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“We can’t go there, Valentina. We don’t know anything yet.”
“That’s what scares me,” she says. “We have to prepare for the worst.”
“Whatever we have to do, we will do it. You know that.”
She sniffs into her tissue, nodding.
I call Marco on speaker, but it rings out. I assume he’s probably in emergency by now and can’t use his phone. We’re not far away anyway, so I’ll try again when we park if he doesn’t call me back.
I dial Angelo next.
He answers on the second ring. “Enzo.” His voice sounds understandably grave.
“Where are you?” I ask.
“Half an hour away, at best. Is Valentina with you?”
“Yes, I just picked her up. We’re on the way to the hospital. Has Marco called you?”
“Briefly just before, they’ve taken her in, and she’s been responsive. That’s all we know at the moment.”
I glance at Valentina as she squeezes my hand a little tighter.
“We’ll see you soon, but let me know if you hear anything before then. Val is beside herself.”
“I will. Thanks, E, for being there.” I hear the sincerity in his voice and my throat constricts.
“Of course,” I reply.
I realize in that moment that there’s nothing I won’t do, not only for Valentina, but for the Medicis as a whole. If something happens to Mama M, I don’t know what the fuck any of us are going to do.
When we make it to the hospital, we meet Angelo at the entry, and he pulls his sister into an embrace. She bursts into tears, and he wraps his arms around her as our eyes meet. I pat him on the back.
We begin to move, and as Angelo finds out which floor his mom is being treated on, we’re told she was moved out of emergency to a specialized floor for stroke victims.
The elevator seems to take forever, and as soon as we hit the floor, we race down the corridor to find her room.
The first person we see is Marco.
He turns as he sees us, his face pale and fraught.
“How is she?”
He gestures outside, at the same time a doctor appears in front of us.
He looks straight at Angelo. “Mr. Medici, I’m Doctor Varcoe, I’m your mother’s neurologist and saw her when she first came in.” They shake hands, as do he and Marco. He nods to the rest of us.
“What’s going on?” Angelo asks, worry spreading across his face.
“Your mother was lucky,” the doctor says. “You got her to the hospital quickly, and it appears she wasn’t alone for long after she collapsed. Timing with strokes is everything. She did suffer what we call a mini stroke, which includes paralysis and the inability to talk. However, in your mother’s case, this is temporary. We are waiting on the results from the brain scan, and I’ll be working closely with the specialist to make sure we know the best course of action to take next.”
“What does this mean for my mother?” Angelo’s tone is low. “Is she going to recover?”
“We will keep her in for a few days at this stage to monitor her progress and work out a plan and medication. Usually, when a person suffers a stroke, which occurs when something blocks blood supply to the brain, or when a blood vessel bursts, parts of the brain can become damaged or can die. In your mother’s case, a mini stroke is less severe because we were able to attend to her quickly. It is too soon to say at the moment just how severe she has been affected, but the tests will show more.”
“Money is no object,” Marco interjects. “When it comes to her care and recovery.”
He smiles warmly. “I can assure you that she is in the best hands possible.”
