Ian looked concerned. “Is everything all right?”
“Yes, they’re going for a 3D sonogram. The baby is due before Thanksgiving,” Jamie explained.
Ian kicked himself. He was so obsessed with Cassie; he was failing to pay attention to the important things in the lives of his personnel. Martin’s words replayed in his head.
* * *
Hunter performed a quick exam on Cassie and grabbed her chart for the meeting. Eric returned to Cassie’s side, so Rachel could attend the meeting.
Rachel kissed Cassie’s cheek. “Sweet pea, I’m going to step out for a few minutes. Eric will keep you company.”
“You’re talking about me, aren’t you?” Cassie chewed on her lip.
“Ian asked to speak with us, sweet pea. I will tell you everything when you are stronger.”
Cassie watched Eric adjust her nutrition, looking at him like she was meeting him for the first time. He pulled up a chair beside her. “Your family wants to sort some stuff out.”
“I’m so confused. Everything is jumbled. Will you make them tell me what they talk about?”
Eric picked up the remote control. “What do you want to watch, angel?” he deflected. After a quick channel change, Cassie didn’t repeat the question.
* * *
The five Paulsen sons, Luke, and Rachel joined Kieran, Monique, Martin, Pete, Jamie, Hunter, and Ian around the table. All fourteen looked solemn as Ian made eye contact with each person. “I’ve called this meeting tonight because we have information to share.” He introduced Martin and Monique to the group. “I want to start by saying we’re blessed to see Cassie at this new place in her recovery. We’ll begin with the medical update.”
Hunter opened her chart. “I’ll be honest, I didn’t think we’d see today. Cassie has a long way to go, but for lack of a better description, this is amazing.” Murmurs of agreement circled the table.
Luke raised his cup of coffee. “I think the miracle is Dr. Montgomery, Pete, Tuck, Eric, and Jamie were brought into her life. I also need to thank Ian, Kieran, and Monique—and your staff—for everything.”
Hunter smiled and turned a page in the chart. “I’ll break it down the best I can. With Cassie awake, we’re focusing on pain management and increasing her mentation and mobility. Her incisions are healing well, but they are still friable. The bones in her chest are mending in spite of the rebreaks from the CPR. As we get her moving, we’ll put a binder around her ribs for her comfort. She has good pulses and sensation on her right foot. The skin graft on her thigh needs more time to fade and blend in, but it does have substantial circulation, and the donor site is looking like it should. She’s wearing a compression glove on her left hand, similar to a burn patient, to help with the scarring and mobility. Today’s incident did no long-lasting damage to her fingers. Her gross motor skills on all four limbs are intact.
“Tomorrow morning, I scheduled a bunch of tests, including looking at her sensation and fine motor skills. Her right shoulder will stay immobile two more days. Maybe three.
“The biggest impediment to heal is our ability to maintain her nutritional status. She’s anemic and low in iron. This is all nutrition related. This morning she was ninety-two pounds; her minimum weight should be 108. We are giving her as many calories as she can tolerate. I would prefer her to be at her admission weight of 116 pounds.
“Tomorrow, the plan is to move her out of bed to the chair. We started a physical rehabilitation regimen the day after surgery. Thanks to our four incredible physician assistants, all her joints can bend—and she doesn’t have a pressure sore anywhere. Eric and Pete both worked as athletic trainers in college, and all of you SEALs understand exercise—so no worries there.” Hunter acknowledged the brothers. “This will be very slow-going.
“Her organs. I removed the middle lobe of her right lung. The remaining two lobes required a lot of intervention; add pneumonia, and she’s having difficulty maintaining her oxygen levels. Tuck has specialized training and will implement a pulmonary rehab program.
"Cardiac-wise, she appears strong. That’s a surprise considering how many times her heart stopped. The issues she had in the OR this morning appear anesthetic-related. Her kidneys are working. Her numbers aren’t normal, but she is no longer in failure, and she’s off dialysis. Her intestines are functioning, and her liver function is almost normal. There are no more signs of infection, but she has a few more days to go on the antibiotics.
"Now the pink elephant in the room. What’s going on in her brain? She lost pieces of her life. There were multiple periods of oxygen deprivation, and her injuries were sustained in a traumatic manner. Both affect memory. She has both anterograde and retrograde amnesia, which means she’s having difficulty holding on to new memories, and there are gaps in her memory from before the stabbing. She’s having nightmares—almost night terrors. She becomes confused and agitated. What is a memory and what is a dream? We need to listen with caution. We must depend on you to tell us if you hear something not right. How long or how much she will remain like this, I don’t know. Tomorrow, we will repeat the brain and chest CT scan. I also arranged for a neurologist and psychiatrist to come in.”
Kieran frowned. “When were you going to tell me?”
“I just did.”
“Damn it, Hunt,” Kieran said. “I need their names.” He looked at Martin, who rolled his eyes.
Hunter continued, “We need to proceed with caution and not overwhelm her. I need you to limit the number of people with her at a time. As much as she wants the company, it exhausts her. She will benefit from a regular sleep pattern.
“She’s aware something isn’t quite right in her head and is also picking up on your feelings, which is spurring her level of anxiety. We need to answer her questions in a simple, straightforward form. Don’t embellish. The fewer words, the better. As time goes on, we will be able to predict her anxiety triggers, and, more importantly, Cassie will rebuild some emotional stamina. Jamie started a memory book.”
“What’s that?” Noah asked.
“It’s a book where Cassie or one of us can write down things she needs help remembering.” Jamie showed them a small journal.
“What happens if she freaks out like she did before, and we can’t calm her down?” Sean asked.
