"Callie you have to. We need to make sure that you are ok." Lena stated. Why was it so hard for this child to understand that she was getting checked out? All they wanted was for her to be 100% healthy and if she needed a hearing aid, she would get it!
"But I am ok. Hearing doesn't count. I can be healthy and not hear anything. That doesn't mean there is anything wrong with me." Callie said defending herself. She didn't want this done. She didn't know if she would be able to ignore the bullying much longer, and now they wanted to add to it? It already took everything in her to stay calm. She knew she couldn't react to them, she would get in trouble. If this had happened two years ago she would have beaten them all. It was the only way she could protect Jude.
"I understand that Bug, but we are going to get you 100% checked out before you are discharged. The last thing you need is to get sick again. Your body is already straining to keep up. So just get checked out. And if everything goes well you will be home by Thursday. So just bare with us on this." Stef tried to give her some hope. Maybe a little light at the end of the tunnel would calm her.
"Thursday?" Callie's eyes were wide with hope. "So does that mean I can go to school on Friday?" She new it was a long shot, but she tried any way.
Stef and Lena locked eyes and did there silent conversation thing. Stef nodded and looked at the rest of the kids. "Hey guys why don't we go home. You guys need to do homework and you still have school tomorrow." Stef said to the other kids that were enjoying the argument.
The others looked a Stef startled and they all just nodded and made their way to their mama and Callie. Kissing them goodbye and wishing Callie that she feels better soon. After Stef and the kids left. Lena looked at her daughter. "That is still up to the doctor. She said that if everything goes well you can go home Thursday. Depending on how you feel while at home, she then will determine when you can go back to school. After we still have to get your allergy test done. So you might miss another day, depending on how that goes."
"So Monday then?" Callie tried again.
"Callie! What is with you and school?" Lena said exasperated. She knew Callie wanted to do well in school, but this?
"I'm just falling behind. Mama my classes are hard and I can't afford to fall behind too much it's going to hurt my GPA." Not to mention I have to turn in Kylies project. If I don't she's going to be mad. Callie thought to herself. Two years ago, she wouldn't have let anyone get away with what Kylie was doing. But now? And with Lena as the vice- principal?
At that moment Stef made her way back into Callie's room. "I forgot my cell phone. Bye Bug. I'll see you tomorrow. Good night Love. Call me if you girls need anything." Stef said to both her girls.
"Mom please tell mama I can go to school! Wait, your not coming back?" Callie was desperate at this point. She needed to get that paper to Kylie by Monday morning or she was in for it. If Stef wasn't coming back she would have to wait until tomorrow or the next day to get the information she gathered. That means she would have to pull an all nighter to get it done along with her own work.
"Callie mama said that it depends on what Dr. C. says." Stef tried to sound calm but this subject was starting to bother her. What was up with Callie? She liked school, but not this much.
"But…" Callie tried again.
"No, stop right there. I suggest that you stop right now. You know very well that mama and I are a united front, if mama said no then I say no." Stef said while looking at Callie in the eyes. "Stop trying to pin us against each other. It's not going to work. You're already grounded and we have warned you about this behavior. One more word about school and you'll be grounded for two weeks got that?"
Callie was looking at her hands. She was fidgeting her fingers and nodded her head.
Stef kissed her daughter and wife again and made her way out of the room back to where she left the other kids to take them home.
Callie was starting to freak out. They just didn't understand. She was going to be in so much trouble. And since her mama worked in the school she couldn't do what she normally would. "Mama?" This was her last effort to get that paper done.
"What it is Callie." Lena said a little snappy.
Callie flinched a little. When Lena saw this her face instantly softened. What was going on?
"Can I get my laptop and homework so I have something to do while I'm here? Maybe I can give you guys my work so it can get turned in on time?" Callie tried again.
"Oh Bug. You don't have to worry about homework right now. You can barely stay awake for more than an hour at a time. I can tell right now that you're sleepy. You're eyes are droopy and you look exhausted. Lena touched her daughter's cheek and moved her hair off her face. I know you worry about school, and I know I put a lot of pressure on you when we had you skip grades, but your health is more important to me than school right now. I already talked to the school about what's going on with you and none of your teachers are expecting any work from you for the rest of this week." Lena said while brushing hair out of Callie's face. Callie's eyes closed for a minute, just relishing the moment relaxing considerably.
She just nodded her head. Callie was tired. In reality she felt exhausted. But she had to get Kylies paper done and to her by Monday morning. How was she going to do that?
"Ok how about you take a nap? Mom took the kids home so they can work on homework and stuff. And you and me can just cuddle for a while." Lena tried. She wanted her daughter to rest. If she was agitated and worried about school, she wouldn't.
"Mama I really want to work on some homework. And maybe B. can turn it in for me? I have a paper due on Monday." Callie was targeting her vice-principal side. She could already see her wavering.
"Callie… I really want you to rest as much as possible. The medicine you're on makes you drowsy and Dr. C. said you need to rest." Lena insisted.
"Please mama? Just this one paper. I promise. I have all the information already. I just need to write it." Callie pushed. She even did a very subtle puppy dog eyes.
Lena sighed. What was with this girl? "Ok Bug, but just this one. Then I get my cuddles. Got it!" Lena said smiling.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you mama." Callie said happily. As long as she can get this done she would be fine.
"Your welcome. But take your time. You have almost a week to write it. And when they come to do your tests, I want full cooperation. Got it?" Lena pressed. She wanted Callie to know that she couldn't use school work to push off her tests. Her health came first.
"Yes I got it. I promise. Full cooperation." Now all she had to figure out was how to get the paper to Kylie. It's not like she could ask one of her siblings.
"Ok, I'll text mom to bring your laptop and book bag when she comes back to bring our overnight bags. Anything else you need?" Lena asked while pulling out her phone.
"Nope everything is there. Thank you again!" Callie said with a expression of relief on her face.
"It's ok. Just take it easy." She finished her text to her wife and put her cell away back in her purse. "Now, how about a nap? I'll even lay here with you."
Callie nodded her head and moved over to make space for her mama. Lena laid down next to her being careful with her IV and all the wires they had her connected to.
Callie got comfortable, laying her head on Lena's chest, with the arm that had all the IV's over Lena's stomach.
Lena started to run her fingers through Callie's hair. Just trying to soothe her. Maybe she would relax enough to fall asleep again. That was one of her last thoughts as she started to doze off herself.
When Stef came back from dropping off the kids at the house, she found her wife and daughter both asleep on the hospital bed. Smiling she pulled out her phone and snapped a few pictures before making her way to her wife to let her know she was back.
"Honey?" Stef whispered while lightly touching her wife's arm. She didn't want to startle her so she wouldn't wake their daughter.
Lena opened her eyes and saw Stef leaning over her. She smiled and looked down at Callie. She was sound asleep.
"Honey I'm back. Do you need help or are you going to stay there?" Stef asked when she saw Lena trying to get comfortable.
"I don't want to wake her up. Let's try to move her and if she doesn't stir I'll move but if she starts to wake up I'll stay." Lena whispered. She didn't want to risk waking up Callie.
"Ok." Stef picked up Callie's head and arms so that Lena could slide out, but as soon as a sleeping Callie felt her mama move, she tightened her hold on Lena's shirt and frowned. Lena stopped her movement and re-positioned herself back on the bed, Stef put Callie back on her chest. The teen immediately relaxed and stayed sleeping.
"Hahaha I guess I'm staying here." Lena stated. It was fine with her, was just happy she was finally resting.
"Looks like it. Are you comfortable? Can I get you anything?" Stef asked her wife. She wanted to make sure that if she was stuck, that she was at least comfortable.
"I'm fine love. Just glad she's resting. She looks so peaceful." Lena said with sad eyes.
"Yeah and small. She looks younger. She's so mature I sometimes forget she's just 15." Stef added.
"Did you bring her school work?" Lena didn't want Callie to be upset when she woke up. She promised her she could work on her paper for a little while.
"Yeah. It's all here. And I also brought her laptop like you asked. Why did you ask me to bring her school work? Do you think she's going to feel well enough to do it?" Stef was worried that she was going to push herself to hard so she wouldn't get in trouble at school.
"She asked for it. I said that she didn't have to worry about it but she was adamant that she has to turn in a paper that's due." Lena said while looking at her daughter.
"Sometimes I wonder if we did the right thing in skipping her grades? She works so hard." Stef mused. Callie is very bright but she would rather push herself to a breaking point before asking for help.
"She's normally ok. She keeps up with all her work and even with skipping grades and taking AP classes, she still has a 4.0 average." Lena thought about it and even with everything Callie had been through, she was a fairly well adjusted teenager.
"I guess having two hospital stays in one week scared her. She probably thinks she won't have time to do all her work." Stef said.
"Tomorrow, I'll stop by the school and touch base with her teachers. Maybe I can get her an extension on this paper. After she argued with me about it she fell right to sleep. I don't know if she will be able to focus enough so do a good job." Lena wanted to make sure that all of Callie's teachers got the memo about what's going on with Callie.
"That's a great idea. It would help her relax." Stef said looking at her daughter. She looked peaceful but she still had bags under her eyes and she looked a little pale. All these allergic reactions were taking their toll on her. "Well if you two ladys don't need anything else from me, I'll be on my way. I have to get to the house before the night time routine war starts. If not I might get there and some kids might be missing." Stef said laughing.
Lena chuckled. "I'll see you in the morning, love. Please be good. Don't bother the kids too much. And tell them I love them. Give them all a good night kiss from me."
"You take out all the fun." Stef pouted. She leaned down and gently pecked her wife in the lips. "Love you. Take care of the Bug for me." At this Lena just nodded. Then Stef moved towards Callie. "Good night Bug. Be good for mama. I'll see you tomorrow. Love you." Then she kissed her forehead.
Callie stirred at the words and at the feel of the light kiss. Without opening her eyes, she mumbled a few words. "Night mom. Love you." Then settled back onto Lena's chest.
Both moms smiled at their daughter. And Stef left not long after.
As soon as stef was out of the room. Lena settled down on the bed and hugged Callie closer to her. After a few minutes of watching her daughter's chest rise and fall, she too drifted of to sleep.
Callie woke to light in the room. It wasn't blinding but it was light. Then she felt someone moving her hair and touching her. She jolted up, startled.
At this Lena woke up also thinking something was wrong. "Callie what's wrong? Are you ok?"
Callie already having time to process what was going on took a deep breath and nodded. That's when Lena saw a nurse standing back with a thermometer in her hands. That's when she understood the problem.
The nurse was just surprised and worried. They had sent her in to take the patients temp, but she had no idea she was going to scare the girl so much. "I'm so sorry. I was just checking her temperature."
"No it's fine. I should have warned you. She's had some traumatic experiences in the past. It's not a good idea to touch her without waking her up first. It's best to let us wake her up from now on." Lena explained to the nurse.
Callie just looked at her hands in her lap and blushed. She hated when stuff like this happened. It was a constant reminder of everything she went through while I the system.
"It fine. Is it ok if I take her temperature now?" The nurse asked.
"Oh yeah sure. She's awake, it'll be fine." Then she looked at Callie. "Bug I'm going to the restroom really quick. I'll be right back. Start thinking about what you want for breakfast."
"Ok mama." Callie said nodding her head.
The nurse walked up to Callie and moved her hair so she could put the thermometer in her right ear. "I'm really sorry I scared you." Callie apologised.
"No, no, I'm the one that's sorry. I should have woken you up first. I think I remember a note in your chart about not sneaking up on you." The nurse said while she waited for the thermometer to beep.
Callie nodded her head. "Yeah I haven't had many good experiences in hospitals or in other homes. Not till I moved in with my moms and they adopted me and my brother a year ago." she explained.
"Oh ok. So I read in your chart that you suffered an anaphylactic shock. Was it your first one?" The nurse asked.
Callie chuckled. "That's a long story. Turns out I'm severely allergic to bees and penicillin. On Friday I got stung by a bee and on Monday I got an allergic reaction to my antibiotic."
"Wait, you had two anaphylactic reactions in four days?" The nurse asked shocked.
"Mhm. Now I have to stay here a few days and get tests done. A full physical, including hearing test and everything." Callie felt the nurse remove the thermometer from her ear, and saw her right something down.
"That's good though. So how did you not know you had such severe reactions?" The nurse explained.
"Well they don't really check in foster care." Callie said.
"I see. Well at least your moms worry about your health." The nurse finished what she was doing and went to the foot of the bed.
"So what's my temperature?" Callie wanted to know if she still had a fever.
"At this the nurse looked at Callie. Well you have a low grade fever. You're at 99.8, so we have to keep a close eye on it." The nurse said. She noticed on the chart that Callie has had a fever for a few days now.
"Yeah it would suck if my fever came back. I hate having infections. I thought I was done with them." Callie sighed. She really was done with being sick.
"Well from what I see here they have you on new antibiotics. If this one doesn't work, we'll try a different one. It's just a matter of finding the one that works for you."
Just then Lena came out of the bathroom. "Hey Bug did you think about what you want to eat?"
"Umm… Yeah umm… can I have eggs and bacon with hash browns." Callie said while looking at her hands in her lap.
"Of course bug. Actually that sounds so good, I want some. I'll text your mom and have her bring it with her when she comes to stay with you. Ok?" Lena wanted her to know that it was ok to ask for stuff. She was always going with the flow of the family and never complained.
Callie nodded her head and pulled out her phone. Lena took the opportunity to ask the nurse what Callie's temperature was. "So what was her temperature? Are the new meds working?"
"Well she has a low grade fever right now. It's at 99.8 so we have to watch it. I'm going to let the doctor know and she will be here to talk to you." The nurse said.
"Ok thank you." As the nurse left, Lena pulled out her phone so she could call Stef. She motioned for Callie that she was going to get coffee and left the room.
"Hi love! Hows my baby?" Stef said when she answered the phone.
"Hey honey. Well she looks ok. The nurse scared her this morning. Touched her while she was dead asleep." Lena said sighing.
"Oh that's never a good thing to do." stef agreed. They learned that little detail the bad way. Now the always started talking to her before they would touch her.
"Nope." Lena knew not to do that either.
"So how did that go?" Stef asked with concern.
"She's ok. She was able to keep herself calm for the most part. I was really proud of her. I didn't make a big deal but she did good." Lena said with a smile. A year ago this would have ended in a panic attack.
"My poor Bug. Has the doctor seen her yet?" Stef asked.
"No. But the nurse checked her temperature this morning and it looks like it's going up again." Lena ordered her coffee and paid. Them made her way back towards Callie's room.
"What? Nooo! How high?" She didn't like the sound of that.
"99.8 It's low grade but they have to keep and eye on it." Lena said.
"Oh my poor baby. How is she acting?" stef wanted to know if she was acting different. She usually did when she was sick.
"She's normal. Wants eggs, bacon and hashbrowns for breakfast." Lena said laughing. She knew her wife would like that.
"That's my girl. And let me guess you want fruit or something small?" Stef said with a chuckle.
"No I actually told her I would eat the same thing as her." Lena said surprising Stef.
"Wait what? You want greasy fried bacon with eggs and hash browns? Mrs. Health nut?" Lena liked to eat healthy so my default they all ate healthy.
"She was hesitant to ask. I said it sounded so good I wanted some." Lena said chuckling.
"Well then 3 orders of eggs bacon and hash browns coming right up." Stef said laughing.
At this point Lena was walking back into the room. She looked at Callie and smiled.
Callie looked at her mother that was still on the phone. And she mouthed. "Is that mom?"
Lena nodded her head again.
Callie smiled. "Tell mom I love her and miss her. And to hurry it up with breakfast, that I'm starving." She said loud enough for Stef to hear her.
Lena laughed at her wife's response. "She said that her Bug is going to find bugs in her eggs."
"Eww, that's gross." Callie said laughing.
At that point the doctor came in the room. "Well looks like someone is in a good mood. Good morning ladies."
"Stef I'll call you later Leslie just came to check on Callie." Lena said to her wife.
"Ok call me back and let me know what she says." Stef said.
"Ok, love you. See you soon." Lena said.
"Love you too love. I'll be there in about thirty minutes." Stef said then ended the call.
Lena put her cell phone down and looked at the doctor. "I'm sorry about that. I was talking to Stef."
"It's alright. So how are you feeling today Callie?" The doctor asked.
"Actually, not too bad. I still feel tired but nothing like yesterday. And overall I feel better." Callie said. She did feel better, but she was still really tired.
"Ok, that's good, well let's see what happened last night then shall we." Leslie pulled up Callie's chart, with all the notes and her vitals from last night. "I see it says here that you have a low grade fever. Does anything hurt or do you feel anything funny or different?"
"No. I feel better than I have in the past few days." Callie said. It was true. She didn't feel sick. Just really tired.
"So what does it mean that she has a low grade fever?" Lena asked.
"It means that she's still fighting the infection she had. The antibiotics are not working as well as we hoped. We might have to change them again." the doctor said while still looking in Callie's chart.
"And what does that mean for Callie?" Lena asked. She looked at Callie and smiled. She didn't want her daughter to worry.
"Well for now nothing. I'm going to give her a different antibiotic. And see how she responds to it." The doctor said while noting something in her chart.
"Is that necessary?" Lena asked.
"In these circumstances, yes. Callie can't use the normal antibiotic we would use in these situations." the doctor said. She went to Callie's bed side and started to check the IV. "So all we have left to do is find the best alternative that works for Callie." Dr. C. Pulled out her stethoscope and put it against Callie's chest, to listen to her heart. Then her back, so she could listen to her lungs.
"So does this mean I get more medicine or different medicine?" Callie asked while Dr. C. listened to her lungs.
"It means different. We are going to switch out your antibiotics for something different. Since your allergic to penicillin we have to find out what works for the infection you have and for your body." when she was done, she pulled a penlight and shined it in Callie's eyes.
"So what's on the agenda for today?" Lena asked.
Dr. C. went and got a young depreser and looked in Callie's throat. "Well Callie has her appointment with the ENT and Audiologist today. And we have a full physical scheduled for this afternoon." She then moved to her ears. She pulled out an otoscope and looked inside Callie's ears.
"I find out about my hearing today?" Callie asked.
"Yes, you do. We will find out why you say that your right ear sound muffled and if it can be fixed or nat. If not a hearing aid might be the best alternative." Dr. C. said. She was making notes in Callie's chart again.
"What if I don't want a hearing aid, do I still have to get one?" Callie wasked.
"Callie we've talked about this." Lena said. She went to Callie's side and brushed hair out of her daughter's face. "It's whatever the doctor says. If I would have known this earlier, it would have been dealt with a lot sooner."
"What if I don't like it? What if it doesn't work well for me?" Callie countered.
Lena looke st Callie and sighed. "cal, you promised that you would get all your test done today without complaining if I let you do your paper." Lena walked to the closet and picked up Callie's backpack and laptop case. "Mom dropped this off for you last night, but I can take it back with me today if need be."
Callie stayed quiet and nodded her head. She needed to do that protect for Kylie.
"Everything will be discussed with the doctor. If they don't think you would benefit from it they won't give it to you." Dr. C. said. She knew that most teenagers didn't want to feel or look different. High school was bad enough when you were 'normal' she couldn't even begin to imagine how it was for those that were different.
"See. I'm ok with that. Are you? It's a good compromise." Lena said.
"Yeah I guess…" Callie said dejectedly.
"Ok then I will see you in a little while." she started to make her way towards the door. "I'll get in touch with the other doctors and discuss your current condition and other medically relevant information." The doctor left the room leaving Callie and Lena alone.
"What about school? Mama I don't want to go to school with a hearing aid on. What will happen when people see it?" Callie asked with sadness.
"Callie. One of the reasons you would get it is for school. So you can be successful." Lena said.
"Mama. I'm a 15 year old senior. What more do you want from me? The older…" Callie stopped herself. She had said too much.
"The older what?" Lena looked at her daughter. Was something happening at school?
"Nothing. I was just rambling." Callie said quietly.
"Callie? The older what?" Lena asked. Bullying was not tolerated in her school. "Are the older kids bothering you at school?"
"No! Mama. You're the vice principal of our school." Callie answered a little too quickly. "No one would dare mess with us." Now she was just lying through her teeth. She wasn't even the only one being bothered by the older kids. She knew Jesus and Jude were too. She defended them as much as possible without getting in trouble. Jesus didn't need protecting but Jude got harrassed for being different. She could take the bullying but she had always protected Jude. She wasn't going to stop now.
"Cal? Are you sure nothing is going on?" Lena asked again.
Just then the door to the room opened and in came Stef with breakfast. "Alright lovely ladies. Breakfast is served!" When she saw their faces and felt the tension in the room, she stopped. "Is something wrong?"
"No everything is fine." Callie answered quickly.
"Callie?" Lena said. She wanted an answer.
"No mama, I don't want to talk about it anymore. I'll do the tests and whatever happens, happens." Callie said with an attitude. She would probably just take off the hearing aid at school and then put it on after.
"Callie I understand that your upset and I get it but you will not talk to me that way." Lena satated.
Callie's face turned red. She looked down at her hands, fidgeting on her sheets and nodded.
"What's going on?" Stef asked.
"Your daughter doesn't want the hearing test done." Lena said to her wife. She was exasperated. Callie just kept being difficult. Something was going on at school and she had to find out what.
"Why Cal? You would be able to hear normally again. Enjoy music better, pay attention in class and you won't miss out on conversations." Stef said. She had noticed that Callie often missed conversations and stuff when she was doing homework or reading. She just thought that she was concentrating so much she wasn't paying attention.
At this Callie looked at her mom. How did she know? Was she that transparent? "Mom I can hear fine. I'm not having any problems with teachers at school. I get my work done, my chores at home. I don't NEED it. I'm fine."
"Well, I'll make a deal with you. Get the test done and when we get the results we will all sit down and talk it over with the doctor. See what they recommend, the pros and cons it will have for you. Then we will come up with a decision." Stef knew this was going to be a struggle, but she had to get Callie to get all her tests done.
"But moooommm…" Callie whined. She was worried they would make her wear the hearing aid. And she didn't feel like she needed it. Plus she knew Kylie would use this to her advantage. She already had Callie doing her work for her in english.
"Callie that's the best I can offer. Take it or leave it." Stef said. Hopefully Callie would take the deal and they could just get this over with.
Callie saw the determination in her mother's eyes. She sighed and nodded her head.
"Words Callie. You have words, use them." Stef said. She needed Callie to tell her she understood.
"I'll take it. It's a deal. And I'm sorry." Callie said dejectedly. She was going to get the tests done then she would try to convince them that she didn't need it
"Ok good. Now let's eat. I'm starving and I'm sure you guys are too." Callie nodded while Lena started to pull out all the containers with food.
After they were done with breakfast the doctor came back with two others. "Hello ladies. This is Dr. Baker, our resident audiologist and Dr. Nespa, our ENT." Dr. C. said. She then turned to the doctors. "This is Callie and her moms Stef and Lena Adams-Foster."
"Good morning. It's very nice to meet you all." The doctors said.
"Yes good morning."
"Hello. I'm Stef and this is my wife Lena and our daughter Callie." Stef and Lena shook their hands. "Can you give us a rundown of what is going to happen today?"
"Yes of course. So Dr. Carlson has gone through Callie's medical file with us." The doctor looked at Callie's chart then at the moms. "She told us that a couple of years ago Callie had a severe ear infection and since then the hearing in her right ear has been muffled. Is that correct?"
"Yes that is what she told us." The moms both looked at Callie for confirmation. Callie nodded her head and looked down.
"Well today Dr. Nespa is going to examine Callie and see if she finds any physical reason for the hearing loss. Like maybe an obstruction or any physical abnormalities. Then we will do the hearing test and see where you score. And depending on all of this information we will decide if you need or will benefit from a hearing aid and what kind." Dr. Baker said.
"That sound fair. Don't you think Cal?" Lena said.
"Yeah it's good. So if I don't need one I won't get one?" Callie asked.
"Yes, that's correct." Dr. Nespa answered.
"How will you know if I need it? Or if I'll benefit from one?" Callie asked. She was trying to see if she could somehow prove she didn't need it.
"That depends on the results. We will run tests and I will look inside your ears to see what is going on." The doctor said. Dr. Carlson had already told them that the patient didn't want hearing aids. And she understood. She always had a hard time with teens. They had so much pressure at school. "Then, Dr. Baker we will get a hearing test done. That's when you put on some headphones and we'll play some tones. All you have to do is push a button when you hear the tone."
"Ok." Callie said. She would go through with the test and deal with the results later. "What if I need them but don't want them?"
"Cal, we talked about this. We have a deal." Lena said. Her daughter was trying to get out of this but she wasn't going to let her.
"I just want to know my options." Callie defended herself. She was getting the tests done. She promised her moms she would.
"Well we have hearing aids that are practically invisible. And we offer loaners. You can use it for a week and decide yourself. If you think that it's not helping, then we can see about other options." Dr. Baker said.
Callie nodded. "Ok then. Let's start."