Page 30 of The Pursuit of Her Happiness

“Hey, Joe, this is Polk again.”

“Polk. Is there any word on Quinn? Is she awake? Can I talk to her?”

“She’s having another test done. That’s why I’m calling. They won’t talk to me. Pres notified Audrey and Lincoln that you’d be dropping the boys off at the clubhouse for them to watch overnight. Need you to get down here as soon as possible.”

“Does Quinn enjoy when you guys make decisions for her and order her around without even saying please?” I chuckle at both his audacity for asking and thinking about Quinn.

“Not even a little bit.” I clear my throat and adopt a saccharine sweet tone that closely resemblesMrs. Doubtfire. “Joseph, dear, I would be most grateful if you would join me at the hospital. For your convenience, Lincoln and Audrey are expecting you and the boys. Please pack overnight necessities for the boys. Are you amenable to this plan of action?”

Joe laughs freely over the phone. “No wonder she likes you.” He yells to the boys to get their stuff together and shoes on. “I’ll be there shortly.”

“See you soon.”

“Polk?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for being there for her.”

My smile is evident in my voice, “Nowhere else I’d rather be.”

Quinn 16.

“Walk me through it one more time, Doc.”

The doctor offers me a patient smile, grabs the chair near my hospital bed that Polk vacated a half hour ago. He and Joe are in the hallway waiting for me to yell for them to come back in. I’m surprised and glad that Polk called my ex-husband. Joe was needed to make decisions while I was kind of knocked out from the concussion I sustained stupidly trying to cushion a grown man’s fall. I make a mental note to ask Polk as soon as I can about Ford. I hope he’s ok, I don’t think he can be fairing worse than me right now, at any rate.

“I have set up an appointment with Dr. Orlosky, he is an excellent neurologist at University of Cincinnati.”

“But you just examined me.”

Dr. Meditich nods. “I did. And that examination confirmed what I already suspected. Based on your CT scan, MRI, blood work, physical exam, and information from your ex-husband and…” I chuckle lightly when he trails off, unsure what to call Polk, “your man—”

I laugh hard at his obvious discomfort. “He actually said that?”

“Growled would be a more accurate description.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right.”

“Quinn, I know a diagnosis like this sounds scary, terrifying even, but I do believe we have caught this early. With medication and therapy, this is manageable.”

I swallow hard, my head spinning, figuratively, and my stomach churning. “Multiple Sclerosis,” I say it out loud and wanna cry, but I hold back.

“Dr. Orlosky will do his own examination and run additional testing. I spoke with him earlier, he’s reviewed your scans, and the brain lesions alone are a pretty good indication, but the intermittent facial paralysis, nystagmus, headaches, stomach pain—”

“Nystagmus?”

“Sorry,” he appears genuinely contrite, “my wife yells at me all the time for speaking doctor. Nystagmus is eye movement up and down, back and forth, that is an involuntary action usually caused by nerve damage. Yours is not severe and you probably haven’t noticed anything.”

“I’m 36. I have 3 young kids. Work. I just got a new man,” I try to joke but it falls flat, my voice quivering with emotion.

“Quinn.” Dr. Meditich leans forward, placing his hand over mine. His skin is warm, his hand steady. “You are going to be alright. Orlosky is one of the best in the area. He’ll get you situated. And you can keep chasing after your kids, dating your new man, continue working. And of course, you’ll keep creeping closer to 40.”

I glare with pursed lips. “That was mean.”

“Do you want me to get the two men in the hallway? I can explain it to them—”

“No. No, I’ll tell them.” I will do nothing of the sort, not until I have this figured out and a plan in place.

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