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She’s awake! And already giving me grief because I’m missing practice. The doc is with her now. I’ll let you know when I know more.
He’d be in flight or near it, so I didn’t expect an immediate reply for him.
My finger hovered over Austin’s name as I debated whether to call or text.
I clicked call.
It went directly to voicemail. “You’ve reached Austin Murray. I can’t take your call right now. Please leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”
“Hi. Wanted to let you know Mom’s awake, and the doctor is with her. I thought you’d like to know.” What should I say? Too much silence here would be weird. “Thank you for your help last night. I hope your meetings are going okay.”
I disconnected so I wouldn’t leave more awkward dead air.
Before I pocketed my phone, it lit up with texts. My Arsenal teammates had just heard the news and all kinds of well wishes and offers of help rolled in. As I read, a call from Kennedy came in.
“Hey, KP.” Kennedy’s concerned voice sounded loud and clear. “We got the news this morning about Greta. Is she okay? Are you on the way? How can we help?”
Wow. These guys. Right there to help. I blinked back tears.
“I got here a few hours ago, and she’s just woken up. She’s banged up, but the prognosis is good.”
“That’s good, man. We’re all thinking about her. If you need anything, let us know. I’ll call Adriana in a second and let her know. I’m sure she’d be okay if you called her too.”
“I appreciate that.” My voice wavered but didn’t crack.
This team always rallied. Anytime a player or a player’s family went through something, they didn’t do it alone.
Nurse Montgomery appeared at my side, and I took the phone from my ear. “Doctor Snow is ready to give an update as soon as you’re done.”
“Sorry, Kennedy. The doc’s ready. I need to go.”
“Got it. We’re getting on a plane in a few minutes, but you can text me.”
“Thanks again. And thank the guys for me too. You all almost blew up my phone with all the messages, and I appreciate that. Talk to you later.”
I entered Mom’s space, braced—or trying to be—for whatever the doctor had to say. Mom looked tired but more alert now. I went to the bedside and kissed her forehead before I turned my attention to the doctor.
“Things are looking quite good. The fact that she’s awake and becoming more alert is very encouraging. We’re going to send her for a new MRI, and I expect to see improvements. We’ll continue to monitor for any concussion symptoms. We had to repair some internal bleeding in the abdomen. That will keep her in the hospital for two or three days more. As she heals, she’ll probably need help for a time even once she’s back home. Of course, things can change. I want to caution about that. But right now, everything is looking good for a fairly rapid recovery.”
“Thank God.” I looked down to her. “I had no idea when I moved you’d go to such elaborate measures to get me to come home.”
“Just one of the tricks in the Mom Handbook.” She rolled her eyes at me. Her humor returning in full force told me even more than what the doctor said.
“I’ll check back when I’ve got the new test results. The team here can reach me anytime if needed. If the next twenty-four hours go well, we’ll move to a private room on a general floor. For now, just rest.”
“Thank you, doctor,” she said as she and the nurse left.
I sat in the chair, relieved but not fully relaxed.
“I hate that you came all the way up here, but thank you.”
“Like I would do anything else. You’re important. Besides, you were always with me when I broke something.”
“You never did it in such a spectacular fashion as I just did.”
We shared a smile, and I shook my head. “Well, I don’t know that any of us needed this drama, so maybe don’t do it again.”
This crisis seemed mostly passed. Once Bobby got here, we’d figure out the plan for making sure she had help until the doc said she was fully recovered.
