Ten years after he walked out, I was the head nurse at a long-term neurological care facility.

We took the cases that most hospitals didn’t want.

Stroke patients, brain injuries, and permanent paralysis.

The kinds of patients who needed patience more than medicine.

***

Last week, I sat at the nurses’ station finishing paperwork when the social worker approached with a thick file.

She sighed as she dropped it on the desk. “New admission from the ER. Massive cerebral infarct.”

We took the cases.

I nodded. “Stroke?”

“Bad one.”

She flipped through the paperwork. “Right-side paralysis. Limited speech. Needs full-time care.”

“Family support?” I asked.

The social worker gave a dry laugh. “Not exactly.”

“What happened?”

“Stroke?”

She leaned against the counter. “Wife dropped him at the hospital entrance and drove off.”

“Seriously?”

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