Page 123 of Love Overdose: St. Louis

“Malik, can you open your eyes?”

His eyelids moved. She looked at me.

“That isn’t normal for him,” I said.

A second nurse arrived with a stretcher. Together, they transferred him from his chair. I stayed close enough for my arm to brush the rail as they rushed him behind the double doors. The treatment room filled quickly. Someone placed oxygen beneath his nose. Another nurse inserted an IV while a doctor examined his pupils and pressed against his hands. Malik barely moved.

I stood near his head, stroking the side of his face.

“I’m right here.”

The doctor introduced herself as Dr. Avery.

“Tell me about his shunt.”

“It was placed when he was a baby. He’s had revisions since then, but it’s been stable for at least six years now. Dr. Hawkins manages it here.”

“Has he complained of headaches?”

“He can’t tell me that. Yesterday, he touched the right side of his head near the shunt.”

“Any seizure activity?”

“No. But he takes daily seizure medicine. Uh, Topiramate. His seizures are controlled.”

She asked about other medications, allergies, baseline responses, and previous shunt failures. I answered everything without opening the binder until she requested the surgical history.

“What tests are you running?” I asked.

“We’ll start with a neurological examination, bloodwork, a CT scan of his head, and a shunt series.”

“What does the shunt series cover?”

“X-rays along the full length of the tubing. We need to see whether it has disconnected or broken anywhere between his head and abdomen. The CT will show whether the ventricles have enlarged.”

“And if they have?”

“Neurosurgery will evaluate him immediately.”

My hand tightened around the bed rail.

“Dr. Hawkins?”

“We’ll contact his service as soon as the images are available.”

A technician entered with a portable X-ray machine. Dr. Avery touched my arm before stepping away.

“We’re moving quickly.”

I nodded.

The X-rays came first. Malik remained still while the technician positioned the equipment over his head, chest, and abdomen. Then transport arrived for the CT scan. They wheeled him into the corridor with the oxygen tank secured beside him. I walked beside him, holding his hand beneath the blanket.

At the imaging doors, the technician stopped me.

“You’ll need to wait here.”

I bent over Malik and kissed his forehead.