“Even with a baby?”

“Especially with a baby.”

She began crying, not with the fear I had grown used to, but with the exhausted relief of someone who had finally been offered a door she could walk through without asking permission.

PART 8

The first serious setback came on a Thursday.

Chloe had been talking about the future, arguing with a physical therapist about whether she could walk farther down the corridor, when she suddenly became overwhelmed by a headache.

The staff responded immediately.