“Hello, Abby. I’m a nurse at Spokane Valley Hospital. Is Drew okay?” Holy shit. A hospital. This must be bad. Did someone die? I’m brought out of my worries when the woman asks, “Abby?”
“Yes, I’m here,” I assure her as I focus my attention to Drew. I squeeze Drew’s hand as I ask, “Drew, are you okay?”
It takes him a moment before his watery eyes find mine. He stares for a moment and doesn’t say anything, but he nods.
His blue eyes look hollow, and his face ashen, but no other physical signs are present. “Yes… he’s okay. He seems to be in shock,” I relay to the nurse, hoping she’ll fill me in.
“Is Drew able to talk with me?” the woman calmly asks on the other line.
Squeezing Drew’s hand to get his attention, his eyes slowly find mine. “Drew?” I wait until I know he’s listening. “Can you talk to the woman on the phone?”
Drew’s head shakes as his eyes squeeze shut. Then he inhales deeply, as if to steady himself and regain what little control he’s holding onto. When they reopen, it’s clear he asking me to do it for him. To keep him from having to summon the strength that’s clearly left his body, I ask, “Would you like me to get the information you need?”
An infinitesimal amount of relief washes over Drew’s handsome features as he nods. “Please.”
I’ll do anything to take the obvious pain in Drew’s eyes away, I offer to the woman on the phone, “Is there a way you can tell me the information he needs? I’m not sure he’s able to talk now.”
Drew squeezes my hand and defeatedly whispers, “Thank you.” Whatever this woman is about to tell me, I know in this instant, I won’t let Drew go through this alone.
She takes in a quick breath and releases into my ear. “Well… due to HIPAA laws, I’ll need Drew’s verbal consent to continue.”
I want to reach through the phone and rip her friggin’ tongue out. How can she do this to Drew? Her call alone has turned him from a boisterous guy to the ghost of a man before me. Though at this instant, he looks more like a lost little boy than a man who’s on top of his world about to graduate from college. Knowing she’s only doing her job, I take a deep breath to steady myself before getting Drew’s attention.
“She needs verbal consent to share the information.”
I hand Drew the phone and can hear the nurse on the other end speaking, but her actual words are unclear. Drew simply nods and gravely gives his consent before handing the phone back to me.
“Hello?” I offer out of habit when receiving a phone.
“Hello, Abby. I’m sorry to be the one to relay this information, but both of Drew’s parents have been involved in a car accident.”
I gasp, even though I knew her news would be horrific. This unfortunately catches Drew’s attention, and I fortify myself to be strong for Drew when she tells me the inevitable news. “They were both brought in via ambulance to Spokane Valley Hospital.” Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Here it comes. I brace myself for the bomb she’s about to drop.
“They were unconscious at the time but stable.” Relief washes through me. Thank the fucking Lord they’re alive. Stable means good, right? I’m about to clarify my thoughts but never get the chance. The nurse keeps prattling on—to get her explanation out. “Upon further examination, they each were diagnosed as being critical and in need of emergency surgery. His mother has a ruptured spleen and has a broken radius. Mostly likely, it is from her bracing on impact. Drew’s father had his lung collapse as well as a fractured tibia as he was trapped in the car and had to have the jaws of life retrieve him. They each have concussions as well as minor bumps and bruises throughout their bodies.”
Holy shit. Both sound serious, but something theyshouldbe able to recover from. “Are they…” I hesitate to ask, because God knows I don’t want to have to break even more bad news to Drew. Drew comes out of his shock and locks his eyes to mine with both interest and eagerness to know the answer to my unasked question.
I clear my throat and force myself to begin again, “Are they expected to recover?”
The nurse lets out what I hope is a positive breath. “We hope that’s the case. Of course, with any surgery, there are always risks. As the doctors proceed, they might find more things wrong with them. We’ll know more as time progresses.” I’ve watched enough shows on TV, that I know this is standard protocol to not promise anything.
But hope returns, where it had once been lost, and I give Drew a reassuring squeeze with my hand.
“How long will they be in surgery?” I ask, trying to get as much information as possible to relay to Drew.
“I’m not sure at this time. I’m simply trying to relay the message to Drew, so he can get here should he choose.”
“We’re both at Columbia River University, just outside of Portland, so I’ll see what I can do to look into flights or figure out a way to get him there. When he arrives, where should he go?”
“If you stop at any information desk, they’ll be able to locate his parents. If you want status updates until you can arrive, I just came on shift. I’ll be here for the next twelve hours. Just call and ask for Janice.” She proceeds to give me a number where I quickly pull out my phone and type it in and quickly call before hanging up immediately, so it will be stored to my recent calls. We talk for a few more minutes about logistics, and I tell her that Drew will be there as soon as he can before hanging up.
When I get off the phone, Drew looks to me as if his life depends on what I’m about to say. My heart breaks for his uncertainty, but I’m thankful I get to share better news than what I’d feared.
“They’re… gonna be okay?” Drew asks, deep and broken between fortifying breaths.
Knowing this isn’t the time to sugar coat anything, I go with honesty. Pulling my chair closer to his, I sit and remain holding his hand. “They’re both stable. That’s the best we can hope for now. We’ll know more once they come out of surgery.” I go into further detail about what type of surgery each of his parents need.
When I finish, Drew stands and throws some bills on the table before blatantly stating, “I need to get there.” He quickly gathers his backpack and hands me mine as he pulls me out of the restaurant.
