Page 15 of Christmas Lights & Sleepless Nights
He blinked. “GB? You know there’s no cure.”
“But you recovered. It’s been three years since the first onset.”
He sighed. “Yes, and I did recover a little. But that bout of flu a few weeks ago triggered it again.” Flu had been a part of his life for as long as he could remember.
“But you were vaccinated!” she protested.
“And vaccination can be one of the triggers,” he replied. “In my case, catching the flu was a greater risk than a vaccination.” Then he caught his breath as another pain spike lanced through him.
“Should I get Anna?”
He nodded, unable to speak. The meds made the pain a little more bearable, but not by much.
Heidi returned with Anna, who went straight to the IV stand and injected the contents of a syringe into it. She gazed at him with concern. “I was on my way to administer this when Heidi came and found me.” Her fingers were cool against his forehead as she watched the monitor. Finally she smiled. “It’s eased off, hasn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
Anna squeezed his hand. “I’ll leave you two alone.” She left the room, her low heels making little sound on the linoleum.
Heidi stood beside his bed. “Do you want me to raise your head a little?”
“Please. Can’t seem to find the strength to operate the button this morning.”
She pushed it, and the head of the bed rose a bit higher. Heidi sat once more.
“Why are you getting weaker?” she asked quietly.
He arched his eyebrows. “Didn’t Anna cover that in her morning recap?” Except that was mean and he knew it. He sighed. “I’m sorry. The thing is, AIDP—you remember what that is?” She nodded. “Well, the body’s nerves are covered in a protective sheath—a myelin sheath—and AIDP damages it, preventing the nerves from transmitting signals to my brain. And that causes paralysis, amongst other things.”
Keith knew this stuff like the back of his hand. He’d had time to read up on it when GB was first diagnosed.
Heidi took his hand in hers. “Anna says you slept better again last night.”
He managed a smile. “Yeah, I did, thanks to another late-night chat with Yuri.”
Her eyes sparkled. “I’m intrigued. Just how old is this Yuri?”
“He’s twenty-six.”
She gave a mock gasp. “You cradle robber.”
He glared. “Hey, all we did was talk, okay?” He waggled his eyebrows. “I didn’t have the strength to manage more than that, more’s the pity.”
Heidi laughed at his joke. “I find it interesting that you know his age.”
“He grew up in Stillwater. Still lives there. He went to the same school as us.”
“Local boy, huh?” She leaned in. “Is he a looker?”
Keith smiled. “He’s cute. A bit too young for me. Now, if I was about ten years younger and not in this bed...”
She laughed. “What did you guys talk about this time?”
“The first Christmas Michael and I were together, except no one knew that. I told Yuri about how I sneaked out of the house to meet him at the tree by the river.”
She gaped. “I never knew that.”
He chuckled. “That’s because I never told a soul. Until last night.”
