"Hey Doctor Huntzberger, I didn't expect to see you today!" Kimberly Watson said, looking up from her computer as Logan and Rory walked into her office. "It's Rory, right? How are you guys doing today? I hear your dad is doing really well."
"We are good, we are on our way up to see him, but I wanted to come talk to you first. I need to adjust my contact information and stuff. Rory and I got married a couple days ago, so I need to add her to all of my paperwork." Logan told her.
"Wow! Congratulations! We can definitely get Rory added! It's all really easy actually. All you have to do is log into your account on the employee website and add her right there. The only thing I need from you is a copy of your marriage license, and Rory's ID and social security card."
"I have those for you." Logan said handing Kimberly the paperwork she needed. "I also have a question, and you can feel free to tell me no."
"Excellent! Are these copies that I can have, or are they originals that you need me to make copies of?"
"They are copies that you can have. The originals we left at home."
"Perfect! What is your question?"
"Hypothetically, would it be possible to maybe drop down to part-time after I come back from leave?"
"What do you mean by part time?"
"I was thinking of maybe cutting back to only 3 days a week instead of the 5-10 days straight that I've been working."
"Well depending on how many hours you want to work, we wouldn't necessarily need to drop you down to part time. I know that you've been on a rotating schedule to help cover shifts and then you've also volunteered to be on call whenever you're needed, so you've been working some crazy hours. We can definitely move you to a more permanent schedule if you need to. We should have the coverage we need. How many hours were you thinking you wanted, because if you worked three 12 shifts, you would be getting 36 hours, which is still full-time. Keeping your full-time status keeps all of your benefits the same."
"Rory, what do you think about three 12 hour shifts?" Logan asked.
"That sounds great if that is what you want."
"I think it might be easier with helping you out at HPG. I can work 3 days here, then do another 3 at the office, and still have one day off to spend with just you. Isn't that what you were saying the other night?"
"Only if that is what you really want."
"You can always try it for a while, and if it doesn't work, we can adjust things again." Kimberly told them. "Why don't you talk to Doctor Greenley, and you guys can work out a schedule that works for everyone. Just e-mail me whatever you decide, and I will put it into the master schedule."
"I will definitely do that. Thank you so much for everything this week. We really appreciate everything that you and everyone else at this hospital has been doing for us."
"It's our pleasure. We are happy to have your dad here. Just let me know when you are ready to come back to work. I got your FMLA approved so you are eligible for up to 12 weeks of leave for the calendar year dating back to Wednesday of last week, and the days don't need to be consecutive. Just let me know what time you need off, and I will get it taken care of for you. The nice thing about working in health care is that we actually fully understand what it takes for a patient to recover from a heart attack. Your situation is definitely unique, but you still qualify for the time off."
"Thank you, I appreciate your help so much. I should only need one more week. I will let you know if it changes, but I am planning to get everything settled with my Dad's company this week, and then come right back to work. But having the schedule changed so I am only here 3 days a week will help so much!"
"Just talk to Doctor Greenley and e-mail me whatever you guys decide on. It really isn't a big deal at all."
"I will do that before we leave here today. I just have to go meet with my dad's care team, and get a plan together for him."
"Well you had better get going then. Let me know if there is anything else that I can do to help you."
"I will. Thank you Kimberly.
"You are very welcome. I am always happy to help. You guys have a great rest of the day."
"Thank you Kimberly, you as well." Rory smiled, then followed Logan out of the office. "So Babe, you decided to only work 3 days?"
"I've been thinking about what you said the other night, and you made some really good points, so I thought that maybe we could give it a try. Maybe running the company with you wouldn't be bad. I might actually really enjoy it. I do love being a doctor, but you're right, I'm pretty good at stepping up and running the show when I need to. So I'm going to adjust my schedule here at the hospital so I can spend time at the office helping you, and we'll see what happens from there. If I completely hate it, I can go back to my crazy ER schedule. But if I actually enjoy it, it gives me extra time with you, and spending time with you is my favorite thing in the world."
"I like spending time with you too, and I would love to have you with me at the office. But I don't want you giving up your medical career to spend your time at a company that you hate."
"You heard what Kimberly said. I'm not giving anything up right now." Logan told her as they stepped into the elevator. "All I am doing is adjusting my schedule."
"Promise me you will tell me when things get to be too much and you want out. I don't want you to sit there suffering just because I like looking at you."
"I promise, you will be the first to know." Logan said as his phone buzzed with a text message.
Just got to the hospital
Heads up
Mom is with me
"Crap!"
"What's wrong?" Rory asked.
"Honor just got here and Mom is with her." Logan explained as they exited the elevator and he quickly texted Honor a response.
Lovely
Just got to the CICU
Meet you in the waiting room
"I guess the care team meeting is about to get way more interesting."
"Unless I can manage to cut her out. I'm trying to think of who I can call to come babysit."
"I can stay with her."
"I won't put you through that."
"Logan, I don't mind. Maybe we can talk about wedding plans or something."
"Do you really want to get lectured without me there to stop her?"
"You think it'll get ugly?"
"Hasn't it always? I'm sure Honor has her on a short leash, but she's still Mom." Logan said as the elevator signaled its arrival behind them.
"Hey guys!" Honor smiled, stepping out of the elevator ,and reaching out to give Rory a hug.
"Logan, Sweetheart!" Shira said cheerfully, limping toward Logan and giving him a brief hug.
"Hi Mom. How was the spa?"
"It was lovely. So luxurious!"
"You should have stayed longer if you were enjoying it so much. There is no reason you should have to miss out."
"I can go back another time. I need to get back to Hartford today. I have several events coming up that I need to attend."
"Are you sure you want to go home? There isn't anyone at the house right now, I gave the staff time off while you and Dad are gone. I don't know if I can get anyone back there before tomorrow."
"Well you can call and ask them to go back, can't you?"
"Sure Mom. I'll call your maid service right now. Let me buzz you in to see Dad and I'll meet you in there." Logan told her, then moved toward the intercom buzzer on the wall.
"Can I help you?" a voice asked over the intercom.
"It's Doctor Huntzberger. My sister is here with my wife and my mother. Will you take them to see my dad in room 523 please, then let Doctor Levan know that I am here whenever he is ready?"
"No problem Doctor Huntzberger."
"Honor, will you take mom and Rory to see dad."
"I'll hang back with you." Rory told him.
"Of course! Come on Mom. Let's go see Dad." Honor said rolling her eyes in her mother's direction, as she took her arm to escort her to Mitchum's room.
"Your mom didn't even acknowledge me." Rory said once Shira was out of ear shot.
"I know. I'm sorry Ace. She is being Shira. I'll deal with her. I'm sure Honor is already ripping into her for it."
"You don't have to apologize for her. Maybe getting the silent treatment is actually a good thing."
"The funny part about the entire thing is that you actually have the power to completely cut her off right now, and she doesn't even realize it. You could take away every dime that she has and leave her a pauper."
"I'm not that vindictive."
"But you could. She needs to at least try to play nice."
"Are you going to let her go home?"
"I am actually going to call Frank right now and have him come get her. Hopefully I can keep her out of the meeting with the promise that Frank will be here any minute. But then I have to see if I can get her maid service to send someone to the house today."
"My grandma can probably make a call if you need her to."
"I might have to take you up on that if no one is available. I didn't expect mom to want to go back so soon."
"What can I do to help you?"
"Nothing at the moment, but thank you for asking." Logan said as he punched buttons on his phone, then moved it to his ear. "Hey Frank, it's Logan. Would you mind picking up my mother at Columbia Presbyterian and taking her back to her house in Hartford? . . . That would be great! I'll pay you double for dealing with her . . . Thankyou so much! I'll have her outside and ready." Logan said then ended the call, pushed a few more buttons, then raised the phone to his ear again. "Hi, this is Logan Huntzberger, I need to get service for my mother today if possible. I gave her staff time off after my dad had a heart attack last week and my parents have been out of town, but my mom is going back home today, and she can't function alone in the house . . . Yes, for Mitchum and Shira Huntzberger . . . Of course, that isn't a problem at all . . . Yes, she is heading home from New York City in the next half hour or so, so she won't be back for 2-3 hours . . . That is perfect! Thank you so much!" He said, then ended the call. "They are sending a staff to the house this afternoon, and Frank will be here in the next 30 minutes, so we just need to get mom back downstairs to meet him.
"You are an amazing son, even though your parents really don't deserve it."
"Thank you. Come on, let's go find Doctor Levan and see if we can push this meeting back until mom is gone."
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"Doctor Huntzberger, I was able to find several rehabilitation center options for your dad. Some are nicer than others, and most of them have openings available right away. We would just have to arrange for transport. You can take a look at this list and decide what to do from there." Doctor Levan said, passing Logan a list of rehab facilities.
"How soon is Dad able to fly after a heart attack?" Honor asked.
"We recommend waiting at least ten days, so I would wait until early next week. But we can definitely move your dad out of the CICU and into a regular room. I am even ok with giving him back a modified regular diet."
"Can we put him on the VIP floor?" Logan asked.
"I've already got a room being prepared."
"How is his therapy going?"
"It is going really well. He's been walking around the nurses station, and he starts full therapy this afternoon. We'll be getting him up on the treadmill and increase his endurance every day."
"Dad used to be a runner and play tennis, so he definitely has plenty of stamina." Honor commented.
"He used to run a 4 minute mile, right Rory?" Logan asked, squeezing her hand.
"Hey, don't pick on me!"
"Ok, I'm lost here?" Honor said, looking between them.
"I'll explain it later." Rory told her.
"What kind of diet do you want Dad on?" Logan asked.
"Low fat, low cholesterol, low carb, very minimal sugar."
"Healthy it is."
"Respiratory said that his breathing has been great, so we will wean down the oxygen and just keep monitoring him, especially while in therapy."
"That sounds great!"
"Is there anything else that you guys think we need to address?" Doctor Levan asked.
"Honor? Rory?"
"I can't think of anything." Honor answered.
"Me either." Rory agreed. "Oh wait, I do have a question. Logan and I got married the other day, and Logan called Mitchum with the news. How irate did it make him? Has his heart been ok since Saturday night?"
"We can pull his monitor records from the weekend, and go over them if you'd like. But we would have called you if there had been anything concerning come up on the monitor. If the heart rate gets into any kind of danger zone, it alerts the nurses right away with aloud alarm in both the room, and at the CICU nurses stations. It also would have sent me an email, and I haven't seen anything come through."
"Which means that your dad didn't flip out at all the way your mother did."
"That's interesting." Honor agreed. "How drugged is dad? Maybe we should bring up the wedding with Doctor Levan in the room ,just to make sure that Dad heard you, and just in case he has another heart attack."
"Normally we would advise the family to NOT do things to purposely stress out the patient." Doctor Levan told them.
"We didn't do it on purpose." Logan told him. "We should have been married 8 years ago. Nothing about our relationship should be surprising to anyone."
"Well congratulations. It sounds like it was about time."
"Thank you!" Logan told him
"Ok, so who wants to tell Dad that he's going to rehab?" Honor asked.
"I guess that means that I get to do it. Thanks Sis! I appreciate all the support!"
"Hey, at least I was excited about you running away to get married without me, which by the way, you owe me for!"
"Doctor Huntzberger, when are you coming back to work?" Doctor Levan asked.
"I have some business stuff to finish up this week, and then I need to get Dad to rehab, but I'll be back as soon as he's settled.
"Well all of the contact information is right there on the list of locations. Just decide where you would like him to go, and contact the location to get everything set up. Just let me know where you choose and what date you want to go, so I can get them your dad's medical records."
"I will do that. Thank you so much for all of your help. We appreciate it a lot."
"Not a problem. I've got some things to do, but let me know if you need anything else. I'll check in on your dad again later." Doctor Levan said as everyone got up from their seats. "You guys have a good day."
"Thank you, you as well." Honor said, as they followed Doctor Levan out of the room. "Let's go see Dad and get him ready to move to a new room."
"Honor, are you going to come look at houses with us today?" Rory asked.
"Now that I'm not stuck driving mom back to Hartford, I would be more than happy to! How great would it be for us to be neighbors?!"
"That would be so fun! We could hang out all the time."
"I would love that! I am so excited!" Honor told them.