Page 75 of Healing Hearts

Gene chuckled. “You’re still human.”

“Why did she do this, though?”

“We’ll have to ask Patrick when he puts all the puzzle pieces together,” Gene said as he turned into Amanda’s driveway.

They got out of the car and headed to the porch. It had been a long day, and he could tell Amanda was exhausted. With everything that happened, he forgot she was still recovering from a head injury.

“Hey, you need to rest,” Gene advised.

“I know. I’m gonna hit the shower real quick and pass out,” Amanda promised. Loki barked from inside. “Crap.” She quickly unlocked the door, worrying about her dog barking. Loki jumped at her as usual, but zoomed right past her. “Loki! Stay!”

The dog ran to Miss Lydia’s door and scratched on it, along with a few barks. Amanda and Gene pursued the dog, and Amanda took hold of Loki’s collar to stop him. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly as she looked at her next-door neighbor’s window.

“That’s odd,” she said. “Miss Lydia’s unit looks awfully dark. She usually has one light on, even when she retires for the evening.”

“Maybe she forgot,” Gene suggested.

Amanda glanced at Loki, who was still trying to get to the door. She hesitated for a second before she looked through the window.

“It’s too dark. We should check on her. Maybe something happened to her. I have her key.”

“She could just be sleeping.”

“Or she could need help. Loki never behaves like this.”

Amanda’s eyes clouded with concern.

“Does Lydia have any health issues?” Gene kept his voice calm.

“She has diabetes.”

“Let’s check,” he agreed. “It’s better to apologize later than to be sorry.”

Amanda was already sticking the key into the lock but knocked before opening the door.

She opened it and felt around the wall for the light switch. Two lamps standing on end-tables in the living room lit up. The front room looked empty.

“Lydia?” Amanda called as they moved through the unit fast. “Are you in here?”

There were signs of a meal prep on the kitchen counter, but no Miss Lydia. At this point, they ran into the bedroom. Gene’s brain went through all the possible scenarios in his head and moved past Amanda.

They found Lydia on the carpet, leaning against the side of the bed, unconscious. Gene dropped to her side and barked an order.

“Call 911.”

There was a blood sugar reader on the carpet next to Lydia’s leg, but it didn’t look like she’d managed to do a reading.

“Lydia,” Gene said her name while he laid her on her back and checked her over. Her breathing was fast, and her mouth looked dry. He found an insulin pump attached to the waist of her pants. He checked on it, but the reading was off. “Her pump failed. Do you know if she has an emergency insulin shot?”

Amanda urgently pointed at the nightstand as she talked to the operator.

Gene quickly did a blood glucose test with Lydia’s reader before he looked for the insulin kit. Her blood sugar was much too high. With steady hands, he put together the solution and readied the shot.

“An ambulance is on its way,” Amanda said, her voice trembled. “Is she gonna be okay?”

“Get me a bucket, towel, or something. She may vomit after I give her the insulin,” Gene instructed.

Giving Amanda something to do would ease her worry. While she did that, Gene administered the insulin into Lydia’s stomach. Then, carefully, he turned the older lady to her side in case she vomited. Amanda came back running with a baking bowl.

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