“Yes, I’ll stay at the condo.
“I know we have had this conversation before, but I really want Gini to be transferred to the rehab wing here. I was so impressed with the layout, and all your staff here are so friendly and competent. Please, let her stay here under your and Debbie’s care.”
Robert took the papers and put them in his outbox, then sat back in his chair rocking a couple of times.
“Mr. Legotti.”
“Please, Doc, call me Franco, and her, Gini.”
The doctor made a small laugh under his breath. Ric had told Debbie early on to call her Gini if they wanted any response from her. And Ric preferred to be called Ric rather than Mr. Santini.
“Okay. I hope you have been receiving all the emails I have sent you on Gini’s progress. She’s quite amazing, I must say. Now, she’s indicating she wants to walk.”
“Really! Walk? Can she do that?”
“At this point, we are just following her lead. Every brain trauma patient is different; there’s no set procedure for treatment or therapy. I say, if she wants to try walking, then we’ll get her up on her feet.”
Franco suddenly felt a little bit of hope run through his body. Maybe she would fully recover.
“I have known that gal since she was six. And if she puts her mind to something, you’d better watch out, because she’s going to do it and do it well.” He half smiled. “I learned a long time ago not to get in her way when she gets determined.”
“Now that I think about it… she does qualify to be in our unit. Yes, I think we can do that. We’ll put her on a six-month program and reevaluate at that time.”
Franco smiled broadly. “Thank you, Doctor, thank you so much. That takes a huge load off my mind. I know Debbie will get her back to where she was before the accident.”
“Ah, Debbie? Actually, Debbie works for the hospital. The rehab unit is staffed by a contract health-care company in Boston. She wouldn’t be in the apartment with Gini.”
“It only works if Debbie’s there with her. You’ve seen how good she is with Gini. It has to be Debbie living with her.”
“Debbie is one of the top neurosurgery nurses around, the best one I know. She gives every one of her patients the same love and care you are seeing with Gini.” Robert stopped and thought again. He knew Debbie had become uncharacteristically close to Gini. Maybe he should include her in the conversation; her input was valuable since she had been working so closely with Gini.
Ric went back up to Gini’s room. Through the windows, he could see Debbie and Lisa standing by the bed. When Lisa saw him, she waved for him to enter.
Debbie was holding the vase with the flowers. “These from you?”
“No. Gini’s boss, Catherine White, was here and brought the flowers. There was no one around, so she left them on the table.”
“They’re nice.” Debbie put them back where they were. Her pager lit up. “It’s Dr. Young. He wants me in his office.”
“Ooh, in trouble with the principal,” Lisa teased, fluttering her eyelashes. “What have you done?”
Debbie reached over and put her hand on the side of Lisa’s face, close to her neck. “I guess I’ll have to go find out my punishment. See you later, Leesy.”
When Ric saw the playful affection between the two, it took him by surprise. Were Debbie and Lisa a couple? Huh, he thought, slightly raising his eyebrows.
Debbie was surprised to see Franco in Robert’s office when she entered. “Mr. Legotti, Dr. Young.”
“Ms. Pierce, please have a seat. Mr. Legotti and I have been discussing where Gini goes from here. I thought you might want to be in on the conversation. After some persuasion by Mr. Legotti, and the fact that Gini is showing such great progress, I have decided to assign her to the rehab center here for six months, and then we’ll do a reevaluation.”
“Here? At New Haven?” Debbie looked at Robert with a smile. “Yes, I think that will work for her. Aaron’s an outstanding therapist. She’ll have excellent care here.”
Robert had to admit he would be pleased to have Gini stay. He had become unusually involved in her recovery. When she looked at him that day and then said his name, it caught him off guard how touching it was. He wanted her to recover, and he wanted to be there to cheer her on. He knew Debbie had a similar feeling. There was something special about Gini’s determination that pulled everyone around her into her life.
“He would like for her to be in the live-in unit.”
“Oh, even better! She will definitely benefit from twenty-four-hour hands-on. Mr. Legotti, Gini wants to get back to her life. She’s trying so hard to learn. I will work with her new nurse to make the transition as easy as possible.”
“Debbie, I want you to be her live-in nurse,” Franco said, almost pleading.
Debbie abruptly sat straighter at his request—unexpected. Living with a patient and working with them twenty-four seven would be a complete turn from what she was doing. But the suggestion had made her pulse increase, and a deep feeling of happiness took her over.
She scrunched her face a bit. “Can I do that, Dr. Young? Can I work in the rehab units?”
“Is that something you’d like to do?” he responded. He knew Debbie enjoyed working with Gini, as she did with all her patients. But was she willing to leave the team?
“Yes… I think, yes, I would like to continue working with Gini. I have her in a good routine, and we seem to just click.”
“If you want to consider that possibility, we can talk to HR. You’d have to leave the
