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I grip his shoulder and squeeze. “You did good, Dad. Let me speak to her doctor and find out what’s going on.”
I stand and he nods but he looks so lost, so unsure at this moment. I turn to Giles and my gaze clashes with Xander’s who is waiting off to the side with Amelia. He offers me a small smile and nod of encouragement and it’s all I need to give me the strength I know I’ll need. My family is looking to me to guide them and I won’t let them down.
“Giles, where is Sara?” I thought his wife would be here by his side.
“She, uh, she left me.”
“What?”
Giles looks wrecked as he speaks. “Yeah, last month. Her yoga instructor, apparently.”
“Oh, man, I’m sorry. I had no idea.”
He waves it off. “Not important. Just find out if Mom is okay.”
I cup his neck and put my forehead against his. “She’s strong, Giles.”
“I know.” But he doesn’t seem convinced and neither am I. A stroke is no joke and depending on the kind, it can be deadly.
Standing, I move toward the door and mentally brace for what I might see when I walk into the room. As I thought, my mother is in the bed surrounded by monitors, a cannula in her hand, and oxygen being pumped through a nasal cannula in her nose.
A man in his fifties looks up and dawning recognition crosses his face. “Dr. Goldsmith.” He seems to realize what his greeting means as he looks back at my mother.
I step forward and offer my hand. “Dr. Stanley, good to see you.”
He grimaces and I know for a fact doctors don’t like giving bad news to other doctors because there’s no masking the truth or the seriousness of the situation from us.
“How is my mother doing?”
“She’s had an ischemic stroke, so we’ve administered TPA to break up the clot and then we’ll take it from there. I suspect from the brief conversation with your father and some of the things he said, that she’s had a few TIA’s before and ignored them. As you know, that’s not good and probably why we’re here now.”
“Any idea what caused it?”
“Well, as you know it could be age or bad luck. Her weight is fine. There’s no sign of diabetes but her blood pressure was a little raised. Although that’s not surprising given what her body is going through.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“We’re going to do another scan later tonight and see if there’s any change and take it from there.”
“Can my father and brother come and see her?” I know it’s not encouraged but I also know they need it and being a doctor isn’t always about treating the patient only, it’s about the whole support system.
“Yes, but not for long and she’ll likely sleep.”
I shake his hand. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure, Dr. Goldsmith.”
“Beck, please.”
“My pleasure, Beck.”
I head back out to my brother and father and I’m surprised to see Giles deep in conversation with Xander, and Amelia talking quietly with my father. All eyes move to mine, so I quickly update everyone on what I know.
“She never mentioned anything to me.”
I raise my brows at my dad, not wanting to say it, but he works a lot and, honestly, we’re just lucky he was there today. Guilt flashes over his face and for the first time, I wonder if maybe I haven’t misjudged my parents a little. I’m not saying that all of a sudden they’re different people and they certainly weren’t in the running for parents of the year, but maybe the indifference wasn’t as profound as I thought. At least between them.
“Can I see her?”
