Page 86 of Bradley

“Hey, you were there, and you were in the chopper. They don’t need to know that you were unconscious at the time.”

She grinned. “Do you think the kids will think I’m weird?”

“Not at all.”

There was a knock on the door behind us, and a man in dark-green scrubs and a white coat stepped in. “Hi, you must be Nolan and Lauren Nickels? I’m Joe Tesla. Wes referred Lauren to me as a cardiac patient.”

“Doctor Tesla.”

“You guys can call me Joe.” He turned to Lauren. “How are you feeling today?”

“Pretty good,” Lauren replied.

“Well, your cardiac monitor was strong all night, and there was nothing remarkable on it, so that’s good. I’m going to listen to your heart and your lungs, and then I’m going to have a few tests run. Depending on the numbers, we’ll see how long you need to stay.”

“Great,” Lauren said. “Hopefully, I can leave soon.”

“I hope so too.” He turned to me. “I received copies of all of her records last night and went over them. Wes said you were moving to Millerstown. I wasn’t sure if you found a local pediatric cardiologist, but I’d like to offer my services.”

“We haven’t yet. I was trying to get our house ready; I hadn’t started that search yet, but I would be glad to have you as her doctor. I trust Wes.”

“He’s a great doctor. I noticed a few things about her treatment that I think might be a little outdated. There is some newer technology and treatments out there now that have had some good promise.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. After Lauren gets stronger, and when I see her in the office, we’ll discuss some treatment options. I also have a patient who is almost fifteen who is undergoing a new treatment, and she is doing exceptionally well. I think she lives out in Millerstown too. I can reach out to her parents and see if I can pass her name over to you. Maybe you two can connect. I bet it would be nice to know someone who deals with similar issues.”

Lauren’s eyes sparkled. “Yes, it would.”

Could we be so lucky to find a doctor that wanted to find a solution rather than just treat the problem? “Thank you, Dr. Tesla.”

“It’s Joe. Alright, let’s have a listen, Lauren, and then I’ll give you some other information.”

After he left, both Lauren and I were in a better mood. He said that he wanted Lauren to stay one more night, just to be safe, but he had no reason to believe she wouldn’t be going home tomorrow morning.

Lauren and I talked a little more about school, and she was excited to stay. Now, if I could just get her teachers on board. It wasn’t like I couldn’t help her with what she was learning. I was teaching the same grade she was in.

Now, Emmy was a different story. I felt that her teachers would pass her on to the next grade without completing another assignment. She got one hundreds on just about everything that she did, and missing a couple of studies at the end of the year would not hurt her. She might be stunted in her emotional and social growth, but she was not behind in her academic learning—in fact, she was almost two years ahead.

I called my mom after Lauren and I had made our decision. “Hey, Mom,” I said after she answered.

“Hi, are you calling from the road?”

“Um, no, actually, I’m not. I’m calling from the hospital.”

“The hospital? What’s going on? Are you alright?”

I went on to explain what had happened and made sure she knew that Lauren was alright. “Mom, Lauren already has a new cardiologist here, and he wants to continue with her treatment. He said that they even have a few things that might help her.”

“That’s great, dear.”

“I know. That’s why I’m not going to bring the girls back. I’m going to get in touch with their teachers and work out a way for them to finish their studies here to move on to their next grades. The house is finished enough that we can comfortably move in. The furniture will be here in less than three weeks, and a friend of mine is working on getting me a couple of beds that we can borrow for the girls until theirs arrive.”

“Are you sure you can finish the house with the girls there?”

“Yep. I’m much further along than I had expected, thanks to a lot of help from friends. The kitchen and bathrooms are done. The rest is much easier.”

“Well, whatever you think is best, dear. We will miss them.”

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