Bittersweet

~~ Consequences ~~

He had a worried look on his face. But even amid his stress lines and fine wrinkles around his brown eyes, he was kinda handsome, like those doctors you see on Grey's Anatomy. "I've got lab results back and as I and my colleagues informally diagnosed, it's an e-coli infection."

My shoulder sagged, despite my panic, but hopeful at the diagnosis. "And that's good, she will be okay."

His eyebrows furrowed. "She is still a very sick little girl..." He paused. "We have one concern."

"Yes... and?"

"Ava has swelling in her ankles and feet," he stated in a sombre tone.

"What does that mean?"

"We need to undergo further testing, but it's her kidney that gives me cause for concern. This type of infection in young children can cause damage.

"But that can be fixed... right?"

"Right now, we are flooding her body with antibiotics and fluids. I would expect her to have bloody diarrhea for the next two to three days, so we will keep her in and monitor her progress. I'm hoping we caught it in time."

"And what if that doesn't work?"

"Then we will discuss other options."

My mind ran in all different directions, but one thought screamed louder than the rest. Transplant. "So she might need a transplant—a kidney transplant?"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Mrs Valentino. She is in expert hands and I have requested further tests, which will include a full abdominal MRI scan."

My eyes filled with tears and my mouth dropped open. Dr Kahn stepped forward, placing his warm hand on my shoulder.

"As I've said, she is in good hands Mrs Valentino and a strong little girl, so I'm hopeful about Ava's prognosis."

My legs felt shaky. "Is this my fault?  Could I have stopped this?"

"No, and you mustn't blame yourself.  There is little anyone could have done. Sadly, these symptoms—tiredness, vomiting can be associated with so many other illnesses." He smiled. "Let's just take one step at a time."

I nodded mindlessly,  kidney transplant.

Thanking him, I returned to her bedside and text Janelle, Frank and Vivi with an update as promised. I didn't however give them all the details. There was no point in worrying them until we had all the results back.

I hovered over Gabe's name. Should I call him or text?   Text!  I quickly text to update him on Ava's condition, ignoring the giant elephant between us. That could wait.

By lunch time, Ava's large room felt small with Janelle, Frank, Adam and Vivi making an appearance to fuss over her.

Thankfully, Ava had some color to her small cheeks and was giggling at Uncle Frank's silly impressions of characters from her favorite TV show.

I also tried to call Tony but was informed by his secretary he would drop by the hospital later in the evening.

Wasn't I stupid in thinking he would have taken the day off to be with his daughter? Not that I particularly wanted him here, but I knew what it would have meant the world to Ava.

As Frank, Adam and Vivi left us. Janelle and I sat outside the room where Ava was undergoing an MRI scan. It wasn't long before she began probing as she sipped her coffee, amazed it had taken her this long.

"Soooo, I'm dying to know. How did it go last night?"

My cheeks burned and a fire lit, expanding outwards. It had been a wonderful night until... "It was nice." I knew this wouldn't be enough for her. She devoured way too many smutty novels late at night.