Evans Creek Book 1: Mister Mayor

FIVE

Photo Credit: Google Search  A place you never want to be, but are all to grateful for when there is a need.  COVID-19 (Corona Virus) is affecting so many all over world.  I want to take a moment to say thank you to all of the health care workers that are doing so much for so many.  

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By the time she cleaned up the mess, she was surprised Daddy hadn't made an appearance. With all the noise she'd been making, he would know she was up and since he never slept late...

The wet paper fell into the trash with a plop. The lid fell with a thump. Arayna stood frozen. She even forgot to breathe for a moment.

Her breath came out in a whoosh when she heard Daddy thump upstairs. She waited one heartbeat, then two and heard only silence from above. Something wasn't right.

"Daddy?" She called as she turned and ran. Taking the stairs two at a time she crashed through his door without knocking and scanned the room. It looked normal and then her gaze went to the floor.

"Daddy!" She was at his side turning him over.

"Daddy!" she cried as her heart sank. He was so horribly pale and he didn't respond.

"Oh god!" she choked as her fingers found a pulse...but it was all wrong and far too faint.

She cried as she frantically dug her cell phone out of her pocket. It took her two tries to get the screen unlocked and to dial before she heard: "9-1-1. What is your emergency?"

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"Mrs. Delosi?"

"Miss Delosi." she corrected automatically, "How is Daddy?"

"He's had a stroke. He is stable for now but we'll keep him in ICU for a day or two while we run some more tests."

"Is he—I mean, will he—"

"We can't judge the complete extent of the damage or how much he'll recover until he's conscious again. You should be prepared for some paralysis, probably difficulty with speech, and even memory loss. The loss of mobility and speech makes it more difficult to express themselves which can result in anger, frustration, and depression. But with therapy and counseling..."

Arayna's hands went to her forehead and her fingers fisted her hair before they fell to her sides. She looked at the doors the doctor had come from, as if she could see Daddy through them.

"Did he sign a medical power of attorney—Miss Delosi?" The doctor's voice pulled her gaze from the doors.

"I'm sorry. What?"

"Medical power of attorney. Did your father have one?"

"You don't think he'll wake up?" the blood drained from her face and she swayed a moment before she remembered to breath.

"He's stable for now. But he's in no position to make decisions about his own healthcare."

"Of course." Arayna breathed a sigh of relief. "Um, yeah. I think so. Him and mom were each other's...and probably me if anything happened that both of them—" Arayna swayed again as the truth of that last statement slammed into her with an almost physical force.

"Maybe you should sit down." The doctor reached for her elbow and Arayna let herself be guided to a nearby chair.

"Mama is here too. So maybe you have the papers already?"

"I'll have someone check. Do you think you could stand? I think we should go to my office so we can discuss his care..."

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