"Tell us everything!" George shouted.
"Medical records normally don't take long to get released! But for some reason your daughter's records didn't come out till now!" He sighed.
Ricky shook his head. "This can't be happening?!"
Doctor Worthly looked down. "I'm so sorry we couldn't find out sooner."
"I don't understand? What's going on? What changes everything?" Anne asked.
Doctor Worthly looked down at his desk and read the document out loud.
"On january 5th 2014, Miss Juergens got transmitted to New York ZION with abnormal scores. We found her in a state of unconsciousness. After doing several tests we found out she had Eclampsia. After more blood tests and tests where she failed to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, and sound; we described her as patient # 23 as comatose."
George stood up furiously and faced doctor Worthly, "Are you saying that my little girl landed in a coma which for some reason no one knew about?"
Doctor Worthly now also faced George and nodded carefully.
"According to the records, she was officially 20 hours in a state of unconsciousness; which is a coma!"
Anne started wiping upcoming tears away. She felt as if she failed as a mother. She felt like she had to know there was more to it, that her daughter's 'sleep' wasn't normal.
"Where does this news take us now?" Ricky asked, in a state of shock.
"Knowing that she was in a 20-hour coma, and that she did not have pre-eclampsia when she was admitted to the hospital, but Eclampsia; means that she walked with this illness a lot longer than you all where told. This means... " He swallowed carefully.
"... That you should all start praying."
George looked furiously. "So now you're telling us we need to pray instead of taking action?"
"What else can i say? I can't add anymore to this devastating news!" Doctor Worthly said while shaking his head.
"What else can you say?" George screamed. "You are the doctor! You should have done your job! And this counts too for those terrible doctors in New York!"
Doctor Worthly nodded and looked down. "I'm truly sorry Mr. Juergens. I really am. But the best we can do right now is for you to stick together with your family and hope for the best that your daughter and the baby will come out just okay. I'm not saying that your daughter and her baby will die! Not at all. But i AM saying that things can go wrong. There's a 50/50 % chance for them to survive.
But the important thing right now is to let the surgeons do their job and finish what they started!" He sighed carefully. And watched an angry George look at him as if he could not understand what he was saying.
"I can't stop this surgery! They're in the middle of it, you have to understand that."
"Oh, believe me. I understand, okay? I just think you don't understand what it means to be worried, scared and afraid of what might happen!"
"I understand. I completely understand!" Doctor Worthly said.
"Let me ask you something..." George asked with fierce looking eyes. "Are you a father?"
Doctor Worthly calmly shook his head. "No, i unfortunately am not."
"Than you don't understand!" George responded, as his final answer.
The doctor looked at his phone, his phone looked like it could explode at any time with the mentions that kept coming in. "Excuse me, i have to go. We'll keep you updated!" he looked worried and left in a hurry.
"Is everything okay?" Ricky asked. But before he could finish his sentences doctor Worthly already disappeared.
"Where is he even going, leaving us clueless behind?" Anne asked, worried.
George looked into the direction doctor Worthly ran to.
"Come." was the only thing he said right before he ran into the bright hallway.
"Why? What do you know?" Ricky asked, like he was missing something.
George looked furiously, but remained calm. He knew he couldn't do anything for his daughter and granddaughter. But he also knew the doctors weren't completely honest. They left them clueless behind. He just knew Doctor Worthly's emergency call had something to do with Amy. He felt bad for all of this. He blamed himself. If he hadn't screwed things up in the past, he would have had a home and a happy life...
...Happy kids.
Kids that were supposed to be kids for as long as possible. And not a kid with a kid.
Amy was already beautiful, successful and very kind. But she was naive, insecure and too young to make decisions on her own. "I should have been there more for her and Ashley, but in a different way." he thought.
If he knew about this before, they could have done something.
They could have changed circumstances. But now, circumstances changed them.
He looked around. The world slipping away. Trying to remain calm. He looked at a worried looking Ricky, probably the most worried he's ever seen him. Looking at Anne hurted him. Of course he could blame all of it on her because she turned out to be a lesbian. But he couldn't. Cause even though Anne has been a lesbian her entire life without them knowing about it did not change the fact that he cheated on her. He was the one that hurted her and their family. Looking at her hurted, because she was always struggling and giving things up for her family.
Anne silently started sobbing. "It's Amy, isn't it?" she silently asked.
George shook his head and released a little sigh. "I honestly don't know Anne! But i have a feeling it is."
Ricky stood frozen, pinned to the cold and hard floor.
"Do you guys mind, i have to go outside for a bit... to think things through... to sort things out."
He turned around and walked away from that hospital. It was dark outside and foggy. It was cold but not too cold. He felt like this was the last day to remember...
the last day to be afraid.
~
"Please, please forgive me,
But I won't be home again.
Maybe someday you'll look up,
And, barely conscious, you'll say to no one:
"Isn't something missing?"
- Missing by
Evanescence