Finally Home

78. Jenna

I was frantic. This was like the accident in Cleveland again. I called Debby immediately after hanging up with Tyler, got Rosie settled in bed and waited for Josh and Debby to arrive. Debby told me Josh was going to drive me to the hospital and she'd stay the night with Rosie. I loved that I could count on them. I hoped one day I'd be able to pay them back.

As soon as they arrived, I hopped into Josh's car. I had a change of clothes for Samantha - pyjamas and some sweatpants and t-shirts. Plus her computer and school bag. Depending on how long she was in the hospital, she was going to need to catch up on some schoolwork.

"Our poor Sam," he said as he pulled out of our driveway.

"I know. My poor girl. She just can't catch a break," I said.

"At least this time, we know she's alive," Josh said, attempting to joke, but having it fall flat. I smiled though. Josh has a good heart and I knew he wasn't saying anything to be mean.

We got to the hospital and ran up to Samantha's room. Tyler was sitting beside her, holding her hand, as he just stared at our sleeping daughter.

"Hey," I said quietly, putting my hand on Tyler's shoulder. He jumped.

"Sorry," he said. "I was just so focussed on Sam."

Josh walked over to her other side.

"I know," I said, hugging him. He got up and made me sit in the chair he'd vacated. I did and looked at Samantha. Her cheeks were bright red.

"Have they checked her temperature lately?" I asked.

"Ten minutes ago. It's 104.3," Tyler said. "If they can't get it down tonight, they'll have to put off her surgery."

"I don't know if that's a good thing or not," I said.

"It's not. Every day that they can't do the surgery makes it more likely they'll have to amputate because her blood flow is ... it's not good."

"How do they know that?"

"They did a Doppler ultrasound on her leg to check the blood vessels. They're not pumping a lot of blood through. The doctors are really worried about tissue death. If that muscle starts dying. If it hasn't already, she could go septic again. That infection in her leg - she's already septic but they're treating that. It's the muscle we need to worry about now."

I sighed and looked at Samantha lying asleep on the bed. She was curled up on her side, frowning in her sleep. I moved a piece of hair off her face and behind her ear. Her eyes fluttered open.

"Mama?" She said in a small voice.

"Hi, baby," I said to her, smiling. "How're you feeling?"

"I don't feel good," she whined. And then leaned over the side of the bed and threw up. I moved backwards and Josh ran to get a nurse who came back with him. Samantha was crying a little.

The nurse handed her a basin to throw up in and reassured her she was okay.

"It's the antibiotic. It's really strong and it often causes some stomach issues."

"She's diabetic. Throwing up isn't great for her. It messes up her blood sugar," Tyler said.

"We know. We're keeping an eye on that. The good thing, in a way, is that the infection has caused her blood sugar to rise. It's still in normal range, but we have a little room to play with in that regard."

I nodded. The same thing had happened two years ago when Sam had been so sick and Tyler had been away on tour. At that time, Rosie hadn't been born yet, and Erin, Sam's friend Jill's mom, came over and helped me get Sam to the hospital. I'd gotten her into a cool bath that wasn't helping. Erin called and met the paramedics while I was trying to stay calm and in control. Thank god for Erin. Because I was neither calm nor in control.