by Zoe Matthews
“Can you remove it?” Patrick’s eyes had turned desperate, hope seeping through as he waited for her answer.
“No. I was only a nurse. You have to become a surgeon to learn how to remove organs safely…” She trailed off, knowing what she needed to suggest and knowing Patrick wouldn’t like her idea. “We need to take him to my time for emergency surgery.”
Patrick didn’t say anything for a moment. “We couldn’t take him into town? Wouldn’t Dr. Thomas know what to do?”
“He might know, although from what I’ve heard from Keegan, Dr. Thomas has performed few surgeries. And Richie might not even make the trip to Denver in time. Even if Dr. Thomas is able to remove it, Richie would still need antibiotics to clean out the infection from the rest of his system. We can only get those from my time.” She pleaded with her eyes, hoping he would understand and agree that they needed to use the portal to save their son.
He sat stone-faced, his expression unreadable. She pulled him out of Richie’s room so she could speak more frankly with him. “Patrick. Please trust me when I say it is the only way to save him. Without the surgery, he will die.”
He nodded his head but continued his silence for another long moment. “How soon would we need to get there?”
She breathed a sigh of relief; he wasn’t shutting the idea down. “Normally, we would need to have the surgery done within 24 hours. I would say he has been in pain for three hours already. If we leave when the portal is active- around one o o’clock, we should be able to get him to a doctor before his appendix bursts.”
“Aren’t you forgetting something? We don’t know how the portal works. Clearly, Megan and Keegan figured it out, but we haven’t,” Patrick demanded angrily.
Kimberly could tell this situation was frustrating him; he never wanted to go into the future, and didn’t want any of his family to either.”
Someone cleared their throat from behind them. “Actually, I have been thinking about that.”
Patrick turned to Justin and glared, not liking that someone was listening to his conversation.
“Hey, I was just coming to check on Richie. I didn’t mean to overhear. But, if I can help make a suggestion?” Justin offered, trying not to rile Patrick.
Everyone in the family knew that Patrick was easy going and loving until he was hit with a situation that frustrated him. Only then would his temper flair and it could get worse if provoked. Patrick’s expression loosened slightly and he nodded his head to indicate he was listening to Justin.
“The only thing I could think of that we overlooked is Daylight Savings time.”
Kimberly spoke up as her eyes widened. “Of course! That’s so obvious. Why didn’t we think of it before?”
“What is Daylight Savings?” Patrick demanded, not liking being left in the dark.
“In the fall, everyone turns their clocks back one hour, and in the spring, they turn them forward an hour. It helped save daylight during the day so it doesn’t get dark as early during the summer,” Kimberly explained quickly.
“We haven’t had to do it for so long, I guess we all just forgot that it even existed,” Justin smiled at Kimberly. “So, to use the portal, you would need to be there at one o’clock, or close to it.
“Thank you, Justin. This information is just what we needed!” She turned to Patrick, who still seemed a little confused, but she could tell he was relieved as well.
“Let’s get ready to go. What will we need to bring?” he asked Kimberly.
She threw his arms around his neck. “Thank you for trusting me.” And she prayed that they would make it in time and that the doctors would be able to save Richie.
He wrapped his arms around her, and Justin quietly walked down the hall to let them have some time together. “Of course I trust you, Kimberly. I am nervous to go into the future, but I would be a fool not to take any chance we have at helping our son.”
“We need to change clothes. I still have some old jeans. Goodness, I wonder if they even fit.” She did go through two pregnancies, one with twins, after all. “I think I know what would be best for you to wear, something that won’t bring on too much attention.”
She walked into the kitchen to ask Bridget to stay with Richie before she ran to her cabin Patrick had built for them and started pulling clothes out of an old trunk that was located at the foot of her bed. In this trunk, she had packed away everything that had anything to do with the future.
Somehow, she still fit into her pants, although they were extremely tight, and she couldn’t button them up. She suggested that Patrick wear a white button up shirt and his regular pants. He still looked out of place for what people would wear in the future, but it was the best they had at the moment.
After they dressed, she packed a bag with some of their belongings in it. As she packed, she formulated a plan in her head. Once they arrived in the future, they would need to walk down the mountain trail and hope there was someone nearby that would lend them a cell phone. They could then call a cab and go directly to Keegan’s house. She thought about going straight to a hospital- the sooner they had Richie see a doctor, the better. However, she had a feeling Keegan would be staying at his own house. Megan could possibly be with him as well. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt Megan could offer a lot of insight as to where they could take Richie for the best care, even if they didn’t have insurance papers or proof of address.
Once she had her plan laid out, she made sure Nicky would help take care of Kathy and Josephine. Then there was nothing left to do, but wait for one o’clock to come around, she sat with Richie, wiping his hair away from his face as he slept fitfully. When she had first arrived in Patrick’s time, she had brought a large first aid kit with her. Over the years, much of the supplies had been used, but she was able to find a small supply of painkillers that she had been hoarding. Even though they were ten years old, they had helped Richie’s pain.
“You’ll be alright, Richie. We will make sure you’ll be alright.”
Just before they left, Doug pulled Kimberly aside and handed her a thick envelope.
“This envelope hold some information about the bank accounts Michelle and I owned. I am going to assume they are still around. Please feel free to use whatever amount of money you need to pay for this. All the information is in there so that you can have access to it. I’m sure Megan can help you if you need it.”
Kimberly’s eyes filled with tears as she kissed his check, this dear man whom she thought of like a father. “Thank you. I have been so worried about getting help for Richie, I didn’t even think about money.”
“We’ll be praying every moment that you are gone that Richie will be alright, and that you will return.” His eyes looked solemn as he said the last words to her.
“I promise, we will return,” Kimberly assured him.
****
Kimberly led the way down the mountain, with Patrick close behind carrying Richie. She tried to stay strong for her son and husband, but every time she heard Richie moan from the pain of being moved around so much, she just wanted to sob.
They had traveled through the portal, and she was so grateful that Justin had figured out when they needed to use it. She didn’t know what she would have done if it hadn’t worked. They had been hiking down the trail carefully and quickly and had gotten pretty far in the hour they had been here. The pathway was opening up and she could see that they were getting close to the head of the trail where they might be able to borrow someone’s cell phone.
“I think I am going to run ahead and see if I can catch up to someone. It will take a while for a taxi to come pick us up, and you can take your time with Richie while I wait for the cab,” she spoke to Patrick over her shoulder, already picking up her pace.
Patrick looked at her in shock, then shook his head. “I don’t think we should separate. Neither of us is familiar with this path. What if we end up in two different places? It would just take longer to try and find each other again.”
She
sighed, wanting to argue, but she had to admit that he had a good point. She slowed her pace again and willed herself to have patience. Within the next twenty minutes or so, they found the parking lot. She held her breath, looking for anyone who was either getting in or out of their car.
She saw a group of men a few cars down and called out to them. “Hey! My son is sick. Can I use one of your phones to get help for him?”
She held her breath as they looked at her blankly for a moment, then glanced behind her at Patrick and Richie. Did they look too out of place? Finally, one of the men stepped forward.
“No problem, honey. Here you go.” He held out his phone to her.
She stared at it for a beat too long. She hadn’t seen a phone like this one before. It took her a few seconds to realize that it was completely touch screen. She had only used cell phones that had keys on it. The one she’d owned had to be opened up in order to use it.
She hoped that it would be easy enough to figure out. Touching the screen, she sighed with relief when it lit up with the keyboard, so at least she didn’t have to figure out how to turn it on. With one of the men’s help, she eventually figured out how to dial for a cab, and urged the person on the other end of the line to hurry.
She gave the phone back to the now impatient man. “Thank you so much. You don’t know how much I appreciate this.”
“Sure, honey. You guys ready?” he addressed his question to the group of men, and they headed up the trail.
Kimberly heard one of the men mention that it took her longer than it should have to dial the number and another man answered that maybe she was one of those “technically challenged people.” She was shocked. She didn’t think ten years was enough to make her so behind with technology that she stuck out to people from this time.
Patrick watched the whole exchange without a word, then settled Richie down on the grass next to the parking lot. Richie moaned loudly and Kimberly rushed over to help comfort him.
“I think we should go to Keegan’s house first. Hopefully, that is where he is. If we can get Megan to help us take him to the hospital, things should go more smoothly. I’m afraid I don’t remember as much about this time as I thought I did,” she admitted. “So much has changed.”
Patrick nodded his head. “You did seem confused by the phone.” He then seemed to sense her distress and tried to comfort her. “But you figured it out quickly. I am sure you will be able to get help for Richie.”
“I hope so. The taxi said it was going to take them forty-five minutes to get here. We are going to have to ask him to stop by a bank on our way to Keegan’s house so we can pay him out of Doug’s account. It’s going to be at least two hours before we get him to a doctor.”
“Well, you told me he should see a doctor within the first 24 hours of his symptoms starting, right? We are still in that time frame. I am sure he will be fine.”
“I hope so,” she said again.
They sat in silence until the cab came, which was luckily faster than they had originally thought. It still took them an extra hour to drive to the bank. Kimberly was able to withdraw some money easily. When she saw how much money was in Doug’s account, she tried not to gasp in shock, and she whispered a short prayer of thanks. There was plenty of money in the account. After withdrawing the money, Kimberly directed the taxi to Keegan’s house.
They paid the taxi and they hurried up the steps to Keegan’s house. Thankfully, Richie had fallen asleep in the car, so he wasn’t feeling as much pain as they moved him from the car to the house. She held her breath as she knocked loudly on the front door. He had to be here. If he wasn’t here, she didn’t have a clue how to find him.
After a moment, when she was about to knock again, Keegan pulled the door open.
“Keegan, thank heaven!” she said, and threw herself at him.
“Kimberly! Patrick!” was all Keegan seemed able to say, shock freezing his features. “What are you guys doing here?” His gaze then went to Richie, who even as he slept looked pale and in pain. “What’s wrong?”
“I think it’s appendicitis. We were hoping Megan could tell us where we can go to get him some help,” Kimberly quickly explained.
“Appendicitis?” Megan came walking over with concern in her voice. “Well, get him inside and on the couch.”
“It’s good that you brought him here. I don’t know if he could have been helped in our time,” Keegan commented as he followed the group into the sitting room. “Especially with how far away our ranch is from a hospital.”
“I’m sure that his appendix is infected. It needs to be removed,” Kimberly explained hastily. “Megan, I know we don’t belong in this time, but Richie needs surgery. Where is the best place to take him?” She looked at Megan hoping she would provide a miracle that would save her son.
Megan thought for a minute. “Let me make a call.” She hurried from the room, pulling out her phone as she walked.
Richie moaned and rolled over. “I feel sick, Mama. I need to throw up.”
Keegan hurried from the room and brought back a bucket for him to be sick in. He moaned, tears seeping out of his eyes as he wiped his mouth and laid back on the couch.
Megan walked back in the room. “I called my friend who is a pediatric nurse. She gave me the address of a hospital close by that is great with kids. We can go now.”
Kimberly could barely contain herself, she was so worried about Richie and grateful to Megan. “Thank you,” was all she could say.
Patrick lifted Richie up as gently as he could, and they all walked out to Megan’s car. Megan drove while Kimberly whispered prayers the whole way there. Please let us get to the hospital in time. Please let my son live.
****
Megan sat next to Kimberly and Patrick in the hospital waiting room. The couple clutched each other's hands, and Kimberly laid her head on Patrick’s shoulder. Megan could hear him whispering to her in comforting tones, but couldn’t understand what he was saying.
Richie was in surgery now. After ordering an ultrasound of Richie’s abdomen, the ER doctor they had talked to told them the appendix was very close to rupturing. They had taken him into surgery right away and everyone had been waiting anxiously ever since.
Megan knew Kimberly had been an ER nurse before she traveled back in time, so she probably knew that this was a common surgery; very few of them had complications anymore. Even with that knowledge and with the little time Megan had to get to know Richie, she was nervous something would go wrong. Her heart broke at the thought of the loss of Richie’s bright personality. She could only imagine what was going through Kimberly’s mind at this moment.
Keegan walked in with Abby. They were both coming back from the cafeteria and held coffee cups for everyone.
“It’s just hospital coffee, nothing special, but it helps pass the time when you have something to drink,” Abby said practically. She had such a cheerful personality, that even when she was somber, she somehow was still able to lighten the atmosphere in the room.
Megan took a sip of the hot beverage, hardly tasting it. Keegan sat down next to her and took her hand. She glanced at him and noticed the worry lines that creased his brow.
“How are you doing?” she asked him, even though she knew the answer probably hadn’t changed since she had asked him last.
“Hoping for the best,” he answered simply. After another moment he spoke again, his voice quiet. “I can only wonder how this would have turned out differently if I hadn’t come to the future with you.”
Megan had to think about that and was about to respond when Richie’s surgeon walked into the room. Everyone held their breath waiting desperately for the surgeon to speak.
He smiled and addressed Kimberly and Patrick. “Everything went perfectly. We were able to remove the appendix without it rupturing, so your son’s recovery time should be minimal.”
It seemed as the room itself breathed a sigh of relief. All the tension in the room broke, and Kimberly began to cry. The sur
geon continued talking to Kimberly, handing her papers about how to care for Richie, and what antibiotics she should give him to clear away the rest of the infection.
Megan stopped listening then and hugged Keegan. She whispered in his ear. “It was good you were here so we could help them find the best hospital for Richie.”
He just smiled at her and then went to hug Patrick and Kimberly. “Did I hear the doctor correctly? He should be mobile again by the end of the week?” he asked in astonishment.
Abby spoke. “Isn’t it amazing? The surgery is pretty simple. They have found new ways of keeping the opening into the abdomen minimal. He should heal quickly as long as he keeps up on his antibiotics.”
“I can’t believe it. I remember when I cut my leg with an ax. I was recovering from that for a year. Even still, it acts up sometimes.” Keegan seemed to struggle with the idea that Richie was going to recover so quickly.
“Well, we didn’t have antibiotics to give you right away. Also, the ax hit a lot of different muscles in your leg, which is harder to heal,” Kimberly explained, the stress of the day still evident on her face even as she smiled at him.
The surgeon walked back in. “Richie is in his recovery room. Mom and Dad can come sit in the room, but everyone else should probably wait a few hours to let him wake up. It can be difficult for some when they come out of the anesthesia.”
Megan nodded her head in understanding and watched as Kimberly and Patrick followed the surgeon to the room Richie was settled in. Keegan looked as though he wanted to follow his brother, but stayed where he was at, still looking perplexed.
“We should go home and set up a room for Richie so he has a comfortable place to stay when they release him,” Megan suggested.
“They will probably want to keep him in the hospital for another day or two to make sure the infection doesn’t come back,” Abby stated.
