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“Can I make you coffee?” Rachel asked.
“Please,” I said. “I’m dying for a cup.” I followed her to the kitchen where she took out two cups. The dishes were stacked high.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t get around to these yet.”
“Oh, that’s fine,” I said. “I came here for you, not to judge the height of your dish stack, I know you’re busy.”
Rachel nodded. She pressed her fingers to the left side of her chest and winced.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. My blood ran cold.
“It’s nothing,” Rachel said.
I studied her face for any signs that she was lying to me.
“How long have you had pains?”
“It’s not a big deal, Mackie,” Rachel said, but she leaned on the counter, her body double over as she gasped for air.
“I’m calling an ambulance,” I said and grabbed my phone.
“No… don’t…” She gasped. “It’s fine, I just need to… sit down…” She sagged to the ground.
“Rachel!” I cried out and fell to my knees. I shook her shoulder, but she didn’t respond. Her body was limp, and when I managed to roll her over, her lips were blue.
“Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?” An operator’s voice sounded over the phone.
“I need an ambulance,” I gasped into the phone, tears rolling down my cheeks. “My sister fainted, and she’s not breathing right. She’s been diagnosed with pulmonary embolisms.”
The rest was a blur. They took the address, and a couple of minutes later—although it felt like forever—sirens wailed in the distance.
I cradled Rachel’s head in my lap and rubbed her chest, hoping that it would do something to help her breathing.
“You just stay with me,” I cried, tears streaming down my cheeks. “You have to stick with me, Rach. I can’t do this without you. And the kids… God, we need you.”
“Ma’am?” someone said behind me, and I jerked around. A paramedic stood behind me in the doorway to the kitchen. “We took the liberty of letting ourselves in.”
I nodded and shifted, and they took over. I backed away to give them room and watched as they checked Rachel’s vitals, strapped an oxygen mask to her face and lifted her onto a gurney where they secured her.
“Is she going to be okay?”
“Her SATs are low, and her heart isn’t as rhythmic as we’d like it, but we’re going to get her to the hospital as soon as we can. You can ride with her. It will do her good to hear your voice.”
I didn’t know if they said that for Rachel’s sake or for mine, but I ran with them to the ambulance and got in. They let me sit down next to her and hold her hand. One paramedic checked her heart rate at regular intervals. The other made sure I was okay and kept checking machines and other equipment.
“It’s going to be okay,” I said through tears. “It’s going to be just fine, we’re getting you some help, and you’ll be okay. You don’t have to worry about the kids, I’ll go get them, and we’ll be just fine at home until you’re ready to come back, too. It’s going to be fine.”
When the ambulance arrived at the hospital, doctors and nurses took over, and I couldn’t go with her. They took her straight into intensive care, and I had to wait outside.
I sagged onto the plastic chairs in the waiting room and tried to pull myself back together, wrapping my arms around my chest as if that would help.
“Mackenzie?” someone asked.
When I looked up, I vaguely recognized the doctor who was looking at me with a concerned expression.
“It’s Scott,” he said, and the pieces fell into place.
“Oh,” I said and scrubbed my cheeks. I sniffed. “Sorry, I didn’t recognize you. You’re… a doctor.” Troy had mentioned something about that.
