Tom nodded. “Of course! I have loads of vacation time saved up, I could probably take a week paid and a week unpaid off, no harm, no foul. I’ll put in the request as soon as I can,” he smiled, his hand finding Gerald’s before looking back to the doctor.
“I’m afraid so. At least for the time being. You’ll have to come back for appointments here and there for us to check on the functionality of your lungs, and hopefully you can be rid of the oxygen for most of the day and only need it at nighttime. You’ll be asked to start physical therapy exercises first at home, then later on at an outpatient facility. It’s all outlined in your discharge paperwork.”
Tom looked back at Gerald, his eyes immediately meeting the other’s. “Hey, hey. It’s going to be alright. I’ll be right by your side, okay? We’ll get through this together.”
“So what is the amount of damage to my lungs currently? Will it heal do you think or will I forever need oxygen to a certain extent?” He asked the doctor wanting to know if he could potentially not be weighed down by a tank or whatever they would give him “will I be lugging a giant tank around or something else?”.
Gerald was becoming over whelmed feeling tears brim his eyes a bit as he wrapped himself around Tom leaning his head against the mans shoulders. “Your so nice Tom..I don’t want you to feel like you gotta do this..I don’t want to take advantage of you in anyway unless it’s for company cause I do like your company” he said sighing after letting the doctor speak “I’m still wondering if my family knows I’m here or not”
The doctor nodded. “Honestly, it’s hard to tell. Your body is still dealing with the trauma, so we can’t fully tell at this point. My best guess is that we’ll just have to play it by ear. If anything, it won’t be a giant tank. More than likely, it will just be a small portable machine. We can discuss that when the time comes.”
Tom nodded along with the doctor, looking back to see Gerald nearly in tears. “Hey, it’ll be alright. I know I don’t have to. I want to. You’ll be okay at home, it will be like having me over to watch a movie, and I’ll check your vitals from time to time. It will be great.” He paused, thinking about the family that still hadn’t visited Gerald. “Do you want me to call them now, or wait until you’re settled and back home? We can do whatever you’d like.”
Cisco backup 