A New Life, Part 2 (COMPLETED)

Chapter 45

Tim walked slowly down the hall, inundated by flashbacks from four years ago, the memories in the hospital of his brother fighting for his life. 'Why Lord, why again, how much more must he endure ' he thought to himself while nearing the nurses station. By the time they had driven from Dauphin Island to Foley, Chance had been evaluated and sent to the intensive care unit. Tim looked at the young man at the desk, "excuse me" he stated quietly.

"One second and I'll be right with you sir" he answered, typing away on the keyboard in front of him. A moment later he looked up "I apologize Mr. Foust, I needed to finish the report."

Tim looked at the young man, "how did you know my name".

"We've been expecting you. Mr. Ray has you listed as his next of kin for notifications" he explained.

Tim tried to swallow the sudden lump in his throat 'notifications? ' he immediately began to think the worst. "Is...he..umm" Tim asked.

"Oh, no sir. He's in the room across the hall. We found papers in his wallet stating who to notify in case of emergency, you're listed as his primary. I'm Dr. Snyder by the way, I'll be supervising his care while he's here " the young man stated, holding out his hand to shake.

Tim sighed with relief at the doctors explanation. With a raised brow he checked out the doctor, " you sure you're old enough son, you look about twelve"

The young man laughed, "Yes sir, I get that all the time. I'm actually twenty eight. Come with me and I'll explain what's happening with Chance"

"Is he awake?" Tim asked.

"No sir, he's unconscious due to sedation for the time being" he answered.

"Oh, I thought maybe because you first referred to him as Mr. Ray then by Chance that he'd asked you to call him that" Tim stated.

"I see how that could be confusing, but I was informed by your friend, Adam, to who he is" Snyder replied. Tim was thankful Adam was with him, having been ensuring Jake and Austin get evaluated he forgot for a moment that Chance wasn't alone.

Snyder walked Tim to the glass enclosure that surrounded his friend. A too familiar site as he observed the numerous IVs, monitors, and nurses that filled the room. "He's lucky to be alive, Tim. He's severely dehydrated and malnourished. His skin, as you can see, is sunburnt which added to the dehydration. And we found numerous abrasions and a laceration to the right side of his head. From what the flight medics reported, it appeared he suffered the injuries during the storm that caused him to become stranded on that island " Snyder stated.

Tim ran his hand through his hair, listening to the doctors findings, uneasy over his being unconscious. "I assume you are aware of his history, that Adam told you about his brain surgery a few years back"

"Yes, which is another reason I have him under sedation. He needs to rest, build his strength and other tests still need to be run. He's not out of the woods yet, but I anticipate a good recovery.  However, I'll be honest with you Tim. Had another few hours passed, we would not be having this discussion"

"Thank you, can I go in" Tim asked watching through the window.

"Absolutely. Is there anyone else we should contact" Snyder asked, opening the door to the room.

"No, I've contacted his family, they should be arriving soon. Where's Adam" Tim replied.

"He stepped out when we began setting up everything, said something about getting some air" Snyder replied.

Tim knew he should check on Adam but at the moment he felt the need to stay where he was. The nurses smiled as he walked over to the side of the bed, one even slid the chair over for him to sit next to his friend. The two walked out to give him a bit of privacy, stationed just outside his room should he need anything.

Tim looked at him, his facial features changed by the lack of food and water, reddened by the sun. Feeling a pang of guilt that he wasn't there for him like he'd promised, he took his hand in his, saying a silent prayer for forgiveness and strength.

"Not...your...fault" Chance barely whispered.