After what felt like an eternity for the Dukes, the ambulance had arrived. Luke, Bo and Daisy were taken away, carried onto ambulances and driven to the hospital. Jesse followed the ambulances in his truck and soon found himself in the waiting room.
He had never felt more lost in his life. The Duke patriarch wandered around the room aimlessly, pondering how this had all happened. Bo, Luke and Daisy had all been fine the days prior.
A young doctor came out into the waiting room. She stood at around 5"4 and had dark brown skin, afro hair and bright red glasses.
"Mr. Jesse Duke?" She asked.
"That's me." Jesse replied. She motioned for him to sit, so he did. She sat down beside him.
"I'm Dr. Muhammad, I'm in charge of the team taking care of Daisy, Bo and Luke. We've given them all sedatives and stabilized their vitals." Dr. Muhammad said.
"So they're going to be okay then?" Jesse's voice had a twinge of hope, but Dr. Muhammad's face remained morbid.
"I'm afraid it's too early to tell. None of the fevers have gone down yet, they're still dangerously high." She paused for a moment. "Daisy also began coughing up blood."
Tears fell down Jesse's face and mixed into his beard. He wanted nothing more than to cradle Daisy in his arms and rock her to sleep like he did when Daisy was a child. Instead, Jesse could do nothing but wait helplessly in a cold, metal hospital chair. Dr. Muhammad put her hand on top of Jesse's. Jesse squeezed her hand, grateful for the small amount of comfort. "Mr. Duke, I understand how difficult this is for you." Dr. Mohammad said gently, "But I need to ask you a few questions to help me reach a diagnosis. Is that alright?" Jesse nodded. At the very least, he was grateful that he could be of some help.
The doctor pulled a notebook out of her pocket. "Do you know if Daisy, Luke or Bo had been swimming in Hazzard Lake over the past few days?"
Jesse wiped his tears away with the back of his hand. "As a matter of fact, we all went down there this Saturday."
She jotted the information down. "Did they show any symptoms before swimming?"
"No. The first time I noticed anything was this morning."
"Did you swim or drink the water?"
Jesse shook his head. "No, I just sat by the shore keeping watch."
She continued writing, then put the notebook down. "I think I know what's wrong. I'll test them first to be sure, but I believe they have Legionnaire disease." Jesse had never heard of Legionnaire disease before, but Dr. Muhammad's tone made it sound serious. She continued, "It's a lung infection caused by a bacteria called legionella. It's not a very common disease, yet we've had multiple cases of it over the past few days. All of the people who got sick were swimming in Hazzard lake the days prior. We're still taking water samples to confirm, but the hypothesis is that the lake is contaminated."
All the information being thrown at him was making Jesse's head spin. He reached out and held Dr. Muhammad's hand again in an attempt to steady himself. Holding her hand almost felt like holding Daisy's hand.
"How did the water get contaminated?" He finally asked.
"We're not sure. It's likely from nutrient runoff. Though it could also be from debris, rust, organic matter or algae blooms being present into the lake. That would cause the legionella to multiply and the disease to spread. Is that your only question? I don't mean to rush you, but I do need to see other patients."
"Just one more thing," Jesse's voice came out more timid than he expected. "Can I go in and see them?"
Dr. Muhammad shook her head sympathetically. "I'm afraid that isn't possible. Their immune systems are too weak. A visitor could make them more sick."
"Well then, can you at least let them stay together? It would give them peace of mind when they do wake up."
The doctor gave his hand one last squeeze. "I'll see what I can do." Then she got up and left the waiting room.
Jesse remained in his seat. He was still there hours later, pondering what to do next. Sitting in the hospital waiting room made him feel unbearably useless, but he didn't know what else to do. After several more hours of sitting and waiting and thinking, Jesse finally made a decision. He left the hospital and headed over to the Hazzard county commissioner's office, where Boss Hogg worked. If he couldn't do anything to help Daisy, Bo and Luke, he could at least prevent anyone else from getting sick.