Page 240 of Tell Me Lies

“No? You’d think with all the amenities in this place there would be. Oh, certainly, I could call an ambulance, but I didn’t know if you’d want one to pull up, sirens blasting outside, or have paramedics pushing a gurney through the lobby … what’s that? Yes, I’ll wait.”

Javier groaned. “Tell me he’s not calling one.”

“No.” Jorge laid his hand on his brother’s forehead. “He has an uncle who’s a doctor at this John J. Cochran Veteran’s Hospital. It’s not far away and since you served, he thought he’d see if the uncle would make a house call.”

“Like that’s happening,” Javier muttered.

Thirty minutes later, it did. Cecily, showered and changed after a brief nap, answered the door, and ushered in a middle-aged doctor. Javier managed to sit up on the edge of the bed while Jorge hovered nearby.

“I’m Dr. Anthony Russo and I work over at Cochran, the VA hospital in Midtown. I’m a former Army doc and I did some time in Afghanistan too. Normally, you’d have to come to the ER, but my nephew works here. He’s in med school and it’s a favor to him. I’m fond of Eric. So, you think you’ve relapsed with a malaria attack?”

Javier met the man’s gaze. “I know I have. I suffered malaria in the sandbox which was why I got booted home. I haven’t had it since, until now, but it’s not something you forget.”

As the physician poked a thermometer into Javier’s ear, then took his pulse, he nodded.

“Do you recall what variety you had?”

“Plasmodium vivax.”

Dr. Russo nodded. “That makes sense. It can live in the liver, undetected for several years, then return fast and hard.”

Jorge stepped forward. “Is it treatable?”

“Absolutely. With a fever of 104 degrees, however, Mr. Morales should be in the hospital.”

“I won’t go. All I need are the drugs.”

The doc tossed up his hands. “I can prescribe them, and they’ll definitely help. What did they give you before?”

“Some unpronounceable shit,” Javier replied. “I think it had some quinine in it.”

“That’s likely. I’m going to start you on artemether-lumefantrine. As soon as it gets here, you’ll need to take four tablets today, four more eight hours after that, then four tablets twice a day, morning and evening, for two more days. By then, you should be feeling a lot better. Then I’ll prescribe primaquine for two weeks after you finish the first medication, one daily taken with food, or it’ll tear your stomach to pieces. Have you been eating?”

Javier held his stomach, which still rolled. “Not much, a little broth.”

“You must eat with both meds. You should eat as soon as possible but you also need to keep the food down. Are you taking something over the counter for fever?”

He nodded. “And for the headache.”

Cecily plopped down on the edge of the mattress and put one arm around Javier. He didn’t protest. He could use the physical support and he liked her close. As soon as he didn’t feel terrible, he had so much he wanted to say.

“What food can he eat?” Jorge asked. “And can he travel?”

“Anything he can stomach, although I recommend broth, soups, gelatin, pudding, maybe ice cream to start. Then crackers, light sandwiches, peanut butter, and mashed potatoes. As for travel, I don’t recommend it. How far and for what reason?”

“From here to Guymon, Oklahoma,” Jorge said. “It’s a ten-and-a-half-hour drive but we wouldn’t drive straight through. Or fly into Oklahoma City. He’s on his way to visit my family. He’s welcome to stay as long as he wants.”

Dr. Russo directed his question to Javier. “Where do you live?”

“New York City.”

Russo scrunched up his face. “You couldn’t pay me to live there but if it works for you, that’s great.”

He scribbled out the two prescriptions on a pad he pulled from his bag, then handed them to Javier. “Get these filled as soon as possible. Get some food down and rest, let the medicine do its work. I’ll give you my name and number. Don’t hesitate to call while you’re in town. Hell, you can call afterward if you want. I suggest once you’re recovered, you visit a VA clinic to have a full physical. They can access your medical records. I did and I’ll add this illness to the file. Is there anything else, more questions?”

“Can malaria be fatal?” Jorge stood across the room with his arms folded across his chest.

“Without treatment, yes. Unless there are some complications I don’t expect, Javier will recover without any problem, however.”

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