Punk Rock-A-Bye Baby(42)

They came to a long corridor that contained private rooms with glass walls, and Jessi quickened her pace. She and Angel were leading the way now, frantically peering into each room for Tommy. At last, the brilliant hue of his long, blond hair caught her eye. “Over here!”



Brain surgery. Those were the two words that haunted Tommy. He stared at the fluorescent light above his bed and wondered how the hell this could have happened. He didn’t hear much else after the doctor mentioned an aneurysm clip. It was too much to comprehend, and he wanted the comfort of Jessi and Angel beside him before he heard any more details about the seizure he had suffered on stage. He slowly shook his head from side to side. Why? Why did this have to happen? Was his life too perfect? Was a loving wife, an adoring man, and the blessing of a new baby too much happiness for one person? It wasn’t himself he worried about. It was his unborn son.

The door to his room burst open and Jessi and Angel bolted to his side. A soft smile spread across Tommy’s lips at the sight of the two loves of his life, and he extended his arms toward them. They both clung to him. Jessi began to whimper, and by the way the other side of the bed shook, he knew Angel was quietly weeping as well.

Tommy fought the wave of emotions that were brought on by the relief of finally seeing Angel and Jessi. He needed them – now more than ever. He held them as tightly as he could and squeezed his eyes shut. He was fucking scared.

The door clicked, and the doctor stood before them. Angel and Jessi slowly withdrew from Tommy’s embrace with red, watery eyes. They each held one of his hands and settled next to him on the bed. He was sandwiched in the middle, just the way he liked it.

“How is he?” Jessi’s voice was still shaky. “Why did he collapse?”

“Well,” the doctor began, “He had a mild seizure which we believe was brought on by a minor head trauma. His brain is still healing from the injury he suffered during the plane crash.”

“So it was just a seizure? Just an isolated incident because he hit his head?” Jessi sounded hopeful.

She had no idea what was coming.

The doctor glanced at Tommy before he answered. “Yes. And no. As long as he rests and allows his brain to properly heal, he should be fine. But we saw something we didn’t like on the CT Scan.”

Tommy felt the tension in both Jessi and Angel’s hands.

“So we ordered an MRI,” the doctor continued. “There’s a ballooning of the anterior communicating artery, and we need to put a clip on it. It’s small and may never pose a problem, but we don’t want to play around with something as dangerous as an aneurysm.”

The news sounded so much worse now that Jessi and Angel were here to react to it.

Angel lowered his head, covered his eyes with one hand, and pressed Tommy’s fingers to his trembling lips.

Jessi continually blotted the corners of her eyes. Although she sat with her back straight and tried to put on a brave face, the tears were coming faster than she could wipe them away.

The doctor was explaining the procedure, but Tommy wasn’t listening to him anymore. He was concerned about Jessi and the baby. “It’s okay,” he whispered. “It’s a minor surgery.”

“Brain surgery is never minor surgery,” the doctor said. It was the last thing Jessi needed to hear. She buried her face in her hands and wept.

“Thanks a lot, Doc. Can’t you see that my wife is pregnant? Now you got her all upset.” He wrapped his arms around Jessi and held her close. “Shh, hon. It’s gonna be fine.”

Angel embraced them both in a suffocating hug.

Jessi sniffled and found some tissues on the bedside table. She wiped her eyes and her nose and steadied her emotion, although her voice still wavered. “I’m okay now. This is all so overwhelming.”

The doctor stood silent at the foot of the bed while he waited to continue. “We’ve consulted with one of the country’s top neurosurgeons at UCLA. He can be here within the hour, and surgery can be scheduled as quickly as tomorrow. Transfer to UCLA can be arranged—–”

“Tomorrow?” Tommy wasn’t expecting surgery so soon. He wasn’t prepared for the reality of brain surgery. He was trying to hold it together, for Jessi mostly, but there was poor Angel, distraught and internalizing his fear. Tommy wanted to comfort them both, but he couldn’t. He needed them to comfort him. His heart rate shot up and tiny beads of perspiration broke out across his forehead. “Isn’t that a little quick? I might want a second opinion. I don’t want to rush into anything. I got a kid on the way, and he needs a father!”