Chapter 11 ---- Original Ending

Josh's cell phone rang at 1:15, and without even opening an eye, Donna reached down onto the floor and picked it up. After only two hours of sleep, Josh was only half conscious, but still managed to take the phone from her and kiss her wrist before answering. "Hello?" he said in a groggy voice.

"Mr. Lyman, this is Ericka, from the ICU."

"My mother?" he asked in a panicked voice as he sat up, rolling Donna to her side.

"Yes sir, she…"

"We're on our way," he said and hung up the phone. In just a few seconds, he had his jeans pulled on over the boxers he was wearing. He looked over at Donna, who was already on the other side of the room slipping into her sandals and picking up her purse. "Donna," he said, but couldn't finish his thought.

She walked over to him and quietly took him by the arm. "Come on, Josh. We need to go."

They practically ran down the hall and the flight of stairs, but still the trip to the ICU seemed to take forever. Donna held Josh's hand the whole time, gripping it for dear life. When they pushed the door to Elizabeth's room open, they heard someone yell "clear" and then saw Elizabeth's body jerk off of the bed. There were two doctors as well as several nurses around her bed, and they couldn't see her face. Everyone in the room continued working, taking no notice of Josh and Donna standing in the doorway. "What's happening?" Josh asked, panicked.

"Mr. Lyman, we need you to wait outside," said one of the nurses.

"Tell me what's happening with my mother," he said in a controlled but unwavering voice. Donna gripped his hand tighter and looked past the nurse to the action happening around Elizabeth's bed.

"Your mother's had a heart attack, Mr. Lyman, you need you to wait outside, now. Someone will be out to talk to you in a few minutes," the nurse replied in just as stern a voice. Josh looked at her in disbelief and then looked over at his mother. Willing his feet to move, he pulled a stunned Donna into the hallway.

As soon as they were in the hall, Josh leaned against the wall and pulled Donna into his arms. She buried her head in his neck and cried. She had never seen anything like that, not in real life, to watch a doctor actually shock somebody's heart. It was both amazing and horrifying in the same moment. "I don't understand," she whispered. "She was getting better."

A few minutes later, the door to Elizabeth's room opened and what seemed like the entire hospital staff wheeled his mother's bed out and down the hall towards the elevator. Josh and Donna followed them, but when they got to the elevator, it was waiting and they quickly put the bed inside and the doors closed. Dr. Bomboy stepped back and watched them leave and then turned to Josh and Donna. "Mr. and Mrs. Lyman, let's go sit down," she said, calmly, and Josh and Donna blindly followed her into a small room a few doors down from Elizabeth's room.

When they stepped inside the room, Josh led a still stunned Donna to a couch and sat down next to her. She was gripping his hand so tightly that it hurt, and he thought she might be in some sort of shock. "What happened, and what's happening now?" he asked, calmly.

"Mrs. Lyman suffered a heart attack about twenty-five minutes ago and crashed almost immediately. We shocked her heart six times before it began beating again, although it's faint and not in a solid rhythm."

He looked at Donna, whose face had turned ghostly white. "And where are they taking her now?"

"We need to talk about that. Mr. Lyman, do you hold your mother's medical power of attorney?" He closed his eyes and nodded. "Does she have a living will?"

He looked at the doctor and then to Donna. She was sobbing nearly uncontrollably, and he pulled her to his chest. Tears pooled in his eyes as he remembered what Donna had told him the evening before. "Yes," he choked out, kissing Donna on the forehead.

"I need a copy of it," the doctor said, quietly. Donna, still crying, handed Josh her purse, and he pulled it out, handing it to the woman, who nodded and said, "I'll have a copy made and give this back to you."

"What's happening now?" asked Josh, quietly.

"Blood and oxygen were cut off from her heart. Depending on the severity of the blockage, she needs to have either a coronary artery bypass or coronary angioplasty. However, she flat lined for fourteen and a half minutes, which also cut off oxygen and blood to her brain."

Hearing that, Josh pulled Donna closer to him, fighting his own tears. They both listened as Dr. Bomboy continued. "Due to her strokes, I'm very concerned about this. In most cases, a heart attack followed by a stroke is unlikely, but in this case, it's a very real possibility. Even if she didn't or doesn't have another stroke, the swelling in her brain has no doubt increased. And if the infarcts are larger, which they probably are, then even more of her brain will have been affected. At this point…" she looked at Josh, "Mr. Lyman, at this point, it's quite possible that she won't live a meaningful life, if she survives at all."

Donna sat up and stared at the woman through tears. "Doctor Bomboy," she said quietly, wiping her face, "This just happened. Are you sure?"

The woman looked at both of them and shook her head. "No. We can't be sure until she has an EEG and MRI. However, she has to be stabilized before we can run the tests. Right now, they're working on getting a solid heartbeat. If they can't, they'll have no choice but to operate. Once she's stable, we'll run the tests. We'll check for swelling changes and brain activity, and we'll check to see if she's had another stroke."

"And if she has?" asked Josh.

"Well, that depends a great deal on this and on you," she said, holding up the living will. "It also depends on the severity of the swelling or stroke, as well as the severity of the damage to her heart." She stood up. "I'm not saying it's hopeless. But, I think it would be wise to prepare yourselves."

"Thank you," replied Josh, who opted to continue holding Donna rather than stand up and shake the woman's hand.

Neither Josh nor Donna said anything once the doctor left. Several minutes passed and Donna lay down on the couch with her head in Josh's lap. The tears had stopped, it seemed as though she had cried until there were no more. Josh sat upright on the couch and ran his fingers through her hair softly, feeling surprisingly calm himself.

"Donna," he said a few minutes later, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Yeah?" she asked with a hoarse voice.

"About earlier, in the room…" he drifted off. Donna took a deep breath. It would break her heart to hear him say it was a mistake.

She shifted onto her back, with her head still in his lap and bit her lip to hold back tears. "We didn't know Josh. We can wait."

He smiled a little at her. "I was just going to say that I love you…and… thank you for being here."

She folded her hands across her abdomen. "Really? You don't want to wait a while? I'd understand."

He brushed his thumb over her lips and then rested it on top of hers on her stomach. "I just got you, I'm not letting you go," he said before leaning down and kissing her lightly on the lips.

"I'm not going anywhere," she whispered.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Fifteen minutes later, a nurse came into the room to tell them that the doctors had been able to establish a regular heartbeat without operating, and that Elizabeth had been taken for the EEG and MRI. Donna didn't acknowledge the woman at all; Josh nodded at her and she turned to leave.

"Oh, Mr. Lyman?"

"Yes," he said, looking up at the young woman.

"Your mother's visitors… they're in the waiting room. They're asking about her, but we have very strict privacy rules. I can't give them any information without your permission," she said, hesitantly.

"Of course, I'm sorry. I forgot they were here. Can you please send them in here? I'll talk to them."

She smiled and nodded. "I'll send them in."

A minute later, Marjorie and Gary walked in the small room and Betty and Russell followed behind them. Donna immediately stood up and hugged Betty, crying again. Josh stood and shook hands with Russell and Gary, then gave Marjorie a brief hug.

"How are you two holding up?" asked Russell.

"Well Sir, we've been better," Josh said, trying to smile.

"Marjorie called us a half hour ago and said something had happened, but the hospital wouldn't tell us anything."

Donna broke away from Betty and stood next to Josh, taking his hand in hers. They sat on the couch again and Marjorie, Betty and George took the only other chairs in the room. Russell stood in the corner, watching with a smile as Josh put his arm around Donna.

"Mom had a heart attack," Josh said simply. At his words, Betty gasped and Marjorie immediately started crying.

Russell walked to his wife's chair and put his hand on her shoulder. "Is she in surgery now?" he asked.

Josh shook his head. "She flat lined for several minutes, which stopped blood and oxygen flow to her heart and brain, so right now, they're checking for increased swelling or signs of another stroke. Once we know the extent of the damage to her brain, we'll decide what to do about her heart."

Betty took a deep breath. "And what can we do to help the two of you?"

Josh shrugged. "Nothing, really. We may need names and phone numbers from you later."

"Of course," she said. "If calls need to be made, I can help with that."

"Thank you," whispered Donna.

"Would you like me to call her rabbi?" asked Marjorie.

"She has a rabbi?" Josh asked. His family had never attended temple regularly, and his mother had told him once that she believed religion, even Judaism, got in the way of a relationship with God.

"She occasionally attends temple with us," replied Marjorie.

He nodded. "He doesn't need to come, but if he could pray for her, I'd appreciate it." She smiled and then stood up and left the room. Gary followed behind her and Russell took his seat next to Betty.

Betty turned to Donna. "You look…"

"Like hell?" Donna asked, laughing through her tears.

Betty smiled. "Tired. You look tired."

"I don't know what's wrong with me. I can't seem to stop crying," she said. Josh tightened his grip on her a little, trying to give her some amount of strength.

"Josh," Russell said. "Are you ready to make this decision?"

Josh looked at his lap for a minute and then up at Russell. "If I have to, yes."

"She's lived a full life Josh."

He nodded and closed his eyes. "Yes Sir."