eaglesnestI loved your review! Your advice is amazing, I will keep it in mind as I write this next chapter!
A/N: I understand you guys prefer longer chapters… So the reason this chapter took me forever to update was because I made it longer. I will do that for now on. School gets out on the 24th of May,(today) so after that I will most likely update sooner.
Chapter Seventeen
Hermione couldn't believe how everything was going… it was all so surreal. She couldn't help but feel like this was all a dream. Mrs. Weasley's condition, her pregnancy, and everything else that was going on.
In the past twenty-four hours Hermione had contacted Helen Marcus, a wonderful diagnostician. They had moved Mrs. Weasley to a muggle hospital, told Dr. Marcus about her conditions, and explained to the many Weasley children that their mother was in the best possible care.
Hermione was now lying in bed, sleepless, not thinking about the health of her unborn child, by her lack of sleep.
"Hermione you need some rest," Ron reasoned with her at midnight.
"I can't sleep…I'm not tired," she said whilst yawning.
"Yes you are, love. Just forget about all that has happened, everything will be fine… I hope. I mean I believe everything will be fine, and for now believing is enough. Believing and hoping and having faith is enough for my mum. She wouldn't want you stressing, especially during your pregnancy," Ron said, meaningfully and Hermione realized he was right. There wasn't anything they could do at the moment except hope.
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Hermione awoke the next morning at five a.m. with a rush of adrenaline. It was going to be a big day… she could feel it. She proceeded to get out of bed when another feeling washed over her… tiredness.
"Go back to sleep 'Mione. No need to get up yet," Ron said groggily. He had felt her move, waking him up.
She didn't protest she fell back on the soft bed, letting sleep pour over her. She dreamt of nothing, she just slept straight through to eight, when she awoke from Ron running into a wall.
She shook herself awake, and saw Ron rubbing his head. He had missed the door to the bathroom, like he did most mornings. He was too tired to pay attention to were he was going, he just let his feet carry him wherever they wanted to go.
"Damn door," he said, hitting the wall with his fist on the way into the secluded room.
Hermione giggled lightly before stepping out of bed and stretching her arms over her head in hopes to get out of her dazed state. It did not help much, but helped enough to get her through the morning.
She got ready very quickly in anticipation of what would happen that day. All day long they would be lounging around a muggle hospital in London. Hermione, the medical proxy, making all the big medical decisions concerning Mrs. Weasley's current condition.
Mrs. Weasley had known that Hermione attended muggle school her whole life a long with her wizarding school, and that she had in fact gone through three years of med school. Hermione's parents, when she was a young girl, decided that she would be better off with two options in the long run. That is why they sent her to muggle school, they wanted their daughter to have the best opportunities in life, but those opportunities didn't just bring greatness… they brought a ton a responsibility and loyalty to her family.
Hermione and Ron made their way to the hospital, both of them nearly having anxiety attacks, but they kept cool and calm and under control. Since it was a muggle hospital they were going to, they decided get their via muggle transportation. They rode on a series of trains before they reached London. Mrs. Weasley was staying in one of the best hospitals in the world, St Bartholomew's Hospital.
It was a fairly new and very large hospital. On the outside it looked a bit like a castle, but on the inside it was just like any other hospital. It had spotless white walls, doctors rushing around, and surgeons going from one OR to another.
Ron and Hermione wasted no time in finding Mrs. Weasley's room and other information. Stepping into Mrs. Weasley's room Hermione was overcome by all the family members that were cramped into the secluded room. Hospital rooms weren't the roomiest. As soon as Ron and Hermione got into the room and settled all the Weasley's left, as if they had discussed what they would do before.
Mrs. Weasley was plugged into numerous machines. The Electrocardiogram was making a monotonous beeping sound every couple of seconds. Her heart monitor was flashing every time her heart beat, and occasionally made this awful noise. Mrs. Weasley opened her mouth to say something but kept closed it.
"Hello Mum," Ron said almost cheerfully, leaning towards her and giving her a hug.
Hermione did the same not sure if she should ask anything or say anything. She was the medical proxy, after all, and Mrs. Weasley's health was her responsibility in some ways. Hermione was about to ask exactly what was wrong with Mrs. Weasley, because she didn't even know when Mrs. Weasley's heart monitor started beeping continuously and quickly in this loud annoying shriek.
Mrs. Weasley was turning a pale color and grasping her chest. Nurses flooded in around Ron and Hermione and soon shoved them out of the room, leaving them to peer in through the window as Mrs. Weasley's lung collapsed and her heart rate increased wildly.
"Push two of eppy," one nurse said as she got the defibrillator ready in case Mrs. Weasley's heart declined. Luckily the eppy worked… for the breathing.
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The doctor stood in front of Hermione and Ron, and told them exactly what they didn't want to hear," Her heart is too weak for her body. She needs a new heart. We need you, Hermonie Grangger, to sign these consent forms to get her a new heart."
"It's Hermione Granger," she said as she reached for the pen and signed the papers," this will take a while won't it? To get a new heart I mean?"
"Yes it most likely will," Dr. Marcus said looking over the papers and tucking the pen back into her shirt pocket," Which is why we are considering giving her an LVAD, while she waits for a suitable heart. Her heart is already very weak and while waiting for a new one her heart could deteriorate and become unable to pump enough blood to sustain life. An LVAD could perhaps buy Mrs. Weasley some time, but even then there is always the possibility the heart could come quickly. Even if it does come quickly her hear won't be able to pump enough blood to give her life, but for a couple of days."
"Okay, and how does this LVAD work?" Ron asked eagerly.
"The LVAD has a tube that pulls blood from the left ventricle into a pump. The pump then sends blood into the aorta. This effectively helps the weakened ventricle. The pump is placed in the upper part of the abdomen. Another tube attached to the pump is brought out of the abdominal wall to the outside of the body and attached to the pump's battery and control system. LVADs are now portable and are often used for weeks to months. Patients with LVADs can be discharged from the hospital and have an acceptable quality of life while waiting for a donor heart to become available. It is a great thing for Mrs. Weasley. She obviously has a family that is very important to her. Of course she won't be discharged from the hospital for a week or so, and even then a lot of things could happen to her… medically."
"That is great though," Ron said happily," we thought it was worse…"
"Yes, I understand," Dr. Marcus said professionally," I already explained this to Mr. Weasley, but Mrs. Weasley will need to rest, be on a proper diet, have modified daily activities, and there will be various drugs she will be taking."
Ron and Hermione listened as Dr. Marcus explained the cautions Mrs. Weasley would need to be under, and how it would affect their lives. It could take years for another heart, and there was a chance that before she even got a chance to get a new heart that she would die from heart failure. The LVAD wouldn't provide a permanent cure, but a temporary one…
A/N: So this is a longer chapter, no? I hope you enjoyed it.. I enjoyed writing it, and I hope to keep writing this story.