used to say, âNever trouble trouble till trouble troubles you.â Right now itâs very early days and we need to see how you respond to the initial treatmentâand, as I said, if the steroids donât help, there are other treatments we can try. Remember, thereâs more than a sixty per cent chance youâll either make a full or a partial recovery.â
âAnd what if I donât recover?â Judy asked quietly.
âThen youâll learn to adapt,â Erin said. âYouâd be surprised how quickly people adapt to a new situation.â
âI guess you see a lot of that, here,â James said. âWith people whoâve broken their back and what have you.â
âWe do,â Erin confirmed. âIâm not saying itâs going to be easy, and a lot of people on this unit do suffer from depression as well as from the physical problem that brought them here in the first place, but weâre here to help you as much as we can. We can give you lots of support and help.â She smiled at them. âAnd you have each other.â
âBut this isnât what you signed up for,â Judy said to James.
âYes, it is. âIn sickness and in healthâ,â he corrected. âYouâre still the woman I fell in love with and married. And weâre going to get through this, Jude. Together.â
âIâll leave you to talk,â Erin said. âBut if you have any questions, please come and find me. Thatâs what Iâm here for, OK?â
Judy nodded, clearly too upset to speak, and Erin left the room.
She sat in the office, writing up her notes, but it was so hard to concentrate. Judy was clearly worried that she wouldnât recover and then her husband would leave her. And, although James had reassured her, the whole thing had brought back a lot of painful memories for Erin. The early days after Mikeyâs accident, when his girlfriend had walked out, leaving him devastated...
At the rap on the door, she looked up. Nate was leaning against the door jamb. âAre you OK?â he asked.
âSure,â she fibbed.
He raised his eyebrows. âI need a word. Can I borrow you for a bit?â
âOK.â
âLetâs go to the canteen.â
She frowned, but closed her file and followed him. He bought them both a coffee and cake, and found them a quiet table.
âWhatâs the cake for?â she asked.
âYou look as if you need to talkâand someone very wise once told me that cake makes everything better.â
She smiled at him, recognising her own words. âThanks. I probably just need cake.â
âSo whatâs sauce for the gander isnât sauce for the goose, then?â
He had a point, she supposed. But the words stuck in her throat.
âFor the record, I donât gossip, either,â he said gently.
She gave him a wry smile. âIâd pretty much worked that one out for myself.â
âSo whatâs upsetting you?â
She took the easy way out. âJudy Watson.â
âThe lumbar puncture showed more than inflammatory markers?â he asked.
She shook her head. âNo, itâs definitely TM. I talked her through the prognosis, but sheâs not adjusting very well to the idea of not being able to walk, even for a few weeks. She thinks her husbandâs going to leave her.â
âPeople adjust to their situationsâand sometimes they surprise themselves by how well they cope,â he said.
She had a feeling that he was talking about his own situation, too. âIâm going to put her in touch with a support group. But this is the really hard bit, coming to terms with whatâs happened and what it might mean for the futureâand for her relationship.â
âThis sounds personal, not just about a patient,â he said softly. âAm I right in guessing that youâve been here before?â
âNot with TM.â
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