“Of course, sir. So far they’ve—”
An alarm starts to go off and her gaze jerks to the left. She pushes up from the chair and runs into a nearby room. Others bring their attention that way, nurses and patients. I follow after her to make sure it isn’t Chrissy that’s setting off alarms.
Unfortunately, it is. I grit my teeth as I watch her having another seizure, a team of nurses and doctors around her with more running past me and into the room.
“Two milligrams of Ativan!” a doctor shouts.
A young female nurse scrambles to put the medicine in the IV. The seizure stops seconds later. I stare, my jaw aching as I watch them check her vitals. They shine a light in her eyes, check her blood pressure, O2—all of it.
The doctor walks out of the room, eyes widening slightly when he sees me. The tag on his white coat saysRalph Zacca, Emergency Medicine.
“Are you her guardian?” he asks.
“This is Harmon Stone,” the nurse from the desk says. “He is here with the guardian.”
“Come with me,” the doctor says and walks to the small waiting room.
“Oh my god, is she—” Cammy cries when she sees me walk in with the doctor.
“Your sister is stable, for now. She had a short seizure on the trip here. They gave Ativan and it stopped. But she had another one just now. Another dose of Ativan. When was the last time your sister had a seizure?”
“Uh,” Cass starts, looking at Cammy as he wipes his eyes and sniffles. “Few years.”
“Three, I think,” Cammy adds. “Almost four.”
“And she takes her meds regularly?”
“Yes, she never misses it. We make sure,” Cammy adds with a firm nod.
I spot a box of tissues on a table in the corner, so I grab them and hand one to each of them as the doctor continues to askthem questions. Once he has all the information he needs, he explains next steps.
“For now, your sister needs to stay for observation. She had two smaller seizures after a big one, which can be common. She hasn’t woken up yet, so we aren’t sure if there are any lasting effects.” Cammy cries harder. “I won’t get into the possibilities, as I’m sure you’ve already considered them all. She needs some time to wake up. Our neurologist will be in to see her shortly, and they will speak to you as well. Doctor Crouse is an amazing doctor. Your sister will be in good hands with him.”
“Can w-we see her?” Cammy asks.
“Of course. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll have the nurse come get you.”
I take the seat beside Cassius, and he takes my hand immediately.
“I’m sorry,” I finally say. It’s been on the tip of my tongue since I saw her drop. That image is something that will never leave my brain.
“You have no reason to be sorry,” Cassius says.
“I should have picked something calmer. Something with less sensory—”
“No,” Cassius says firmly. “Chrissy would have been so mad about that. She had fun today, thanks to you, and she is going to be okay.”
I nod and rest my head back to breathe.
I haven’t dealt with this nearly as long as they have, and she isn’t my sister. I care, but this is different for me. Still, it’sextremely stressful. I don’t know how doctors and paramedics handle this sort of thing on a daily basis. I could never.
As promised, a nurse comes over to bring Cammy and Cassius to see Chrissy.
“What are you doing? Come on,” he says, offering his hand.
“No, you two should be in there.”
“And so should you. Let’s go,” he says firmly.