She forced herself to finish half a glass of strawberry slushle but couldn't handle the whole-wheat bread,
"Do you not like the food?' Elsie saw her set down the glass.
The food's fine. I'm just full"
"But you're eating for two now. Elsie fretted. "If you don't eat, the baby will starve. Please, Young adam, just have a bit more."
Kita sighed and picked up the borad again.
She forced down another half of the banana walnut bread.
Maybe we can save the rest for lunch,' she said in the end.
'Or moming teal" Elsie's eyes lit up. "I know just the tea that will go with banana bread. Wait, you can't have tea. It has caffeine I'll go call my sister and ask Kira was relieved when Elsie left the room
She whiled away the morning by doing assigned readings for the new semester.
She would be staying home, but it didn't mean she couldn't keep up with the school's lecture progress.
But, try as she might, she couldn't concentrate.
Hereyes kept flicking towards her phone
She was watching it like a pot that never boiled.
Two hours passed, then three.
Moming teacame and went, followed by bunch and dinner.
No news from Austyn
Kira spent the night browsing news websites, dreading to see words like crash or plane hijacking.
The moment she opened her eyes in the moming, she checked her phone.
NothingMaterial © of .
The day was pretty much a repeat of the day before, the only change being Elsie's dishes.
Kira begged oft aftemoon tea.
She took a napon the sofa.
he thought she was dreining when she heard her phone ring
But the buzzing in her pants jolted her back to reality.
She snatched her phone from her pocket and answered it, breathless "Hello.!
"Kita."Austyn sounded tired. The plane just touched down."
She breathed out. 'Okay!
Iman my way to the medical centre right now. I'll call you when I know more."
'Okay. Be careful,"
Twill. And the same to you. If you need anything, ask Elsie to get it for you. Stay home and take care of yourself. Can you do that for me?" "Yrs. Don't worry about me. Elsie and Tare fine."
She Hopes Charlotte Can Pull Through
'Okay. I'll call you later."
He hung up.
Kira gripped the phone.
Her heart was slightly at ease, but worry niggled at her mind.
Austyn must be exhausted, but he had no time to slow down and rest.
Kira prayed everything would work out fine.
She returned to her textbook and forced herself to focus.
3
She's Not Going To Survive Past This Month
"How's she doing Austyn rode down the hallway on the second floor of Sunway Medical Centre
alph Burton had to jog to catch up with him. "Madam's condition has stabilised. She's sleeping now. Dr Manning is waiting for you in his office." Austyn picked up his pace.
Ralph was sweating, but he did not dare slow down
As the full-time assistant for Mrs McCarthy, his job had been easy.
Charlotte was bedbound most of the line.
She had a teen of doctors and nurses to tend to her medical needs around the clock.
Ralph just needed to an occasional errand forher.
MeMcCarthy paid well.
It was a cushy job.
But Ralph had grown.complacent.
He wasn't in the poom when Chaste fainted.
In fact, he wasn't even the hospital.
He had decided to take the afternoon off.
When Mr McCarthy called, he was just coming out of a bowling alley.
Ralph tried his best to keep up with his boss
He hoped he would still have a job by the end of the day.
Austyn stopped outside the TCL "You're third."
Ralph's bead snapped up. 'But, Mr McCarthy, 1-
"Kal."Austyn didn't rumback
Kai Scott stepped up. 'Ralph, come with me!
"But I'
Ralpha caught the man's wrist. 'Don't make a scene."
Austyn had to change into an isolation gown before he was allowed into the ICU
Charlotte's Immune system was severely compromised.
The most benign germs could be fatal to her.
Austyn stood in front of his mother's bed.
Charlotte McCarthy was fifty-two years old, but looked closer to seventy
She was emaciated, practically a bag of bones.
Her scalp was shaved.
The rise and fall of her chest were almost imperceptible.
had an oxygen mask over her face and an needle in her left arm.
Eight years ago, she was diagnosed with MODs-multiple organ dysfunction syndromes, but the doctors had no idea of the underlying cause.
They speculated that it could be due to sepsis, orphysical trauma like a car accident, or pancreatitis, or ingestion of a tosic substance. The syndrome affected more than just her organs.
Her hematologic system, iminune system and endocrine system were all impacted to warying degrees.
She didn't need to live inside a plastic bubble, but neither could she step foot outside the highly sanitised and sterilised ward with a double door
She survivedena steady diet of antibiotics and vasopressors.
When she slept, she had to be put on a ventilator.
Despite all the advances in medical science, MODS remained poorly understood,
When he first came here to visit his mother seven years ago, the doctors at Sumayedical Centre bold him that without a clear diagnosis, prognosis was all but impossible
In other words, they had no idea how much time Charlottehad.
They could only treat the symptoms if and when they are, but they couldn't stop her organ from slowly shutting down one after another
Austyn stood by Charlotte's bedside for a long while.
Sereyestemained closed.
She had wanted him to visit, but now that he was here, she was unconscious
-She's Not Going to Survive Past This Month
Austyn bent down and planted a gentle liss on Charlotte's wrinkled forehead.
He left the room quietly and went to Dr Manning's office.
The nephrologist was in charge of the six-mant
six-man team taking care of Charlotte.
2203
They had a cardiologist, a pulmonologist, a haematologist, an immunologist and an endocrinologist.
Sometimes, they'd bring in diagnosticians from outside to consult
But seven years later, no progress had been made.