“That’s fine. I’ll have the nurse come help. Move slowly and see how she responds.”
“Come by later for cake,” Matthew said, as the doctor got ready to leave them.
“I may just take you up on that,” he said.
“Gentlemen, can you give us a few minutes?” Geni asked after a while.
“I thought you might like to freshen up a bit,” she said after they left the room. The nurse came in to help.
“Danni Matchett,” she said, introducing herself.
“Nurse Hatchet,” Carlee giggled.
“Well, that’s a new one,” she said sarcastically, and then laughed out loud, letting out a little snort as she did. “It’s usually ‘Ratched’ – the nurse from the Old Jack Nicholson movie, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”
“I’m sticking with Hatchet,” Carlee laughed as the nurse helped her to the restroom, dragging the pole that had the IV lines along with them.
“Doc said you can have a sponge bath; I’ll get you situated back in the bed and then the Miss here can help you. Geni went to the sink and filled the pan that was provided with warm water. She dug through a bag she’d brought from the flat and pulled out the pink satin pajama top along with shower gel and a soft washcloth from home.
After she was back in the bed, Hatchet gave them the instructions. “Doc said ‘move slowly,’ we don’t want any more of that vomiting,” she told them.
“I’ll help you,” Geni said.
“Good,” Carlee smiled back at her, somewhat anxious. Geni got everything ready, and Carlee washed up. When she was done, Geni helped her slip on the pajama top. She got her toothbrush ready, and when Carlee was ready, she handed her a hairbrush and her make-up - things she grabbed from the flat to help her feel prettier. Once the bath was done, Carlee pulled her hair into the clip that Geni found on the bathroom counter at the flat and settled back into the pillows. Their primping tired her.
“Before ya get too comfy, are ya wantin’ to slip them fancy pants on?” the nurse said referring to the panties that lay on the bed.
Carlee nodded and the nurse helped her into them.
“Sometimes your own things help,” Geni said. “How do you feel?”
“Much better, and no, swimmy-head,” Carlee said. “Hatchet, come here a sec; I want to tell you something.”
She leaned toward Carlee. When she was close Carlee whispered in her ear, “Thank you!”
Danni Matchett smiled, “‘Twas my pleasure,” she said and left them.
“Thanks Geni, I love you.”
“I love you too, Carlee.” Geni smiled, and once again her mind drifted to her son and this beautiful young woman, and she said a silent prayer. After Carlee was settled, Geni walked down the hall; there was a solarium at the end. Andy and Matthew were sitting there talking.
“You can come back; we just needed a few minutes,” she said.
Entering the room, Andy said, “Wow, something smells good!”
“Something smells delectable, wonderful, and familiar…” Matthew smiled nuzzling her cheek, kissing her neck. “You look and smell more like my BW,” he said. Geni and Andy looked at him and both he and Carlee laughed.
“Beautiful Wife,” Carlee explained.
Andy looked at her and thought that Matthew was right. She was beautiful, and he said a prayer of his own.
~ ~ ~
They brought lunch for Carlee, but she pushed it aside.
“Want me to go get you something else?” Andy asked. “You’ve only had that fritter since I’ve been here. You need to eat.”
“Maybe later; that hot meal just isn’t appealing, not now anyway,” she said.
“Everything OK?” Matthew asked.
“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry,” she smiled at him. “I’m fine; that just doesn’t look appealing. Maybe a sandwich later.”
There was a knock at the door, and Michael and Deb came in. Michael had a handful of balloons.
“Happy Birthday!” they called out happily as they entered the room.
“This is nice! It’s been too long since I’ve seen you!” Carlee smiled as they both hugged her.
A few minutes later, Cook and his wife, Adrian, joined them. There were more balloons and flowers, and Cook was carrying a cake. He put the things down and went to the bedside and leaned to kiss Carlee’s cheek. She wrapped her arms around him in a hug.
“Ya don’t look so much like ya’ve been through the wringer,” Cook laughed. “I brought you a surprise…”
“Oh, let me guess,” she inhaled deeply, “Mmm… I smell baked brown sugar! Could it be? Scones?” she laughed, clapping with glee.
~ ~ ~
They had an enjoyable afternoon, and finally Matthew gave her the bag to open. “I don’t reckon you’ll want to wear it just now; it kinda doesn’t match your PJs,” he laughed. “It was meant to be opened during a romantic dinner, but this will have to do,” he said and kissed her.
She opened the box and smiled. It was an antique cuff-style bracelet, with open filigree, alternating pearls, diamonds, and sapphires, gold and white gold, and looked much like her engagement ring. Taking it out, she slipped it on her wrist and admired it.
“It goes just fine with my PJs, but I will take an IOU on that romantic dinner,” she smiled and he leaned to kiss her again.
It was getting late in the afternoon, and Cook saw Carlee’s tired eyes and took the lead. “We should all be gettin’ along. I’m sure Carlee could use some rest. He leaned and kissed her cheek. “I’ll see you soon,” he whispered, “for that romantic dinner your husband planned.”
“Mrs. Cook, Matthew, cover your ears a moment. Peter Cook, don’t tell anyone else, but I love you like crazy,” she laughed.
~ ~ ~
After they were gone, Geni and Andy remained. Matthew ran down to the café to find a sandwich; she’d had nothing but sugar since she woke up that morning. He returned with a turkey sandwich, and she pulled the bread away and ate the meat and cheese.
Dr. Saunders entered as she was wiping her mouth. “Seems as though every time I come to see you I’m interrupting a meal,” he smiled.
“That little bird eats a little bit of something all day long,” Matthew chuckled.
“Bird,” Carlee repeated, “Pshhh…”
A moment later, another man wearing a white doctor’s coat stuck his head around the corner. When he saw Dr. Saunders he entered the room.
“Carlee, Matthew, this is Dr. Mellan; he’s the ENT who will be working with us to figure out what’s going on here,” Dr. Saunders told her.
Andy and Geni rose to leave. “No,” Carlee said, “don’t go.”
They talked in more depth about the tests they were going to be running and explained the process so that everyone understood. Carlee and her family sat quietly, taking it all in. Carlee listened intently to every word – because she wanted to know what was ahead.
Andy asked, “What happens after that?”
But the response from Dr. Mellan was vague and didn’t give them much to go on. “We won’t know until we get results from each test before we move on to the next step. I’m sorry to be vague, but at this point we’re fishing,” he paused and added, “We just really don’t know.”
“One step forward. One step at a time,” Carlee said, seeing Andy’s anxiousness.
The doctors left them, and Matthew excused himself. He stepped out and made a call to Dan Patrick. “Hey, Dan, sorry it’s so late. If you’re available, I need you to cover my classes for a few days.”
“Sure, I’m free,” he said, but he detected by Matthew’s tone that this wasn’t good. “Matthew, what’s going on? Is everything OK?”
“It’s Carlee. Not sure exactly, but something … I’ll check in when I know more. I appreciate your help.”
“Take care of what’s important. I’ve got this; whatever you need,” Dan Patrick replied.
~ ~ ~
Early the next morning they took Carlee away to begin tests. It began wi
th an auditory brain stem response test. They placed electrodes on her scalp to record sounds’ ability to reach the brain. Later, they performed an electronystagmogram - a test to measure movement of the eyes when the inner ear is stimulated.
“So, doc,” she said to the ENT, and he responded with a big smile. “What are we looking for? I need to know; I can handle ‘bout anything if I know what to prepare for.”
“Well, Carlee, I’ll be honest with you,” Dr. Mellan responded. “I’m checking every possible thought in my mind, because you are a mystery to us at this point. I’ve never had anyone who’s had vertigo that wasn’t just a simple ear infection, so I’m just not sure.”
“Well, you must have some ideas of what you’re looking for to choose the tests you’re doing,” she said. “I can handle it.”
In just the short time he’d been working with her, he already knew that to be true. “Some other considerations would be a stroke, which I find no signs of, but I’m checking everything. A head injury, which I think we’ve ruled out through our conversations,” he said and paused.
“And?”
“A brain tumor or multiple sclerosis, maybe something as simple as allergies or anxiety. Carlee, we don’t want to leave any stone unturned. We are calling in a neurologist to look at the first MRI. He’ll most likely do another one in a day or two to check for any type of change, looking for something we may have missed. I think today you’ve had enough, I want to keep you on the IV for a while, and tomorrow we’ll do a CT scan and a few other tests I’m exploring. Dr. Saunders, Dr. Withborne, along with me and an audiologist will review test results from today, and we’ll take it from there. It’s a step toward an answer. Don’t worry, OK?”
She lay quietly as they wheeled her back to her room. Brain tumor or multiple sclerosis she heard again in her head. Don’t worry, he’d said, and she tried not to. She decided to roll with her affirmation that she wouldn’t dwell on it until there was an answer - a reason to worry.
~ ~ ~
When they pushed her in the door to her room, she saw Andy waiting. “Good morning, Papa!”
“Well, you sound good,” he said and rose to kiss her cheek.
“Where are Matthew and Geni?”
“Excuse me.” Carlee looked up as the nurse was sticking her head in.
“Papa, have you met Nurse Hatchet?”
The woman shook her head and laughed. “Matchett, but this one thinks she’s funny,” she said pointing her thumb Carlee’s direction, sarcastically.
Andy looked at Carlee, remembering so many times she’d made him smile over something she thought was funny through the years. “Andy Stevens,” he said and rose to shake her hand.
“I know who ya are,” she smiled. “Have ya had a bite to eat yet, missy?” she asked Carlee.
“Uh unh,” Carlee replied. “They took me out at the butt-crack of dawn and wouldn’t let me have anything.”
“I’ll find you something. Sorry for interruptin’; I’ll be right back,” she said.
“Hatchet,” Carlee called out, “I want grits.”
“Excuse me?” she asked turning to look back at her.
“Grits,” Carlee repeated, as Andy sat in the chair looking on, knowing this was going to be a witty exchange.
“I’m afraid I don’t know what a grit is,” the nurse replied.
“Not ‘a’ grit… grits,” Carlee was laughing now.
The nurse looked to Andy, “She’s messing with you. She knows there will be no grits to be had here; it’s a southern U.S. staple. I guess it’d be like cornmeal porridge,” he laughed.
“Hmmph…” she said and left the room.
“And coffee, no tea, please! She’s gonna be fun!” Carlee said as the nurse left the room. “So, where are Geni and my husband?” Carlee asked again.
“Matthew went to get a shower and Geni had some things she needed to take care of, so you’re stuck with me,” he said.
~ ~ ~
They chatted a bit, and a little while later, the nurse returned with a tray. Carlee sat up as they adjusted the bed. Andy moved the table with the tray of food closer. He saw the nurse standing at the other side of the bed with her arms crossed across her chest in an ‘I’ll show you’ kind of way.
Carlee lifted the lid on the food and looked, then glanced to the nurse.
“Hatchet, what the heck is that?” she asked.
“Scrambled eggs, toast, sausages, and corn porridge… best I could do on short notice,” she replied, and all three of them laughed out loud looking at the bowl of corn floating in cream.
“Nice,” Carlee laughed as Matthew and Geni entered the room.
“I can be a smartass, too,” Danni Matchett said, and left them all laughing.
“Hello, husband,” Carlee said.
“Hello, beautiful wife,” he said and kissed her. “I like hearing that laughter! What’s funny?”
Matthew and Geni looked at the bowl Carlee pointed to, and Andy explained as Carlee ate some of the eggs and sausage.
Afterward, Carlee explained the tests she’d had that morning and some of the conversation with the doctor. She wasn’t ready to get into the deep thoughts with them – not until she needed to.
An hour or so later, there was a knock on the door. Doctors Saunders, Mellan, and Withborne all entered. Carlee held her breath – the sight of all of them at once scared her. Geni and Andy were in chairs on opposite sides of the bed, and Matthew was on the bed beside her watching TV.
Carlee took Matthew’s hand in hers and tried to suppress her fears by speaking first. “Good morning fellas!”
They smiled in reply, and Dr. Mellan took the lead. “We have some things to go over with you,” he told her and looked around the room.
“They need to hear anything you have to say,” Carlee replied.
“We’ll start with what we can rule out; this is not vertigo It’s not anything to do with your ears, in fact.” Dr. Withborne said. “We asked a neurologist to take a closer look at the MRI.”
Neurologist, Carlee heard again and felt bile from her breakfast in her throat. Matthew squeezed her trembling hand.
“He saw something he wants to explore,” the doctor continued. “We’ll be sending you for another MRI as well as a CT scan as soon as he gets everything together. He wants to zero in on a certain area to get a better look.”
“Better look at what?” Carlee asked cautiously as the others looked on.
Andy was on the edge of his seat, nervously waiting. Geni watched as he wrung his hands.
“There appears to be a mass in the front part of your brain.” He pointed to the top of his head to give them an idea. “We didn’t see it from the original MRI, but a more trained eye saw it right away. The location is most likely what caused the nausea. I don’t think the fainting was a seizure; I think you were just worn out from all that vomiting. It appears somewhat small; we’ll do different views on the MRI, and then we can look into what we need to do next.”
“Mass?” Andy choked on the word.
“Papa, all of you, we’re going on the ‘we aren’t worrying until we know what to worry about’ protocol until we know something definite.” She said the words calmly, but her own fears were strangling her inside.
“Any questions to this point?” the doctor asked.
“Not yet,” Carlee said.
“I’ll see you again with Dr. Lincoln, the neurologist, after the MRI and CT scan results are back,” Dr. Saunders told them.
~ ~ ~
After the trio of doctors left, the room was quiet for a while, none of them knowing what to say or ask.
Finally, it was Carlee who broke the deafening silence. “Look here. Every one of us has seen those kids at camp who go through worse than this and come out on the other side strong and healthy. So, stop the moping. I mean it! I can’t even think of any of this, can’t process any of it, if you can’t be strong with me!” she all but shouted the words.
The door to her room opened and the
nurse entered. “‘Scuse me, I need to get a new IV going; can you give us a few minutes?” No one wanted to leave, but the nurse noticed that for Carlee it seemed a relief to have them gone for a few minutes.
“Hatchet, what’s this one?” Carlee asked in a tired voice, looking up at the bag of liquid.
“Steroid,” she replied.
“For what?”
“To assure no swelling in your brain so they can get pretty pictures,” she replied with a comforting smile. “They told me there wasn’t much fluid. That’s a good thing, if you want to know.”
“Thank you,” Carlee said.
“You’re trying to be strong for them,” the nurse said as she was getting the drip going. When she completed the task, she sat on the edge of the bed. “Don’t forget about you.”
“Thanks, Hatchet,” Carlee said with a weak smile.
~ ~ ~
Matthew and Andy went to the café to get coffee while Geni went to the solarium and made a few calls. She cancelled the flights Carlee and Matthew had made to go home for Christmas. She called Kimmy, to ask her to let the rest of the family know what was happening. She called Thomas and Brian… and she cried. When she figured the guys would be on their way back, she heard Carlee’s words in her mind, I can’t even think of any of this, can’t process any of it, if you can’t be strong with me! She darted in the restroom, washed her face, and touched up her make-up. When she came out they were waiting with the coffee.
The nurse went to the solarium and told them they could return to the room.
They came an hour later to take her for the CT scan and MRI.
Chapter Five
She was out of the room at lunch, and Andy knew she’d be hungry when she came back. He also felt the need for a diversion; his mind was racing, and he needed time to be alone to think. “I’m gonna run out and find us something to eat,” he said and headed for the door. Geni got the impression that he needed to be alone for a bit and didn’t offer to join him.
Feel Like Makin' Love (Rock and Roll Trilogy #3) Page 6