You'll Find Me There

Chapter 18

"Crikey, they're multiplying!" Marc said, amazed at the scene before him. After Marc's amazed exclamation there was a beat of surprised silence, then Sharon, Andy, Christine, and Brian Murphy burst out laughing.

Christine was an almost exact replica of Sharon only fifteen years younger and very pregnant. Her hair, of course, was darker and longer, but her smile was the same as Sharon's. Once Sharon caught her breath she introduced her cousin to everyone. "Marc, good to see you. This is my cousin, Christine and her husband, Brian. My… our fathers were brothers and our mothers were sisters. So, we're doubly related. Although, this time in Ireland has been the first we've met since Christine was a baby."

Marc nodded his understanding but then his eye was caught by the similarities in Andy's and Brian's faces. "That's their excuse, what's yours?" He asked the men.

Brian looked at Andy and Andy looked at Brian, both were still very amused because even they could see a resemblance. Although Andy's hair was cut short and stood up, like a buzz cut only slightly longer, and was completely gray, Brian had very dark brown hair that was only just beginning to turn gray. He wore it longish on the top and combed back. He wore tortoiseshell glasses. He somewhat resembled Andy or what he had looked like fifteen years ago. Andy had been swarthier looking at Brian's age, but he had lost that as he had gotten older. He had a strong Italian nose where Brian's was more Irish. Brian was not as muscular as Andy had been then or now. His eyes were brown hazel and were light brown or almost black like Andy's, depending on his mood. Their smiles and bone structure were the same.

Andy shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say? There is a saying about everybody having a lookalike or double somewhere in the world. I guess Brian is mine and the O'Dwyer women have a type." Sharon smacked Andy playfully on the shoulder amused by his remark and Christine giggled.

Marc shrugged his shoulders and smiled with amazement. "I guess. Look, I'm sorry I walked in your family reunion, I'll come back later," he said, and started to leave.

Christine and Brian stood. "No, that's alright. We'll go. We have an appointment with the OB in fifteen minutes anyway." She turned to Sharon and Andy. "Come to dinner before you leave Ireland?" she asked.

Sharon nodded, "we would love to, and Brian, please keep what Andy said in mind? It couldn't hurt to have it checked out."

Brian looked uncomfortable, but he nodded. Christine nodded too. "Don't you worry, Sharon, he will. I'll even make the appointment and if I have to, I'll get Tess and Connor to help me get him there."

Sharon's eyebrows rose and she pressed her lips together in amusement. It was clear who wore the pants in that family. Christine bent down and kissed her on the cheek, "I'll let you know what the results are," she whispered in her ear.

Sharon nodded her understanding and watched them leave then she turned to Marc. He sat across from the couple and cleared his throat. "So, first and foremost, as a member of the board of directors of St. Vincent's, I'd like to say that I heard about your run-in with Rhea and I'd like to apologize for her bad manners."

"Oh, please don't apologize Marc, and… please don't have her lose her job on my account. She's very good at her job and I'm sure that her methods are effective… with other people... just… not me.

I had very good reasons for not going through with the surgery, which she did not," Sharon cleared her throat, "seem to recognize as valid. It was a difference of opinion, a clash of personalities that's all."

"Oh, don't worry. She won't be sacked, she will be reprimanded however and we'll be sure to be more careful about who we assign her to from now on. I do want you to know that her concerns were real, in that in a great many cases, time is an important factor when it comes to certain kinds of surgeries. The longer it takes to do the surgery the less likely they'll be effective. That being said, I want you to know that I understand and sympathize with your need to put off the surgery until Andy was out of the coma. Although, he's awake and aware now, so it is the time to take care of you, Sharon."

"Yes, I'm aware, Marc. It's just that Andy being in a coma… wasn't… well… it wasn't the only reason I was putting off surgery. It was the main reason, but not the only one."

"What were the other reasons, if I'm allowed to ask?"

Sharon bowed her head and stared at her fingers. She licked her lips looked up and into Marc's eyes and said matter-of-factly, "sheer unadulterated terror."

Andy's eyes became wide with shock. He'd never known Sharon to admit to anyone but him to being afraid of anything, but he guessed the accident and the pain it caused her had changed a lot of things.

"What is the thing that terrifies you most?" Marc asked calmly.

Sharon looked up at the ceiling as if searching for the right words hoping to find them there and then her gaze dropped back to look Marc in the eyes as she said, "Oh, losing what little mobility I have… if… if something goes wrong. Being in more pain than I already am in. Being more of a burden to my family than I already am…"

"Mom, you're not a burden," all three children piped in.

"Sharon, I told you…" Andy started to say.

Marc held up his hand to stop the onslaught of comments. Then he stood up and spread his arms wide and began to speak. "What if I were to tell you that ten years ago I was hurt in a rodeo riding accident, which left me with the same injury you have suffered. I had severe pain and I was paralyzed like you." He then started walking back and forth in front of her with an easy gait.

"But you walk with no limp and no pain that I can see now," Sharon said.

Having made his point, he sat down in front of the couple again. "That's true and exactly my point. You see, besides my other varied interests, I'm a venture capitalist that specializes in the development of surgical innovations for the medical field. One of the doctors I was backing for research and development had invented a robotic arm that could do minimally invasive back surgery. At first, I just backed him financially but after the accident, he asked me to be his guinea pig and since I didn't feel I had anything to lose, I agreed. It was in its early stages of development back then and the robotic arm and the procedure itself have improved since I had mine. I won't lie to you Sharon, back then it was considered experimental and risky and it's still considered experimental. There are many years of tests and documentation before the medical community, and most especially insurance companies are willing to consider a new type of procedure to be valid and are willing to cover the cost.

"Is it safe?" Andy asked.

"Yes, like I said it's minimally invasive and you aren't put under general anesthesia, you are only heavily sedated…"

"I sense a but here," Sharon said, waiting for the other shoe to fall.

"Not exactly a but, more like a, however."

"Same thing as a but," Andy said, getting a bit worried.

"Not exactly."

Sharon rushed into the conversation with a question that had been nagging at her, "Marc, if this surgery or procedure or whatever, is considered experimental or risky it's not covered by our insurance is it?"

"No, it's not, Sharon. However, you don't have to worry about that. I have that end covered."

"Oh no, you've done so much for us already, I couldn't accept," Sharon said, vehemently shaking her head.

"Yes, you can. Sharon, the accident happened near my property and while you were ridin' my horses. Of course, I'll be payin' the bill. Besides for this procedure, it's actually not an issue, because I have a few free passes, considerin' I foot the bill when Frederick was developin' his robotics and I was one of his first guinea pigs. So, that means if I come across certain… patients who need his expertise, he operates on them for me for free."

Sharon looked dubious. "Hmm, that seems convenient, for me at least, but what about him? Is he okay with dropping everything every time you find a patient for him to fix?"

Marc smiled. "Well, it so happens that, besides myself, you're the only one I've called in my marker for. So he's fine with it."

"You're sure?"

"Absolutely."

Sharon looked at Andy and back at Marc. "You said there was a, "however"?"

"The however I mentioned has to do with where the procedure needs to be performed. You'll have to be transported to a surgery clinic not far from Cliff View. Since it's basically same-day surgery after you've been operated on you could come to Cliff View for your recovery time."

"Basically same-day surgery?" Sharon queried, wanting clarification.

Marc explained, "You'll be transported to the clinic this evening and you'll stay overnight, have the procedure in the morning, and after you've awakened from the sedation, barring complications you can recover at Cliff View."

"How long will that be? The recovery time?"

"Not long at all. You'll have physical therapy, of course, some here in Ireland, but most of it can take place at home in California."

Sharon's smile was slow, but once it was there it was like the sun breaking through the clouds on a rainy day. "Home? We can go home? When?"

He was happy to tell her, "again, I stress that if there are no complications, you should be able to fly about a week after your procedure. Your pain should be gone when you wake up from your procedure, but we'd like to give you time to heal and we want to get you on your feet and walking, without braces before you get on a transcontinental flight."

Sharon's eyes filled with tears at his words. She looked over at Andy's dear face, remembering that when Andy had been in the coma and his life was hanging in the balance, bringing Andy out of the coma and back to her had been her main focus. In point of fact, she had hardly even been aware of any pain, but now that Andy was out of the coma, her awareness of the pain had come front and center. Her inability to walk without braces on her legs was extremely difficult to bear but bear it she had and would again, gladly, if it meant that she'd have her Andy back. However, hearing that her pain should be gone when she woke up from the procedure was music to her ears.

Andy spoke up. "You said barring complications. What does that mean exactly? What kind of complications?"

Marc looked them both in the eye and said, "whenever someone is operated on there are risks, but Sharon, you are healthy and you were fit before the accident, so there should be no problems. On rare occasions, a second procedure needs to be done. We won't know for sure whether or not you'll need a second procedure until the first one is done."

"What will be the determining factor?" Sharon asked.

"I'm afraid that's a question for Frederick. I'm not a doctor, "Marc said, regretfully.

Sharon's brows came together. "Ahhh, that's right, I forgot that little detail. How did you end up talking to us about it then, instead of the doctor?" Sharon asked curiously.

He knew she would ask so he was ready with an answer, "Well, since I had the exact same injury and I've been through the procedure with positive results. It was thought that I would be better at convincing you to try this procedure over a more conventional surgery. Frederick is a brilliant surgeon but Dr. Welby he's not. He's very focused and single-minded. He knows his limitations with people and he prefers to have someone else do the bedside stuff. He will discuss the important details and answer your questions about the surgery, however."

"Thank you, Marc." Sharon tried to speak through her nervousness, "Uh… when can the uh… procedure be scheduled?"

"Tomorrow morning. As usual, with all procedures that put you under, you need to fast the night before."

Sharon nodded and sighed. "So, I'll be transported there today?"

"Yes, by my helicopter. Let's see," he looked at his watch, "it's half past noon now, sooo around six this evening."

Sharon looked over at Andy, and he looked at her, their eyes locked and a great deal was spoken without words between them in that moment. She turned back to Marc and asked, "What about Andy?"

"What about Andy?" Marc queried back, knowing what she wanted to hear but was not above teasing her a bit.

A few emotions played across Sharon's face, worry and annoyance being two of them, when Marc failed to answer her question to her satisfaction, instead answering her with the same question. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she realized she was being teased but wasn't having it. A look of stubbornness came over her. "I'm not going anywhere or having anything done unless he can be with me…"

Marc smiled. "Actually, Sharon, I wouldn't expect anything less. It just so happens that I overheard a conversation between your doctors about Andy being able to be released anytime. I believe there was some speculation as to whether he would go if you were not released as well but it's a moot point since you'll be going to the surgery center. To answer your unasked question, yes he can stay with you and we'll make sure you have a bed big enough for you both. Now does that satisfy you?"

"Yes Marc, and thank you. You've really gone above and beyond to help us," Sharon said, with a smile.

"Believe me, you are very welcome. It's wonderful to be part of such a happy outcome. Oh, by the way, Sharon you'll be undergoing some pre-surgical testing. That's why it takes until six before you're actually released."

Sharon's eyebrows rose. "More tests? I thought… oh well, never mind."

Marc smiled at her, knowing what she was going to say. "It's nothing to worry about Sharon. The tests are just the standard tests that are done before surgery of any kind. An EKG, an echocardiogram a blood test, a lung X-ray. You know, normal stuff nothing out of the ordinary. It will be done here because although the clinic is state of the art it doesn't as yet have everything the hospital has i.e. X-rays and a few other things."

At the word EKG, Andy became pale, sweaty, and a little sick. He started to tremble slightly and feel a little faint. He thought to himself, "was this the time when the nightmare he woke up from and reality converged. Would they find out that Sharon really did have Cardiomyopathy after all? Would he lose her all over again? "Nooo please, I can't bear it, not again!" The anguished thought, translated into a muffled groan.

Sharon heard him and knew immediately something was wrong. She looked over at Andy, the sight of his pale face with a sheen of sweat on his forehead and a look of sheer panic on his dear face made her remember another time, when he had a heart attack, and her own heart felt like it was seizing for a split second at that memory. Marc looked at her and mouthed the words, "Is he okay? Should I call the doctor?"

Sharon shook her head slightly and put her hand up to indicate that she needed him to wait. Meanwhile, she assessed Andy's body language. She could tell there was panic, not pain in his eyes as well as the fact that he was not clutching his chest or his arm. Also, she'd experienced at least one heart attack of his, and this was not a heart attack, it was a panic attack. She turned her head to face Marc and indicated that Marc should hold off calling the Klo doctor. Then turning back to Andy, she placed her cool hands on his cheeks and forced him to look at her. As she did this, she quickly tried to remember the course of the conversation just before the panic attack started. It was the tests Marc had mentioned. She went over them in her head, EKG, Echocardiogram lung X-ray, and she realized what had caused this reaction from Andy. "Darling, I'm here. This is not a repeat of your dream. I'm alive. There is no cardiomyopathy. I'm fine, well… at least that part of me is," she said sardonically.

Andy gulped in some air and closed his eyes. He took several deep breaths and tried to calm himself down by focusing on Sharon's voice. She was here, she was alive. Not a dream, no cardiomyopathy. "How… do you know… you don't have it?" he asked weakly clinging to her wrists for she was still holding onto his face.

Calmly and in a soothing voice, she said, "remember I told you, they did those tests after I passed out at work to rule out cardiomyopathy. I just had a relapse of the flu because I went back to work too soon. Then they did those same tests here before they did the first surgery on my back immediately after the accident. There was no sign of anything being wrong with my heart."

Tears of relief and joy formed in Andy's eyes. He smiled into Sharon's eyes and kissed her and she kissed him back shamelessly in front of Marc. After a moment they heard a gruff noise that turned out to be Marc clearing his throat. Sharon and Andy both looked over at him, blinking at him. Surprised he was still there.

Marc looked at them and asked. "Are you okay? Is he okay? Because I was just going to mention that Andy, your doctor will want to examine you before you go. He'll want to make sure your reflexes and cognitive abilities are improving since waking up from the coma. He'll also want to check your heart, especially after what just happened. After all, it was quite a miracle that you came out of that coma. The doctors are still scratching their heads."

Andy smiled at Sharon as he said, "it was all Sharon's doing, believe me. I wouldn't be here if she hadn't literally breathed life into me with that kiss." He smiled into her eyes and kissed her again softly this time.

Sharon blushed at the blatant praise and the PDA in front of Marc. Then she pulled back and looked in Andy's eyes smoothing the front of his shirt as she did so. "Andy, it's not like you were dead, and I brought you back to life or anything. You still had active brain function, even after they turned off life support. You just needed a little push in the right direction that's all and…to be perfectly honest, I didn't exactly come up with that scenario all on my own. I had help." She smiled self deprecatingly.

Andy paid her admission no mind. He didn't care who had steered her in the right direction, she was the one who had kissed him awake and that's all that mattered to him.

TBC…

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