Page 33 of Words from the Heart
“Yes… Parker suffered severe trauma to his left leg. It was pinned beneath the dashboard and shattered. We splinted the injury for now.”
“Why not cast it or do surgery?” Hank asked.
“His leg injury, while severe, is not the most concerning thing. Parker suffered a head injury. We cannot do any surgery on him until the swelling goes down and he is stable enough to be operated on.”
“Shit.” Hank swore, causing Delilah to inhale sharply.
“What does that mean?”
“Delilah, we have Parker in an induced coma. We need to give his brain time to heal. We won’t know if there will be any long-term damage or not. The brain is fickle like that.”
Delilah nodded, hearing what the doctor was saying, but not really understanding.
“Can we see him?” her voice barely audible.
“Yes. But I warn you. Parker isn’t going to look like the man you saw this morning. He is bruised, covered in bandages with a lot of wires attached to him and a tube coming out of his mouth to help him breathe. So, prepare yourself. It will be a shock.”
Delilah and Hank followed the doctor through the doors to the back. The walk to ICU seemed to take forever. They stopped in front of his door, “You can go in when you’re ready. Remember, how he looks now won’t last forever.”
The doctor left the two of them standing alone in the hallway. Hank tugged Delilah’s hand in his, “You ready?”
“Yeah.” She took a deep breath and followed him through the door.
