He squeezed back.
“I’ll be back in a minute,” I assured him.
“Can I watch the rest of the movie?” Yoss asked, his voice small.
“Sure.” I pulled the table back around and clicked the mouse.
“Thanks,” Yoss murmured. “I have to see if they ever find the lady. It’ll bother me all night otherwise.”
“You’ve seen this movie before. You know what happens,” I chuckled.
“I just like to make sure some things don’t change,” he said with a strained smile as his eyes drifted back to the screen.
I joined Dr. Howell out in the hallway where he was updating Jill Rogers, the head nurse on duty, about Yoss’s medications.
When he was finished, Dr. Howell turned to me. “I’m very concerned about Mr. Frazier.”
“I know his condition is very serious—”
“It’s not just his illness, it’s his situation. Have you been able to secure him a place at the Salvation Army?” Dr. Howell asked.
“He doesn’t want to go to the shelter. He’s had some bad experiences there and he is adamant he doesn’t want to go back,” I explained.
“Then it’s important that another place is found for him. He has a rough road ahead of him. It’s an uphill battle for those that don’t have all of the other risk factors that Yoss faces. This has to be a priority, Imogen.” Dr. Howell peered at me closely.
I swallowed thickly and only nodded. “How likely is he to get a transplant?” I asked.
“The waiting list is almost a year long. Given the gravity of his health, it will give him a higher priority, but like I told him, he could still be waiting for weeks. Or months. And I’m not sure Yossarian has months to wait.”
A punch to the gut.
The wind was knocked out of me.
I couldn’t breathe.
My knees threatened to buckle underneath me.
“Are you saying that he could…”
I couldn’t finish the sentence.
I couldn’t say it.
Iwouldn’t.
“Imogen, Yoss’s liver is failing. He has already lost the function of almost 80% of his liver cells. His situation is precarious at best.”
“I understand,” I choked out. Lies.
I didn’t understand anything.
Least of all how I could find Yoss only to lose him again.
It was my greatest fear.
It paralyzed me.
“We can’t keep him in the hospital. We simply don’t have the funds for that, even with the government grants. You know that. And the truth is, he doesn’t need to stay in the hospital. He can function somewhat normally. Heshouldcarry on with his life. But it’s our job to ensure that life doesn’t include him living on the streets. Or carrying on with the lifestyle that got him to this point in the first place. Have you spoken to him about any of this? Perhaps there’s a support group for that sort of thing.”
