All My Life

Chapter 34

"How is he?" Jane asked once she finally found her voice. "Did he make it?"

Meryl could feel Don shaking as she held him tighter from behind. "Please, how is my father?"

"He came through wonderfully." The doctor said as the whole Gummer family breathed collective sighs of relief. "Please, sit down."

Meryl followed Don to a chair as he still held the babies; and she whispered in his ear. "Do you want me to take them, baby?"

"I want them with me." Don choked as he continued to hold his youngest children close to his chest. "You'll stay here with me?"

The vulnerability in his eyes almost killed Meryl as she sat down next to him and wrapped her arm around him. "Right here with you."

"What happened?" Jane asked as she sat down next to Don and her other sons sat on the side of her. "How's my husband?"

The doctor finally smiled. "We were able to stop the bleed; as well as a few others we found. We will keep him on the blood pressure medications."

"The tumor?" Don asked. "Were you able to take the brain tumor?"

The doctor nodded. "We were able to take it all without actually touching the brain; and we feel confident that we cleared the margins."

"Is it cancerous?" Jane asked, still shaking. "Will he need chemo?"

The doctor shrugged. "We won't know until we get the results back from the biopsy in a few days; but I had an oncologist look at the tumor and she didn't thank it looked malignant."

"Thank God." Don breathed. "I've had lesions before; could it be something like that?"

The doctor shook his head. "It is definitely a growth; but we just need to wait until the results come back."

"Were there any complications?" Meryl asked thinking back to Don's many surgeries.

The doctor shook his head. "Things really couldn't have gone better."

"What about the ventilator?" Don asked as he kissed his babies' heads. "Is he still on that?"

The doctor nodded. "We want his body to rest and heal; so we will keep him medically sedated and on the ventilator. However, he is tripping the machine with his own breath showing he is breathing on his own. Which is amazing news. Some more amazing news...the scans don't show any evidence of permanent brain damage. He might just be one for the record books."

"Oh, Don." Meryl cried as she kissed his head. "He's going to be okay, baby."

Don nodded with tears in his eyes. "Earlier, you all didn't think he would make it through the night."

"His vitals are so much better." The doctor smiled. "I'm not saying we are completely out of the woods; but things are looking so much better than several hours ago. Now, this is going to be a marathon and not a sprint. I would suggest you all go home, eat and rest. He will have one on one care as long as he is in the ICU. Save your strength for when he goes home."

Don breathed a sigh of relief that the doctor now thought his father would go home. "We will discuss it. Thank you for everything, doctor."

"Hug your mother, baby." Meryl whispered into his ear as she took the babies. "I've got them."

Don nodded as Meryl took the babies; and then he hugged his mother. "This is really good news, Ma. I know he's not out of the woods; but it is really encouraging."

"I was so scared, Donny." Jane cried as she held her son close. "I am so scared."

Don nodded as he kissed his mother's cheek. "I know, me too; but he has jumped so many next to impossible hurdles today. He's going to be okay, I know it."