A Thousand Miles

Part 33

He's asking for you.

The nurse's words played through Shane's mind over and over during the twenty minute drive to the hospital— twenty minutes that had felt more like twenty hours. They still played as Shane parked his pickup, jumped out, and rushed for the entrance. The words played and laid bare a deep seated distress with all they could mean.

How could his father possibly be asking for him? Especially if he'd had another major stroke? His powers of speech would likely be worse after another one, not better. But his dad was asking for him in such a way that could be clearly understood. And yet the doctor had no idea how much time he had left.

Too little information only made him more anxious. But he was here now. A brief stop at the reception desk sent him to the third floor. And after an eternity on the elevator, he reached the nurses' station where he expected to get more answers. But all he got was a request to wait while the doctor was summoned, presumably to supply him with the answers he wanted.

Shane found a chair close by, but didn't get the chance to settle into it before a doctor arrived at the nurses' station and was pointed in his direction.

"Mr. Quinlan?"

Shane nodded. "Yes. I was told my father's had a stroke. And that he's asking for me."

"That's right."

"He's asking for me with words? He can speak? And you can understand him?"

"Yes."

"How is that possible? I was with him last night. He couldn't talk then. How is it possible that he's had another stroke, and now he can speak again?"

The doctor took a deep breath and shook his head. "Mr. Quinlan, I can't explain it. After the stroke he had this morning, he shouldn't even be conscious. I'm surprised he survived it."

"But he did survive it." Shane's heart thundered. He was hesitant to let himself believe it. Could his father have recovered?  "And he's awake and alert. Breathing on his own? Functioning completely on his own? And he can talk again?"

"Yes." The doctor chose his words carefully. "For now. But there's no way of knowing how long these new symptoms will last."

"Symptoms?" Shane fought the urge to step back as if the doctor had just taken a swing at him. "Of what? What does that mean?"

"It may seem like he's recovering..." Again, the doctor spoke cautiously. "But he's not. The stroke he had this morning should have killed him. I can't explain the sudden restoration of motor skills. It could be a clot lodged somewhere—in just the right place. I don't know. But I don't expect it to last long. He's been asking for you for an hour now. But you need to prepare yourself."

Prepare...for what? It sounded like his dad was expected to die at any moment despite the fact that all his motor skills had returned. He had recovered, and yet he hadn't. Shane expelled a heavy breath, fists clenched at his sides to keep from grabbing the doctor by the lapels of his lab coat and demanding to know how long his dad still had. He wanted a definitive answer. But the doctor couldn't give him one. All his medical expertise and training, and the man couldn't tell him with certainty why his father was still alive. Let alone how much longer he might remain that way. No one on earth could tell him that.

But it was what it was. And he could either stand here, wasting what time they had left demanding information that no one seemed to know, or he could accept the situation for what it was, and speak to his father again. Finally, Shane nodded. "I understand."

The doctor mirrored his nod, apparently satisfied. "This way."

The world seemed to shift into slow motion as Shane followed. Nurses and orderlies bustled up and down the corridor, in and out of rooms, pushing and pulling equipment along the polished vinyl floor. Finally, the doctor turned into a room and pushed aside a privacy curtain, revealing his dad. The head of his bed was slightly elevated, and his eyes were closed. The gentle rising and falling of his chest confirmed that his dad was still alive. Shane expelled a breath he hadn't even been aware he was holding, offering a strained smile to the nurse checking his dad's vitals. She reached down and laid a hand on her patient's shoulder.