Chapter
66
One month
later
“Excuse me, Mr. McLean, could I speak with you a minute?”
AJ was on his way to Elyssa’s room, when he turned to find
Dr. Sanford standing there. “Sure,” he
replied.
“Why don’t you come with me,” Dr. Sanford said, putting his
hand on AJ’s shoulder and leading him down the hall to a small, empty
conference room. “I would like to
discharge Elyssa,” he said, once he and AJ were seated in the room.
“Discharge her? You
mean, she’s better?” AJ asked hopefully, although that didn’t seem quite
right. Elyssa had been in the hospital,
on chemo, for a month, and she didn’t seem to be improving much.
“No, not exactly,” Dr. Sanford said. He took a deep breath and said,
“Unfortunately, we’re not seeing any improvement in Elyssa’s condition. The chemo isn’t doing much for her, and she’s
been in this hospital a month. I don’t
like to keep patients here that long, especially if there are other options.”
“Other options? Such
as?” AJ asked.
“We can surgically implant a catheter into Elyssa’s chest,
just below her collarbone. Using this,
her chemo can be distributed at home, and she won’t have to stay in the
hospital,” Dr. Sanford explained.
“Really?” AJ asked, wondering why he had not been told of
this option from the start.
“Yes, really. We can
do the operation to insert the catheter as early as tomorrow, if you and Elyssa
decide to do this, and she can go home in a few days.”
“Wow, that’s great,” AJ said. “I’m all for it. Have you talked to Elyssa about this yet?”
”Yes, we discussed it earlier today. She
wants to do it too, but she wanted me to talk to you about it first and see
what you thought. After all, the two of
you live together, so you should have a say in her decision,” Dr. Sanford said.
AJ nodded. “Well, I
agree with her. I want to have her home
with me.”
“Okay then,” Dr. Sanford replied. “You can go tell Elyssa your decision, and
I’ll be back to talk with her later today and make plans for the surgery
tomorrow.”
“Wait, surgery? How
risky is it?” AJ asked suddenly.
“Not risky at all.
It will take less than an hour and is a very simple procedure,” Dr.
Sanford replied confidently.
“Okay. That sounds
good then,” AJ said. “Thank you,
doctor.”
As he headed out of the conference room towards Elyssa’s
room, AJ felt elated. Elyssa was finally
coming home.
***
One week
later
Once Elyssa was home, things weren’t as wonderful as AJ had
expected. Elyssa was very weak from the
chemo she was still on and from the surgery she had just undergone to insert
the catheter. She wore a small black
pouch around her waist that regulated the flow of the chemo drugs through a
tube and into the catheter in her chest.
She spent most of her time in bed, sleeping, for she was too fatigued to
get up most days.
During this time, AJ would sit by her bed and hold her
hand. He would make every meal for her
and bring his food and hers up to their bedroom so they could eat together. Although Elyssa still had problems keeping
her food down most times after chemo, she had promised both her doctor and AJ
to keep eating, not just for herself, but for her growing baby as well. AJ had been given strict instructions by Dr.
Sanford to take Elyssa to the hospital if she would not eat so that she could
be given nutrients through an IV.
The only thing that had really improved since Elyssa had
gone home was her morale. She was more
comfortable and happier at home in her own bed, rather than staying in the
hospital, and AJ was glad he could give her at least that. But what he really wanted was for her to
just get better so that they could put this hell behind them.
***
Two months
later
AJ rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he staggered out of
the guest bedroom. His back was rather
stiff from sleeping on the double bed in the guest room, which was smaller and
harder than the king size bed he was used to.
He had been letting Elyssa have their bed all to herself for the past
few weeks so that she could be more comfortable, while he slept across the hall
in the guest room.
AJ started to head downstairs to make breakfast, but
decided to check on Elyssa first. He
knocked lightly on her closed bedroom door, and when there was no reply, he
quietly opened the door and peeked in.
Elyssa was lying on her back in the middle of the bed, still sound
asleep. She was getting nearer and
nearer to her due date, and her stomach had gotten so big she could barely roll
over to sleep on her side, so she had to sleep on her back instead.
AJ came over and tenderly kissed her sallow cheek, then
silently left the room and went down to the kitchen.
A short while later, he came back upstairs, balancing a
tray with a piece of buttered toast and a small bowl of cereal on it. It was a small breakfast, but Elyssa never
seemed to have much of an appetite anymore, so he was lucky if she would even
eat that much.
“Lyssa?” he asked softly, setting the tray down on her
night table. Elyssa was still sleeping. AJ stroked her cheek gently. “Wake up, baby,” he whispered into her
ear. Elyssa did not stir. “Come on, Lyssa, it’s time for breakfast,”
AJ said, a little louder. He nudged
Elyssa’s shoulder. Still, she did not
awaken. “Elyssa?” AJ asked, his voice
rising. “Come on, baby, wake up.”
AJ was starting to get worried. Elyssa had not moved a bit. Besides her slow, shallow breathing, she was
motionless. Usually, Elyssa was a
pretty light sleeper. It was never hard
to wake her up.
“Shit,” AJ whispered, studying Elyssa with wide eyes. “Baby, come on,” he begged, patting her
cheek. Still nothing. “Hold on, Lyss, I’m gonna call for some
help,” AJ said hurriedly, grabbing the phone from the night table. With shaking hands, he dialed 911.
***