Page 133 of The Savior

Chelsea wanted to gather her mom into a hug, even if she couldn’t even remember them embracing before. “I want you to know that I—”Understand?Appreciate? Forgive?Her heart trembled. “I—”

“I love you, Chelsea. Even if I didn’t tell you.”

She sobbed, unable to have needed those words any more. “I love you too.”

Chelsea wrapped up the phone call with a promise to explain more later. She mustered enough strength to hang up the phone when the curtain pulled back and a woman’s concern reached her ears.

“Careful.” She extended her hand. “Pleasure to meet you. I’m Dr. Nguyen.”

Chelsea scooted back onto her hospital bed, and they shook. “Nice to meet you.”

The doctor’s pleasant demeanor showed through as she did a quick once over. “I was told you’d spring back up.”

Chelsea racked her brain to recall meeting other doctors and nurses earlier, but her memory was hazy. “You weren’t here before?”

“No.” Dr. Nguyen took a tablet from her white medical coat pocket. “Dr. Due initially assessed you, and Dr. Little from plastic surgery stitched you up. Now you have me.”

She raised her eyebrows at her list of doctors. “Oh. Wow.”

Dr. Nguyen nodded. “You came in at shift change. Always a bit of a shuffle.” She took out her light and had Chelsea follow her finger then ran through a battery of quick tests. “There is a raised concern about infection with human bite marks, but given the day you’ve had, I’d say that you did well. The news says your quite the hero.”

She blushed. “Oh, I, uh…”

“Forget I mentioned it.” Dr. Nguyen returned her tablet to her pocket. “Do you have any questions?”

About a thousand, but until that point, none had to do with the pain that dully throbbed in her neck and at the back of her skull. She shifted on the uncomfortable hospital bed. “Are you discharging me?”

“There’s no reason to keep you.” Dr. Nguyen nodded. “The nurse will come by with your paperwork. How to clean the wound, how often to change the bandage. Other than that, we did a workup, and you are completely healthy. Just make a follow up appointment with your regular doctor immediately. Okay?”

Chelsea could recall learning once how a dog bite was cleaner than a human bite. “I don’t need antibiotics?”

“In situations like yours, we prefer to wait out the healing process. If there’s a sign of infection, then there are some antibiotics that would be appropriate. But your doctor would know what works best for you.”

Who knew neck wounds had their own set of rules?

She also wanted to address her pain. But Chelsea hesitated to ask for pills. Maybe they had read a report from Dr. Casper that said she might have an addiction. Dr. Nguyen might not want to give her a prescription.

Still, the wound was literally a pain in the neck. She pointed at her bandage. “What’s the best way to dull this?”

Her doctor smiled. “Great question. You can alternate cold compresses for swelling with a heating pad set to low. The warmth helps improve blood flow.”

“That’s it?”

“Unless you’re fairly high on the pain scale, we don’t suggestion pregnant women take pain relievers. But like I said, check in with your regular doctor, and—”

“What?”

Dr. Nguyen paused. Her head angled slightly, and she quickly assessed Chelsea’s reaction. “You weren’t aware that you’re pregnant?”

Chelsea grabbed the rails on the side of her bed. “No.”

---