Weekends Required (Danvers #1)(54)
“Honey I hate to but I have to go into the office for awhile this morning. I’m going to call a car to pick me up so that you may use mine today. Do you think you know the way to the hospital from here?”
“I… I’m not sure; can you leave me some directions?”
“Of course, I’ll write them down and leave them in the kitchen. Make yourself at home; anything I have is yours as well. I’ll come to the hospital when I can get free, but if you need me at all just call, okay?”
After another kiss, he quickly showered and dressed. As soon as he was gone, Claire called the hospital and was told that her mother’s doctor would be making his rounds at nine. She quickly dressed and found the directions in the kitchen along with a beautiful flower that Claire suspected Jason had pulled from the front flowerbed. Claire put it to her nose to inhale the sweet fragrance and then grabbed her purse along with the directions that Jason had left. She locked the door behind her and settled into Jason’s Mercedes.
The difference between his car and her poor Toyota was like night and day. Even though Daisy was dependable, she’d lost her beauty long ago and luxury was never part of the package. The seats in Jason’s car were buttery soft, and all the gadgets made her wish she had time to explore each of them. She easily followed his directions, and the hospital was indeed not far from his home at all. Claire hoped and prayed that the doctor would have encouraging news for her today.
Chapter Twenty Three
When Claire entered the ICU wing of the hospital, she spotted her mother’s nurse Glenda at the nurse’s station. Glenda looked up as she approached and gave her a warm smile. “Good morning Ms. Walters, how are you today?”
“Good morning Glenda, I’m good. How are you?”
“I’m busy, busy as usual, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Your mother had a good, restful night last night and is awake this morning. She’s confused as to what’s happened to her and where she is, which is normal. I think she’ll be relieved to see a familiar face.” Glenda came around the corner of the nurse’s station and pulled her to the side. “Dr. Mauldin will be around soon and will discuss the specifics of your mother’s case with you. I want to prepare you for what I’ve noticed this morning when checking on her. Your mother has obvious speech difficulty; there’s some drooping evident on her face and also some problems gripping with her left hand. Now this isn’t unusual with a stroke, and I’m not trying to scare you, I just wanted you to be prepared so that you don’t panic in front of your mother."
Claire swallowed hard and drew a deep breath. “Thank you Glenda, I really appreciate you letting me know.” With a motherly pat on the shoulder, Glenda went back to the nurse’s station, and Claire put on a brave face and entered her mother’s room.
Her eyes were closed, and she appeared to be resting. Claire studied her intently, looking for signs of what Glenda had indicated. Her mother appeared perfectly normal in sleep, so peaceful that it was hard to believe she’d had a recent stroke. Claire pulled a chair up to the side of the bed and gently reached over to take her hand. Had she ever really noticed how beautiful her mother was?
With so many years spent with an overbearing husband who literally dominated a room, her mother had seemed to fade into the background. Claire now realized that this was her way of coping and also of protecting herself from his wrath. When she thought back through the years, Claire found it hard to remember one instance where she knew what her mother was wearing or how she looked.
All those years living with him had literally made her into a ghost who barely existed against the backdrop of his constant anger and ridicule. She had so little time to recover after he had died before she was stricken with Alzheimer’s. In the end, Claire felt that not only had he broken her spirit long ago; he had also broken her mind. Really seeing her today for the first time, Claire wept inside for the beautiful person both inside and out who had never been strong enough to make the break that she needed to survive.
Maybe part of her should feel anger towards her mother for not leaving her father and taking her and Chrissie away from the abuse they’d all endured for so long. She simply was not strong enough to survive the fallout this would have caused. Thoughts of Jason surfaced as she thought of the liberties he had taken in her life without consulting her. Did her father start out that way, taking over areas of her mother’s life until he controlled every aspect of it? A sick feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. Would looking at her mother soon be like looking in a mirror?
A knock sounded at the door and a handsome older man in blue scrubs and a white lab coat walked into the room. With a hand extended towards her he said, “I’m Dr. Mauldin, and I’ll be handling your mother’s care while she’s here.” Claire shook his hand and introduced herself. He walked to the bedside and studied the chart he had brought in with him.
“I understand your mother rested well last night but appears to be showing some stroke-related symptoms. There are times when the stroke is mild and very minor, temporary symptoms are detected. Other times when the stroke is more severe, symptoms are greater and long-term or permanent. Where your mother will end up in this scenario only time will tell. Even though it’s still early in this process, I would put your mother closer to the moderate to severe category."
"Does that mean she won’t improve? Of course not, what it does mean is that the road will be longer and the need for rehabilitation much greater. It’s possible the damage could be less severe than I predict but based on her symptoms thus far, you need to be prepared for what lies ahead.”