The sounds of Damon's phone ringing pulls me out of my dream. I turn over, a slight groan falling from my lips at the loud sound in the quiet of the night. Who could be calling us this late?
Pushing at Damon's shoulder, I repeatedly say his name and shake him. He turns his body over after sleepily telling me to "leave him be." Deciding that I'm now up and want the phone to stop going off, I reach over his body and answer the phone without looking at the caller ID.
"Damon?" Carol's voice is small, his tone is sad and full of worry.
"No, Carol, this is Rose. Is everything alright?"
"Oh.. hi, dear. Is Damon there?"
"He is sleeping. I tried to wake him up, but he has been sleeping like a bear lately. Do you want me to try again?"
"Please, dear. Dave and I are at the hospital. He may have had a stroke. I don't really know what happened. We were laying in bed and all of a sudden he started speaking unintelligible sentences and he was having difficulty moving his right leg to get out of bed. I-I didn't know what to do. I called the cops and they sent an ambulance. I called as soon as I could, but, Rose, I don't know what to do. I don't know what is wrong, and no one is telling me anything. They keep wheeling him around to different rooms saying that they are doing different tests, but that is it."
Carol's voice gets hysterical as she continues to tell me about her situation. My heart is in my stomach and my mind is full of worries. Desperately, I shake Damon's body, knowing the consequences, but nothing works. Carol speaks over the line on speakerphone, but I put myself on mute after trying to reassure her that everything will be fine and we will be there soon. No longer worried about Carol hearing me, I say Damon's name over and over again, twisting and turning his body. He finally stirs in his sleep, his body flipping towards me and his hand loosely going around my neck.
"Damon, it's Rose. Your dad is in the hospital, your mom is on the phone."
His eyes slowly come back to normal and he moves off of me. His face looks like I just slapped him, hurt, worry, and surprise masking his features.
"What?"
"Your dad is at the hospital, Carol thinks he had a stroke. They are running tests, but your mother is worried because no one is telling her anything. We need to go, I can go wake up Brandon."
Briskly walking to Brandon's room, I go over to his bed and shake him awake. He is easier to pull from sleep and is throwing on a pair of jeans so we can leave. All three of us are like alert zombies. Our movements are slow and jagged, but we have a purpose in mind.
We leave the apartment a few minutes later, rushing down to the car. I offer to drive because neither one of the boys look stable enough to get us there safely and one of them getting hurt is the last thing Carol needs right now.
I start the engine and peel out of the parking lot, the tires trying to catch the road. Carol is still on the phone and is talking to Damon while he tries to find out any information that his mother still doesn't know. I want to tell him to talk about something else, but if this is what he needs to stay semi-calm and sane, I won't try to dissuade him from doing what he needs to do.
We arrive at the hospital fifteen minutes later, the boys rushing out of the car as I go park. While I consider myself as a part of their family, I feel like I am intruding. This is a serious thing and no one knows what is going to happen to Dave. I am sure nothing is going to happen, but that is not the point. So, taking my time, I park the car somewhat close to the front since it is only two in the morning. Grabbing the keys, my purse, and phone, I step out of the car and lock it behind me before walking to the front entrance. The sliding doors open and the boys are sitting with Carol to my left. Why are they not in Dave's room?
As soon as Carol sees me, she gets up and embraces me in a hug. It is not her usual bear hug, but one where she loosely wraps her arms around me, her whole body shaking.
"He is going to be fine. Dave is strong, he will be okay and back to normal soon enough."
She pulls back from the hug, hope shining in her eyes. "Do you really think so? It's just, Dave and I are getting older now. What if he doesn't recover? A stroke is serious. What if it causes a permanent disability and-"
I don't want to interrupt her, but I can tell that she is spiraling and working herself into a frenzy. "He will be fine. We don't know that he had a stroke, and maybe it was only a small stroke. I know the doctors are not saying anything, but that doesn't mean we have to think about the worst outcomes. He will be okay."
"You're right. You're right. Thank you for being here."
"There is nowhere else I would be. Let's go sit with the boys, you must be tired. Just relax and take a breath. Do you need me to get you anything?"
"No, thank you."
Guiding her over to the chairs, she sits down between Damon and Brandon. Seeing that she is fine, I walk over to the nurse's station to try and find out any news.
"I'm sorry, but I can only tell family his medical information. Are you family?"
"I'm his daughter."
She nods her head and types his name into her computer.
"He is currently getting an ultrasound to check his arteries. They are unable to tell whether he had a stroke or ministroke since it won't show up on any tests, but they are trying to determine what caused it to prevent another one from occurring."
"Do you know when we will be able to see him?"
"Not as of right now, but he does have a room if you would like to stay in there."
After getting the room number and directions, I thank the nurse and walk back over to Carol and the boys. Carol's head is leaning on Brandon's shoulder, her eyes barely managing to stay open. She needs to sleep, all this worrying is not good for her.
"They said that they don't know what type of stroke Dave had because it is too early for it to show up on an MRI or CT scan, but they are doing other tests to find out the cause of the stroke and start taking preventative measures there. She also told me his room number, do you all want to move in there for some more privacy?"
There is only a smattering of people, including the nurse, in the waiting room with us, but Carol is falling asleep and I am sure they all want more privacy away from wandering eyes.
In a slow parade of four, we walk through the halls and finally make it to Dave's room. Carol collapses in a chair as soon as she steps inside, the toll of the night weighing heavily on her. The boys and I hang around the room in other chairs, waiting for any news to come.
No one comes into the room for a little over an hour. As a doctor approaches we all perk up, even Carol wakes up as if she could sense the doctor.
"I am sure the nurse told you that we would not be able to find out what type of stroke it was and to be certain that it was a stroke. However, we did find out that the patient has very hypertension, or high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. His carotid arteries are not fully blocked, but there is a significant amount of plaque. He needs a change of diet immediately.
"He is stable now, but we want to keep him for a couple of days until we can get a clear test to confirm that it was a stroke and to find out if there will be any permanent disability depending on what type of stroke it was. For now, we will bring him back in here, but we suggest you all go home and get some rest; he has the best nurses to watch over him tonight."
Relief spreads throughout the room and Carol rushes over to Dave as soon as he is brought into the room. We decide to stay overnight, but I will go home tomorrow and get everyone fresh clothes and some breakfast. For now, we are all just happy to be together.