Chapter 21

So I'm sorry that I may have to leave you hanging on this chapter for a bit. I have family coming into town this next week and a lot of things going on so I don't know that I'll be updating for a while. I swear I'll do my best to make sure it's not too terribly long before I update again. I just also want to say thanks so much to everyone for reading this and commenting. I really appreciate it all!










I walked out of my bedroom at 7:00 at night, just really getting out of bed for the first time. For some reason I had been really tired and just couldn’t bring myself to get up. I’d been napping on and off all day, and stayed in bed watching TV the rest of the time. The only reason I even got up at all was to make my way to the living room to watch the Pens play the Lightning.

I grabbed some of the dinner that Hailey had made and ate while we watched pre-game. Once the game started I began to wake up a little. Apparently that didn’t last too long. I felt myself being shaken awake and opened my eyes to see Kelly giving me a strange look.

“Tanner, are you okay? You never fall asleep during games,” she asked.

“I don’t know what’s up with me. I’m just kind of tired, that’s all. I must be getting sick.”

I struggled to keep my eyes open for the rest of the game. Honestly I couldn’t tell you who ended up winning. I went back to bed as soon as the game was over, not even staying to see if they interviewed Sidney after.

The next day I woke up feeling a little better and forced myself out of bed. I made my way to the kitchen and made some lunch. As I made my way into the living room, plate and glass in hand, I caught my toe on the floor. While I managed to stay upright, I dropped the plate and glass to the floor. I groaned as I cleaned it up and made myself a new lunch.

As I lounged on the couch I fell asleep again, only to wake up to Lisa shaking me. Obviously still not feeling any better I retreated back to my room for the rest of the day. The next day didn’t go any differently. I couldn’t seem to stay awake for more than an hour or two at a time, and I was especially clumsy with things.

“Can you come over when you get home?” I asked Sidney over the phone after they beat the Panthers.

“Sure, Babe. Are you still not feeling okay?” he asked.

“Not really, no.”

Not long after I hung up, I started feeling a throbbing in my head. Great, now a headache. Fantastic. I curled up in bed and fell asleep almost immediately. At some point in the night I felt Sidney get in bed next to me, but I hardly acknowledged him before falling back to sleep.

“Good morning,” he said when I rolled over and looked at him upon waking up.

“Hi,” I responded, smiling. He leaned down and kissed me. My head still hurt, and now it was worse than it had been the night before.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, looking concerned.

I shrugged and was about to respond when I bolted out of bed and into the bathroom. I barely made it to the toilet in time to throw up. Sidney followed me in and sat on the floor with me, rubbing my back. Each time I thought I was done, I would throw up again. After half an hour kneeling on the floor I finally stopped. I went to grab a tissue and knocked the entire box off of the counter.

“Sid, I have to go to the hospital,” I told him.

“Tanner, you just have the flu,” he replied. I shook my head adamantly.

“No, you don’t understand. I’ve been really clumsy, and that’s not like me at all. I can’t stop sleeping, and I have a headache. I haven’t had a headache since I was 12 years old. I just don’t get them. Something’s wrong. What if it’s some sort of complication from the coma or the accident or something?”

He sighed and agreed to take me. We got to the hospital and I explained what was going on to the ER nurse. I got a room almost immediately, and I knew it was probably only because I had Sidney with me. A doctor came in not long after, and I had to explain everything all over again.

I went through a barrage of tests such as eye movement, hearing, and balance. When this was done he decided that he wanted to do some more testing. I was scheduled for a CT scan and a Lumbar puncture. I told Sidney he could leave and I’d call him when everything was complete, but he refused to leave my side. Most of the day was spent waiting around in a room until it was time to do each test. Then it was more waiting to get the results back.

“Geez, Tanner, this is the most exciting day of my life,” Sidney said sarcastically.

“Ha, because this is definitely my idea of a good time,” I retorted.

He smiled and kissed my forehead. As I was there my headache began to fade and I started to wonder if maybe I’d panicked for no reason. I realized I was hungry and sent Sidney to search out something for us to eat. He came back bearing chicken fingers and fries.

“Sorry, not much looked appetizing,” he apologized when he saw the look on my face. I shrugged and ate the food hungrily, despite the poor taste and cold temperature. Not long after I fell asleep.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” he asked when I woke up.

“A little better. Did they say what’s wrong with me?” I asked.

He just shook his head and we continued to wait. Another doctor came in and said he wanted to do an MRI and he took me to the room immediately. He still wouldn’t tell me what was going on with me, and I began to get really worried.

After the MRI I fell asleep again. I just couldn’t stay awake. When I woke up Sidney was still sitting in the same chair. I sighed as tears fell from my eyes. I was now officially terrified. When the nurse saw that I was awake she told me she’d send the doctor in to see me. When I asked her if they knew anything she just shook her head and left the room. That didn’t seem like a good sign. Eventually a doctor made his way in.

“Miss Falco, we’ve discovered what the problem is,” he told me. I could tell by the look on his face that the news wasn’t good. I wasn’t at all prepared for the outcome he gave me.