126 Critical 24 Hours

(Winona)

Dr. Green steps out into the hospital room, his expression a blend of exhaustion and gravity. I brace myself for the worst news.

“Dr. Green, how is he?” Judy’s voice is barely more than a whisper laced with desperation and fear.

He takes a deep breath, his eyes meeting mine with a look that says it all. “Jayden is critical right now. He’s lost a lot of blood. We performed emergency surgery to remove the bullet. He coded twice on the table, but we were able to stabilize him. But if there’d been a third time, we’d have lost him.”

The words hit me like a punch to the gut. Judy gasps, her hand flying to her mouth.

Dr. Green continues, “The bullet lodged up behind his heart, luckily. The angle he was on saved him but there’s extensive lung and artery damage”

“Is he... is he going to get through this?” I manage to ask, my voice trembling.

Dr. Green hesitates, glancing between us. “I honestly don’t know. He’s in an induced coma. It’s a standard procedure to give his body a chance to