CHAPTER 13
Ever since the day of the brunch, Em and I were kept busy by the outings and side trips that the Walkers had arranged for us.. We were rarely in our hotel room except to shower and sleep. We spent a lot of time with Audra and PJ, who were very gracious, generous hosts. They understood full well what I going through, having to wait to hear from both medical teams. They were just as anxious as I was to find out the results of my tests, maybe even more so.
Over the last couple of days, we visited the Odessa Meteor Crater, a 550 foot wide hole in the ground, fabled to be the second meteor crater in the United States. It wasn't exactly a thrill a minute, but it was interesting and held my attention long enough to keep my mind off of things. We also attended a play at the Globe Theatre, seeing a nice production of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream". The theatre was supposedly an exact replica of the The Globe in the UK. I had seen a revival of the play off Broadway in New York while I was in college and I had loved it. The Texan accents that broke through the Elizabethan era dialogue caused me to giggle a few times, but the set decorations were top notch. Em fell asleep after intermission and her resonating snore caused other people to giggle.
We were wined and dined at the best restaurants all over the midland area of Texas for breakfast, lunch and dinner. After just two days of stuffing my face practically non-stop, my pants were feeling a little tighter than they had before we arrived in Odessa. A temporary evil, I told myself, while I devoured a mixed green salad with grilled chicken, fresh berries and a strawberry vinaigrette, while seated at an outdoor cafe with Audra, PJ and Em enjoying lunch.
"You definitely have a Texas-sized appetite, Miss Maddy," said PJ, sounding a little more amused than I would have liked.
"Must be something in the air because I've done nothing but eat since I got here," I said, wiping my mouth with a napkin before taking several gulps of iced tea.
"It does a body good," he said. "Unless your pants don't fit anymore. Mine's cutting off my circulation as we speak," I replied, making everyone giggle. Over the laughter, I heard my phone ringing, so I reached around for my purse that was hanging off the back of my chair. I dug through its contents, pulling it out just in time to see the call was from a number in Texas. My voice was a little shaky as I answered.
"Mrs. Casey? This is Dr. Brandywine, Harper Walker's oncologist. I have your test results and I was wondering how soon you can get to the medical center. I'd like to discuss some things with you,"" the voice said. My hands started to shake.
"How soon can I be to the medical center?" I repeated. Audra and PJ nearly jumped out of their seats when they heard me say that. "Tell them we can get you there in twenty minutes," said PJ.
We all piled into their truck and we left the parking lot of the cafe with a squeal and the slightest smell of burnt rubber in the air. PJ weaved in and out of traffic on the highway, between small cars and those in the slow lane, like his vehicle was on fire. With each sharp turn of the wheel, Em and I swayed in the backseat like blades of hay being blown back and forth in the wind. At one point, I grabbed onto the armrest and onto Em's arm to steady myself and to hopefully calm the nausea that was beginning to rise in my throat. After what seemed like only minutes, we pulled into the medical center's parking lot. PJ threw the truck into park with a jerk and we all clambered out onto the pavement. I steadied myself against the bed of the truck to get my legs to stop shaking and my stomach to settle down. I was dizzier now than I was at brunch a couple of days ago.
"Jesus, Maddy...you OK? I just wanted to get you here as fast as I could, is all." said PJ. When I had finally caught my breath, we walked into the medical center and took the elevator up to Dr. Brandywine's office on the fourth floor. My heart was practically pounding out of my chest as I opened the door into the waiting room. I gave my name to the receptionist while Audra, PJ and Em all found seats against the opposite wall. After checking in, I poured myself a cup of water from the water cooler next to the reception desk and sat down in the empty seat next to Em.
"Are you okay, Mads? You still look a little green. That boy drives like a bat flying straight out of hell," she said. I nodded that I was okay as I took several gulps of the ice cold water from the flimsy paper cone. The coolness trickled slowly down my throat, settling my upset stomach and calming my jangled nerves from the wild ride we took to get here. After about ten minutes, one of the office nurses came out into the waiting room with a clipboard in her hand. She quickly scanned the room with her eyes before calling out my name.
"Madeleine Casey?" I stood up from my chair and told her that I was Madeleine Casey. "Dr. Brandywine will see you now." I stood up from my chair as she motioned me to follow her. The Walkers and Em followed my down the hallway.
"I think the doctor would like to speak to you alone, Mrs. Casey," she said, looking the entourage that was behind me.
"I have nothing to hide from any of these people. Besides, anything Dr. Brandywine has to tell me affects them, so I would like it if they could join me for this appointment," I said. The nurse agreed, not before letting out a very audible sigh. She knocked on the office door, waiting for the doctor's reply.
"Dr. Brandywine, Madeleine Casey is here for her appointment," she said when she had opened the door.
"Come in...come in...take a seat," said Dr. Brandywine, getting up and coming around the side of his desk. He shook my hand vigorously, then motioned for the others to take a seat on the couch that sat along the west wall of his office, next to a huge mahogany bookcase.
"How have you been, Mrs. Casey? I'm hope these last couple of days waiting haven't been too difficult for you," he said.
"Mr. and Mrs. Walker have been keeping me busy, showing me around Odessa, so it hasn't been too terrible." I said.
"Fine...fine...let's get down to it then, shall we?" he said. He flipped open a file folder that he had in front of him, rustled through a few of the papers before he found what he was looking for. He held up what looked like a lab report of some kind.
"The good news is is that you are a very healthy woman, Mrs. Casey. That alone would make you a viable candidate for harvesting your bone marrow. Fortunately, you are a perfect match for Harper, as we suspected you'd be." Audra and PJ let out sighs of relief, with Audra breaking into tears. "Thank God,thank God," she said, sobbing against PJ's shoulder. I felt a huge rush of relief wash over me. I would be able to help.
"Having said that, I'm afraid you won't be able to do donate your bone marrow. At least not right now," he said. I heard Audra gasp. "What? How can that be? You just said she was a perfect match!" she cried.
"Please, Mrs. Walker...if you let me explain…" he replied. Audra was inconsolable. She continued to sob in PJ's arms as he held her. I could feel a few tears welling up in my own eyes. The sound of her crying broke my heart.
"Mrs. Casey...with your permission, I'll continue to tell you the reasons why you can't be a donor right now," he said.
"One question first...does that mean that at some point, I will be able to be a donor?" I asked.
"Yes, ma'am, that's right...so, may I?" he asked.
"Yes, of course...go on," I replied.
"There were a few lab values, specifically with your urinalysis, so I had them run a specific blood test to confirm what I suspected…" I felt a tingle rush through my entire body and began to shake. This could only mean one thing.
"Is it cancer, Dr. Brandywine? My mother died of cancer, so it wouldn't come as a total surprise if…" He broke me off before I could finish what I was saying.
"Cancer? No, Mrs. Casey...you're pregnant. From the hCg levels in your blood, I'd say you're about ten weeks along.."
The words reverberated inside my head, over and over. "you're pregnant...you're pregnant...you're pregnant…" I started crying, unsure if they were ecstatically happy tears for me and Matt, having finally conceived or if they were tremendously sad tears for not being able to help Harper.
"Are you sure?" was all I could think to say.
"Yes, ma'am...100 percent sure. You're going to have a baby. My calculation points to a due date sometime around September 17th." I broke down sobbing and Em rushed over to comfort me.
"Mads, you should be happy about this. It's what you and Casey have wanted since you got married," she said.
"Of course, I'm happy...it's just that I won't... be able to help Harper now…" I said.
"Mrs. Casey, once you have the baby you can be a donor for Harper. Just not while you're pregnant," said the doctor.
"But by then it might be too…" said Audra, crying again. The word 'late' rankled inside my head, even though she didn't finish her thought. Christ, I couldn't even begin to think about that.
"Mrs. Walker, Harper is a strong little girl in spite of her illness. There are several other options open to her that can help her, at least temporarily, until Mrs. Casey has her baby. Let's not push the panic button just yet," he said. Dr. Brandywine handed me his card and copies of my test results to give to both my GP and OB doctors. Once we were outside, I turned to to Audra and PJ.
"I'm so sorry, guys...I had no idea I was pregnant," I said.
"Honey, there is no need to apologize. You have a little miracle growing inside you and there's no reason for us to think that a miracle won't happen for Harper, too. You go back to Chicago and take care of yourself and that precious cargo of yours. After everything we've put you through, you and your husband deserve to be happy, too," said Audra. We drove back to the hotel in relative silence. As I watched the Texas landscape roll by out my window, I couldn't help but wonder about Matt and me and our marriage. We may have deserved to be happy, but would we be?