said.
“What? You’re leaving?” Joseph asked, his heart picking up speed.
“We’re not going anywhere today, Joseph. But I have faith Katherine will be just fine,” Dr. Raul said.
With that, Spence led Joseph through the hospital, the other two doctors turning down an opposite hallway.
“I’m scared,” Joseph admitted to Spence. “I can’t keep seeing my wife so beat up.”
“I know, Joseph, this entire situation is impossible to deal with. But you have to remember that you have dealt with it. You’ve been strong for Katherine for a long time now. I know you’ll make it to the endzone with her,” Spence said.
“I’ll always make it to the finish line with my wife,” Joseph said.
“She will make it out of this, Joseph. I have faith,” Spence said. “She’s made it through everything else, including you giving her some of her beautiful white hair with the craziness you’ve pulled through the years. You have to continue to stay strong as she goes through recovery. When you need to scream, do it away from her. And it is okay to scream, to cry, to rant at the world. You can’t always hold it in, because then it becomes a risk to your own health.”
Joseph gave him a semblance of a smile. “When have you ever known me to hold anything in?” Joseph asked as they stopped in front of a curtain in the ICU.
“That’s a very good point,” Spence said. Then he held Joseph’s hand. “There are no chairs in there, but there are many machines. You get ten minutes, which is five more than most people get. We have to be strict on this, Joseph. Wash your hands right here, then sanitize them, then do it one more time. We need to keep Katherine safe. We have strict protocols for her right now.”
“I’ll do whatever it takes,” Joseph said.
Spence nodded to a nurse who brought a gown, gloves, and mask for Joseph. He spent five minutes scrubbing his hands, then put on the protective gear, the items barely fitting him. He’d put on a suit of armor if it meant he could be with his wife for even thirty seconds.
He went in and stood next to Katherine, having to clutch his fingers to keep himself from touching her, from pulling her up into his arms. Her face was pale, her body looked frail, and she wore a giant bandage on her head. It was wrong, it looked so damn wrong.
“You’ll come back to me again, my love,” Joseph said, his voice choked. “I know you’ll come back to me again.”
His time was up far too quickly, and Joseph walked from her small room defeated. He moved with slow steps as he made his way back to his family. He wasn’t leaving that hospital, not that day, and not the next. He wasn’t leaving without his wife.
He only got to visit one more time that night for another brief ten minutes, but the staff was optimistic, saying her vitals were great, and she was showing signs of trying to wake up. He said prayer after prayer.
That night turned into the next morning, and then another day went by, all with Katherine’s vitals growing stronger by the minute. After three days she’d been somewhat conscious a few times, but didn’t remember waking each new time she did. She was moved to a larger room, still being monitored closely but not needing to be in ICU any longer. That was more of a positive step than he could’ve hoped for so soon.
Joseph stepped inside her room on the third day, grateful he no longer had to wear gloves, ecstatic he could finally touch her hand.
He stepped up to her bed, took a seat in the waiting chair, and gently grasped her hand, nearly shaking with the happiness of getting to touch her again. Joseph hadn’t gone three days without feeling her skin since the day they’d been married. He prayed he never had to do it again.
Her eyes fluttered, and her monitor beeped. Joseph’s heart skipped a beat.
“Katherine?” he whispered. “My love, I’m here.” Her eyes fluttered again, and then they opened, her beautiful blue eyes glazed but looking his way. “I love you,” he told her.
It was several heartbeats before he heard her voice. “I love you,” she said, her words raspy, but absolutely beautiful. He smiled, his heart enlarging, his nose tingling as he fought tears.
“I love you so very much, my beautiful wife,” he said again. He’d say it a million times a day,