed and coughed, "You might have started out that way, but your temples are gray, your six pack disappeared about fifteen years ago, and your deer tattoo looks more like some sort of saggy moose."
"But you still think I'm sexy," said Melendez.
"I think you're an asshat," said Lim.
"But I'm your asshat," said Melendez. He kissed her and said, "And I love you, so please consider my suggestion."
Lim took a deep breath and squeezed his hand, "Okay."
Meanwhile, Mei-Li and Caroline had gone outside to get some fresh air after eating while Carlos tried to let Berkeley know about his current situation. Caroline turned to Mei-Li and said, "Your mom's going to be okay. I know I haven't known Dr. Lim-Melendez long, but I can tell she's a fighter."
Mei-Li smiled softly, "Thanks."
Caroline hesitated before she said, "I love you, Mei-Li."
Mei-Li was a little surprised by Caroline's admission, but she took her hand, squeezed it, and said, "I love you too."
