The Crossover

At the hospital in “The doctor pats Jordan and me on the back and says,” the doctor tells the boys that their dad should be fine. JB sobs and Josh has an attitude with the doctor which his mom tries to correct. The doctor addresses their mom and says that their dad’s myocardial infarction created some complications and he is in a coma. JB asks if their dad will be home for Christmas. Instead of answering the question, the doctor suggests that they all talk to him because patients in a coma can sometimes respond to hearing their family’s voices.

“My⋅o⋅car⋅di⋅al in⋅farc⋅tion [MY-OH-CAR-DEE-YUHL IN-FARK-SHUN] noun” states that the event “[o]ccurs when blood flow / to an area of the heart / is blocked / for a long enough time / that part of the heart muscle / is damaged / or dies” (201). JB now hates basketball because he believes it caused his father’s heart attack. Josh looks up the symptoms, all of which his father has had. Josh knows this is the same thing his grandfather died of and wonders where that leaves him and JB.

In “Okay, Dad,” Josh attempts to talk to his dad as the doctor suggested. His brother and mother have been talking to his dad all morning, so when Josh begins, he starts by asking him a question: “when did you decide to jump / ship?” (203).