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I was touched that Vivian knew my daughter so well despite that they hadn’t spent a whole lot of time together. Once again, I needed people. If I were on my own, I’d be an absolute mess.
“I don’t have insurance,” I whispered.
“Don’t worry over that,” Daniel said with authority.
I stared at him incredulously. “I can’t—”
Vivian touched my knee. “You can.”
“I’ll pay you back,” I insisted. And then I thought of my broken down food truck. I was doing well, but all these bills were piling up quickly.
“We can talk about it later. The important thing right now is getting Miss Ella all better.” Vivian was right, and I wouldn’t let this go once Ella was healed.
Daniel parkedin front of a nondescript building. I unbuckled Ella from the car seat as everyone else piled out. Daniel grabbed her carrier from the trunk, but I held my daughter close. Her eyes were closed, and her face still flushed a deep red.
He held open the door for us to the lobby that had chairs lined around the walls and toys in large basket in the corner.
“Vivian. Daniel. It’s lovely to see you.” A statuesque woman came through the door in a long white coat.
“Dr. Shah.” Daniel was curt, though he met her handshake. “This is Ella and her mother, Trish.” He motioned toward me, and I shifted her so that she was cradled in my arms.
“Hello, Trish. And hi, Ella.” The doctor touched her cheek and frowned. “You are a warm little lady.” She turned her attention to me. “Why don’t we take a better look?”
I followed her to an examination room and was relieved when she didn’t make me put Ella down. Baker came into the room while Vivian and Daniel hovered outside the door.
“You can come in,” I said quietly. They didn’t wait to be asked twice. My heart twisted at how concerned the two of them were.
“Let’s see if we can get her temperature.” Dr. Shah’s calm demeanor relaxed me. She didn’t seem anxious like I was. If something was really, really wrong, wouldn’t she act like it?
The thermometer beeped, and the doctor let out a disgruntled noise when she read it.
“One hundred two. We need to get this down. Is she allergic to anything?”
“Not that I know of.”
She listened to Ella’s chest and was far too quiet as she conducted the rest of the examination. Ella let out a little cough, her lips a bluish hue.
“Is that normal?” I indicated toward her mouth.
“How long has she been displaying these symptoms?” Dr. Shah asked.
“Um . . .”
“She’s been coughing since I got home, but she wasn’t this hot until right before Trish arrived,” said Baker, sounding frantic still.
“Has she been eating?” Dr. Shah continued.
Before I could answer, Baker did. “Not like she normally does. Hasn’t drunk as much of her bottle either,” Baker supplied, and I felt ridiculous.Shouldn’t I be answering all these questions? She’s my daughter.“This is the worst I’ve seen her, Dr. Shah. We came straight here.”
“I’d like to do a chest X-ray,” the doctor concluded, pulling the stethoscope from her ears. “After listening to her breathing, I suspect we’re looking at pneumonia, but an X-ray will help pinpoint the diagnosis.”
“Do the X-ray,” Daniel said.
“Daniel.” Vivian slapped him in the arm. “That’s up to Trish.” She gave me an apologetic look and then turned toward Dr. Shah. “Do the X-ray.”
The doctor cleared her throat and looked at me. “I’d feel better if you did.”
“I’d like to go ahead and give her acetaminophen now to get that fever down. Because of the very quick onset of symptoms, and by the crackling sound I can hear in her lungs, I believe it’s bacterial pneumonia. We’ll do blood tests to try to identify which germ is causing her illness, plus measure the oxygen levels in her blood.I’ll start her on antibiotics, which may relieve some of her symptoms in a few days. Even if it does, make sure she finishes the course.”
