Page 111 of Loving the Legend
“I know but…”
“It’s terrifying.”
“Yeah.” I wipe my eyes. “He has tubes…” I can barely get the words out before my throat closes back up.
“The tubes are reinforcements. They’re just helping to ensure everything is working as it should.”
“I don’t know,” I choke out. “Why did he drop?”
“Let’s find out. Put me on speaker.”
I pull the phone away from my ear and hit the speaker button.
“Okay,” I croak.
“Ishan, you think you can grab the surgeon or doctor on duty and ask them to come and explain to us what happened?” Sid asks.
Ishan nods and wipes his eyes. “The surgeon was waiting for you. Since I’m not next of kin or listed as an emergency contact, they wouldn’t disclose any real details until you arrived.”
I nod. “Thanks.”
As he retreats toward the door, it opens.
“I was just coming to find you. Adam’s nephew, Tyler, is here,” Ishan says to a tall woman in scrubs and a white coat and a man in blue scrubs trailing behind her.
“One of the firefighters beat you to the punch,” the woman says. “Hello, you must be Tyler. Nice to meet you. I’m Dr. Rivers, the Head of Cardiology. I performed the surgery on your uncle. This is Nurse Ford. He’s our best. He’ll take excellent care of Mr. Washington.”
I climb to my feet and then shake both of their hands. Nurse Ford leaves us to check on Adam.
Clearing my throat, I try to muster the energy to collect my thoughts, but when I open my mouth, my voice cracks with emotion.
“Could you—” I clear my throat again, but it doesn’t help. I zero in on the machine beeping across the room.
“Hi, Dr. Rivers. I’m David, Ty’s best friend. Today’s been a really rough day for him. We have a couple of questions. Ty and Ishan, I’ll take notes of everything said and send it over,” Sid says, using his middle name.
“Thanks…David,” Ishan replies.
“You want to go first?” Ishan asks, inviting me to ask the first question. “Or David?” he adds.
The beeping machine stutters again, and my eyes dart to Adam. No one else seems concerned by the noise. A dozen questions flooded my brain on the plane, but now I’m struggling to think of one.
“Could you walk us through the surgery performed, the probable cause of the attack, and the process of recovery?” Sid asks, saving me from choking again.
I slump against the wall.
“Sure. Mr. Washington is very lucky. According to the paramedics, he went into cardiac arrest after exiting a four-alarm blaze…”
I make a mental note to look up what cardiac arrest means.
“He was immediately treated by the—”
“Is cardiac arrest like a heart attack?” Sid asks.
“Not quite. Cardiac arrest occurs when the heart suddenly stops pumping, preventing blood from flowing to the brain and other vital organs. It’s caused by certain types of arrhythmias, basically irregular heart rhythms, that prevent the heart frompumping blood. If not treated within minutes, they’re often fatal.”
My eyes flood as I stare up at the ceiling and breathe out a sigh of relief.
“Tests revealed that Mr. Washington has coronary artery disease. It’s most likely what triggered the cardiac event yesterday. As for the cause of the disease, research indicates that high levels of occupational stress, such as heat stress, frequent activation of the body’s fight-or-flight response, and exposure to chemicals, smoke, soot, and other inhaled pollutants, all contribute to heart problems for firefighters.”
