Chapter 5: The Separation
Within the hour a hospital social worker and a security officer arrived at Dr. Sterling’s request. The real prescription bottle, still nearly full, and the child’s description of the nighttime sedative were enough to trigger an immediate internal review. I was asked, quietly and directly, whether I wanted my husband and his mother to remain in the treatment area while my son was evaluated.
I said no.
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Security escorted them to a waiting area down the hall. My mother-in-law began speaking loudly about interference and hysteria; my husband followed her, still insisting that none of this was necessary. The door closed on their voices. My daughter stayed with me, teddy bear tight against her jacket, watching the monitors with the same steady attention she had given the trash can when she retrieved the bottle.
I held my son’s hand while the fever work continued and answered every medical question without the filter of anyone else’s opinion. For the first time in months, the only voice describing his symptoms and the dosing history was mine.
