Page 29 of SEAL's Doorstep Baby
Fear shoots through me.
Maddison is sick and besides taking care of her fever, I have no idea what else to do. Even after I run her a lukewarm bath, she is still burning up and is now tugging at her ear which is red and inflamed.
My first suspicion is an ear infection but searching the internet doesn’t yield any concrete results, all it does is make me even more worried when I see the possible illnesses that could have symptoms close to what she is showing.I need to call Jacob!
He doesn’t pick up on the first couple of rings and when he finally does, I am more relieved than I have ever been in my life.
“Hello Jacob. Can you hear me?” Panic is evident in my voice, and he can hear it, clear as day.
“What’s wrong, Allison? Talk to me.” He is calm and that gives me enough presence of mind to be calm, too.
“Maddie is burning up; the restlessness from yesterday is worse and now she is crying uncontrollably as well. She also has a fever and her ear is red. I don’t know what to do except take her to the hospital.”
“Okay. Hold on a bit, okay? I’m cutting everything short right now, and I’m coming home.”
“I could just go to the hospital—”
“Please wait for me.”
I chew on the inside of my cheek for a minute, considering. “I’m going to see if Sherry is home. Maybe she’ll have advice.”
Jacob is quiet for a minute. I can picture his thoughtful face. “But you’ll wait for me to come with you to the hospital?”
“Yes. I’ll wait for you.”
I hang up, and gather the diaper bag as quickly as I can while shoving my feet into shoes. I don’t even care that I’m still in sweats and a t-shirt.
I make my way to Sherry’s with Maddie in my arms and ring her doorbell.
“What’s wrong?” she asks instantly, eyes flickering across my face and Maddie’s.
“I think Maddie is sick, she’s been running a fever, and I can’t get her to cool down. She’s also refused to eat anything all day.” I feel like I could burst into tears.
Sherry ushers us both in, but I don’t take a seat, preferring to pace with Maddie clenched in my arms.
“Let me take a look at her, Allison. It will be okay, I promise.”
Her reassurance does the job, and I relax enough to hand Maddie over to her. Sherry checks her over for a couple minutes, looking closer at the inflamed patch right behind her ear. “Oh baby…shhh. It will be alright.” She comforts Maddie. Turning to me she continues. “It’s an ear infection and, from the look of it, it’s a nasty one as well. Are you taking her to the hospital?”
“I’m waiting for Jacob. He said he’ll be here soon.”
“Good. Now you just need to calm down and rest a bit, girl. Worrying does absolutely no good to anyone. So just focus on keeping her calm and comfortable until Jakey gets here,” she advises.
I feel better with Sherry here. She’s a “real” grownup.
I’ll keep her safe, Emily,I think, my eyes welling with tears as I look at Maddie’s crumpled expression.
Maddie is no longer wailing in pain, but she is clearly uncomfortable. I murmur a couple of words to her but she doesn’t respond to them, worrying me further. Thankfully, Jacob calls my phone right then.
“I’m in front of the house. Where are you guys?”
“We’re at Sherry’s. I’m coming out right now.” I end the call and make my way over to Jacob with Maddie in tow. “Thank you, Sherry!” I call out as I leave.
Jacob hugs the both of us when he sees us, looking Maddie over for just a second before he gets back into the driver's seat. “I can drive,” he tells me.
Jacob drives with precision, sticking to the speed limit and only slowing down when we pull into the hospital. As I watch him drive, his complete sense of calm in this situation rubs off on me, centering me on what’s important—getting Maddie to a doctor who can treat her.
We need to provide her information once we get inside.
