His heart twinges upon hearing that, and he can’t quite sort out the words for a moment. Condolences and apologies are probably just an inadequate balm on the wound. She hasn’t lost Coupe yet but she has, in fact, already lost her.
“Dementia is one of the great, inexorable, incurable syndromes even in my world,” Stephen says after a pause. “Your own mind betraying you. No matter the clean living, no matter our ridiculous technological advancements, there’s still no drug or surgery that can repair the damage done by neurodegenerative diseases. It’s not why I became a surgeon,”
(neurosurgery was the highest-earning specialty, and one of the most difficult, and both of those things played into the choice)
“But it scares the absolute shit out of me. It’s one of the worst things I could ever imagine. Personally, for me, with my priorities. Worse than this,” he gestures, splayed fingers, that quivering hand. “So I’m— it’s inadequate, but I’m very sorry. That that’s happening to her.”
no subject
“Dementia is one of the great, inexorable, incurable syndromes even in my world,” Stephen says after a pause. “Your own mind betraying you. No matter the clean living, no matter our ridiculous technological advancements, there’s still no drug or surgery that can repair the damage done by neurodegenerative diseases. It’s not why I became a surgeon,”
(neurosurgery was the highest-earning specialty, and one of the most difficult, and both of those things played into the choice)
“But it scares the absolute shit out of me. It’s one of the worst things I could ever imagine. Personally, for me, with my priorities. Worse than this,” he gestures, splayed fingers, that quivering hand. “So I’m— it’s inadequate, but I’m very sorry. That that’s happening to her.”