17-Year-Old Immigrant Teenager Fights for Her 8-Year-Old Asthma-Stricken Son After Her Close Friend Hides His Inhaler as Punishment, Leading to Emergency 911 Hospitalization and $45,000 Medical Ext...
The fluorescent lights of the ICU ward hummed above Toby’s bed, casting a sterile glow on his pale face. He lay under a clear oxygen canopy, a soft, rhythmic hiss filling the small room. His chest still rose and fell too rapidly, but the wheezing had lessened.
My phone vibrated relentlessly in my pocket. Chloe. Auntie Rose. Uncle Bao.
I ignored them all. Toby was all that mattered right now.
I smoothed the hair from his forehead, my thumb tracing the faint scar above his eyebrow from a childhood fall. He was so small, so vulnerable. I couldn’t leave him.
Dr. Aris Thorne, a tall woman with kind eyes and tired lines around them, entered the room. She carried a clipboard.
“Toby’s stable for now, Maya,” she said, her voice gentle. “He responded well to the nebulizer treatment and corticosteroids.”
A small wave of relief washed over me, so potent it almost buckled my knees.
“Thank you, Doctor,” I whispered, my throat tight.
She looked at me, her expression serious. “We need his full medical records, though. We typically get them from the family, but the information in that locked box was minimal.”
“What?” I asked, confused. “It’s supposed to be everything.”
“It’s a very old, almost empty, emergency file,” Dr. Thorne explained, tapping her pen on the clipboard. “It confirms his asthma diagnosis, but nothing about current medications, his last pulmonologist visit, or any recent triggers.”
My heart sank. Chloe had lied. The box was just a decoy.
“Without that, we’re essentially starting from scratch,” Dr. Thorne continued. “It makes managing his long-term care here much harder. We can treat the acute crisis, but predicting and preventing future attacks without a full history is difficult.”
She paused, looking at me directly. “Are those records at home, Maya? We need them as soon as possible. His treatment plan could be seriously derailed without them.”
My mind raced. Chloe must have taken the real records. She knew how important they were. This wasn’t just about hiding an inhaler; it was about weaponizing Toby’s health. I couldn’t call Chloe, that would be exactly what she wanted. I couldn’t leave Toby alone. But I had to get those files.
More Stories
+ There are no comments
Add yours