Leon was in bed, crying because he had chest pains.
Evelyn woke up immediately as she heard him call her name loudly.
Her heart was already beating too fast by the time she reached his room.
“Leon?” She was beside him immediately.
Her hand on his back.
“Baby.
Talk to me.”
Leon was curled under the blanket, one hand pressed weakly against his chest.
“Baby?”
His eyes opened slowly.
“Mummy,” he whispered.
“It hurts,” he said into the pillow.
“Where?”
”Here.” He moved his hand vaguely to his chest.
Evelyn sat on the edge of the bed so fast the mattress dipped beneath her.
But her face stayed calm.
“Okay,” she said softly.
“Okay, sweetheart.
Can you breathe for me?”
He nodded a little.
She watched carefully as he inhaled, very shallow, not terrible.
She pushed his hair back gently.
“How long has it been disturbing you?”
”I don’t know.” His voice sounded tired.
“I just woke up and ….”
”It’s okay.” She kept her voice steady.
“You’re okay.” She kissed his forehead.
She reached for the medication bottle on the bedside with fingers that suddenly didn’t feel fully under her control.
One tablet and a bottle of water.
Her hands shook slightly as she helped him sit up.
“Slowly,” she whispered.
Leon swallowed the medication and leaned weakly against her shoulder afterward.
He was warm.
“It came back, Mommy,” he said quietly.
“I know.”
”I thought i was getting better.”
”Baby, you are getting better.
Bodies just have bad nights sometimes even when they’re getting better.
It doesn’t mean we’re going backwards.”
”Promise?”
”Promise,” she said.
Evelyn wrapped an arm around him carefully.
“Do you want me to stay?” she asked quietly.
Leon looked at her like the question itself was ridiculous.
“Yes mommy, stay.”
Evelyn smiled, and she adjusted the blanket around him watching his breathing.
Every few minutes she touched his forehead or checked his pulse.
It hurt her deeply that her little boy had to go through this every time. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
Soon, the tears came rushing down her cheeks but she wiped them away immediately.
Leon was half asleep when he spoke again.
“Mommy?”
”Mm?”
”Are you crying?.” Her throat tightened.
“No, baby.”
”You are.”
She looked at him and smiled.
He somehow notices everything.
“I’m just..
I haven’t had enough sleep that’s why,” she lied softly.
Leon studied her for another sleepy second before nodding.
“Okay.” And within minutes he drifted back asleep.
Leon had a medication review that Dr.
Moreau had scheduled.
And it was supposed to happen this week.
She thought about whether the bad night was connected to the fact that the review hadn’t happened yet.
She wiped her face.
********************
Evelyn woke up next to Leon.
She smiled seeing him sleep calmly, kissed his forehead and got out of bed.
She called Dr.
Moreau at seven fifteen in the morning.
He answered on the second ring, which told her he had been in the hospital for a while already.
“Ms.
Cole.” His voice was formal.
“Is everything all right?”
”Leon had a bad night,” she said.
“Sharp chest pains, shallow breathing.
I gave him his emergency medication at around two and he settled.
He’s sleeping normally now.”
”I see.” She could hear him moving, the sound of a chair, papers.
“How long did the episode last?”
”About thirty minutes from when I first heard him to when the medication kicked in.”
”And the pain — did he describe it?”
”He pointed to his chest.” She paused.
“He said he thought it was getting better.”
A brief silence.
“The episode is consistent with what we’ve been monitoring,” Dr.
Moreau said.
“The medication responding within thirty minutes is actually a positive sign.
His body is processing it efficiently.” A pause.
“He should be all right, Ms.
Cole.
Watch him today and if anything changes; if the pain returns or his breathing seems labored — call me immediately.”
”I will.” She held the phone tighter. The source of this chapter is g.com.
“Dr.
Moreau.
The medication review.
The one you scheduled for this week.” She paused.
“We will be coming tomorrow, because I don’t think It’d be advisable to wait.
]”
”Ms Cole.
It is shown that you asked for the date to be pushed,” he said carefully.
“It appeared in the system as an administrative rescheduling, yesterday.”
”I didn’t ask for that, Mr Moreau.” Evelyn said, very confused.
“Really?”
”I would never ask for that.
You know that.”
”Oh.” His voice was steady.
“I want to apologise, Ms.
Cole.
It should not have been moved without your knowledge and without my approval.
It was — it appears to have been a technical error of some kind.
We are looking into it.”
”When will the review be rescheduled?” She demanded.
“As soon as possible.
There is a mandatory delay built into the rescheduling process —seventy two hours at minimum from the original appointment time.”
”Seventy-two hours,” she repeated.
“Yes.
I know that’s not ideal —”
”Is it a problem?” she said.
Directly.
The way she said everything that mattered.
“Honestly.
Given what happened last night — is the delay a problem?”
A pause.
“It shouldn’t be,” Dr.
Moreau said.
“I am going to personally expedite the rescheduling.I want you to know that.
And I want Leon monitored closely today — he should get rest, no exertion, his regular medication on schedule.
If anything changes you call me.
Not the after-hours line.
Me directly.”
”All right.”
”Ms.
Cole.” He paused.
“I want to say again — this rescheduling should not have happened.
I am going to treat it seriously.”
”I know you are,” she said.
“Thank you.”
”Get some rest if you can.
Ms Cole”
A soft, humourless laugh escaped her before she could stop it.
“I’ll try.”