My heart skipped a beat, but I stayed calm. “Okay.”
I followed her into a hallway, where she gently knocked on a door, then opened it and gestured for me to go in. She softly closed it again behind me.
Forest was sitting on a chair, looking up when I entered. He looked pale, and even from a distance, I could tell his hands were shaking. My whole heart went out to him, and as soon as I sat down, I reached for his hand. He blew out a breath and laced our fingers together, and I squeezed his hand. “I’m here,” I said simply.
“Forest has given me permission to share his diagnosis with you,” a male voice said.
I looked up, straight into the face of the neurologist, who I hadn’t even noticed before. No time for pleasantries now. I needed to know what we were dealing with here. “How bad is it?”
“Right now, all the signs are pointing to FND…” I blinked, and the doctor smiled. “Functional Neurological Disorder. Don’t worry, it’s not something most people have heard of. If my diagnosis is correct, Forest is my first patient with it.”
“Is that a bad thing? I mean, you know how to treat this, right?” I knew I sounded a little sharp, but if the doctor had barely heard of it, how was he supposed to fix anything?
“I have a colleague in Boston who’s been specializing in this for a while. I gave him a call when I started tracking all of Forest’s symptoms.”
“Okay,” I said slowly. “So this isn’t even an official diagnosis?”
“It’s as official as I’m able to give right now.” He folded his arms. “There’s not one test we can run on him that’ll confirm it. It’s all a process of elimination. We were able to rule out MS, ALS, Muscular Dystrophy, and Dystonia.” He said like he waschecking things off a list, but each of those illnesses held a world of pain. “I feel like we’re on the right track, and honestly, the best thing we can do for him is get control of his symptoms.”
“Okay, so what’s the plan? I mean, everything he’s been dealing with, like the seizures, the thing with his arms and legs, is that going to get better?”
“There’s not a cure,” the doctor replied, and I swallowed thickly, fighting to keep my composure. No need to let Forest see how hard the news was hitting me. “It’s mostly about symptom management so he can improve the quality of his life. And to avoid any complications.”
Because, of course, there would be complications.
The doctor sat down on his rolling stool and rested his forearms across his thighs, looking at Forest almost like he was waiting for more permission. After a beat, Forest shrugged, and the doctor’s gaze moved back to me. “I know all of this sounds pretty terrifying, but the good news is, the prognosis isn’t terminal. It will affect his quality of life, but we can manage that, and his life expectancy hasn’t changed.”
“So treatment…”
“There are some. Not a lot,” he added, and he looked regretful. “It could get worse. The way his symptoms have been progressing tells me that right now it’s pretty out of control, and stress tends to make everything flare up.”
Forest let out a watery laugh. “If that was a switch I could turn off?—”
“I know,” the doctor said softly. “But if we can start you on a few medications to help reduce your symptoms, your stress levels should start going down.”
Oh god. A severe chronic illness. This would have so many ramifications for Forest. “Okay.” I blew out a breath. “So where do we start?”
The doctor smiled thinly. “Forest indicated that he’s unable to process new information right now. One of the symptoms of FND is brain fog, which he seems to struggle with, so he asked if we could bring you in. I understand you’re his…friend?”
“Yes. He lives with me.”
“Does he have a broader support system?”
He would if he told Creek and the others, of that, I had no doubt. They would all be there for him. He was all of our little brother…though maybe brother wasn’t the right word for how I saw him, considering I’d had some distinctly unbrotherly dreams about him. “He only moved here recently, so he doesn’t know many people yet.”
It was as close to the truth as I could make it without sharing things I wasn’t sure Forest wanted the doctor to know.
“I’m asking because the first few months are going to be rough as we figure out what medications will work best for him. There may be side effects, more tests, and physical therapy to help him learn to compensate for his muscle weakness. I also highly recommend setting him up with a mental health professional to help him process this new reality. He’ll need others to lean on.”
“I’ll be there for him.” Easiest decision ever. Like I would ever say no to that.
“Do you have a job that allows you some flexibility?”
I hesitated. “I’m an EMT, but I have a great relationship with my chief. If I explain the situation, I’m sure we can work out a way to get me that flexibility.”
Worst-case scenario, I’d quit my job. I loved what I did, don’t get me wrong, but thanks to an inheritance from my grandparents—which included the house we lived in—and the monthly Army pension I had, I had a healthy nest egg that would sustain me for a while.
“I’m very glad to hear that. I want to start him on some medications for the dizziness and the muscle weakness, two of the major symptoms he’s experiencing.”
