Life's Second Chances: The Show Me Series: Book One

by Anne Stone

  Nodding at her, acknowledging her concerns, he assisted the paramedics in removing the stretcher from the ambulance. He noted Angelina’s paleness and asked about her vital signs. The paramedics filled him in as they wheeled her to the examining room that he’d set aside. Gabriella made her way to the waiting room and watched as Angelina’s parents ran in from the parking lot. Gabriella threw herself into Angelina’s mother’s arms. “She collapsed on the field trip.”

  “I know that, Dear. Alejandro called us. What happened? She didn’t quite seem herself this morning, but I thought she was just a little fatigued from returning to school. She jumped at me about something trivial. I ignored it, but now I guess I shouldn’t have.”

  Gabriella recounted what had transpired throughout the day. “I should have said something to her sooner, but I decided to wait until we returned to school. I should have spoken up. It’s my fault.”

  “It’s no one’s fault,” said Alejandro. No one had noticed him enter the waiting room.

  They looked to him for answers.

  “I don’t know anything yet. We’re running tests. It’s going to be awhile before I know anything. She just woke up and is a little out of it. She’s aware that she’s in the hospital.”

  “Can I see her?” her mother asked.

  “Go on in. I’m making arrangements to transfer her directly to a room. She’s going to be here until we diagnose her condition. And she knows that!”

  Alejandro seemed a little upset. When Angelina had awakened in the ER, he’d asked her when she started feeling poorly. At first she didn’t answer him. He pushed further, “Angelina, answer me. When did you start feeling bad?”

  She couldn’t look at him. She hadn’t been feeling well for days. She attributed it to her return to work and the fatigue from getting back into her daily routine. Finally, she told him. “I haven’t felt well for a few days now.”

  “Why didn’t you call me?”

  She couldn’t answer him. She looked him in the eyes and shrugged her shoulders. A lone tear trailed down her cheek. Dejectedly she said, “I don’t know.” She turned her head from him and closed her eyes.

  Alejandro stared at her for a few moments. Not wanting to comment further, he left the room.

  After speaking with her parents, Alejandro returned to Angelina’s room. She was facing the wall and he walked over to her and laid his hand on hers. He could tell she was fighting back tears. Slowly she turned her head towards him and whispered, “I’m sorry.”

  He didn’t know what to say in return. Instead, he brushed her hair from her eyes, grasped her hand and said, “I’ll take care of you. Don’t worry. You’re going to be fine. Just relax and let me do my job.”

  She nodded in reply and squeezed his hand. With that, two nurses entered the room notifying him that they were going to transfer her to a room. He squeezed her hand and walked from the room. He was livid with her but couldn’t show it. She knew she’d been sick and didn’t do a thing about it. He hoped that she hadn’t waited too long to seek medical attention. He wanted to diagnose her condition as soon as possible. He didn’t want to see her or her family suffer any more. They’d been through so much in the last two months.

  Alejandro joined Angelina in her room after her parents left for the evening. She was sitting alone in the darkened room with only the bathroom light illuminating her features. He thought she was asleep until he saw her brush her hand across her face. He knew she’d been crying. He quietly entered her room and walked to her bedside. She’d felt his presence. She glanced up at him with tears in her eyes and began to cry.

  Alejandro reached for her and drew her into his arms. He let her cry. “Just let it out.” She didn’t know why she was crying. Her emotions took over and the tears started falling out of nowhere and she couldn’t control them.

  She held onto him.

  When she’d finally let out her final sob, he pulled her away from him and looked into her eyes.

  “I messed up,” she said. “I should have come to see you. I feel so stupid… I—”

  “It’s not your fault. I probably wouldn’t have come to see me either. Stop feeling guilty, and let’s figure out what’s wrong. Your test results should be in shortly. Just lie back and try and get some sleep.”

  “Thanks.” She laid back and closed her eyes, falling asleep almost instantly. Alejandro sat beside her for quite some time before he too decided he also needed some sleep. Tomorrow was only a few short hours away and he would see to it that they knew what was causing her fever. He had his guesses, but wanted to wait for the test results.

  *****

  Alejandro spent the night on the couch in his office. He didn’t want to leave the hospital. He’d instructed the staff to call him as soon as the lab results came in—he wanted to react as quickly as possible.

  Early in the morning, his phone rang. The results were in. Alejandro ran to retrieve them. As he reviewed them, he decided to run a few more tests. He went to Angelina’s room to see how she was doing. Upon entering, he saw that she was awake. She was staring straight ahead. “Angelina,” he said.

  Glancing in his direction, she blinked her eyes a few times before realizing who it was. “Alejandro?”

  “Yes,” he said as he walked towards her. “How are you feeling?”

  “The same. I might not be as warm, but I still don’t feel like myself.”

  “I got your results, but I want to run a few more tests before I’m sure what’s wrong.”

  “You’re the doctor. You know what’s best.”

  He moved the chair from the corner of the room to her bedside. He sat there for a moment before he said, “Why didn’t you let Gabriella know you weren’t feeling well today?”

  “You mean yesterday?”

  “Semantics… Why?” he demanded.

  “I don’t know. I guess I thought I was fine. But then…” She looked at him and then looked away, “I… I guess I was scared.”

  “Scared?”

  “Yes. Colleen’s been doing so well and… I guess I didn’t want to jinx her with me getting sick. I know that’s stupid reasoning but… I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

  “Sorries don’t count. You’re only hurting yourself, not me. Angelina, you have to be honest with me, your parents, and especially yourself. I know you’re independent, but it’s okay to rely on others. It’s okay to say you don’t feel well. It’s okay—”

  “Enough” she barked. “I get the picture. You’ve done a great job of painting it.” She turned her head away from him. She was embarrassed by her behavior. She was definitely stupid for not listening to her body and not informing him of her illness. Now, the only person that could help her was upset with her, but she really didn’t care what he thought of her for not letting others know of her condition. She just wanted to feel better soon. She wanted to get on with her life and back to her students. They meant more to her than what Alejandro thought of her.

  “Alejandro, please go. I’d like to try and get some rest.” She rolled onto her side, away from him. That was his cue to leave. He knew she was mad at him. What else was he to do? In time, she’d realize how serious this was. She’d get over it.

  Chapter Six

  Alejandro diagnosed Angelina’s illness: It was Peritonitis caused by the surgery. It wasn’t uncommon—somehow bacteria had entered the body during surgery. He was bothered by the diagnosis but knew she’d recover.

  He entered her room. She was still lying on her side. “You awake?”

  Slowly rolling over, she looked at him with the same expression he’d seen on her face when Colleen had first been admitted to the hospital—downcast eyes, drawn face. He believed this expression helped her hold her emotions at bay. She blamed her illness on herself. This was not something she could have prevented on her own—its origins began during her surgery.

  “It’s Peritonitis, an inflammation of the lining of the abdominal cavity, the peritoneum. It’s a thin membrane the covers the abdominal organs
and the inside walls of the abdomen. I’m going to treat you with antibiotics. You’ll have to stay in the hospital for a few days.”

  There was no reaction from Angelina. She just laid there. He approached her and she rolled back to her side.

  “Do what you have to do.”

  “Angelina?”

  “Please go. I just want to be alone.”

  Alejandro left her room and headed to the nurses station where he entered the necessary information into her chart for the course of antibiotics. He was worried about her. It was still early, so he called Gabriella before she left for school. “Are you coming by the hospital today?”

  “Yes. We’re getting out early, so I thought I’d come by after school. Why?’

  “I don’t know… Just talk to her. She seems withdrawn. Let me know what you think.”

  “I will. Alejandro, she’s been through an awful lot these last few weeks. Give her some time. I know she’s scared. I know she knows she made a mistake not contacting you. Just give her some time. This just happened yesterday.”

  “I’m just worried about her.”

  *****

  Gabriella visited Angelina that afternoon. She brought her a huge envelope filled with handmade cards from her students. Gabriella noticed that Angelina seemed quiet, but she didn’t comment on it. She’d give her some time to see if she’d snap out of whatever was bothering her.

  Gabriella sat with her for several hours. They discussed the field trip and decided they wanted to do it again the following year. “It was a great teaching experience. I think it was neat that we got to meet Native Americans and see them perform their ceremonial dances.”

  “I enjoyed it too, Gabriella.” Angelina was sitting up in bed. She still had a slight fever, but seemed to be feeling better. “What’re your plans for Thanksgiving?”

  “Going to my parents. And, of course, I plan on coming to see you.”

  “I sure messed up this holiday. Our family has so much to be thankful for. Colleen’s well and…”

  “Angelina, what’s wrong?”

  “I just messed up, plain and simple. I screwed up our family plans by being here in the hospital. I just—”

  “Stop right there. Is that what’s bothering you?”

  Angelina nodded. “That and…”

  “Angelina, you didn’t know. I probably would’ve ignored the signs, too. I would have thought it was due to returning to school and dealing with that. Stop beating yourself up.”

  “But—”

  “Not buts. Just stop it and move on. Your job is to get better. Do you hear me?”

  “Yes.”

  Gabriella stayed until Angelina’s parents arrived. Her parents were ecstatic that Alejandro had discovered what ailed her. Peritonitis was serious, but treatable. They visited for a while until Angelina showed signs of tiring. They told her they’d return the following day and have a quiet Thanksgiving celebration with her.

  “Please don’t plan on having dinner here. Eat at home. I’ll be fine. Just come for a visit.”

  “Angelina,” her father started, but a nurse walked in to take her vital signs.

  “Go home, and I’ll see you both tomorrow. I’ll be fine. I’m in good hands.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Of course I am. Please enjoy the day. I’ll be fine. Do I have to keep repeating myself?”

  “No.”

  Her parents both kissed her and told her they’d be back early the following day. They could watch the Macy’s parade together. She nodded in agreement as her parents walked from the room.

  Angelina thought about all that she could have done, should have done, to prevent her illness. She was sitting alone, wondering what could have been, when she started to feel faint. She thought that her temperature was rising, but she was more than likely imagining it since she was upsetting herself by contemplating the what ifs.

  It was nearing midnight when Alejandro visited Angelina for his final round of the day. He’d been called into an emergency surgery and was behind in his schedule. Upon entering her room, he noticed that she was asleep and thrashing about in bed. He reached her side and noticed that her face was flushed. He felt her forehead. She was burning up with fever. He hurried from the room looking for Angelina’s nurse. “Monica,” he called. “When was the last time that Angelina Samuels’s temperature was taken?”

  “About an hour ago. Why?”

  “What was it?”

  “I think it was ninety-nine degrees. Let me check.” Monica checked Angelina’s chart. She was right—her temperature had been ninety-nine degrees when she’d last taken her vital signs.

  Alejandro knew her fever had risen. “Let’s take it again. I think it’s risen.”

  Sure enough, Alejandro was correct. Her temperature had spiked to almost 104. Alejandro checked her medications and ordered some more tests. Something just wasn’t right.

  Alejandro finished rounding with Angelina. He’d spent the previous night sleeping in his office and he imagined he’d do the same thing tonight. He needed to discover why her antibiotics weren’t working.

  For some reason, he was starting to feel close to her. He was feeling things he shouldn’t be feeling as a doctor with his patient. He didn’t know why she was constantly on his mind. He imagined it was because of her friendship with Gabriella. That’s what it is he thought.

  Instead of going back to his office, he pulled up a chair beside her bed. Stretching his long legs out in front of him, he watched her sleep. She had such sadness about her. She looked fragile. He sat there thinking about the changes that he’d gone through recently. Moving to St. Louis was the best decision that he’d made in a long time. He was with his family and that was the best thing for him. Hopefully, he’d be able overcome what had happened two years ago. His family had come to Madison to help him deal with the events of the tragedy, had helped him try and get on with his life, but they had to return home to St. Louis. Once he was alone, he realized he couldn’t face going home on a daily basis. He’d spent most of his nights curled up on his office couch. When he had gotten ill, he realized he needed more rest. He couldn’t go on sleeping in his office. He had no life other than work. He needed his family. And that’s when he decided to look for a new job, if not in St. Louis, at least maybe a little closer. Once he’d made up his mind, there was no looking back. Before he could even contact someone about his decision to relocate, he was being contacted to head up the Transplant Unit of the hospital in St. Louis. He’d thought then that things were going to work out for him…

  Now, he was in St. Louis where he wanted to be. He was forging new bonds with his family. He’d finally gotten to meet Angelina. Although he wished they’d gotten to know one another under better circumstances, he was still happy they were able to become friends.

  While he sat with Angelina, he received the results from the rushed lab results, but he still needed to run more tests. Morning light was fast approaching. Then, he’d run a few more extensive tests hoping to find answers.

  The nurse returned to Angelina’s room at around three in the morning. He’d drifted off to sleep somewhere between two and three. The nurse tapped him on the shoulder with the latest temperature reading. Her temperature had gone down, but it wasn’t where Alejandro wanted it to be. He scowled.

  Angelina was still sleeping fitfully. He thought of waking her, but decided not to. At least she was getting some sleep—more than him, anyway.

  Alejandro headed off to the doctor’s lounge for a quick shower and then to his office. It was Thanksgiving. He should have something to be thankful for today, but he knew that today would end up being a day full of sadness—he was pretty sure what Angelina’s test results would reveal. He called his parents. He knew his mother would be up at the crack of dawn preparing for the holiday. “Mom, is Dad up yet?”

  “He certainly is. Would you like to speak with him?”

  “Why else do you think I’m calling?”

  “Alejandro, don’t get te
sty with me.”

  “Sorry, Mom. I just need to speak with him, okay?”

  “Sure, son. I won’t take your tone of voice too seriously. Just remember that this time.”

  “Sorry, Mom.” He heard the phone being passed, “Dad?”

  “Alejandro?” his father said into the phone. “What is it? Why are you calling so early? It’s Thanksgiving.”

  “It’s Angelina.”

  “What’s wrong? Is she no better?”

  “No, she’s not. Actually, her temperature’s gone back up.”

  “What do you think is causing it?”

  “Peritonitis. But there’s something else going on, too. I’m going to run a few more tests today. I’m not sure I’ll be there for dinner.”

  “Do what you have to, but I know your mother will be disappointed.”

  “I know. I’ll do my best.”

  “I know, son. Do you want me to come by and see her, too?”

  “Not necessary. You’re not her physician any longer.”

  “I realize that.”

  “It’s up to you, but it’s not necessary.”

  “Let me talk it over with your mom, and I’ll try and stop by early this morning before your mother starts going crazy with her preparations.”

  “Thanks, Dad.”

  John hung up the phone and filled Maria in on Alejandro’s conversation concerning Angelina. “You’re going to the hospital, aren’t you?”

  “I was hoping you’d say that.”

  “Well, of course. Angelina is like family.”

  John appeared at the hospital mid-morning. “How’s she doing?”

  “I sent her down for some more tests and am waiting for the results to come back.”

  “What are you thinking?”

  “I think she just needs to be on a stronger antibiotic, but we’ll see. This infection is a lot worse than I first thought. I just wish she’d come in sooner instead of waiting until she’d collapsed.”

  “I understand your concern, but there’s nothing you can do about that now. She’s here and that’s what matters.”