The Greatest Assist (Patrick Kane)

21| Family Matters

Patrick

Once we got the news about Chelsea's condition I decided it would best to contact her family. She never talked about them and the one family member I have met was over seas somewhere. Chelsea's phone is somewhere in Lake Michigan so I was on my own trying to find someone to contact. Luckily I have friends who knows how to get ahold of people when they need to and I get her oldest brothers number. I let out a long sigh as I hear the phone ring against my ear. I wasn't even sure what to do or say.

"Hello" he answers.

"Hello. Is this Bryan Tyler" I ask.

"This is him" he assures me.

"My name is Patrick Kane and I've been working with your sister Chelsea for a few months. I wish I was calling in a better circumstance but your sister was in a accident and she's in a coma right now" I explain.

He lets out a gasp and I could just hear the hurt in his voice. "Oh my god. Is she going to be okay" he questions.

"They think she's going to, but until she wakes up and they can see what effects her brain has from the accident they aren't sure. But they do expect her to wake up" I say.

"What happened" he begs, his voice cracking.

I close my eyes as the tears come up. I choke them back as I try to find my words. "We were messing around on the ice on Lake Michigan and she fell through. She was under for a while" I explain.

"Oh my god" he whispers.

"I tried my best to get to her as quick as possible. I jumped in there and was able to find her but it felt like forever she was under there. I did everything I could to help her but it wasn't enough" I whisper.

"I know who you are and what you mean to that city. The fact that you jumped in a frozen lake to save my sister says a lot. Thank you" he says.

"If you would like I can set something up to bring you and your family to be here with her. She usually is the one to figure all of this out but after all she's done for me this is the least I can do" I assure him.

"I know I would want to come to see her. I can give you the numbers of everyone else and see when they can come out. Her sister will be hard to get ahold of and I doubt they'll let her leave but I will let her know what's happening and keep her updated" he promises.

"Okay. Once I talk to everyone else I'll reach out to you again and let you know when I can get you here" I explain.

"Sounds good. And thanks for calling" he replies.

We hang up and I call her other brother and her two best friends who was practically family. They all wanted to be here so all I had to do was get ahold of her parents and see what they wanted to do. It took a few times but her dad finally picks up.

"Dr. Tyler speakaing" he answers.

"Hello Mr. Tyler-" I start.

"Doctor" he corrects. I thought his wife was the doctor, but okay.

"Dr. Tyler. I'm Patrick Kane and I'm calling about your daughter Chelsea. She's been in a accident and she's in a coma" I explain.

"Well I'm sorry to hear that" he explains and I stop. Isn't that what people are supposed to day to him?

"I am too" I finally speak. "I already talked to her brothers and friends and they wanted to come out to see her and be with her during these tough times. I was wondering if you would like me to fly you guys out with them" I wonder.

"Why? She's in a coma, it's not like we can talk to her" he asks.

I nearly dropped my phone from being in shock. "She is your daughter. She needs you here whether she is awake or not" I claim.

"She needs doctors not her parents. Though her mom is a neurosurgeon so she might be able to help them figure out her brain damage or if she should even be woken up at this point" he suggests. I could not believe what my ears were hearing.

"She doesn't need a doctor, she needs her family. So when she wakes up and she looks around she will see you guys and be happy she did wake up" I try.

"I'm sorry but I don't see the point of us leaving our lives here to watch her sleep. We told her not to go out there and this is just proof that we were right. But if you need money to pay for it I am willing to send it" he tries.

"I'm paying her bills" I assure him.

"Then I guess I'm not sure what you want from me" he argues.

"For you to be here for her. She died and came back and then died again. And I don't want her to wake up and think her parents don't love her enough to come see her. She's fighting for her life and even though she can't see or hear she'll know if you're there for her" I try.

"I'm sorry but I don't see how we can leave. I'm getting ready for finals at UCLA and my wife has a lot of patients to see" he defends.

I just roll my eyes because I didn't want to believe what Chelsea said about her parents. I thought that there is no way people could put life before their kids, because their kids are their life. But her dad was a complete and total ass hole, and she's been trying to warn me but I didn't listen. No wonder she won't talk to them or want to be around them, they can't even come see their own daughter who was walking a fine like between life and death.

I hang up without so much as a goodbye. I find four flights from LA to O'Hare for tomorrow morning and tell Bryan the plans. He helps me set everything up and get a hotel for them to stay in for the near future. He was the mayor so he couldn't be gone for long but family emergencies allow him to leave his office for a while. Once that was taken care of I go into Chelsea's room where she was being monitored. She was in ICU because her circulation was still preventing oxygen to get to her brain which was keeping her in a coma. Here they could get her lungs working with a respiratory machine now that the water is gone and it'll help her recover quicker. Her body temperature was back to normal and her heart was beating, now we just needed her brain to work again and she can wake up. She had what they call a Anoxic Brain Injury but until we know how much of her brain is effected we don't know how bad it is. Maybe she will be fine, maybe she will have to live in a assisted home for the rest of her life. We just don't know. That's the scary part.

I reach over and grab her hand that wasn't connected to god knows what. I was so scared that I was going to lose her, and not as my personal assistant but as my best friend. As someone I couldn't imagine my life without. She's taught me so much in the three months we've been together but there's still so much more to learn. And she's the only one who has gotten through to me, she was my person and I can't lose her. I just can't imagine doing anything without her. She makes my life worth while and without her I will surely fall apart.

"Patrick" someone calls and I look up. I see Brent standing in the doorway watching me. "You should probably go home and change at least. Take a shower to get the lake off of you" he claims.

"I'm not leaving" I demand.

"You can't help her right now but you can help yourself. She would want at least that for you" he tries.

"Her parents aren't coming so I want to stay" I say.

"Her parents aren't coming" he asks.

"No. They don't see the point" I whisper.

"I'm sorry to hear that. But I'm worried about you. It's been two days and you haven't left this place since we got here. You got out yourself just this morning. You should go home for a while to rest and recover" he begs.

"I'm staying" I promise.