“Miss June told me she’d help you make it up, honey,” Maddox said. “You’ll be caught up in no time.”
When Hank looked up at him, his haunted gaze drew Maddox over to the bed, where he helped him to his feet. “You rest some more, sweetie,” Maddox told JJ. “I’ll have dinner ready soon, and Daddy needs a shower.”
She smiled. “Daddy’s stinky.”
“Yeah, he is.” Maddox turned him and steered him out the door and into their bedroom, where Hank started crying as soon as the door closed behind them.
“What am I going to do?” he tearfully whispered.
Maddox pulled him in for a hug. “You’re going to breathe and let me take charge of this. You focus on keeping calm for her, because that’s what’s best for her. We’ll take this day by day. It might not be that.”
“But he thinks it is?”
“Yeah, he does.”
“Then what happens?”
“Then they teach us what to do next.” He didn’t want to overwhelm Hank with an info dump.
Like that they’d be referring them immediately to a pediatric endocrinologist, among other specialists. That they’d also want her eyes checked, follow-ups with other doctors, like a cardiologist, to get baselines so they could monitor her for any potential damage by the disease. That they’d need to go to a dietician, at first, and take classes to help learn how to manage it, and how to give her shots and check her blood sugar and andand…
That night, once they got her put to bed and they went to bed early, too, Maddox knew Hank wasn’t doing well at all. He tried to quietly cry where he lay on his side facing away from Maddox, but he could hear his soft sniffles.
It broke his heart, but he didn’t want to push too hard. Not yet. Once they had confirmation, then he could step in and totally take over. It was what would be best for JJ.
Fortunately, everyone’s offices were located in the Proctor-Collins Medical Center complex, meaning they could walk to all the appointments once they arrived. No driving back and forth all over Sarasota.
The next afternoon, after a morning spent getting the lab work done, and more time as an urgent referral in other doctors’ offices, and going to the pharmacy, and talking to physician’s assistants and a dietician—there was a confirmation. A consensus.
A diagnosis.
A preliminary plan of treatment.
Maddox worried about Hank, so he handled doing all the talking and taking notes and asking questions while Hank held JJ and listened while wearing a wide-eyed look of shock.
He didn’t let Hank handle any of the paperwork or see the bills, either. Yes, he was hitting credit cards and dipping into his own savings to make the payments, but there wasn’t another option and he wouldn’t let Hank raid JJ’s savings account for it.
Best just to keep him out of this part of the process. Hank was having a difficult enough time digesting all the info coming at them hard and fast.
Later that evening, after dinner and getting JJ put to bed, Hank finally crumbled. Despair washed over his face. “I’ve got less than eighthundreddollars in the damn bank right now,” he numbly said. “That was how much all those medications and stuff were today. I saw the pharmacy bill. We don’t have a fucking place tolive. I don’t have health insurance for me or for her. I have a car payment now, and higher auto insurance. I’m not going to be able to get any kind of health insurance through work for weeks yet. What thehellam I going to do?” He struggled against his tears. “I don’t want to raid her savings account!”
Dox reached for his arm. “Dude,pleaselisten to me. To start with, youdohave a place to live—here, withme.”
“I…I…” Hank looked like he couldn’t focus on anything. He brushed the tears out of his eyes. “This isn’t what you signed up for, man. I can’t ask you to let us live here indefinitely. I…” Hank let out a ragged sigh. “Fuckmy life. I take two steps forward and twenty back no matter what I try.”
Hank headed for the bedroom, leaving the door standing open behind him.
