Chapter 12

Liz heard her father's voice and broke down. She didn't need to be strong anymore. And didn't care that there were strangers sitting in front of her.

"It's okay honey. Just take a deep breath and tell me what's going on."

She gathered herself together. "Alright. Please don't interrupt. Just let me get through this."

Jed was puzzled. What the hell was going on up there?

Liz started. "Mom had a severe heart attack this afternoon at the farm. And…"

"HEART ATTACK?"

"Dad, please. You promised."

"Okay. Continue, Liz."

"Her heart stopped, but the agents shocked her back to life. The paramedics came and took her to the hospital. By the time I got there they had already taken her to the cath lab. Dr. Nolan, you know him, right?"

"Yes, very well."

"Well, thank God he was there as well as the doctor he had gotten to do Mom's cath tomorrow, A woman named Dr. Scott. Anyway, they took her right to the cath lab and she was there for hours. Dr. Nolan kept me informed and then he and Dr. Scott came out and told me what happened. I have them both here to tell you what happened. They both want to talk with you. I'll put them on."

"Wait, Liz. Is your Mom okay?"

"Dad, Mom is alive. But she's critical. She had some complications. The doctors will explain them to you."

"Put them on." Jed knew that the doctors were going to use a lot of medical jargon that he wasn't going to understand. How he wished that Abbey was here to explain it to him in plain English. Instead, she was the patient.

"Mr. President, this is Bob Nolan. I'm sorry to be talking to you under these conditions."

"Me too. How's my wife?"

"Considering everything sir, she's stable. We consider her condition critical but stable. She's in ICU and breathing on her own, but that's about all the good news I can share. Dr. Scott will share what occurred during the procedure but I wanted to tell you that the heart attack she had at the farm this afternoon did damage her heart muscle. We haven't really been able to adequately assess it yet, but did lead directly to the complications she experienced during the cath. If we had been able to get her up here prior to the heart attack that would have been the best-case scenario."

"I understand that, Bob. But I just learned about all this a few days ago myself."

"I know, sir. I'm the one who, shall I say, encouraged her to tell you. She had been keeping this dangerous secret from you for some time. You cannot blame yourself. She thought she knew best. You, of all people, know how stubborn she is."

"Yeah."

"Well, I'll turn you over now to Dr. Francis Scott. I recommended her to your wife. I hold her in high regard and consider her one of the best young cardio-thoracic surgeons in the country. Just as I considered your wife as one of the best when she was still in active practice."

"Thank you, Bob. That means a lot."

Jed heard the phone being passed.

"Mr. President? This is Francis Scott."

"Good to hear from you, Dr. Scott. Please share with me what went on this afternoon."

"Yes, Mr. President. Like I told your daughter, we found four blockages. We put in four stents, two in the main coronary artery and then two in separate peripheral ones. Those took the longest because they were the most difficult to reach and the smallest. However, the main problem was the fresh damage to the heart muscle. Your wife's heart, at times, just didn't want to effectively pump so I had to insert what is called an inter-aortic balloon pump. It is only a temporary measure which will assist the heart in pumping the blood in and out while the heart heals. Once it has sufficiently healed, I will take her to surgery and the pump will be removed. After a lengthy recovery, she should be fine."

"How long before she can be discharged?"

"I can't even speculate, Sir. There are just too many variables."

"Thank you. May I please speak again with Robert?"

"Yes, Sir."

She handed the phone back to Bob. "Yes, Sir?"

"I will be up there tomorrow morning. Should I call my other two daughters and have them come with me?"

"Mr. President, I know that family can help in recovery. And I certainly know how close your family is. But only you can make that decision. I will alert the Hospital administration that you will be coming. And to expect a heavy influx of press and non-essential personnel. We'll do our best to protect your privacy."

"Thank you. I'm sure the Secret Service will quickly beef up their numbers as well. I'll see both of you tomorrow. Until then, Bob, please do something for me."

"Yes, Sir."

"Keep Abbey alive."

"Sir, I'll do my best."