Chapter 4
"Fearing the Worst"
Auggie waited for what seemed like hours for the news. Still standing, leaning against his cane, where Dr. McCabe had left him, he heard the swish of the door opening, he spoke in the direction of the door, "Please, can you tell me if that was Annie?"
"I'm sorry, what?" A female voice answered startled by his directness. "Are you family of one of the patients?"
"Yes, I'm Annie Walker's boyfriend and emergency contact. Did she just die? I know someone died, but I'm blind, I can't see whether it was her or not." He held up his cane as he spoke trying not to sound as desperate as he felt.
"I don't know the patient's name. Let me get Dr. McCabe. There's a chair to about five paces to your right, if you'd like to wait. Dr. McCabe is with a patient right now. I will let him know you are waiting to see him."
He walked to his right easily finding the chair the nurse had indicated. Sitting down he prepared to once again wait for someone to come tell him something. After folding his cane and setting it beside him he laid his head back trying to clear his mind. It hadn't been Annie, he told himself. Annie is going to be fine.
After what seemed like an eternity, Auggie heard footsteps approaching him and raised his head when they stopped near him.
"Auggie, sorry to leave you like that." Dr. McCabe began.
"Don't apologize; just tell me Annie is still alive." Auggie said straight-faced.
"She's alive. We've completed the lumbar puncture, but she's gone into a coma. We have to find out what this is before anyone else dies."
"Oh thank God." Auggie sighed in relief. "How long will the test take?"
"We already have the results. It's bacterial meningitis." Miles told Auggie.
"So what does that mean for Annie?" Auggie asked fearing the worst.
"We're working to confirm the exact type of bacteria causing the meningitis so we can start the most effective course of treatment. For now, we are going to start her on cefotaxime. We're also going to give you rifampin since you were exposed to the meningitis. All we can do after that is wait until she wakes up to see if any damage has been done."
"What do you mean damage?" Auggie asked, horrified.
"Auggie, meningitis is quite serious. Bacterial meningitis is the worst of the three types. It's basically an infection of the brain and or spinal cord. It can cause significant brain damage that can affect personality, memory, balance, and moods. It can also cause blindness, deafness, paralysis, and seizures. Annie did not receive treatment for the condition as quickly as we like people to, so the chance of permanent damage is greatly increased. Right now we are just in a waiting game to see how she is when she wakes up." Dr. McCabe told Auggie. Auggie listened closely; each potential side effect for his Annie seemed like a punch in the gut. "Is there anyone I can call for you so you're not alone with all this news?" The doctor brought Auggie back to the present.
"No, I will make the calls myself. Thank you, doctor." Auggie said outstretching his hand waiting for the doctor to shake it. He couldn't quite describe his appreciation for this man. This man was saving her life. His love for Annie now made Auggie feel indebted to him in a way he'd never felt for anyone else.
After the hand shake the doctor said, "Has anyone told you that we look alike?"
Auggie blinked for a moment as the doctor's question threw him off a bit. "Ummm, I might have heard someone mention something about me looking like someone they knew, but I didn't imagine I would meet the person. I guess I'll have to take your word on it."
"If I didn't know better I would swear you were my older brother or something. The resemblance is a little creepy." Dr. McCabe told him.
"Well doc, I promise not to impersonate you if you promise the same." Auggie smiled for the first time all day.
"Deal." Dr. McCabe replied clasping Auggie's shoulder. "The nurse will be out in a few minutes to give you your first dose of rifampin. You'll need to take it for a couple days on an empty stomach. If you start to have a headache, fever, rash, stiff neck, or vomiting, let someone know immediately."
"Dr. McCabe, what about Annie? When can I see her?" Auggie asked hoping the doctor understood what he meant. He needed to do more than just sit next to her bed.
"Give the rifampin time to kick in. You can sit by her bed for as long as you want right now, but I'm hoping we find a better medication to clear this up for good so you can hold her hand. I am sympathetic to your need to be connected with her, but I can't risk this disease spreading further."
"I understand doctor. Would it help to know that she was in West Africa this week? I don't know any more detail than that, but I thought that might help." Auggie said biting his lip. He knew he shouldn't tell him something like that, but Annie's life hang in the balance, he didn't care about protocol right now.
It turned out that knowing what region of Africa Annie had been to was the key to figuring out what bacteria infected her. She was put on Gentamicin to prevent the bacteria spread and the dose of cefotaxime was continued.
Annie's fever finally broke close to 6 hours after the diagnosis was made. Much to Auggie's dismay, she did not wake from the coma though. He sat by her bed side, finally allowed to touch her, and simply held her hand. He didn't want her to wake up alone.
On Annie's third day in the hospital, she finally woke up. Her eyes opened slowly as she gradually came out of the three day slumber. Her mind was very heavy. As she awakened, she saw Auggie sitting in a chair beside her and squeezed his hand that was in hers.
The movement immediately woke Auggie.
"Hey, Walker." Auggie said with a smile. "Let me get the doctor." Auggie got up from the chair he had been sleeping in, stretched for a moment and then set his cane in motion to find Dr. McCabe.
A few minutes later, they were both back. Auggie returned to the chair that he had called his for the past three days. He waited patiently for Dr. McCabe to assess Annie.
Annie sat there for a moment waiting for someone to speak. "How do you feel, Annie?" Dr. McCabe said as he began his assessment of her. Annie stared at him a moment, but didn't say anything.
"What happened?" Annie said, but was immediately alarmed when she didn't hear her voice. Bringing her hand to her throat she asked a little louder than necessary. "What's wrong with my voice?"
Suddenly, Auggie caught on. He reached out for Annie's hand, which she immediately took. "Dr. McCabe? Is what I think is going on right now actually happening? Is Annie- Can she-" Auggie couldn't bring himself to say it aloud. Saying it aloud would make it true
Annie looked at Auggie's mouth moving, then at the doctor. Her head felt like it was bobbing up and down in the ocean, it felt painfully full. Her ears also felt full, like she had enormous ear plugs in them. As Dr. McCabe answered Auggie's unspoken question, realization came over her that caused her breathing to become heavier.
Dr. McCabe replied "Yes, Auggie, I think so. Annie can't hear us."
"Auggie? Can you hear me?" Annie said cautiously, fearing the worst.
Auggie nodded his head to indicate that he could, then searched for her hand on the bed, and squeezed it gently.
Authors Note: Just like you would clap or boo for a concert you sat through, please review my writing as you read it. I'm not above saying, I really do NEED to hear from you each chapter so I know your comments, likes/dislikes, and expectations for future chapters.