“People on my side of the family tend to have long lives. My grandmother was two months shy of one hundred and four when she passed,” Alice said.
“So, fighting off a coyote at your young age is completely plausible,” I said.
She clapped her hands together and smiled. “I like you.”
I grinned. “I’m two for two. Your husband said the same thing.”
“Knock, knock,” a doctor said as he entered the room. “How are we doing in here?”
“As good as can be expected,” Alice said. “Is it time for the scan?”
“They should be here to get you in a few minutes. In the meantime, I wanted to let you know you fractured your tibia in the fall. That’s the larger of the two bones in your lower leg. The good news is it’s an incomplete fracture, meaning the bone isn’t broken all the way through. In other words, no surgery required.”
“What about a cast?” she asked hesitantly.
“We’ll send you home with a boot and crutches until you see ortho,” he said. “Unless they see something I don’t on the X-ray, they’ll probably put you in a walking boot instead of a hard cast.”
“Hot damn,” Alice said. “Let’s get this CT scan done so I can go home.”
“As long as the results are clear, that’s the plan,” the doctor said.
“They will be,” Alice assured him. “Thanks to my brilliant daughter over there, I’m well-versed in the signs and symptoms of a brain bleed, and I don’t have any of them.”
The doctor turned to Presley, who waved awkwardly. “I’m an ER nurse. I’ve trained my family well.”
He laughed. “Well, it’s good that you don’t have any of the symptoms, but we still need to check.”
“Oh, I completely understand. I’d rather be safe than sorry,” Alice said.
Someone knocked on the open door. “Looks like they’re here to take you to CT. When you get back, we’ll get you set up with a splint to wear until you can see an orthopedist. If your CT is good, we’ll get your head wound closed up and send you on your way.”
“That sounds perfect,” Alice said. “Oh, wait. If the CT is good, does that mean I can eat?”
Eugene laughed. “I knew that was coming.”
“Yes, if the results are clear, you can eat,” the doctor said.
“Whoever brings me food can be my favorite person for the day,” Alice said as they began to wheel her away.
“Rappelling down a mountain and rescuing you doesn’t rate favorite person status?” I teased.
“You’re right. It does,” she said and cleared her throat like she was going to make an important announcement. “Food today for tomorrow’s favorite person of the day title. Who’s it going to be? We’ll find out when I return.”
“I wish I could say it was the pain medicine, but she’s always like that,” Eugene said once Alice was gone.
“I’m glad she’s in good spirits,” I said.
“Me, too,” Presley agreed. “It could’ve been a lot worse.”
“Your mother’s a tough old bird,” Eugene said.
“Yes, and she can also be a cranky one, particularly when she’s tired and hungry. So, maybe we should get our plan together while she’s gone.”
“I need to finish packing up the campsite and drive the camper home, but I can do that tomorrow, if need be,” Eugene said.
“Do you think we have time to go back to the campsite, pack up, and drive back here before your mother is discharged?” I asked Presley.
“You should. She’ll be here for at least another two hours, and that’s the minimum. It’ll probably be closer to four before all is said and done.”
