We walk into the doctor's room as he gestures to the chair. I hand him the EDS card which he pretends to read. "I understand. My daughter has this." I sigh, expecting another convoluted fake story, "No, I mean she has Ehlers-Danlos Type 3. I know about it." I smile slightly.
"I'm sorry."
"She's quite good comparitively but I guess you must be struggling?"
"The lifeguards down at Bondi seem to think so." Whip shakes his head.
"She collapsed three times yesterday and her heart barely keeps her alive." The doctor nods understandingly.
"Okay, have you heard of POTS?" I nod slowly.
"They said it was partially that back home, but it's also something wrong with my heart. They don't actually think it's related to EDS."
"Okay so I guess you know the drill. We'll send you for an ECG and probably some electrophysiological studies. Do you know what they are?" I shake my head.
"Okay so Electrocardiogram is pretty simple, the one with the wires on your chest. Electrophysiological studies are long words for a way of testing your heart rhythm. It's generally done under local but I'd suggest trying to put you under something stronger. I can do the ECG now, with a female nurse obviously." I nod slowly, starting to feel overwhelmed. The doctor goes to find a nurse as Whip turns to me.
"Do you understand what's happening? Okay well basically right now all they'll do is stick things on your chest to monitor your heart rate, I'm guessing you've had that before. They'll do the other bits later. Is that okay?" I nod slowly, "You need to talk Brooke."
"I want Chap.." he sighs and hugs me carefully.
"I promise you he'll be here next time." The doctor comes back in with a nurse who leads me into the next room.
"I just need to put these on you, I'll try to keep them warm." She smiles sympathetically as I struggle to climb onto the couch. "Alright, it shouldn't take too long." She places the pads on my chest carefully. After a few minutes she takes them off again and the doctor comes in to collect the printout. He helps me down from the couch as we go back to Whip.
"Chap texted. He seems a little better and we have to go back to him as soon as we can." I nod as he hugs me awkwardly. The doctor comes back, looking concerned.
"Okay, so this is relatively abnormal. I think it's best if we try to get the other tests done as soon as we can but it will still be about a week and you'll most likely be staying in overnight. We are also probably going to give you a catheter ablation which may get a more normal rhythm for you. I will obviously reccomend them to give general if possible as it can be very uncomfortable. I think that's about it so expect a call from us in a few days. Good luck." He smiles as we leave.
"Is that all okay?" Whip asks and I nod slowly. "It's going to be fine." He hugs me carefully.
"Yeah... Can we get back? I don't like leaving him.."
"Of course. Like I said though, he'll be okay." I nod as we reach the car and Whip helps me in.
"Do you think he needs anything else?" Whip smiles.
"Considering the texts I've been getting, I think we're better going there first." He hands me his phone and I find 6 new texts from Chap, all asking why we're not talking and what happened and whether we're still alive.
"Yeah, let's just get back." He laughs and we drive in silence.
"Your castle awaits." Whip laughs as he hands me my crutches. "Somehow I don't think he's sleeping." He grins as he opens the door. I find Chap practically passed out on the sofa. He holds out his arms to me and I'm surprised to find tears rolling down my cheeks as he pulls himself up. "Was it that bad?" he whispers.
"No, it was okay. I'm going back for treatment soon. I was just worried about you." He grins.
"The meds are working fine. It's just an illness." Suddenly he pulls away, "Will you catch it? It'll make you more ill won't it? You need to stay away." I shake my head.
"I've had enough vaccines that I should be protected." He nods and pulls me back to him. I hope it's true because the last time I got a cold I ended up in hospital with pneumonia. "Now. Let's get you back to sleep. Do you want anything else?" he shakes his head.
"Only you." He smiles as his eyes start to close.
"I meant in bed Chap." Whip steps forward and helps him up as I follow. He pulls me aside once Chap's in bed.
"You're lying about being safe right? You don't even need to answer I know that you are. If you start to feel anything at all, you need to call us because he can't really look after you right now and I know that stuff like that can seriously harm you."
"Yeah, okay. Just don't tell Chap. I need to make sure he's safe." He nods once and lets me past. I lay down on the bed next to Chap who still radiates heat
"I'm going to get off now. Call me if you guys need anything." Whip smiles as he leaves. Chap turns over and puts an arm round me.
"I love you. I'm sorry for upsetting you and not being there. Was Whip okay?"
"He was fine, helpful actually. I wouldn't have got in without him and I definitely wouldn't have known what they said. You just need to sleep Chap."
"Are you sleeping?" I shake my head. There's no way I'll be able to sleep now. "I don't want to leave you." I laugh softly.
"Just sleep. I'll call Jake if I need to." He smiles as I hug him again. "Sleep Chap." His eyes close and I breathe a sigh of relief. I couldn't deal with seeing him so ill.
Almost immediately after he falls asleep his eyes fly open and he throws up all over the bed. I rub his back helplessly. "You're okay. You're fine. Can you stand so I can change the sheets?" His eyes can't focus but he stumbles to his feet. "Just sit there. You're okay." He sinks into the chair as I pick up the duvet and go to get the spare. Luckily, he hasn't got anything on the bottom sheet because I struggle to change that on my own. As I get back, his eyes still won't focus and I sit next to him. "Chap?" he nods, still staring. "Okay let's get you back into bed." His whole body is covered in a sheen of sweat. He stumbles back on to his feet awkwardly before collapsing into the bed. "Just rest there.. I need you to relax.." He takes my hand in his pale, quaking one, his eyes still closed. "You're not allowed to exert yourself anymore Chap. I'm going to look after you." His lips move soundlessly as he tries to say something. "Shh, you don't need to say anything. Should we call someone?" He nods slowly. "Whip?" He shakes his head. "Jake?" He nods. I pick up the phone and call Jake. "Hey Brooke. You need me there? I'm not doing anything."
"It would be helpful. Chap doesn't seem to want to sleep and he asked me to call you."
"You mean he doesn't want to leave you. He's said before he's scared of what will happen if he's not awake when you are. He doesn't need me but he thinks you do. I'll be there soon."
"Thank you." I hang up and turn back to Chap. "He's on his way. I want you to sleep now. I'm okay. I just need to wash the sheets and everything." He nods as his grip on my hand weakens. It scares me how worried he is, even when he's so ill. I don't want him to be so concerned about me when there's nothing he can do to fix me and he's obviously not well. I sit back on a chair, waiting for my life to resume.
