By Tuesday morning Rachel felt terrible. She had managed to struggle
through work on the Monday before going home and collapsing into bed.
When she woke on Tuesday she was terribly weak and gasping for breath.
Rachel managed to shower and get dressed but she couldn't face work. She
used her pump and called Monica.
"Hello?" Monica answered while folding her laundry.
"Hey, it's me." Rachel managed to get out. "Do you think you could come
over?"
"What's wrong?" Monica instantly fired back whilst walking to her window.
"I don't feel right." Rachel said.
But before she could finish the sentence Monica had hung up and began
running over to Rachel's.
"What's going on?" Chandler quickly asked as Monica dashed past him.
"Rachel isn't well!"
"Shall I come?" He called after her.
"No. I'll call you". She said as she bolted down the stairs.
Monica ran across to Rachel's and jumped straight in the lift pressing
the 12th floor button a 100 times.
She burst straight through Rachel's door to find her laying on the couch.
Rachel smiled as she saw her come through like a rocket gasping for breath.
"What's wrong? Shall I call 911?" Monica quickly asked feeling her forehead.
"I… don't think its…. That bad. I can't catch my… breath" Rachel choked
out gasping for air.
Monica looked at her and knew this was serious, this was where it began.
Rachel was grey with dark circles under her eyes and she was straining
for breath without realising.
Monica took out her cell phone and scrolled down for Dr Andrews. She had
stored his number in her phone in case of emergencies.
She told him Rachel's symptoms and he suggested that Monica get her to
the hospital immediately, offering to arrange for an ambulance to
collect her. Monica told him that she would drive her there herself and
he would be waiting.
"Sweetie, I need to get you to the hospital." Monica told her.
"Is that necessary?" Rachel gasped out.
"Yes." Monica collected Rachel's medications and put them in a bag and
grabbed her keys.
Monica became increasingly concerned in the elevator as she held Rachel
up gasping for breath. She slowly led her to the Porsche and got in and
drove. On the way to the hospital she called Chandler and explained the
situation.
When they reached the hospital, Monica new that Rachel wouldn't be able
to walk so found a wheelchair at the reception and helped Rachel into
it. She rushed her up to the 5th floor where Dr Andrews was. They helped
Rachel onto a bed and he began examining her.
"Let's put her on 100 oxygen re-breather and get her into a gown" Dr
Andrews told the nurse.
"What's going on?" Monica asked not bothering to hide her concern
"Her condition is deteriorating. We will get a scan and go from there"
He said starting Rachel's chart.
Dr Andrews excused himself and Monica followed.
"How worried should I be right now?" Monica asked him.
"We won't know anything definite until we get the scan results back.
Just try and stay calm for her Monica"
When Monica walked back into the room Rachel was in a gown and had a
nasal canular around her. Her head was laid back into the pillows.
"Everything okay?" Rachel asked
"Yeah, its fine. Just relax" Monica told her stroking her hair back.
After 10 minutes the nurse helped Rachel into a dressing gown and
wheelchair and took her for her scan. As Monica watched Rachel sitting
in the wheelchair with the hospital gowns around her and breathing tubes
around her face she began to cry. Rachel looked like a sick person. It
happened much quicker than Monica had thought. She quickly wiped away
her tears before Rachel looked up.
Monica waited outside while Rachel had her scan, the scan lasted 28
minutes and when Rachel came out she was exhausted.
The nurse and Monica took her back to her room where they helped her
into bed. She laid back and caught her breath while her eyes were closed.
"Hey, can we come in?"
Monica looked up and saw Chandler, Joey, Phoebe and Ross at the doorway.
"Hey Guys" Rachel muttered.
They all looked shocked at her appearance.
"How are you feeling?" Chandler asked breaking the silence.
"I'm okay."
"She's just a bit breathless. She's had a scan we are just waiting for
the results. You guys didn't have to come down here" Monica told them.
"Where else would we be?" Phoebe said more as a statement than a question.
Rachel closed her eyes and struggled with her breathing as the guys all
stood around. Chandler could see that Monica had been crying and mouthed
"Are you okay?" to get a silent nod back.
After about an hour Dr Andrews and another doctor walked into Rachel's
room. He was surprised at how full the room was.
"Rach? Dr Andrews is here" Monica said to Rachel lightly trying to wake
her up.
As Rachel stirred Dr Andrews asked the guys to step out of the room, he
only wanted to speak to Rachel and Monica.
"It's fine. I would rather they heard, save having to repeat it" Rachel
said.
Dr Andrews nodded and begun. "Rachel this is Dr. Corday. She is the
leading cardiac surgeon here at St. Vincents's"
Dr Corday reached out to shake Rachel's hand.
"So it's definitely surgery then?" Rachel said.
"I'm afraid so Rachel" Dr Corday started. "The disease is much more
advanced than we would have liked so we have to operate sooner rather
than later. I have scheduled you surgery for 09:00AM tomorrow morning."
"That soon!" Monica spat out.
"I'm afraid so. I'm very confident that after this surgery you will be
back on your feet in no time. Have you ever had surgery before Rachel?"
"No"
"Well, it's a complicated surgery but I have every faith that we will
get results. After 09:00PM tonight you won't be able to eat or drink
anything. Then in the morning the porter will bring you to the OR where
we will transfer you to a hard table. The nurse will secure your hands
and arms to the table and insert an IV into your neck. After a few
seconds you will begin to feel drowsy and fall asleep. Once you are
asleep we will insert a tube into your throat and put you on a
ventilator. Your breathing will be monitored the whole time and we will
begin. I will make a 6-8 inch incision down your chest so that we can
spread your ribs."
"You know, I really don't need to know the details. I'll just trust you"
Rachel said feeling more nervous with every word that came out of her mouth.
"Okay. But if you have any questions or worries then please ask. I'll
see you in the morning" Dr Corday said before leaving with Dr Andrews.
The guys all came up to her bed.
"Are you okay?" Phoebe asked.
"Yeah, I am. I just have to go with it I guess, I don't really have much
choice" Rachel said sounding as if she had made peace with her fate.
"Er, I just need to use the bathroom" Monica said making an excuse to
get out of the room.
"There's a bathroom right here" Joey pointed out.
But Monica was gone, she got out of the hallway and sobbed. She couldn't
handle the fact that her best friend was about to have major heart
surgery. She dropped to her knees and sobbed, she was only brought out
of her state when she felt a hand on her back and shoulders pulling her
up. Chandler pulled her into a tight embrace.
"Make this not happen Chandler!" she sobbed into him.
"I can't do that honey. It is going to happen, much sooner than we
thought but it's here and we have to deal with it."
"When did you become the strong one?" Monica laughed wiping her eyes.
"I think you have been rubbing off on me" Chandler smiled.
"Thank-you for being here" Monica said hugging him.
"We should get back to her" Chandler said.
"I'm going to let my eyes and redness go down. I don't want her to know
that I'm crying."
"Okay, I'll tell her you are on the phone to the restaurant"
When Chandler walked back into the room everybody looked at him silently.
"Is she okay?" Rachel asked
"Yeah, she's just calling in to work" Chandler lied.
"I know she's upset Chandler" Rachel told him
"She just doesn't want to upset you further. She's fine I promise".
Chandler said.
After a few minutes Rachel realised that she hadn't told work.
"I should call in" Rachel said.
"I thought you were the boss?" Joey chimed in.
"I am but I should tell them that I'm not going to be there" Rachel said.
The gang all left the room whilst Rachel called in. She explained to
Karen where she was and what was happening. Karen was very sympathetic
and said she wished Rachel had told her sooner. Rachel said that as soon
as she was up to it she would do paperwork from home but Karen told her
to take all the time she needed to fully recover and she would visit her
as soon as she was allowed.
After 20 minutes the gang, including Monica came back into her room.
"Are you okay?" Rachel asked her concerned.
"I'm fine sweetie" Monica said masking her fears and worries.
After sitting in her room for 6 hours straight Rachel told everybody to
go home.
"That's nice! We're trying to keep you company" Phoebe joked. "Maybe
tomorrow I will bring my guitar?"
"Open heart surgery doesn't sound so bad after all" Rachel joked.
Everybody said goodbye to Rachel and Monica.
"Mon, please go home" Rachel pleaded.
"You don't want me to stay?" Monica asked
"I'm just going to crash out, go home with Chandler and I'll see you in
the morning"
"Are you sure?" Monica asked.
"100"
"I'll see you in the morning. Call me if you need me" Monica said
kissing her goodbye.
Once they all left Rachel felt alone. Her thoughts overwhelmed her and
she panicked. She took some time and got her head around what was
happening, she could either go along relaxed or go along panicked and
scared – either way her fate was out of her hands. Rachel was pulled out
of her thoughts when the nurse entered and gave Rachel a special soap.
"Okay dear. I need you to wash with this and make sure you smother your
chest with it. Do you need help showering?"
"No, I'll be fine" Rachel replied.
Rachel removed the oxygen prongs and got up and headed to the shower.
She washed thoroughly, including her hair and gagged at the smell of the
soap. Once she was dry she put a fresh hospital gown on. It was a gown
that did up from the front so she wasn't showing her arse. She blow
dried her hair and felt exhausted once she was finished. She got back
into bed and put the nasal canular on.
As she was nodding off the nurse re-entered with her trolley.
"I need to set you up with an IV honey" she told her.
She took Rachel's right arm and began tapping for a vein. After a minute
she inserted the needle. Rachel flinched a little when she felt the prick.
Rachel fell asleep soon after the nurse had finished but woke at 3:00AM
in a deep sweat. Her mind was racing and she was unable to go back to sleep.
At 5.50AM Monica showered and dressed and grabbed Rachel's bag which she
had packed at her apartment the night before.
"What are you doing?" Chandler asked bleary-eyed.
"I'm going to go to the hospital. There's no point sitting waiting until
7.00AM, I might as well go now."
"Monica they won't let you in. Rachel will be sleeping and they won't
want you to disturb her. They told us that we can see her at 8.00AM"
"I can sit with her" Monica said defiantly.
"No you can't, they will be getting her ready for surgery. You will be
sitting with her for the next few weeks. Just chill out" Chandler said
calmly.
Monica pulled a face and relented, she knew that Chandler was right. By
7.15AM Monica was climbing the walls. The guys were all at her apartment
having coffee.
"Can we leave please?" Monica said
"We're not allowed to see her until 8.00" Ross told her
"There might be traffic. I would rather be there than not"
"It's a 15 minute drive Monica at rush hour" Phoebe told her.
At 7.30 the guys finally gave in and left. Monica and Chandler went in
Rachel's Porsche while Phoebe drove Joey and Ross in her cab.
When they reached Rachel's ward at 7:42 the charge nurse asked them to
wait while the nurse finished with Rachel.
"Is everything okay?" Monica asked concerned.
"Yes of course, she had a good night. The nurse is just cleaning her up
for surgery"
After a few minutes the nurse left Rachel's room with her trolley and
Monica and co were allowed in.
"Hi Sweetie" Monica greeted, coming over to hug and kiss her.
"You smell like disinfectant" Monica told her.
"They keep washing me in it!" Rachel said disgusted.
"You can wash people in disinfectant?!" Monica said excited.
An hour passed and everybody grew more nervous. Dr Andrews arrived with
a hospital porter closely behind him.
"Okay Rachel, are you ready?" He asked.
"Yeah I'm good" Rachel replied calmly.
Monica stood back from her and began to cry, she had been holding them
in but she couldn't stop the tears from falling. Phoebe put an arm
around her.
Rachel moved onto the Porters bed as Dr Andrews transferred her oxygen
canister.
"I'll see you guys later" Rachel said.
They all grabbed for her hand and wished her luck sending their love.
Monica composed herself and walked forward.
"You're going to be fine. I'll be here when you wake up. I love you ok?"
"I love you too"
Monica kissed her and held her close.
The porter wheeled Rachel away and Monica cried. She just let the tears
stream from her face as her friend was taken to surgery. Ross looked
away as Phoebe and Joey both cried next to him.
Rachel was taken to a waiting area on the surgical floor. There was
another woman there waiting. The nurse put Rachel's hair into a blue
shower cap type thing and left.
"What you having done?" the woman asked Rachel
"Heart surgery – you?"
"Appendix removed. Its minor compared to yours I guess."
After 5 minutes a nurse came and took Rachel into the OR. It felt icy
cold in there and very bright. They helped Rachel move to the table and
it was cold and hard as Dr Corday had described.
"Rachel we are going to secure your arms to the table?" A Nurse said as
she begun putting soft restraints on her.
Rachel looked around when she heard a drill and she felt sick.
"Just stay calm sweetie" The nurse reassured her.
Rachel felt the nurse rub a small sponge onto her neck.
"I'm going to insert an IV, you may feel a small sting" The nurse told her.
Once the IV was in the nurse injected something into the port.
"Rachel, you are going to start feeling sleepy. Just relax and let the
medication take over"
Rachel felt like her world of problems were being left behind. She was
fighting to stay awake but the feeling of drowsiness was overpowering her.
"She's out" The nurse said.
"Okay, let's intubate and get her on the ventilator" the anaesthetist said.
Meanwhile Monica sat fidgeting in the canteen with the others.
"Are you sure you don't want any breakfast Mon?" Ross asked.
"I couldn't eat. They should have drilled her chest open by now" Monica
said looking at her watch.
"How do you know?" Phoebe asked.
"I did a tutorial on my computer, I have every step in my head. They
drill her chest open and spread her ribs. Then they attach tubes to her
heart and put her on a bypass machine which beats for her heart. They
then stop her heart and begin repairing it. The surgery should last from
3-5 hours" Monica said reciting what she has seen and read.
"You really shouldn't work from that. Just try and forget about it for a
minute" Chandler said trying to help her.
"Forget about it?" Monica snapped "My best friend is laying in a room
upstairs with her chest cut open and her heart not beating! What happens
if after the 5 hours they can't start her heart again? Then what? You
can't live without your heart!" Monica spat
"Chandler, didn't mean…." Phoebe started.
"I know he didn't and I'm sorry" Monica cut in. "I just need to deal
with this in my own way. Please"
The guys all waited in the surgical waiting area and after 5 hours
Monica became even more anxious than she was already.
"The computer said 3-5 hours. It's been 5 hours" Monica said to nobody
in particular.
After 15 more minutes Monica walked out of the room and found a member
of staff.
"Is there any news on Rachel Green?" She asked a nurse.
"She isn't out from theatre yet" The nurse told her.
"The surgery was supposed to last 3-5 hours. It's been almost 6!"
A voice from behind startled her "There was more damage than we thought
Monica. Dr Corday has had to cut into her heart" Dr Andrews said.
"Is she finished now?" Monica asked.
"Not yet, they are about to take her off of bypass and then close her
chest. Everything is fine, it's just a little worse than we anticipated"
"So do you think a transplant is going to be needed?" Monica questioned.
"Let's see how she recovers and responds to her medication. Her recovery
will be a little slower due to the cutting into the heart but that's it.
Give her about 40 minutes and she will be in the ICU" Dr Andrews told
her winking at her.
Monica went back and relayed the information to the guys. 40 minutes
later Monica and co were standing in the reception when she saw Dr
Crorday wheel a gurney out of the double doors. She quickly made her way
to the rolling gurney.
Rachel looked dreadful. She had the shower cap over her head and her
face was pale with sticky tape over her eyelids. Dr Corday was squeezing
the oxygen pump attached to the tube in her mouth.
Monica could see tubes coming from under the covers and bags and
cylinders attached to the side of the bed.
The situation was a million times worse than she had imagined it.
"She's okay. Let me just get her set up in the SICU and I will come and
talk to you" Dr Corday told her.
15 minutes later Dr Corday came back. She explained that there was more
damage than expected but she repaired it. She was confident that as long
as Rachel responded well to the drugs then she wouldn't need a
transplant. A healthy, stress-free lifestyle would help aswell.
"Can I sit with her?" Monica asked through tears.
"Of Course. While she is out I can only allow two at a time though. She
will be intubated for the next 24 hours and we should expect her to
regain consciousness in the next few hours. She will be groggy and
frustrated at not being able to speak so just encourage her along and
let her know that you are there with her." Dr Corday instructed.
Monica washed her hands with the disinfectant and walked into the
surgical intensive care unit. There were machines and monitors
surrounding her. She had a breathing tube coming from her mouth and many
more tubes and wires attached to her.
Monica pulled up a seat and held her hand.
"I told you that you would be fine. I'm here when you wake up sweetie."
Monica whispered to her.