Her head jerks in surprise, as if she didn’t expect me to remember the baby. “He’s good. Thank you for asking.”
“I th-thought you wor-rked at the ER?”
She smiles. “I did. I’m in the process of changing departments.” She nods toward the obstetrics department and whispers, “It feels like I’m back at school once again.”
I chuckle. “I can unders-stand.”
“Are you and Mrs. Teager here to see Dr. Allen?”
I nod.
“He’s actually in a meeting with a few other doctors from different departments. They’re all discussing a complicated case. I’m really sorry, but you might have to wait awhile.” Watching the solemn expression on her face, I decide not to remind her that we had an outstanding appointment.
“Okay. W-we’ll wait, then.” With slumped shoulders, I return back to the waiting room.
I’m filling a cup of water at the water fountain when I hear an excited female voice.
“It was a total surprise for us. We weren’t even trying.” She giggles and looks coyly back at her husband before turning to face Vienna. “How far along are you?”
My heart twists at the anxious expression on my wife’s face, but before she can even explain why she’s here, the enthusiastic lady squeals. “You aren’t showing much. Did you just take the test?”
There’s a true gleam on her face, and her hands are fisted close to her heart as if she’s remembering her early pregnancy days.
I walk forward, and Vienna’s gaze meets mine. The empty, scared expression in her eyes kills me.
I take a seat next to her. After grabbing her hand, I turn to the woman. “We’re here to s-see the neur-rologist.”
Her face blanches and her apologetic gaze shoots to Vienna. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize.”
For the first time this morning, there’s a smile on Vienna’s lips, but it’s so sad, that it hurts me more than her solemn expression. “It’s okay, and congratulations.” She tilts her head toward the woman’s pregnant belly before hiding herself in my arms.
After fifty fucking minutes that dragged on like hours, a nurse walks in and leads us to the doctor’s office.
Dr. Allen motions for us to take a seat. “Sorry for the delay. We had a critical case this morning. How are you feeling, Mrs. Teager?” He smiles at Vienna.
“Okay. I had a few episodes where I passed out, and one time, I wasn’t able to see for several seconds.” Her clutched hands rest on her lap. When I grab them, her ashen face slowly turns toward me. The quiver in her chin hits me with the force of several punches rolled into one.
Dr. Allen nods. “These are all symptoms of meningioma. I must tell you to look for a few other things. You might experience some headaches, especially in the mornings, maybe even a loss of smell, or forgetfulness. You’re already observing changes in your vision. Are you feeling any sort of loss in memory, like you’ve forgotten parts of conversations?”
Vienna slowly shakes her head, and my heart leaps up to my throat at her petrified face.
“Mrs. Teager, you’ll possibly experience bouts of dizziness and maybe even occasional seizures. I’d suggest you try to spend most of your time in some company.”
I grab Vienna’s cold hand tightly in mine. “D-do you have th-the biopsy report?”
“Yes. And there’s good news. The tumor is benign. You can relax a little.”
But I don’t feel Vienna’s body relaxing even an inch. She’s still sitting ramrod straight, taut as a bowstring.
Dr. Allen hits a button on his computer, and the LED screen on the wall comes to life. “The not so good news is that the tumor will have to be surgically removed.” He presses his lips together, and the grim look on his face doesn’t help my rabid heart. “I’m really sorry, but at this point, based on the location of the tumor, my gut says a neuroendoscopy wouldn’t work, and we might need a craniotomy.”
My grip on Vienna’s hand tightens as her worried gaze flutters to me. I hope with every fiber of my being that Dr. Allen stops here, but I know he won’t. He can’t. He has to explain everything to his patient in clear terms.
“A craniotomy would mean open brain surgery. In such cases, a bone flap or a hole is usually created that exposes the brain tissue.”
Vienna freezes before me, and my feet shake in fear for what’ll happen to her in the future and what’s happening to her now.
“I’m going to discuss your case with another specialist before I can be fully certain, but in any case, we’ll start your treatment, and you’ll have to visit for regular scans.”