DISSAPOINTMENT

SEQUEL

ELENA

“Wasn’t there anything else you could have done?” came the all-to-familiar question from grieving parents.

Elena always thought she was mentally ready for it and knew how to answer, but she had never gotten used to seeing the loss mixed with disbelief in each parent’s eyes, leading up to her having to tell them the worst news imaginable to a parent.

Your child has passed, and there was nothing we could do.

It never ceased to cause tears to lodge in her throat, and she wished she could say anything but that.

Elena forced down her own emotions. “No, unfortunately not. The infection spread too rapidly, causing Valerie’s system to shut down.”

She watched the mother fall apart in her husband’s arms as the realization sank in. And all Elena was allowed to do was stand there and say she would give them a moment.

This was a picture Elena had seen more than her share of times.

After she said her practiced line, she turned and went around the corner to shed her own tears for the fa