Leave the Pieces (Strawberry Inn Book #5)

Chapter 9

EMORY

I barely had a moment to register the diagnosis Dr. Carranza gave us for Callum before they started the process to prep him for surgery. Glenn promised me that he would explain what a volvulus was and how they would fix it through surgery, but he had his own patients to attend to this morning. It didn’t seem right that I could get this bomb dropped on me and then he just waltzed out to go on his regular day, but he had a job to do. Glenn had patients and parents, much like myself, who were waiting for answers. Those were answers Glenn needed to give them, treatment plans he needed to go over, and tests that would give those parents clarity as well. I could hardly fault the man for not being able to drop everything with less than a twenty-four-hour notice.

When I called my mom to fill her in, she headed straight over, stopping by a good coffee shop to get me a dark-roasted pick-me-up. They had coffee here for the parents, but it wasn’t that great. I was thankful that we were able to stay in the room Callum was given yesterday, though we’d probably get transferred to a different one once he was in recovery. 

“I just gave your Dad an update,” Mom mentioned as she walked back into the hospital room. “He’s going to call your brother and let him know. He’s got a lot of prayer warriors on his side right now.”

“Oh, I’m sure everybody in Strawberry knows, huh?”

“Well,” she quirks her lips up, “You know how small towns are.”

“Yeah, I kind of want to be annoyed, but I’m thankful to have so many people praying and sending him good vibes.”

“He’s going to be okay, Emory,” she pats my knee, “I’m just so proud of you for handling this the way you have.”

The laugh that follows is void of humor, “You missed my meltdown last night and then earlier today. I don’t know how you could say I’ve handled this well at all. I’m barely holding on, Mom.”

“It isn’t that I haven’t seen the meltdowns, honey. I don’t think anybody in their right mind would expect a mother to go through medical complications and not break down a time or twenty,” she winked my way. “You followed your gut and kept fighting for Callum. You never gave up on him and that is what makes me proud.”

“I’m not even including how you had to handle yourself when Glenn was thrown into the mix. My girl, you have earned yourself something fierce when this is done, I hope you realize that.”

“Thanks, Mom,” I rest my head on her shoulder, “I’m just so tired, but for the first time I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

“I can see it too, my dear. Do you know what things are going to look like for recovery?”

I sit back up, shaking my head, “I don’t know much except the basics. He’s going to need to stay in the hospital for a few days to make sure his body can digest food properly. I might give up trying to breastfeed or pump. They’re going to want everything measured and medication added. I just don’t know if I have it in me anymore.”

“Not a single soul would blame you. The fact that you were still pumping after everything you went through is an impressive feat. Don’t beat yourself up, Emory.”

“It is hard to not beat myself up over all of this, you know?”

“I understand completely. This is a crash course in parenting for you. Parents will always feel their child’s pain. It doesn’t matter if it is physical or emotional. You have been hurting for Callum and I’ve been hurting for you.”

“Let’s hope this brings an end to that pain, huh?”

Around lunchtime, one of the nurses came in to give us an update. Callum was handling the procedure well and they were thinking it would be about another two hours. They did warn us that after surgery, he would need to be in recovery and we wouldn’t be able to see him at that point. It wasn’t fair, I wanted to be with my little boy after having a major surgical procedure done. A nice woman named Wanda also brought in lunch for us, Glenn had asked her to order us something. Even though he couldn’t be in here waiting, he was still making sure we were taken care of.