from the trio of doctors. He looked from Spence to the other two, and then zeroed back in on Spence, who he’d known since the day he was born.
“She’s alive, Joseph, let me start by saying that,” Spence said.
“Dammit, Spence, don’t give me doctor talk,” Joseph thundered. “This world can’t survive without Katherine in it. The planet will simply stop spinning. I don’t want doctor talk. I want answers . . . right . . . now. I want my wife.”
“Mr. Anderson, the surgery went better than expected,” Dr. Manstein said, taking the lead. “The tumor has shrunken with the treatments she’s been on for the last few months. Her stats were great throughout the surgery, and we’re confident she’ll make a full recovery.”
There were relieved sighs from the group behind Joseph, but no one said a word as they continued to listen. Joseph didn’t focus on his family because he absolutely didn’t like the hesitation in the doctor’s voice. There was something he wasn’t telling Joseph, but Joseph couldn’t figure out what that was.
“Please, for the love of all that’s holy, just tell me what you don’t want to tell me,” Joseph spat.
Spence took over. “She’s in critical condition at the moment, Joseph. This isn’t unusual when a patient has gone through a traumatic surgery like Katherine has. We’re going to keep her in the ICU for the remainder of the night where she has twenty-four-hour monitoring. This isn’t as bad as it sounds. But we need to warn you that she’s hooked up to a lot of machines, and there’s a large bandage wrapped around her head. She’s going to be showing some bruising. I know there’s not a chance we’ll keep you away from her, but you can’t overreact.”
“I’ve changed your damn diapers, Spence, don’t you dare stand there and tell me not to overreact,” Joseph said, tears stinging his eyes. He wanted to bash his way through the halls of the hospital and force his wife to be okay. There’d never been a problem he hadn’t been able to solve, and he didn’t like any major event to be out of his hands. It was driving him slightly crazy.
“What’s next, Dr. Manstein?” Lucas asked as he stepped up beside Joseph.
“I can answer that,” Dr. Raul said. “We’re watching for swelling in the brain right now, which is our biggest concern when brain surgery is performed. Even if there’s swelling, she could have lucid moments, and be in and out of consciousness. We want to monitor that very closely as symptoms don’t always present but can move swiftly and be deadly. As long as we’re on top of it, we can fix it if that occurs.”
“How long is she in danger?” Lucas asked. Joseph found his throat too tight to speak.
“The next forty-eight hours are critical. But you have the best of the best working on your wife and mother, and the staff here care about their patients. There won’t be any missteps. I can say with a lot of confidence that we got the full tumor and you’ll be sitting together next year at this time, relieved this is all over,” Dr. Manstein said.
A tear slipped from Joseph’s eye, and he quickly wiped it away as he cleared his throat.
“Can I please see my wife?” Joseph asked, his voice unusually subdued. It was next to never for him to beg, but he was pleading with these men to get his eyes on Katherine. He didn’t want to bully them into doing his bidding as he had great respect for them. He only wanted to be with her.
Spence reached out and touched his arm. “Yes, we’re going to take you back there, but only you for now, Joseph. We don’t want to risk infection so we’re going to have you suit up. And this first visit is going to be short. She has bandages, but there are open cuts on her head and we want to keep her as safe as possible.”
“I understand,” Joseph replied. “I do appreciate how well you’re taking care of her.”
“Joseph, you know how much this entire hospital loves and appreciates you and your family,” Spence told him. “Katherine’s our top priority.”
“We’ll be here when you get out, Dad,” Lucas said, patting Joseph on the arm before stepping back.
“We’re going to be here for the next twenty-four hours to monitor your wife, and then we have to get back to our hospitals, but she’s in capable hands with the staff here,” Dr. Manstein