Chapter 9 - My Sacrifice
Normally once a donor is found, several weeks are needed to conduct further tests and to prepare the patient for the new marrow. In this case, this process will be accelerated. After all, this is fanfiction.
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Dr. Townsend and Otto walked in to Amy's room. In the previous 24 hours, Amy's condition had improved enough that she was taken off the ventilator and was breathing on her own, although she had an oxygen tube strung over her nose to make sure the breaths she was able to take would sustain her body.
"Amy, I have some exciting news." the doctor began. "Earlier today, we received word that a close-match donor has been found for a bone marrow transplant."
Amy smiled. "Wow."
He then added, "Normally, the donor is anonymous until well after the surgery. However, in this case, the donor should be well known to you."
"I thought none of my relatives was a match. Who could it be then?"
Dr. Townsend put his hand on Otto's shoulder. "You're looking at him, Amy."
Her smile quickly faded. This had to be a joke, and a cruel one at that. "You're kidding me, right?" she asked suspiciously.
Otto replied, "No, we're not kidding." The tone of his voice confirmed his sincerity. Her eyes lit up and her smile returned as big as ever.
The doctor commented, "You must have some friend, Amy. I must say that I've never seen anything like this in the 25 years I've been practicing medicine." He then turned to Otto. "We have a lot to do, you two, before we can do this. Amy, once you've recovered sufficiently from your infection, we will have to treat you with very powerful chemotherapy in order to remove all your diseased marrow. Otto, we have to do more tests to confirm your eligibility and then you and your father must make some decisions. I'll leave you two alone for now." With that, he left the room.
An awkward silence followed. Amy finally broke the ice. "I'm in shock, Otto. It's like you were sent to me for this reason. Are you sure you want to do this? Aren't you scared?"
"Amy, I'm as sure that I want to do this as I am sure that I love you. You don't know how much I wish I were in your shoes and you in mine. I'd die before I'd let you leave this world. Yeah, I've never had surgery before (just broken bones). But I think this will be an easy sacrifice in comparison to what you've been through."
"The doctor was right. This is an unbelievable story. I mean, we were neighbors. Enemies turned friends. And now after being separated for three years, you come back in to my life and end up being my lifeline." She carefully lifted her free hand up to her mouth and blew Otto a kiss. He blew her a kiss back.
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"Wait a minute, Dad. Otto's bone marrow almost exactly matches Amy's? And they're not related? This is too weird."
"I know it is, Reggie. But that's what the doctor said," Ray assured his daughter as they were pulling together belongings that they would need to take to Michigan. They were expecting to be there for several days. The doctor said that there would be no way they could operate until at least Monday (it was Wednesday). In addition to packing their own clothes, they packed additional stuff for Otto.
Reggie, upon hearing the news, called Twister and Sam. At first, their parents were unsure that they wanted their kids possibly missing school, but when they heard the unbelievable story of Otto and Amy, they decided that Otto deserved the support of his friends. They too began to pack frantically. Ray had ordered plane tickets so they could depart the next day. Once arriving in Detroit, they would rent a car and stay near Detroit so they could easily access the hospital.
"This is too weird," Twister complained as they brought their stuff over to the Rockets to load in.
"I know that strangers can be donors for bone marrow, but I just can't see it being possible that two neighbors, friends for that matter, could be matches." Sam added using his technical style.
Ray suddenly cut in, "Well all I know guys is that your friend, and my son, is willing to give the greatest gift that anybody could ever give." He wished that there was some donation procedure that could have saved his wife. After her ordeal with cancer, he was happy that Otto wasn't going to let cancer claim another victim. To boot, he was going to give part of his body in order to assure that.
After they loaded everything in to the car, Ray bid the boys good night. "We leave at 8 sharp tomorrow," he reminded them.
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As Dr. Townsend stated, the next few days were grueling for everybody involved. Otto was re-tested again to confirm his match with Amy's proteins. The test yielded the same results; the blood was free of disease and his DNA was determined to be compatible with Amy's. The same day, Ray and the rest of the gang arrived. Otto introduced Sam to Amy and Reggie and Twister were finally re-united with their former neighbor. Reggie and Amy even spent some time together talking about typical teenage girl stuff. Amy enjoyed having someone else her age to talk to that she had been really close to.
Ray and Otto were given a presentation on the overall marrow donation process. Although there was a process to extract stem cells from blood, Amy needed a regular transplant of marrow--a little less than a quart of it. The doctor explained everything about how they would extract the marrow. While Otto was afraid of how he would feel after being poked in the hip by three humongous and hollow needles, the doctor assured him that recovery would not take too long. As for the effect on Amy, she was given a 30-40% chance of living at least five years as a result of the transplant. While Otto wished the odds were more in her favor, he knew he would at least prolong her life. After the presentation, another doctor took Otto to an exam room to give him a general physical. Of course, the active teenager was given a clean bill of health, so nobody expected any complications from the surgery. At that point, Otto was cleared for donation and he and Ray were given a consent form to authorize the procedure. Otto wasted no time at all placing his signature on the document. Ray, noting Otto's enthusiasm, quickly scanned the document and then signed it.
Now that the donor had been committed, the doctors turned to preparing Amy for the surgery. First, she was given a combination of antibiotics to quickly and completely rid her of the pneumonia. Once she was cleared, doctors began admitting the first of several powerful doses of chemotherapy that would rid her body of any diseased marrow. Otto was heartbroken as every day she grew sicker and more pale due to the chemo, but he knew that this state was under the control of the doctors and that it would only be temporary.
During the Easter weekend, Dr. Townsend said she was ready for surgery and the procedure was set for Tuesday. About that time, Otto was asked to donate a unit of his own blood in case it was needed for some reason during his operation. During the last 48 hours before the surgery, both Otto and Amy couldn't help but reflect upon the events of the past week. It was especially unbelievable for Otto, who two weeks ago was in Ocean Shores being his usual, athletic self. Now he was about to give of himself for the sake of someone he hadn't seen for years.
Hello my friend we meet again
It's been a while where should
we begin…feels like forever
Within my heart are memories
Of perfect love that you gave to me
I remember
When you are with me
I'm free…I'm careless…I believe
Above all the others we'll fly
This brings tears to my eyes
My sacrifice
We've seen our share of ups and downs
Oh how quickly life can turn around in
an instant
It feels so good to reunite
Within yourself and within your mind
Let's find peace there
Finally, the anticipated day arrived.
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The night before, both Amy and Otto wished each other good luck. In their hearts, they sincerely hoped that everything would turn out well.
"Are you scared?" Otto asked, holding her hand.
"Yeah, a little," she admitted.
"Well, don't be. Even though we'll both be in surgery, I'll be with you...in spirit. I won't let anything happen to you, I swear."
"OK. I guess I'll see you when I get out." With that, she blew Otto one last kiss and he returned the favor.
Before Otto went to bed that night, he asked his dad to drive him to the local mall. He wanted something else delivered to Amy besides his bone marrow.
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Otto was admitted to the hospital early that morning. As the hospital rarely did bone marrow transplants, a team from a nearby hospital came to aid in the procedure.
After changing in to a hospital gown, Otto met with an anesthesiologist regarding what type of sedation he wanted. He had a choice of general sedation or local anesthesia given through the spinal cord. While Otto would have rather felt no pain, he felt that he could tolerate the discomfort of being awake during the procedure...he was, after all, the daring and brave Otto Rocket, and in comparison to how much pain Amy had suffered, this would be nothing. Besides, he didn't want to be put on a ventilator, as would be required with general anesthesia.
Otto was placed face down on a stretcher and and two regular needles were inserted: one in his arm for an IV, and one in his back for the anesthetic. Otto began to lose all sensation in his lower body; first his legs felt really warm and then he felt nothing at all. He was sure glad he wasn't standing up. Just to make sure he was comfortable, they asked if he wanted any more medication. Otto agreed. An additional but safe amount was administered and Otto began to feel very sleepy, drifting in and out of consciousness. He was wheeled in to the operating room where a team of doctors was waiting. Around the same time, another group of doctors was preparing Amy in the adjacent room for the new marrow.
Otto could feel a great tugging sensation as three needles were inserted in to his hip bone and pushed around, the syringes drawing up the spongy material needed to help Amy. During the procedure, Otto fell asleep long enough that he experienced something amazing. All of a sudden, he saw the face of a woman dressed in white. She had long wavy hair that reminded him of his sister. Her eyes looked quite familiar as well. All of a sudden, it dawned on him.
"Mom?" he called. Sure enough, it was the late Dani Rocket.
"Otto, I am so proud of you. You have turned out to be a true gentleman. I think you have just learned the greatest lesson: sacrificing yourself for another is the greatest love anybody can show. I love you, Otto, and I will always be with you." With that she turned away, and Otto was suddenly jerked back in to consciousness.
When you are with me
I'm free…I'm careless…I believe
Above all the others we'll fly
This brings tears to my eyes
My sacrifice
I just want to say hello again, I just want to say hello again. My
sacrifice.
After an hour of surgery, exactly 875 milliliters of marrow had been removed. Otto was moved in to a recovery room and the marrow was quickly transferred to the next room: it was time for someone to receive what would hopefully be a new lease on life.
About 90 minutes later, Amy was wheeled out of surgery as well and went in to a separate recovery room.
Otto was moved from the recovery room after being there for two and a half hours. Once he regained feeling in his legs and could bend his knees, he was moved in to a standard hospital room.
After a few hours, Amy left recovery as well. At the request of Amy's father, both were placed in the same room. Otto, who had been anxiously awaiting word on Amy, was able to see that Amy had received his marrow with no complications.
"Hey Amy," Otto called. Amy slowly turned her head and produced a faint smile.
In order to be discharged from the hospital (marrow donation was usually an outpatient procedure), Otto had to prove that he could do three things on his own: eat, urinate, and stand up on his own. The first objective was fairly easy. The other two, however, were a bit of a challenge. When Otto tried to get out of bed to use the bathroom, his usually strong legs couldn't even hold him up for three seconds. It was almost like he was a newborn colt. To add to that, his rear end felt as if someone had run straight in to him at full speed with a bicycle. Ray and the gang watched him and broke out in a fit of laughter. It was hilarious to see the kid who could do anything not be able to walk, if only temporarily. Of course, their humor was in good nature, and even though Otto was a little humiliated, he joined in the laughter. Even Amy was able to turn her head and see Otto's struggle. She too was able to produce a noticeable grin.
By late afternoon, Otto was able to get himself up, meaning that he was cleared for discharge. Of course, he refused to leave, wishing to be by Amy's side. The doctor suggested that he come back the next day as they wanted to make sure there were no short-term complications, such as rejection. The slightly cold Otto reluctantly accepted the suggestion and returned to the hospital the next day (as soon as he had finished sleeping in--the anesthesia and early morning had made him very tired).
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"I hate to do this to you, Otto," Ray commented as they were preparing to leave, "but we have to get back to Ocean Shores tomorrow. You and the others have missed enough school and I need to get back to help Tito. Dr. Townsend said you should be OK to fly tomorrow."
Otto quickly protested, "But Dad? What if something happens to Amy? I want to know if she'll be OK."
"If something happens, I promise you can come back. I think you'll find out soon enough. I bet everything will be fine."
"OK, Dad." He then added, "By the way, while I was asleep in surgery, I thought I saw Mom. She said how proud she was of me and that I was making a great sacrifice for someone else."
Ray at first thought the medicine had made him hallucinate, but when Otto further described the woman he saw, Ray knew that he probably was telling the truth. Besides, what she told Otto sounded like something she would have said.
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At the hospital, the gang sat around and watched TV with Amy. Every few hours, nurses came in to check Amy's vital signs, and another doctor took a quick blood sample to monitor the effects of the transplant. Before Otto left for the night to prepare for his return home, he brought a package in to Amy's room. It was a cardboard box shaped like a little house. Amy knew in an instant where Otto had been: Build-a-Bear.
She opened the box quickly. First, she pulled out the main contents: a hand-stuffed dog. It was a golden retriever dog, and included with it was a set of magnetic "treats," a pet bed, and a birth certificate. The name on the dog's collar was (appropriately) Otto. The date on the birth certificate matched her surgery date and her name was mentioned as the owner.
"It's so cute," she replied, with tears welling up in her eyes. She uttered a cry of joy when she squeezed the dog and she heard a recording of Otto's voice: "Woof. Woof. What's up, Amy?"
"Open the card," Otto insisted. She happily complied.
Inside the card was this message, which included the theme song from an old Disney Channel show:
May today be your new birthdate: the day that you receive a new lease on life.
No matter where you are, a part of me will always be with you. No matter where you are, a part of you will always be with me, too.
Love always,
Otto
The card was literally right; Amy was now living with a part of Otto inside of her. She smiled and began to cry. "I can't thank you enough. You've done so much for me and I've done so little for you. I don't even know how to start repaying you."
"The only way you can repay me is to live through this and to get better," Otto assured her, placing a hand on her shoulder. Finally, it was time for Otto to leave.
"Please keep me updated," Otto pleaded.
"Don't worry. Besides my dad, you will be the first to know about everything. By the way, I would still walk a thousand miles to get to you."
Otto was happy to hear the assurance, but he didn't take it literally. After all, it would take her a long time to recover her strength and then she would have to build herself up to walk long distances every day.
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The next day, Otto and the gang headed for the airport and boarded a plane back to the Los Angeles area.
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OK, the surgery is over. As was said, there is only a 30-40% chance that this surgery will ultimately be successful. Will the leukemia be defeated or will it remain?
It's kind of funny that I used the lyrics of the show "Brotherly Love" and I'm writing this fanfic while I'm in the City of Brotherly Love. Coincidence? I think not (j/k).