Page 9 of Zane

Once she was back in her seat in the waiting room, Kelsey opened up her messaging app and typed out a message to Lee, giving him the information that the doctor had shared with her.

She hoped that the medical professionals in Zane’s family would make better use of their own knowledge and expertise than she was of hers. It was like all her training had gone out the window the moment someone she loved became a patient. Somehow, she didn’t know how to be a wife and a nurse when the patient was her husband.

Lee:Thank you for the update. We continue to pray for Zane, and for the doctors as they work on Zane and for you as you wait to see him.

Kelsey appreciated Lee’s words, and she hoped that meant that they weren’t still upset by her presence in Zane’s life. Perhaps this would be the thing that drew them together. Zane would need all the support he could get. He’d need all the peoplewho loved him to be there as he worked to recover from his accident.

It was almost two tortuous hours before they came to get her. Just inside the door of the ICU area, a doctor waited to speak with her.

After introducing himself, he reiterated much of what the resident had shared with her. He also confirmed that, for the time being, Zane was sedated.

Once he’d finished giving her the update, he led her to the room where Zane had been taken and left her there with a nurse. Kelsey hesitated outside the open doorway, suddenly feeling again like she couldn’t catch her breath.

“Just breathe.” As the woman spoke, a hand landed gently on her back.

Clearly realizing what was going on, the woman guided her through some breathing exercises. Once again, that kept the panic attack at bay, but Kelsey didn’t know how long that would be the case.

“Feeling better?” the nurse asked once Kelsey looked up and met her gaze.

Kelsey nodded. “Thank you for helping me.”

The nurse’s smile was warm. “I understand that this is a highly stressful situation for you. It’s understandable that you’d be dealing with some anxiety.” She tipped her head toward the open door. “Let’s go see your husband.”

Knowing she had a sympathetic person at her side made it a little easier for Kelsey to walk through the door.

Though the room’s lights weren’t bright, she could still clearly see Zane on the bed. There were tubes and wires runningto and from his body, but Kelsey’s relief at finally seeing him nearly brought her to her knees.

“We’ll just have you wash your hands, then you can get closer to him.” The nurse showed her where the sink was and waited as Kelsey carefully washed her hands, soaping them up twice before drying them on the paper towel the nurse handed her.

“Why don’t you come to this side of him?” the nurse said when she was done, laying a hand on Kelsey’s back to guide her.

When she got her first clear look at Zane’s battered and swollen face, Kelsey began to cry. The nurse pulled a chair over next to the bed and helped her sit down.

“Here. Hold his hand.” With the nurse’s guidance, Kelsey wrapped her fingers around his. As she did so, she realized his ring was missing.

“What happened to his ring?”

“I believe it’s with his other items. I’ll get them for you.”

“Thank you.”

Before leaving them alone, the nurse took a few minutes to explain what was causing all the beeps and what the various tubes and wires were for. If she’d put her mind to it, Kelsey could have figured it all out for herself, but she was relieved she didn’t have to.

In that moment, she was glad that precious few people knew that she had training as a nurse. She didn’t want to be a medical professional right then. She just wanted to be a wife.

After sitting there for a few minutes, whispering softly to Zane, Kelsey took a picture and video of him. It wasn’t that she wanted to preserve this memory, but she thought that his family might want to see him. Especially the ones who weren’t ontheir way there. Lee could use his judgement in passing on the pictures and videos she took.

Lee had texted her when they were preparing to board the private jet, letting her know approximately when they’d be arriving in Tampa and when they hoped to be at the hospital.

Once she’d sent the heartbreaking images to Lee, along with the little bit of extra info the doctor had given her, she took Zane’s hand again and began to talk to him. She reminded him of their plans, of all the life they had left to live together, then pleaded with him to fight.

The nurse came in periodically to check on Zane, bringing a water bottle with her for Kelsey after she’d been there for over an hour.

Kelsey hadn’t been sure that they’d let her stay, but so far, there’d been no mention of her having to leave. It was possible that once the others were there, she’d have to go to make space for them, even though she didn’t want to ever leave Zane’s side.

In the end, Kelsey was forced to leave Zane’s bedside a few times to use the bathroom and to get some coffee. Though she didn’t really feel much like eating, she did pick up a packaged sandwich in the cafeteria.

She knew it was important to keep her strength up. Zane didn’t need her to be physically or mentally weak. And she knew from experience that the surest way to weaken herself further mentally was to not take care of herself physically.

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