When my dear secretary of many years did not show up at her desk in the hospital at 7 am sharp as usual, I was ill at ease at once. It was distinctly unusual. When time passed and she did not call and could not be reached over her cell phone, I knew that something was very wrong.
Then the rumors started; it was something to do with her son. The emergency department was mentioned, an accident, and later, very ominously, there were whispers about neurosurgery. And still she could not be reached.