Anne with an E The Next Chapter

Matthew

As July rolled by, Anne and Marilla waited patiently every few days for news from Dr. Ward on Matthew's status. He kept communicating that Matthew needed a bit more time and couldn't have visitors. This infuriated Anne

"This is terrible, we have to go visit him, he probably feels like we've abandoned him or we don't love him anymore." said Anne.

"No that's impossible, Mathew knows how much we love him, I've stayed by him my whole life, that counts for something" Marilla retorted.

Finally after July was already half way through, Anne convinced Marilla to write to Dr.Ward, insisting they visit. They were sure that if they could just spend a bit of time with Matthew, he'd start to fight and come around. Dr. Ward finally answered and agreed to the visit, but it would be under strict instructions.

They wrote to Aunt Josephine and mailed the letter first thing on the Monday, as soon as the post office opened. They told her the news and she quickly responded offering them a stay with her and Cole. That said, they planned their visit quickly and decided to leave on the Thursday. Jerry promised to stay the weekend at Green Gables and look after things on the farm. While they rode the train to Charlottetown, Anne felt butterflies in her stomach. She worried about what Matthew might look like when they arrived and pictured all sorts of horrible images. She never dared say them out loud in case she would scare Marilla or send a bad omen towards Matthew, a man who needed nothing more than positivity. The reached Charlottetown early that morning went straight aunt Jo's to drop their things and rest a bit. They wanted to be calm when they finally saw Matthew.

They were feeling more relaxed and ready to face the day with a bit of food in their belly. Spending time with Aunt Josephine and Cole was very encouraging. It was very nice to be with people who had faced their own difficulties in life and had a greater perspective than that of people back and Avonlea who kept saying Matthew was as good as dead. Gilbert had told them that Dr. Ward had access to research and medical fellows who could guide him on the latest procedures, but hearing all the negativity was weighing on them. Marilla and Anne were hopeful after leaving Aunt Josephines.

As Marilla and Anne walked into Dr. Ward's clinic, Anne had the old butterflies again but felt ready to face anything when she had Marilla by her side. Together, they were two strong women in charge. They were asked to stay in one of Dr. Ward's waiting rooms until he was able to come and see them. As he entered, he was carrying white cloth scrubs and some face masks. He sat down and asked them how they both were and how the trip had been. They continued some idle small talk and then got down to brass tasks. 

"Miss Cuthbert, I am a bit concerned about Matthew" said Dr. Ward. "When he came here, he was indeed alive though very weak. He arrived unconscious and stayed that way for many many days. When he finally came to, it took a few days to even get him to eat. He's been very tired and needed an extraordinary amount of sleep and rest in order for his body to repair itself. We're quite confident that things are going to return to normal health wise for him, although he will always have to be more careful.  I don't think working in the fields the way he used to is going to be permissible anymore. He can do small jobs around the house, but his heart will not be able to keep up with the fieldwork. This is something I think you need to go home and plan for with whoever is helping you manage these days."

Anne and Marilla looked relieved "We can handle that, it's not a problem" said Anne.

"Another thing about Matthew" he continued, "we are not sure if he suffered a cognitive deficiency during the time that he was, uhh, not alert."

"You mean, when he died. Jerry was quite sure he had died".

"Yes he may have momentarily died, although none of us really know for certain if that actually happened. There's no real way to know. According to your farmhand, he had stopped breathing, but then again we don't really know if that's what happened. If he did die and was revived, Matthew may have had a cognitive setback because of this."