The second full week of January would be orientation for Jeff at the new office in San Luis Obispo. He flew out on Sunday with 4 fellow employees. Chicago to San Luis is not an easy flight. Total travel time adds up to around 7 hours. I waited for the first phone call relaying first impressions. It wasn’t until later that evening that Jeff checked in. “It’s small, but it is dark so we haven’t seen much. The hotel is right on the beach, I’ll send you the link and you can look it up.”
Every day was about the same. “This is small town. The people are nice, but it feels very rural.” I was to fly out on Friday. Jeff’s excitement about the company was growing, but his view on the area was not changing.
On Thursday of that week I received a call at work from Austyn, she wasn’t feeling well and from what she was describing I encouraged her to call the doctor. There were several phone calls that morning followed by several text messages.
“I’m at the doctors office, call you when I’m done,” she texted.
“She sent me to the hospital for x-rays, checking for blood clot in my lungs.”
“Finished at registration, going to the lab.”
Raun was on his way to the house to check on Austyn when I called and I asked him to go to the hospital and check on Austyn. The beauty of our neighborhood was that we were two blocks from the hospital. As Raun walked into the entrance of the hospital Austyn was coming out of the elevator. I decided I should probably leave work and head to the hospital too, so I quickly closed down my computer, made a few phone calls to inform people I was leaving, grabbed a taxi and headed there. The emotional rush that happens during these times is immeasurable.
I gave the taxi driver the location of the hospital and began to text Jeff to update him. I could not hold back the tears. The anticipation of leaving the next morning for California was already great, the fear and anxiety of heading to the hospital was over the top. I glanced at the rearview mirror a few times to catch the driver looking back at me. Taxi drivers must see everything in the course of their day.
I arrived at the hospital and made my way to X-ray. Raun was sitting alone. Austyn had been taken in. We sat and talked while we waited. Austyn returned in about a half hour and had been instructed to wait. She recapped the afternoon for me. It did not take long to realize that she was exhausted.
The technician come out and informed us that the x-rays had been looked at and everything was fine, nothing to worry about. We should go home and Austyn’s doctor would be giving us a call.
We walked home, had some comfort food, got cozy and put in a movie. The three of us just rested and enjoyed being together. It wasn’t until 9:00pm that evening, after Raun had left and Austyn gone to bed that I began packing for my trip. I needed to be out of the house by 7am and I hadn’t done anything to prepare.