Her stomach dropped. But the triage nurse said it was okay! She pointed to the name tag, as Matt croaked, “Yes.”
A pleasant jolt ran through her despite the situation. The aid just grunted and reluctantly let her follow them back to the exam rooms.
It had been hours, and Olivia hadn’t called her back yet. Matt wasn’t doing any better, and they were no closer to an answer. Rosie didn’t understand. All they’d done was a CT scan!
Matt was still in the ED room and not in a patient room. He hadn’t been admitted. And from what she’d seen of the doctor that was working in the department that night, she didn’t think he was going to be.
It was bad enough she’d accidentally brought him at the tail end of the day shift. The night shift doctor hadn’t ordered the tests that the first doctor had promised until she had blatantly asked the nurse. After some hemming and hawing, they took Matt back to radiology, and she tried Olivia’s phone again. Surely, with her calling at eleven o’clock at night, Olivia would understand this was no social call.
She’d left another voicemail, with the name of the hospital. But still there was no answer, and it was getting close to midnight. It was a good thing she had been on night shift lately.
It was too late to text Nadia or Jade, and who knew what Mia was up to? If she was playing a game she wouldn’t hear the phone through her headphones. Besides, this was something Olivia needed to hear directly from her. She could call the squad in if she didn’t hear back soon. Her focus needed to be on Matt.
Finally, the rude nighttime physician came back to the room. His name tag said Doctor Murphy. As a professional, she could say she didn’t envy the nurses tonight. She certainly wouldn’t want to work with this smarmy guy.
“Mr. Lundholm, the CT scan is clear, and I don’t see any medical reason to keep you.”
Matt, whose color had gotten worse the longer they stayed, furrowed his sweaty brows in confusion. “Something’s … wrong.”
Flashes of Sven Lundholm’s heart attack passed through her eyes. “There’s a history of heart attacks in his family, Doctor.”
Doctor Murphy chuckled. It made Rosie shudder, like someone had just dripped slime down the back of her shirt. “You’re only twenty-two, Matt. Despite going to school full-time and working at a job, you’re too young and not under nearly enough stress to consider a heart attack a possible diagnosis.”
That tone. That dismissive tone that Rosie had heard so much in her job at Union Memorial. That tone that had caused Jayden to go into septic seizures when it dismissed her concerns. Something snapped in Rosie.
Never again.
She was deadly calm as she rose and unsnapped the left sleeve of Matt’s medical gown as the doctor droned on. When she threw the fabric down and exposed Matt’s scar, the doctor thankfully paused.
“Doctor Murphy, are you aware this patient has a history of heart surgery? Were you aware he was born with a congenital heart defect called transposition of the great artery?” Her arms crossed over her chest as she mimicked the physician and looked him dead in the eye. “As a NICU nurse I happen to know that one of the long-term side effects of such a condition is narrowing of the arteries in adulthood. Since Matt doesn’t have heart disease, your CT scan wouldn’t show any calcium buildup in the arteries. But the aorta and pulmonary artery can narrow in adulthood due to scar tissue from the surgery.” Satisfaction bloomed in her gut as the color drained from the doctor’s face. “Other long-term side effects of this condition include leaky valves, arrhythmia, and heart muscle weakness. At this point the patient has been experiencing symptoms for several hours, andyou want to send him home?”
That did it. In a flurry of activity, Matt was officially admitted and given a room number, but before they sent him there, they whisked him off to the catheterization lab. She went as far as they’d let her go, squeezing his hand the whole way. His eyes were glassy with pain.
“Be brave,” she whispered and pressed her lips to his forehead.
The wide automatic doors swung closed, blocking him from her view.
Chapter 17
Therewassandpaperinhis throat, and his eyes could have been glued shut for all Matt knew. As he came back to consciousness, he heard voices. There was someone talking in his room.
“Matt? Are you awake?” An older man’s voice floated to his ears, someone friendly-sounding.
“I’m sorry, he hasn’t woken up since he got upstairs last night.” That was Rosie’s voice.
“No problem, I’ll come back later.”
Footsteps walked away, then a door closed. Matt turned his head towards the voice of the woman he loved, and slowly pried his eyes open. Rosie sat in a recliner next to him. The morning sun shone through the window and outlined her in a wondrous glow. His angel.
The cheap, flat pillows must have made noise, because her head snapped to look at him as she gasped. “You’re awake!”
“Hi,” he croaked. His voice sounded like he had taken a vow of silence ten years ago. “Water?”
She hurried and grabbed a cup of water off the tray table and brought a straw to his lips. Matt sucked it down, sure he’d never tasted anything sweeter. Without saying a word, she refilled it from a gray plastic pitcher and let him drain the second glass. After that, he was able to clear his throat.
“You stayed all night?”
“It was two in the morning before you even got up here. By then there was no point in going home.” Rosie patted a soft pile of fabric next to her. “Your aide even brought me a pillow and a blanket. They don’t do that in my hospital.” Sliding to the edge of her chair, she cupped his face with one hand, and he leaned into the touch. “You can’t honestly think I’d leave you like this.”
