Fred stopped by after class later that afternoon. “Hey there, Meghan.” He smiled, seeing her awake and alert. Meghan, on the other hand, looked horrified. “What happened to you?!”

Fred chuckled mirthlessly. “Broke my hand last night.”

“What?! How’d that happen?” She was truly concerned.

Fred pulled a chair closer to her bed and took a seat. “Well, after I got you safely into the ambulance, I tidied up the classroom, locked up and headed to my car. I put my briefcase in the backseat and proceeded to slam the door on my hand.”

Meghan cringed. “Ow! How’d you get to the hospital? Please tell me you didn’t drive yourself.”

Fred shook his head. “No, no. Brad and Jerry from the Fire Academy had walked out with me and came a-running. They bandaged me up, and Brad drove me to the ER.”

“I’m sorry, Fred. That just sucks.”

Fred smiled. “Yeah, it does. Especially since I had to field questions about it off and on all day in class.”

“You taught today?” Meghan seemed impressed. “What time did you get home last night?”

“Around 2:30 am. Brad picked me up from the hospital and came and got me this morning.”

“You owe that man a steak,” Meghan declared.

“Yes, he does!” Brad declared, entering her room, his partner Jerry following. “Hope you don’t mind us popping in.”

“Come on in! The staff might kick you out, but I won’t.” Meghan smiled softly.

“How are you feeling? Fred told us about what happened last night.”

“Better than I have been, although they’ve already put me through the ringer today. Being sick is not for the weak!”

Everyone chuckled at that. “Is there anything we can do for you? Anything we can bring?” Brad asked.

“A good book to read would be nice, maybe a word search book or Sudoku. Something to pass the time.”

“How long are you going to be here? Especially the ICU,” Jerry wondered.

“I have no clue,” Meghan said. “There’s a slew of tests over the next two or three days they want to do, and I have to be off of one of the now-crucial meds in order to get accurate results. So probably not until sometime after the testing is over.”

“Well, we’ll get out of your hair and let you rest. In case anyone else asks, are you open to visitors. I mean, I know we just kind of barged in here on ya and all…” Brad trailed off.

Meghan laughed. “I will take all the visitors I can get. That even includes you, Brad.”

“Glad to know that,” he agreed.

Soon, the three men said their goodbyes as it was obvious Meghan was fading towards sleep. Fred held back for a moment. “Meghan, I, ah, just wanted to say how glad I am that you’re okay and that they’re going to get you all fixed up. I’ve got everything under control at school, so you just focus on getting well.”

“Thanks, Fred. For everything, I mean,” she added, yawning.

He took that as a clue to leave. She was asleep soon after.

**********

Kelsey and Mitch visited late that afternoon, after both had gotten off work. “Meghan! How are you feeling?” Kelsey rushed to her sister’s bedside and gave her a hug, mindful of all of the wires and tubes.

“Not great,” Meghan admitted. “I felt better last night and this morning, but now I’m feeling pretty crappy again.”

“That’s understandable,” Mitch sympathized. “With the low cortisone level you presented with last night, having that supported and then taken away will leave you feeling crummy. Have they reduced the Levophed drip at all, that you know about?”

“We tried, but it didn’t go too well,” Dr. Kline said, entering the room. “How are you feeling, Meghan?”

“Sick,” she stated.

Dr. Kline gave her a wry smile. “Give us a couple days, kiddo, and we’ll have you feeling better.” He turned to Mitch and Kelsey. “How are you folks doing? I’m sure it’s hard seeing Meghan in the ICU again.”

“Considering what she’s been going through, I’m glad because I know she’s getting the care she needs,” Kelsey replied, looking at Mitch.

“What happened with the drip?” Mitch asked.

Dr. Kline motioned for them to step out of the room, but Meghan interrupted. “Please, talk in here. I want to be in the know of my health.”

Mitch chuckled. “If you haven’t learned already, Meghan is a paramedic. Trying to keep her health status a secret from her is a lesson in futility.”

Dr. Kline shook his head. “Sorry, Meghan. I’m used to patients who are either out of it or family that prefers to keep the patient in the dark. Let’s sit down, then, shall we?”

“As you know, Meghan had what we suspect was an Addisonian crisis last night. She came to us with both a Levophed drip and a hydrocortisone drip. Dr. Woodruff weaned her off of the hydrocortisone drip this morning so we can do some challenge studies over the next 3 days. She’s been to both MRI and CT for scans. I don’t have the results of those back yet.

“After conferring with my colleagues, we decided to put in a central line, and that was done this morning, which was followed by the MRI. We went to switch the Levophed drip over to the central line after she came back to the ICU. Let’s just say that the two minutes it took was enough for her blood pressure to drop like a rock into the 60s systolic, and things got rather exciting around here for a few minutes.” Dr. Kline cleared his throat.

“Oh, my!” Mitch responded. “She’s holding steady now, correct?”

“Yes,” Dr. Kline reassured him. “But it’s going to be a while longer on the drip before we can wean her off.”

**********

The next few days were rather monotonous for Meghan. The CT scan had been done later in the afternoon during her first day in ICU, and the next three days were hallmarked with lab studies, other tests, and a lot of medications. They were slowly being able to lower the Levophed in tiny increments, but any significant decrease in dosage sent her blood pressure into a free fall.

She had a lot of visitors, as word spread of her hospital stay. Meghan was thankful for the visits, as they kept her from going stir-crazy just staring at the walls and listening to the sounds of the ICU.

Dr. Kevin Meyers showed up Saturday around 1:30. “Knock, knock.” He entered her room and smiled as he sat down a vase of flowers.

“Hi there,” Meghan replied, looking at the flowers. “How’d you manage to sneak flowers into the ICU?”

“They aren’t real,” he chuckled. “I have a florist friend who helped me make a trip to Hobby Lobby and arrange them. I try to be creative when the situation warrants.” He pulled a chair over close to her bed and sat down. “How are you feeling?”

“Not great,” she admitted. “I’ve got one more day of testing, and then they’re supposed to put me back on the cortisone. I never thought I’d be looking forward to a medication so much, pain meds included.”

Kevin chuckled. “So, have they indeed determined that you have Addison’s?”

“Yes,” Meghan sighed. “They did the ACTH stimulation study yesterday. The tests today and tomorrow are fine-tuning the source of the cortisol issue.”

“I’m glad they at least know what is going on, even if you’re having to wait for cortisol replacement so they can finish the tests.” Kevin crossed his legs and settled back in the chair. “Listen, I know we were supposed to go on a date today, but I think we need to postpone it.” He smiled.

“Yeah, I think I’m going to need a raincheck,” Meghan replied. “I’m rather indisposed at the moment.”

“Are they at least letting you choose the menu for your meals?”

“Yeah, Dietary was by yesterday,” Meghan confirmed. “I’m glad for that. I tend to shy away from their mystery meat selections.”

Kevin laughed. “I’ve seen some of those patient trays. I almost want to gag, myself! How they expect anyone to eat that is beyond me.”

Kevin stayed for another half an hour, chatting about life and getting to know Meghan a little better. By the time he left, he felt like he had a firmer grasp on who she was, and he liked what he found. Meghan, on the other hand, felt confused. She saw him as polite, funny, and smart, but just didn’t feel like there was much of a basis for connection outside of work-related topics.

Rick Brant, on the other hand, came to visit Meghan every day. He brought her a couple of word puzzle books and a pack of colored pens to work them. A couple of the myriad of greeting cards she was accumulating were from him, and he brought her another bouquet of faux flowers that Saturday afternoon.

“Hmm. I see I wasn’t the only one to think about the fake flowers,” he observed, setting his bouquet down on her nightstand.

“No, but that’s okay. More pretty – and legal – flowers to look at and admire,” Meghan said.

“How are you feeling?” Rick pulled up a chair and sat down.

“Out of it. Feeling a little lightheaded, but my blood pressure is where it’s supposed to be, so I guess it’s just the low cortisol. I’ll be glad when they do the last test tomorrow and can start the cortisol up again.”

“I can imagine! And how’s the leg?” he asked, referring to the sutures he put in the previous week.

“Fine but itchy.” Meghan stretched. “I think I’m supposed to have someone remove the sutures next week.”

“Care if I take a look?” Rick asked.

“Go ahead.” Meghan gestured to her leg. Rick stood, uncovered her right leg, and grabbed some gloves from a nearby box.

“One sec, Meghan.” Rick stepped out of her room for a moment and spoke with a nurse at the desk before returning to her room. He pulled a pair of bandage scissors from a pocket of his labcoat and cut the bandaging encircling her calf, exposing the suture site. “Have they been doing any wound care while you’ve been here?”

“Not a lot,” Meghan answered, trying to take a peek at her leg. “Why? Is there an issue?”

“No, there’s nothing wrong,” Rick hurried to assure her. “I am just surprised that they’ve kept it wrapped up as it was.”

Meghan’s nurse came into the room with the supplies Rick had requested. “Do you need assistance, Dr. Brant?”

“Let’s just cover the sutures with antibiotic ointment and gauze. She doesn’t need the heavy bandaging on this.” Rick applied a strip of antibiotic ointment to the suture line and placed a line of gauze pads over the site, securing them down with tape. He stripped off his gloves as the nurse cleaned up, covering Meghan’s leg back up with the blankets. “It’s looking good, Meghan. Someone should be able to remove the sutures Tuesday or Wednesday for you.”

“Thanks, Rick. I appreciate it. So, how’s work today? Did you sneak off to see me from rounds, or do you wear scrubs even when you’re not on duty?” Meghan gently teased.

“Unfortunately, this is a call weekend, and I just finished a femoral repair.” Rick sighed. “It’s never easy with an elderly patient. Their bones can become so brittle.”

“Well, I’m certain that with your expertise, the patient will recover just fine,” Meghan reassured.

“I appreciate your vote of confidence,” Rick said, smiling.

“Well, you’ve fixed me up how many times now? And I’m still in one piece.” She smiled.

“This is true,” he mused. “Oh! Thought you’d like an update on the fire trainee.”

“Yes, please!”

“He should be going home Monday. His knee is still a little iffy, but unless something goes wrong, I think we’ll be able to avoid needing to do a total knee replacement. He has a lot of therapy ahead of him, though.”

“That’s great news! I’ll have to pass that on to Fred the next time I see him.” Meghan yawned.

“Well, I think you’re ready for a nap, and I’d probably better go check on my patient in Recovery. Take care, and page me if you need anything.” He squeezed her hand and left.