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Nothing.
“He’s non-responsive,” Chloe told the person on the other end of the phone. She remained surprisingly calm and diplomatic.
Less than a minute passed, though it felt like a lifetime, before we heard the nurses racing down the hall with a gurney.
“Everyone stand back,” one of the nurses instructed. She knelt at Grant’s side and began assessing him, while another nurse began asking a series of questions. When was the last time he ate? What was his last insulin dose? Did he have any other known medical conditions?
Some of it we could answer; some we couldn’t.
The nurse assessing him took his blood sugar. She looked really worried at the results, though she kept her voice calm. “Diabetic coma. He needs a glucagon shot now.”
The second nurse reached into their medical bag and helped ready the treatment. They administered the shot, then hoisted Grant onto the gurney.
“We’re transporting him to the infirmary,” the second nurse said. “With treatment, he’ll make a full recovery quite quickly. We’ll take good care of him.”
“I’m coming with,” Miles insisted. “I’m family.”
“Me, too,” Talia said, wiping away her tears.
I wasn’t interested in letting Grant get carted off to the hospital without me, but he wasn’t the only one who needed medical attention. Nadine had dark bags under her eyes, and she moved slowly and deliberately, as if every motion was calculated to not waste energy.
I was acutely aware of how much time had passed. It was technically Thursday evening, but we’d been inside the stairwell for three nights. Nadine had dialysis Wednesday night, which meant it’d been four days since her last treatment. She usually went two days without it over the weekend, but she couldn’t handle much longer than that.
“I’m taking Nadine to the dialysis center,” I told our friends.
She didn’t protest, which meant it was worse than I imagined. Nadine always tried to stay strong for everyone else. She was the kind of person who would try to figure things out on her own. She didn’t like asking for help, especially when it came to her health. To even accept my help driving her to the dialysis center meant she knew she’d never make it on her own.
I knelt next to Isa and Oliver, who were rubbing against my leg. “Go back to the room. We’ll meet you there later.”
Oliver understood, and he headed down the hall with Isa. Kiki and Gus shared a loud meow and ran alongside Miles and Talia. Chloe followed them to the infirmary.
I more or less carried Nadine to the car.
“Nadine?” The receptionist sounded confused when we entered the dialysis center. She knew her by name, because Nadine came in so often. “You must have your days mixed up. You were just in for dialysis yesterday. You’re not scheduled for another treatment until tomorrow.”
“I know, but I really need to fit in another treatment,” Nadine said.
“That would mess up your whole schedule,” the receptionist replied. “I’m sure you can hold out one more day until your scheduled treatment.”
My hands curled into fists. “Nadine knows her body better than any damn doctor in this place. She needs her treatment, and you’re going to give it to her.”
The receptionist looked a bit taken aback, but she remained calm. “Let me call a nurse.”
We were forced to sit in the waiting room. Twenty minutes must’ve passed before I got sick of it and went to the cafeteria to pick us up some food. The Goddess knew we needed some right now. I dug into a burger and chugged water. I felt much better once my belly was full. Nadine ate slower, as if savoring every bite. Usually when she ate like that, it meant she wasn’t feeling well. She knew she had to eat something, but she wasn’t sure she could stomach it.
We must’ve been waiting more than half an hour before someone finally arrived to speak with us.
“I hear you’re having some scheduling conflicts,” the nurse said.
Nadine sighed. “We’ve already been over this with the receptionist. I need an additional treatment.”
“You were just in yesterday,” the nurse pointed out.
“Look, she’s not dumb. She knows her own body,” I snapped.
“Here’s the deal,” Nadine stated. “I need my treatment, and I’m not leaving here until I get it. Find me a doctor. Run some tests. Do whatever you need to get me my dialysis.”
The nurse looked skeptical, but she finally said, “I’ll get a doctor, and we’ll see what we can do.”
