Grace
Our poor Ana. From believing she was rescued by a man whom had once assaulted her now she's being told that what she believed may not be true, that she may have been used and manipulated to trust him so that he could deliver her to Morton to be raped. It's no wonder she's taken on a catatonic state.
I'm here in her room with John Flynn. She's lying on her front, unmoving and barely blinking. I don't need John to tell me what this is but I'm bloody well hoping he knows what to do about it.
"Anastasia I know you've been through something incredibly traumatic." He says trying to engage her but she doesn't even meet his eye and it's unnerving and horrifying. "But we can't help if you don't engage with us." He continues, he's been trying for the last fifteen minutes to get her attention but she isn't even acknowledging our presence in the room.
"Jesus Christ Ana sweetheart talk to us." I say desperately but it earns a stern look from the dark eyes of John Flynn. He asked me to say nothing but how can I stand here and not say anything?!
"Ana, he will pay for what he's done. Morton and Hyde will go to prison." He continues but still nothing. This makes me feel so sick, she's literally a breathing corpse in front of us and I just want to shake her and try and get her to respond but I know that's useless.
John sighs and takes a step back away from the bed, he can't be giving up yet surely. He signals the door with his head and I sigh and follow him out. He says nothing but makes his way down to Christian's office where he's been waiting with Melissa and Tamara the Rape Trauma Syndrome specialist psychiatrist.
All eyes immediately turn to us when we enter the room and I curl my lips. I want to shout that John didn't do enough but he is a professional, he knew what he was doing.
"Well?" Tamara asks, her dark eyebrows rising expectantly.
"Just bare with me a second." John says sinking into one of the empty chairs. I don't think any of us appreciate how hard this is for him, he's a family friend and he adores Ana and I feel guilty for a moment for not believing he was doing all he could.
"Patient is thirty two years old and is ten to eleven weeks pregnant. Patient presents with akinetic catatonia ... mutism, indifference, non-responsive to vocal stimuli..."
John is dissociating and I don't blame him, problem is, how the hell are we going to deal with this. We all just let him explain in his own way what he found when he examined Ana this morning.
"Mild levels of dehydration suspected due to elasticity of the skin."
I look at Tamara who is scribbling away in her notebook as John speaks. All this psychiatry talk is all well and good, what we want to know is how we're going to treat her.
"So what do you think John?" Tamara asks for all of us who are waiting impatiently but silently.
"Well, as they catatonia is verging on becoming malignant I would usually say inpatient care, treat with benzos and on failing that ECT."
I gasp, I don't mean to but all eyes turn to me as I look to Christian whose eyes have sunk shut with a devastating look of despair.
"What I am conscious of..." John continues ignoring my outburst. "...is that we know she's close to being in malignant catatonia, this has been building since she came home, the lack of eating, lack of communicating, spending her time shut away and not communicating with her loved ones." He looks remorseful and I realise he feels guilty that he didn't anticipate this happening.
"If she goes to hospital they will commit her." Tamara says quietly, looking at John as if the rest of us weren't here.
"I know." John sighs. "The only thing that I can think of is that we make here her facility, we bring in a team of the best, Tamara and I can work on the communication, start and manage the drugs, do whatever it is we need to do to get her well..." he's looking at Christian now, giving her next of kin options to consider.
"They'd give her ECT." He chokes. John nods lightly and I feel bile rising in my own throat. ECT has come a long way but it still isn't a kind treatment option and to think of our Ana, pregnant and having that done to her turns my stomach.
"If she doesn't respond to the benzos we'll have little choice Christian. Malignant catatonia kills, if she passes that threshold we will have no choice but to call an ambulance, have her admitted and administer whatever treatment required to save her life." John is cold, distant but firm. Christian is the only person here who can make this decision and as hard as it is he has to make it and soon.
"What do you mean by treating her here?" I ask interjecting on my son's behalf who looks like someone has just told him his wife has died.
"Well we'd start with administering the benzo, once we get the dosage right we should see a marked improvement very quickly. The key then is to treat the underlying cause in between rounds of medication. As she improves we'll see the affects of the drugs wearing off becoming less and less allowing us to reduce the dosage, naturally we want to avoid long term use and risk of addiction." John explains rambling a little because I know he's nervous. "To treat the underlying cause we'd start talking therapy, individual to start but I think there would be a benefit to joint sessions with you, Christian, we can bring in a mental health specialist nurse, wellness activities coordinator."
"And if it doesn't work?" Christian asks quietly, his voice barely a whisper and unlike my confident son.
"We'll have no choice but to admit her." Tamara answers on John's behalf.
"Do whatever you have to do." Christian says giving the consent they need to try and get his wife back.
Carrick
I've spent all morning sorting out the recusal paperwork for Ana's case. I haven't told Hyde that I won't be able to represent him. I don't know how to face the man that may be partly responsible for the state my family is now in.
He was so remorseful though and a part of me cannot believe he was in any way involved in the way it's being made out. He was devastated about what happened to Ana, heartbroken, he shot a man to protect her... at least that's what I want to believe.
The evidence however paints another story. It's not clear cut like we first thought. Ana's own statement along with that of her attacker suggest that Hyde may have been complicit in what happened. They have no evidence to say that Hyde was in any way involved in Amaya's kidnap but evidence suggests he may have been involved in Ana's rape.
"Cary..." a distraught looking Grace enters the lounge and I stand in time to catch her in my arms. She sobs hard, so unlike my strong Grace.
"Gracie what is it?" I ask as she begins to calm.
"Ana's in a really bad way Cary...they were talking about inpatient treatment and electro-convulsive therapy..." she begins to cry again and I hold her tight, my lips brushing the soft skin of her face, right next to her ear, in comfort. In-patient care? How did things get this bad?
"She's catatonic..." Grace continues pulling away enough so she can look into my eyes. "If they can't get her responding in the next day or so... they'll have no choice..." Grace struggles to tell me but thankfully she manages to tell me enough. What more can this family take? Haven't we all been through enough? Especially Ana!
"She'll get through this Grace. She's one of the strongest people we know." I reassure my wife while also trying to convince myself that it's true.
"What's happening with Hyde?" Grace asks pulling away and taking a handkerchief from her pocket to wipe her tears.
"I'm recusing myself, it would be a conflict of interest to represent him now. He will be in arraignment in the morning charged with conspiracy to commit rape in the first degree. I am expecting him to plead not guilty Grace and this will go to trial. Ana will have to testify."
"Testify!" Grace snorts in disbelief. "Cary, she isn't even moving let alone talking right now."
"It could take a few months to get to that stage, but they'll use her statement as evidence if she fails to appear but they will need her to appear and she needs to also, for her own sake."
Grace sighs at me. I know it is expecting a lot from Ana with the state she's currently in but for now I'm hoping that by the time the trial comes around she'll be in a much better position. Hopefully John Flynn and Tamara Campbell will be able to help heal our girl and bring her back to life. For all our sakes we need her back.