Royally Normal

17

Having to call 911 and watch paramedics use a defibrillator on Cole multiple times after he had no heartbeat was scary.

I road to the hospital in the ambulance with Cole as they continued to work on him. There was so much jargon being thrown around and the fact that he wasn't conscious made me even more anxious.

When we got to the hospital, they whisked Cole away and I was escorted to the waiting room.

My hands were shaking but I managed to hold it up to my ear as the line rang.

"Hi, Aiyla!" Mrs. Fitzgerald greeted me happily. "Is everything ok?"

I was going to be the one that gave her some of the worst news that she could hear being a five-hour plane ride away.

"No." I croaked. "It's not ok."

"Aiyla, what's wrong?" I could hear the panic in her voice.

I could feel myself start to cry again. "Cole passed out and he didn't have a heart rate for a while. We're at the hospital now."

There was just complete and utter silence after she let out a loud shriek.

"Aiyla?" Mr. Fitzgerald's voice began. "Is he alive? Is he ok? what happened?"

I nodded my head. "They got his heart rate back but they took him to the back and I don't know what's going on. He just came home from baseball practice and he was very lethargic and out of it. He showed me his heart rate on his watch, he passed out, and had a seizure."

"What was his heart rate, Bean?" Mr. Fitzgerald asked me

I shrugged. "I don't remember but it was above 170."

"We're on the next flight back to New York we should be back by late tonight hopefully. Please text or call us. I'll tell Sammy but don't tell him anything right now and I'll make sure Stella stays with her friend." he spoke.

"Ok." I wiped my eyes.

I waited by myself for at least two hours before someone came to get me.

"I understand that you're temporarily his healthcare proxy?" the doctor questioned me as we walked down the hall.

"I'm keeping his parents updated until they land which should be around ten or eleven tonight." I informed the doctor.

She nodded her head. "Well, Nathaniel has Long QT syndrome which is a heart rhythm condition that can cause fast, chaotic heartbeats. These rapid heartbeats trigger people to suddenly faint, seizures, but in severe cases, it can cause sudden death so he got fortunate in that aspect."

Oh fuck.

This was one of his worse fears coming to life.

"His uncle passed away from the same thing."I informed the doctor. "His name was Asher Keller if that means anything to help Co- Nathaniel."

It felt weird to say his first name.

"Yes, we can look at that." the doctor took note. "Nathaniel did have a small seizure that shouldn't have any lasting effects but he's still out right now. You're more than welcome to sit in the room. He's going to be here for a couple of days for observation."

I nodded my head. "Well thank you for all of your help."

"Of course." she gave me a smile. "He's extremely lucky that you were home. Ring the nurse button when he wakes up."

The doctor walked away and I took a deep breath before I walked into the hospital room.

Cole was just lying in the bed with his eyes closed.