Putting Family First, chapter 2
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Josh ran into the emergency room and up to the information desk as soon as the cab dropped him off. "My name is Josh Lyman. My mother, Elizabeth Lyman was brought in this afternoon for a stroke."
The woman he spoke to began typing into the computer, but someone spoke from behind him. "Mr. Lyman, I spoke with you this morning. My name is April Messick."
He turned around to a young woman, smiling at him. "Yes, where's my mother?"
"She's been moved to the ICU. I'll take you there." She took a clipboard off the nurse's station desk and began walking. Josh fell in step with her. "I spoke with your wife a few minutes ago. She told me your plane landed and you were on your way."
"Who?" Josh asked, confused.
She looked at the clipboard in her hand and scanned down midway with her finger. "Donna. I told her there was no change but that Mrs. Lyman had been moved to the ICU. She asked me to watch for you so I could show you upstairs. She didn't want you to have to wait."
"I don't do it well. You said my mother was awake when she arrived this morning?" They entered an elevator, and the nurse hit the button for the fourth floor.
"Yes. Her second stroke occurred within five minutes of her arrival, which is when she lost consciousness."
"How did you get my number? Was she coherent when she came in?"
"Yes, she was coherent, but she didn't give us the number. The retirement village your mother lives in keeps emergency contact information for all of their residents. They faxed it to us when she was in route. It listed you and your wife. Should we call anyone else?"
"No. My…Donna is taking care of it." The elevator came to a stop and they stepped out. This floor was much different from the hustle and bustle of the emergency room. With the exception of a few nurses at a nurse's station, there was no one in the hall. The only sounds he heard were from beeping monitors and someone coughing badly in a nearby room.
They walked to a room at the end of the hall and the woman opened the door and motioned him inside. The room was softly lit and his mother lay in the middle, covered with thin blankets and surrounded by machines. Josh stared at her for several seconds before walking in any further. Finally, he set down his backpack and walked slowly to the bed.
"I'll send her doctor in to talk to you. Do you need anything before I go, or would you like me to call your wife?"
It took him a second to respond, and when he spoke quietly he didn't take his eyes off his mother. "No, thank you, I'm fine. I'll call her after I speak with the doctor."
Once the nurse left, Josh quietly took his mother's hand in his own. He looked at her appearance. The left side of her face had sagged dramatically and she lay so still. There were tubes in her nose and mouth, and something was attached to her right index finger, he presumed taking her pulse. There was a blood pressure cuff on her right arm, and every few minutes, a machine behind her head would beep and begin taking her blood pressure. He stood there for what seemed like hours, just watching her chest rise and fall with each breath.
"Mr. Lyman?" Josh heard his name and stood a bit straighter. He turned around to see a woman, about 55 years old, standing in the doorway.
"Yes?" His voice sounded far off to him, like it was someone else speaking.
"I'm Dr. Bomboy. I'm treating your mother."
He reached out and shook her hand. "Josh Lyman. How is she?"
The doctor picked up Mrs. Lyman's chart from the end of the bed and looked it over. Then she looked up at the machines behind the bed. "Her pulse and blood pressure are remaining stable without medication, which means we aren't having to tell her heart to beat. That's a good sign."
"What about…" he couldn't say the word coma.
"It's not uncommon for a patient to slip into a comatose state during a stroke, and it's certainly not a sign that she won't pull through."
"So, she'll just wake up?"
"Well, we certainly hope so. We've run an EEG, which measures brain waves. There is brain activity, and like I said, her heart is beating on its own and her blood pressure is stable. All of those things are working in our favor. However, the longer she's unconscious, the smaller her chances of a meaningful recovery."
"Meaning?"
"Your mother had two strokes. One was small and took place before she called for an ambulance. Possibly as long ago as yesterday, but more likely, it was while she was sleeping or sometime this morning or afternoon. The other occurred within minutes of her arrival here. We ran an MRI immediately, and located two infarcts, both on the right side of the brain. As you're probably aware, the right side of the brain affects the left side of the body; hence, the appearance of her face."
"Will that go away, or…"
"We don't know. Mr. Lyman, you should know, her second stroke was severe. The second infarct is much larger than the first, which means more of the brain was affected. Unfortunately, we won't be able to assess all the damages until and unless she regains consciousness. However, possibilities you're looking at include paralysis of the left side of the body, lack of judgment and impulsive behavior that can be very dangerous, visual impairment, and short term memory loss."
"And speech, right?"
"No. The left side of the brain controls speech. The stroke shouldn't affect her speech, unless her face remains drooped like that, and then it would only be minor. I will say, however, the comatose state could have it's own affects on the body, which is why we say the first 24-48 hours are critical."
"And we don't know how long she'll…be…under?"
"No. Unfortunately, there's no way of telling when or even if she'll regain consciousness." The doctor noticed Josh's face fall. "But let me reiterate to you Mr. Lyman, her brain is functioning. That's the first hurdle for a stroke victim."
"Right."
"I'm going to go check on some patients, I'll be back in a little bit. If you need anything, just let one of the nurses know. They'll be in and out of here checking on your mother, and there is always someone at the nurse's station down the hall."
"Thank you," Josh said as he shook the woman's hand.
When she left, Josh moved back to his mother's bed and leaned down to her face. He quietly whispered, "They said you need to wake-up Mom." Then he pulled a chair up close to her bed and pulled out his cell phone.
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The last FedEx drop was at 10:00pm, and at 8:45pm, Donna had just arrived at Josh's apartment to pack some things for him when her phone rang. "Hello?"
"Donna?" Donna listened to Josh say her name and nearly lost it on the spot. He sounded beat and tired; his voice was hoarse and shaky. He was obviously fighting tears and she immediately thought his mother had passed away.
"Josh. Hi." She didn't know what to say to him, especially if his mother died. "You got to the hospital ok?"
"Yeah, I'm here." He took a deep breath. "She doesn't look good; she's so still." Although the statement was negative, Donna sighed, relieved.
"Have you spoken with her doctor?"
"Yeah, but she said so much at once, I don't remember it all." He paused and tried to gain some kind of control. "She's hooked up to so much stuff, Donna, she looks…tiny."
Donna sat on Josh's bed as tears slipped from her eyes. "Josh, we talked about that, remember? Just look past that stuff, she's your mom."
"I know, but…" he choked back a sob. "The left side of her face….it doesn't look right. And she's pale and kind of clammy. Her leg twitches every now and then, and when it does, I look up at her face, but she's just lying there."
"Josh, tell me what the doctor said. Just what you remember," she whispered. She hoped he couldn't hear her cry.
He closed his eyes and wiped a few tears away. "She said that there are two bleeds and that they're on the right side of her brain, so the left side of her body is being affected."
"What about brain waves? Did she mention that?" Donna had done some research to bone up as much as possible after Josh left work. She hated to not understand things.
"Yes, her brain is functioning, and her heart is beating on its own."
She tried to sound positive. "That's good, Josh. I'm not just saying that. Both of those things are really good."
"I know, but…she's not waking up. The longer she's…."
"It hasn't been that long. You have to give her some time, it hasn't been that long."
He took at deep breath that came out ragged. "I know." He looked up when a woman walked in the door. "A nurse is here. I have to go."
"You're going to be ok?"
"I don't know."
"Try to eat something, you probably haven't eaten since breakfast. Maybe you could take a walk, get some fresh air."
"I need to stay here. I'll call you later."
"Ok."
"Donna?"
"Yeah?"
After a long pause, he simply said, "Thanks."
"Take care, Josh." She hung up the phone and went into the bathroom to splash some water on her face. She looked in the mirror and swore at herself for letting him go alone. She should have offered to go with him. He should have asked her to go. Now, he was there alone while his mother lay helpless.
She quickly grabbed a few pair of jeans, a sweater, a polo shirt and a few t-shirts out of his closet. Then she went to his dresser and took out some shorts, boxer shorts and gym socks and threw them all into a bag. After that, she went into his bathroom and found his razor, toothbrush, deodorant, and toothpaste, along with the travel size shampoo and conditioner he kept for business trips. She put it all in the bag and went into the kitchen for his Sertaline, then grabbed his gym shoes on the way out the door.
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"There's news?" Leo picked up the phone and asked without even a hello.
"Nothings changed, Leo, although we do have some more details. But that's not why I'm calling."
"You're at the airport."
Donna sat stunned for just a second before she answered, "I'm on my way there now. How did you know that?" Fifteen minutes after she left Josh's, she'd found herself at her apartment instead of the FedEx drop. Without thinking, she had gone into her room, thrown the same basic things into a bag for herself, and left for the airport. She remembered a late evening flight, and only hoped she could get there in time.
Leo smiled. They really had no idea how transparent they were. "I couldn't believe you didn't go with him this afternoon."
Donna didn't have time to think about the implications of what he just said. If she were thinking clearly, she'd worry about what that meant and what he knew about her feelings for Josh, but she just didn't have the energy to consider it all now. "He didn't leave any room for discussion."
"And now?"
"I didn't leave any room for discussion. Listen, Leo. I've staffed everything of his out for the rest of the week. I'll call the pool and have them send up a sub for me, but I have to go. He sounded…I have to go."
"I'll call the pool Donna. You go. We'll manage without the two of you for a while. Take care of him," he said as he hung up. Truthfully, he felt better knowing Donna was going to be with Josh. She would be the only one to get through to him if the worst happened.
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Donna's plane landed at 1:43am, and as she walked through the airport, she checked her cell for messages. She had called Josh just before boarding the plane and had discretely turned her cell on several times during the 3-hour flight to check for messages from him. There had been no changes, but he had called twice. Both times she called him back from the phone on the plane and listened as he told her he had only called to update her. She knew better, however. She knew he called because…because he was lonely, because there was nothing he could do to help, because he felt guilty for not being there, because he was scared and needed someone to talk to, because he was scared and needed to talk to her.
Donna's thoughts drifted to Elizabeth as she waited for a cab. They had only met a few times, but Donna adored her. The first time they met was during the first campaign. His father was sick then and couldn't make the drive to Hartford to listen to Bartlet's speech, so Josh, Sam and Donna had driven to his parent's house for dinner. She remembered thinking that his father was just like him, intelligent and tough, but with a heart like chocolate. His mother had commended Donna for taking care of and putting up with her only son. She was also impressed that Donna had a handle on him after only working for him for a few short months. That evening, Elizabeth had nonchalantly mentioned that Josh had never brought a girl home before. Donna played if off, saying they had worked in the car on the way, but Elizabeth had just smiled. The next time they met was at the hospital when Josh was shot. There, they got to know each other better, both of them telling Josh stories while he slept 18 hours a day. One night, at 2am, as they watched him sleep, Elizabeth told Donna about the day she and Noah met. "I didn't fall in love with him the day we met, but I knew I would," she said, smiling at Donna. Yes, it was safe to say, Donna never had Elizabeth Lyman fooled.
By the time she got a cab and arrived at the hospital, it was 2:20am. Even the ER seemed deserted as she walked in and towards the elevator. While waiting for it, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She looked ragged and tired. Any make-up had long since worn off, she had bags under her eyes, and her clothes were wrinkled. Her hair was in a ponytail, but much of it had come loose. She quickly redid it as she rode to the fourth floor.
She asked a nurse where Mrs. Lyman's room was and as she walked down the hall, she began to re-think her decision to come, again. After all, Josh hadn't asked her to come. She hadn't even told him she was coming for fear that he would tell her not to. She could walk into that room, and he could be ticked off that she had flown here to take care of him. After all, he's a grown man and although Elizabeth's records indicated it, she was not family. Still, she knew him better than he knew himself, and she could hear in his voice how close he was to the edge. The truth was, she didn't know how to be anywhere else.
When she reached the room, she closed her eyes and took a long deep breath before going in. She opened the door and saw Elizabeth Lyman lying still in her bed, with the left side of her face drooped dramatically. There seemed to be tubes everywhere, and she looked very pale. Josh was sitting in a chair next to the bed, his back to Donna. He was bent over with his head in his hands, and didn't stir when she took a few steps into the room and let the door close quietly behind her. Only then could she see his shoulders shaking, and knew he was crying. She stood and watched him for several seconds, and then walked to the chair, slowly reached her hand out and put it on his back. "I knew you'd come," he whispered.
"I had to."
He sat up, turned around and looked at her. His face was red and stained with tears, both new and old, and his hair was a mess. His eyes were bloodshot and his clothes were a wrinkled, but he smiled just a little at her and took her hand. "I didn't… know how to ask."
She smiled back and squeezed his hand. "You didn't have to."
