“I’m saying there’s a reason for the old phrase ‘Hire an old lawyer and a young doctor.’ Younger doctors keep up with new research. I’m not saying older doctors can’t be great, but if this specialist was anything like Dr. Hamet, he thought the old ways were best. I’m shocked at some of the meds Hamet still has people on. There are better medications out there now with less side effects. He has no protocols for talking about nutrition and how it can affect diabetics. He simply gave them meds and told them to deal with it. I think that’s what happened with Noelle. He took the lazy way out.”

The old guilt was rising inside him, and he definitely didn’t like the word lazy. “I did everything they told me to do. Noelle didn’t like physical therapy. It hurt and it wasn’t going to work anyway. Do you know what it’s like to watch your child in pain? It’s not like she’s skipping therapy. She works out. She has good upper-body strength.”

“And that’s great, but I think I’m going to prescribe some new therapies for her. There’s a lot more we can do to help her now.”

He sighed, wanting to end this conversation. She was the expert here. If she thought she could help, he wasn’t going to stop her. “All right. I think we’re willing to try, but I don’t want to give her false hope.”

“If you were in her place, wouldn’t you rather try and fail than not try at all?”

She looked so earnest it made his heart break a little. He leaned over and kissed her. “All right. I’ll talk to her and you figure out what you think is best. I’ll make sure she goes to all her appointments.”

“Thank you. It’s been worrying me.” She laid back down.

He followed, happy that was over. It might be good for Noelle to get out more. He would talk to her about the colleges. She obviously couldn’t actually attend a college since she couldn’t live on her own, but he could talk to her about community college. There was one an hour away. It would be hard, but he might be able to find a way to get her to and from school.

“Have you thought about having other kids?” Lila asked.

The hits kept on coming. “Not really. I’m forty.”

“That’s not old. A lot of people are starting families at forty these days.”

“A lot of people don’t have a disabled kid to deal with.”

“She’s not a kid, though, is she?” Lila mused. “She’s a young woman, and she won’t always be at home.”