#Chapter 115: ICU

Hyperkalemia Hy-per-kuh-lee-mee-uh Latin jumble to describe what happened to my son. "It's high potassium in the blood," the doctor says, "And a common condition for patients on dialysis. Often, the patient has no symptoms, or only mild ones, but if the imbalance is severe, respiratory distress and cardiac arrest are possible." I swallow hard. Her words stab me like a knife - “respiratory distress," "cardiac arrest,” echoing through my brain. I can feel Kadeem’s hand on mine as panic takes hold again. He seems to notice, squeezing me a little tighter. We catch each other’s eyes for a moment and he sends me a tiny, reassuring nod. The doctor’s stern expression gives away her caution. “I’m admitting him upstairs to the pediatric ICU for close monitoring.” "Can she see him," Kadeem asks. I struggle to take a breath and she leads us through the doors, into the kinetic flurry of fear and miracles that is the ER. We step into Erbao's room. Compared to the tumult just outsid