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“Sorry I took so long,” Eve apologized. “Gary Goldstern takes extra care to hinder my work whenever possible.”
“Dr. Goldstern doesn’t seem like much of a person,” Laura said.
“Yeah, well, he may have possibly saved your son’s life,” Eve said.
“What do you mean?”
“Dr. Goldstern discovered a lesion on Lucky’s brain. Since he discovered it, it’s possible that we can correct the problem swiftly with surgery.”
“Surgery?” Laura asked, shocked. “Do you really think that’s necessary? I mean, he’s been through so much—“
“Do you want your son to live?” Eve asked shortly.
“Of course I do!” Laura exclaimed.
“Then I suggest you sign your approval and let Goldstern take care of the rest. He may be an arrogant bastard, but he’s also a wonderful surgeon and could be the only thing keeping Lucky alive.”
Laura glanced down again at Lucky, then sighed. This was not going to be easy. “Alright,” she said at last. “Do you have any papers for me to sign?”
“Dr. Goldstern has them,” Eve replied. “He’ll be Lucky’s surgeon, so all the paper work goes through him.” She paused a moment, staring at Lucky’s still form. “You’re making the right choice,” she said after a while. She watched Laura and Lucky for another moment, then walked out of the room.
“I hope so,” Laura whispered, kissing her son’s forehead. She got up slowly, and left Lucky alone in the cold hospital room. She took a step into the ICU corridor, and immediately spotted Liz sitting with her grandmother a few feet away. She crossed over to them, a brave smile on her lips. “Good evening, Elizabeth,” she said pleasantly.
Liz smiled back weakly, her worry apparent. With a prompt from Audrey, she opened her mouth to speak. “What’s wrong with him?” she asked. Laura did not respond. “They got the test results back, didn’t they? From yesterday?”
“Yes,” Laura responded slowly. “It’s not good, honey.” She warned calmly. “They’re going to have to operate.”
Liz choked back a sob, biting her lip painfully. “Oh god,” she whispered through sudden tears.
Laura reached out to take the girl’s hand, and clasped it firmly in her own. She stared down at Liz’s white knuckles for a moment, then looked into her eyes. “He’s going to be fine,” Laura said, but found herself doubting her own words.
“Mrs. Spencer?” a masculine voice asked from behind.
Laura’s head whipped up to find the source of the voice, then widened as they fell on the man standing before her. “Yes.”
“Nice to meet you,” the man said and grinned, displaying a fine row of white teeth. Laura could not help but smile as she took in the young man. He was well built; obviously very muscular, but still thin, and was only slighter taller than she. He was one of the best looking men she had seen, and yet—young. She shook the cobwebs gathering in her brain as she realized the age difference
“Of course,” Laura responded finally. She extended a white hand, and felt a slight chill pass through her body as the young man shook it.
“I’m Dr. Goldstern,” the man said to Laura’s shock. “I’ll be your son’s surgeon.”
“You?” Laura sputtered. “I’m sorry, I was expecting some one a little—“
“Older? Yeah, I get that a lot. People can’t seem to believe that people under 30 can actually achieve anything. I work my ass off to get a decent position at this hospital, and nobody wants to take me seriously.”
“No. I didn’t mean—“
“It’s quite alright, Mrs. Spencer. I worked hard to get this job, and I won’t let anything discourage me from doing my job. It’s my responsibility to save Lucky’s life, and I have every intention of doing it.”
Laura smiled gratefully. “Thank you,” she said simply.
“Surgery?’ Liz asked suddenly, leaning forward. “Why surgery? What’s wrong with Lucky, doctor? I have to know! Nobody will tell me anything except that something’s wrong with him, but I have no idea what!” She glanced over at Audrey for a short moment, then glared at Goldstern. “I’m tired of being lied to,” she said at last. “Everyone keeps saying Lucky will be just fine, but then you go and say you have to save his life. What happens if you don’t operate? What’s going on?”
Goldstern took the girl’s appearance in for a moment, then smiled brightly. “Well, you see, your brother—“
“Boyfriend,” Liz interrupted.
“I’m sorry?”
“He’s my boyfriend,” Liz said irritably.
“Right. Sorry,” Goldstern muttered, then his smile returned. “Well, Lucky seems to have suffered a cruel blow to his head, and this has caused a lesion to form on his frontal lobe. We can operate to remove the lesion and hopefully prevent any further damage to his brain.”
“What kind of damage?” Liz persisted. She was determined to pull out any information the doctor knew.
“Extensive,” Goldstern replied shortly. “If we don’t operate, and soon, the lesion can cause permanent paralysis, blindness, or even render him into a perpetual coma. I believe his seizure yesterday was directly caused by the lesion, and many more could occur. The brain is a very sensitive area Miss—“
“Elizabeth Webber.”
“—Webber. One brain injury can set off a whole series of complications in a person.”
“So he’ll die without the operation?”
“Eventually. We aren’t talking about anything immediate, Elizabeth. The damage wouldn’t become evident until several days after he awoke. If he awoke,” he added glumly.
“So the coma could be caused by the lesion?” Liz asked quickly.
“It’s quite possible, yes. There isn’t a lot of evidence to suggest that, but there are a lot of mysteries when it comes to the brain.”
“And he might wake up after the lesion is removed?” Liz asked hopefully, ignoring the doctor’s added comments.
Goldstern cracked another smile, and patted Liz gently on the shoulder. “Could be,” he said.
Liz smiled and reached out to embrace the startled doctor. “I don’t care what Dr. Lambert says,” she said, her voice muffled by his shoulder. “I think you’re the best thing to happen to this hospital.”
Goldstern laughed and drew away from Liz, a smile lit across his face.
“Thank you,” he said. “I’m glad to hear someone else realizes that.” He
smiled briefly at Laura and Audrey, then turned to exit the room. “I need
you to prep Lucky for surgery,” he said to Eve, who stood in the open doorway
to Lucky’s room. “I’ll meet you at ten o’clock in the OR.” The women watched
in shocked silence as he turned on his heel and left the room.
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