Malia Ryland has just arrived in Chicago and is starting her first shift as a nurse at the Chicago Medical Center while waiting for a vacancy in one of Chicago's firehouses as a paramedic.
Warning : some chapters contain scenes with sexual content.
...
In the evening I go back to my apartment because Kelly is on night shift. That's the only negative point. We spend less time together because our shifts don't always fit. And on top of that he has night shifts while I don't have any more. So sometimes we don't see each other for a few days but we do our best.
The next day we have the results of Peter Rush's exam. So we go with Dr. Manning and Dr. Halstead to his room.
"What's wrong? "asks Peter when he sees us arrive.
"Your deafness is not due to mumps or any other viral disease. It's the result of a genetic disease that was revealed in your tests, Usher Syndrome" Will informs him as I translate into sign language. "And that's what caused the symptoms you're experiencing today" adds Nathalie.
"What does that mean?" Peter asks.
"Some of your symptoms are treatable, but Usher Syndrome leads to a disease called Retinitis Pigmentosa. It's a progressive degeneration of vision" explains Will.
"My two eyes?" asks Peter.
"I'm sorry, Peter, but retinitis pigmentosa is incurable" says Nathalie.
"I'm going to be blind?" exclaims Peter.
"Yes, you will lose your sight gradually and it may progress to blindness" says Nathalie.
"Oh no" Peter collapses. The poor guy is learning this all by himself. His fiancee still hasn't arrived.
"I know it's a lot to take in all at once, but a genetic disease specialist will come to answer your questions and explain what can be done to help you" Will says. "Maybe you want Bonnie to come and talk to you about it?" I suggest.
"No, she can't know" says Peter.
"But you're getting married, she'll find out eventually" says Nathalie.
"She has decided to break up. I don't want her to come back just out of pity. It's better that she finds someone who isn't blind" says Peter.
I understand that, but in a way he doesn't even give her a choice. He's making the decision for her. I think she broke up with him because she was afraid of feeling rejected after he activated her implant. This often happens in couples when the thing that brings them together is no longer there. But here, I don't think that would be the case.
We leave his room while we wait for the specialist to arrive.
I find out later that Bonnie came by and found out about his illness and they got back together. Good, I think he's going to need all the support he can get through this. This will bring them even closer together in my opinion.
In the afternoon, we meet with the speech therapist to get her to activate his implant. And he starts to hear. I love to see the turning points in people's lives like this. At that moment, Bonnie signs a beautiful phrase "I will be your eyes and you will be my ears". My hormones make me cry.
The following week goes by quietly. On my days off where Kelly is on night shift, I go to the firehouse so we can spend as much time together as possible. I'm very happy to see all the people from firehouse 51 again. Even though it was still early to announce it because I haven't been pregnant for three months yet, we told the people at the station a few weeks ago. First because they are Kelly's friends and also because they were wondering why I was stopping my ambulance guards so early. And then Kelly told his parents. As I no longer have any direct family, I told the people I work with at the hospital I am closest to.
At the fire station, Sylvie keeps complaining about the paramedics replacing Gabby. I've seen quite a few of them. I've never seen the same two paramedics in a row. I hope she will be able to get over Gabby's departure and give a new teammate a chance. Especially since Gabriella isn't going to be coming back to Chicago anytime soon. Sylvie could very well end up with a great teammate, there are a lot of great paramedics in Chicago.
It was also very hard for Casey and it still is. The poor guy wasn't prepared for her departure. I don't think anyone expected that. For Casey, her departure came with the added uncertainty of the future of the relationship. Fortunately, he can count on the support of Kelly and the rest of the station. In fact, he spent many evenings with Kelly.
Today is Tuesday, my first day on call of the week. I've had a stomach ache several times since I woke up. If it continues like this, I will go see the gynecologist at the end of the day. No serious cases so far today. And it is good to be able to have quiet days from time to time.
I'm at the emergency office filling out information about a patient when all of a sudden I have a terrible stomach ache. It feels like a cramp but multiplied by a pain at least ten times. The pain is so excruciating that I groan uncontrollably. I twist myself in pain and cling to one of the desks.
"Malia?" Maggie asks me, who is next to me. "I'm not feeling very well," I can barely say before collapsing on the emergency floor.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
