Page 48 of The Do-Over
Thea sighed. “I just don’t know what to do,” she said. “How should I take care of him? I’m not qualified for this sort of thing.”
“Now that he’s home with you, he’s not really in any further danger,” Dr. Fitzgerald said. “You need to make sure he doesn’t do anything reckless—keep him off of bicycles and ladders, and he probably shouldn’t go upstairs—”
“My house is one story.”
“Okay, perfect. If he were to hit his head for a second time, that could have severe consequences. But other than that, just make sure he eats regularly, stays hydrated, and gets lots of rest.”
“And what about his memories?”
“They might come back on their own,” Dr. Fitzgerald said. “That happens in plenty of cases. You can start to introduce reminders of the parts of his life he’s forgotten if he’s up for that. A little bit at a time, of course—you don’t want to stress him out. Give him lots of breaks from that. Maybe one or two new things a day.”
“I don’t know what I’m doing,” Thea whispered.
“Yes you do,” Dr. Fitzgerald said firmly. “You’re a medical provider, Thea. You do this kind of thing all the time. You’re panicking right now because the patient is someone you know personally. That’s a normal response—that’s why we don’t treat our own friends and family, and it’s definitely not an optimal situation for you to be in. But it’s the only choice, and you are capable of it. I know you well enough to know that. I have complete faith in you here.”
“All right,” Thea said. She steeled herself. Dr. Fitzgerald was right. “I can do it. I can handle it.”
“That’s the spirit,” Dr. Fitzgerald said. “Now, when the roads are clear, bring him in for an exam, whether he’s getting his memories back or not. We do want to make sure there’s no more serious damage.”
“And in the meantime, is there anything I should be looking out for while I’ve got him here at home?”
“You know the signs of serious head trauma,” Dr. Fitzgerald said. “You want to make sure he’s able to maintain fine motor function—has he got that now?”
“He was drinking water from a glass earlier.”
“Yeah, that’s a good sign. Have him write his name later just to make sure. You can also monitor to see if he’s mixing up words or anything like that, or if he develops new gaps in his memory—if things start moving in the wrong direction on that front, that’s a red flag.”
“What should I do if any of those things happen? I can’t get him to a hospital.”
“I know,” Dr. Fitzgerald said, her voice full of sympathy. “If anything like that happens, call me back, and you and I will go from there, okay? Just let the nurse on duty know that it’s urgent and I’ll either take your call or call you back as soon as I can.”
“Okay,” Thea said. “Thanks, doctor.”
“Don’t worry, Thea. You’ve got this. I have complete faith in you.”
Thea ended the call and leaned on her porch railing, looking out at the gathering snow.
She could never have imagined when the day began that this was where it would end up—with Rob Honeycutt in her house, totally dependent on her.
Just seeing him again had been beyond strange. To actually have him here in her home…she didn’t know what to make of it.
She had to admit, it had been good to see him. In spite of everything, it was nice to see his face again.
What was more, he seemed happy to see her.
But that was just because of his memory loss. He couldn’t remember everything that had happened between the two of them. If he did remember, he wouldn’t be so pleased about being here with her. He would probably leave for a hotel immediately.
She wanted him to get his memories back, but she found herself hoping that they might have a little time together first. It would be nice to catch up.
She turned and went back into the house, taking care to be quiet. As she passed the spare room, she peeked in.
Rob was lying on his back and staring at the ceiling.
Thea wanted to go in and speak to him—to ask him how he was feeling. But she forced herself to give him his privacy and to walk on by instead.
