David arrived at the hospital before 8am the next morning. As he entered the ICU, one of Maddy's doctors stopped him in the hallway.
"David, can I speak to you?" He asked.
David nodded and followed the doctor out of the hallway and into a small office. The doctor closed the door behind him and motioned for David to sit down. David sat in the chair with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"We were doing some routine assessments this morning and noticed a spike in Maddy's leukocytes, indicating that she might have an infection. We've been running some tests and we're concluding that Maddy has ventilator associated pneumonia."
"What... What does that mean?" David asked.
"Well, it's an infection that sometimes comes along with being intubated, like Maddy is. It allows for the bacteria to infiltrate deeper down her trachea and into her lungs."
David nodded.
"What does that mean for her... like... outcome?"
"Prognosis?"
"Yes"
The doctor inhaled before speaking.
"Well, at this point, Maddy is immunocompromised due to her Guillain Barre. Adding another infection to the mix... especially one as harsh as VAP is... not optimal. I don't have a specific answer for you, but... I can tell you that we started her on antibiotics and it's all about whether or not her immune system responds correctly to them. If they do, she has better odds. If not..." The doctor trailed off, looking past David. He then directed his attention back to David. "David, I think you may want to start thinking about Maddy's wishes should she pass away"
"Pass away?" David asked, sitting forward. "She's 24!"
"I understand, but given her diagnosis..."
"I... is this just a precaution?"
"Slightly, but it's something that we should have in order. Does Maddy have a will?"
David nodded.
"Have you gone over the information in it?"
"Yes"
The doctor nodded.
"If we have any decisions that need to be made we will be reaching out to you."
David nodded.
"I'm sorry. We have her on antibiotics and we are truly doing the absolute most we can for her"
David nodded again, his vision blurring. He stood up and walked out of the room and out of the ICU. He passed the Laurents in the hallway, mumbling something about the doctor wanting to talk to them before continuing walking. Elle, who was now with the Laurents, called something after David, but he only heard a muffled sound. It was as if everything were underwater.
He walked out the front doors of the hospital, walking to his car. Once he got inside he broke down into hysterics for the second time since Maddy had entered the hospital. He had no idea how long he was crying for before he heard a tap on his window. He looked over to see Trisha standing outside. He pushed the door open, continuing to cry. Trisha somehow closed his door again and climbed into the passenger seat, holding David as he sobbed across the console. She had a feeling in the pit of her stomach that Maddy was gone.
"David..." She started.
"She's dying"
Trisha felt a little better, realizing that she still had time to say goodbye to Maddy. Regardless, her empathetic nature caused her to cry alongside David.
"What do you mean, she's dying?" Trisha finally asked.
"She has pneumonia and her immune system is already really weak"
"How long did they give her?"
"Didn't say" David said, leaning back and covering his eyes with his hands. "Why the fuck does this hurt so badly?" He asked. "I thought this would hurt, but I didn't think anything could hurt this bad"
"Well, you've made Maddy your home, David. She's where you go when you're upset, or sad, or need comfort. And... you're pretty much losing your home... your safe place" A little dramatic on Trisha's end? Maybe. It wasn't wrong, though.
"What the fuck do I do?" David, his face tear stained, looked up at Trisha.
"You go back in there and you love that girl until she takes her last breath"
So David and Trisha went back into the hospital, with the intention of doing just that.
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I have the rest of this written so I'm just gonna post when I want, don't say I didn't warn you guys that this was gonna get really dark, next chapter is really sad but it also kind of has a bit of light too (via some sweet memories that David shares with him and Maddy's friends) I think you'll like it :)
