A Time For Love (A Time For Love Series-Book 1)

The Bad Patient

LENA POV 

It had been a few days since I was in Stefanie Fosters rooming replacing her flowers when she had spoken to me a bit and passed out from pain. Instantly, I had gotten one of the nurses and doctors to help as her blood pressure had risen, and she had a seizure. Standing there I felt so awful for her, just terrible because no on deserved to be in that much pain, and not know what in the hell happened to them. No one.

The entire thing continues to make me very sad, and Bird had been asking about Stefanie all week.  Even before she admitted to visiting Stef, I knew she had most likely been sneaking in there, which I understood and I had been honest with her. I had told her Stef wasn't feeling to well right now for any visitors and that she needed a good amount of rest.  If she listened I wasn't sure but, she continued to ask about her everyday, and even Mike didn't have all the information which was making him incredibly sad and anxious.

"I heard she's a really bad patient." Duke tells me as we are grabbing lunch in the cafeteria before I'd start my session with Bird, and I wasn't really in the mood for the hospital gossip today.  "Like really bad and some of the nurses have been been complaining about her."

"Well, she has a brain injury Duke. And she was shot in the head, not to mention in the arm and legs. That is alot of trauma for someone to go through, and we can't really expect her to be "herself" because I'm sure she doesn't even remember who that is." I find myself coming to Stef's defense as he nods his head and takes another bite of his own sandwich.

"I understand all that Lena, I do but she's tossing food at the nurses, spitting in their faces, they had to restrain her." He continues gossiping as Nurse Erin takes a seat at the table with us as she smiles and places her coffee down. Honestly I had been trying to avoid her ever since she kept asking me to lunch, but it wasn't always easy since she was Stef's nurse.

"Restrain who?" She asks as I shake my head because I had not heard one thing about Stefanie Foster being restrained. Plus, she had been in and out of sleep all week.

"Stefanie Foster." Duke says as Nurse Erin nods her head.

"Well, they didn't need to restrain her Duke, I'll put those rumors to bed, she had two seizures so we had to make sure she didn't hurt herself."

"Two? I thought just the one." I say as she looks back at me shaking her head.

"No. She had one a few days ago as well. They upped her dosage and hopefully that does the trick. It's going to just be a long journey for her and she's still in a very great deal of pain.

"I guess they will wait a bit to clear her for PT then." I say just feeling terrible for her all over again because the day I had seen her in her room she looked terrified. She just did as I glance over at Duke again who looks just as worried which partly surprises me.

"Yes, they will give it a few more weeks. But she will continue to have her legs and arms moved daily. But, they are being very cautious. Like I said it's a long road if she makes it." Erin says as I look at her and her face softens.

"If she makes it? I thought she was out of the woods?"

"Yes and no Lena. She's had a ton of trauma. A ton and she's not out of the woods even if she's talking a little, and communicating. There's no saying what her brain will do or not do. We still have to watch for swelling. It's alot for the body and there is only so much the body can take. Sometimes it just gives up."

Shaking my head I've lost my appetite at this point and what she is saying is annoying me if I'm honest because she was basically putting Stefanie Foster in a grave.

"But I am an optimist, but also a realist. Callie has been working with moving her daily along with myself. Once she is able to begin PT whenever that is it's going to be tough for her. And like you both heard she is a very difficult patient. I explained to her brother that she could have fits of violence that she can't control, her personality could be entirely different and that's something her family has to prepare for. Same with that little girl, she will be ok but once she gets out of the hospital she's going to still need care and it will be tough to find foster care."