Chapter 27, Health Scares: Winter 2033 – 34
Tali came home on Friday night for Thanksgiving break week to a houseful of sick family. Beth and Rivka had started with colds and then flu-like symptoms. A doctor visit confirmed the flu, and the two were given over the counter medications to help them rest and to lessen the symptoms. Anthony had come down with the flu next, starting with a late night session of emptying his insides while Tony held him and wiped his fevered face with a damp wash cloth. LJ threw up at school the next day and Ziva picked him up early and put him straight into bed. All four were feeling under the weather, so Ziva had them stay in pajamas and robes all day and rest as much as possible. She and Tony made a large pot of chicken noodle soup, but only Beth wanted to eat. Rivka nibbled on some saltines, but Anthony and LJ turned down all food. Just keeping water down was difficult.
As Beth and Rivka started feeling better, Ziva started running a fever. Tony sat with her as she emptied her stomach and wiped her face with a damp cloth. "This is worse than morning sickness," Ziva moaned as Tony helped her put on her warm pajamas and crawl into bed. For the next two days, Tony took care of his sick family, bringing water, soup, crackers, dry toast, or whatever stayed down to each of them. Beth and Rivka felt well enough to get dressed and help Tony on the sixth day. On day eight, Anthony asked for pancakes and bacon, and kept it down, so Tony knew he was feeling much better. Ziva and LJ were still running fevers, and sleeping most of the time. They would wake up for a short amount of time, drink some water, eat a few crackers and go back to sleep.
On day nine, Tali came home for Thanksgiving break. Beth and Rivka were still sniffling and had scratchy throats. Anthony had an appetite, but still ached all over. LJ had eaten some toast and had kept it down, and was now asking for more food. Figuring that LJ had turned the corner, Tony made soup for all of the kids to have for lunch. He went to check on Ziva and she did not want food. He kissed her and she mumbled that he felt feverish to her.
Tony went to stand up and nearly passed out. His stomach started churning and he barely made it to the bathroom. Tali heard her Abba, and came to check on him. "Get in the bed, Abba. I can take care of the others." Tony nodded gratefully to Tali and put on fleece sleep pants and one of his OSU sweatshirts. He was now freezing cold and starting to shiver. He crawled into bed and Ziva spooned into his chest and front. They both went to sleep, with his arm over her protectively.
Around dinner time, Tali put some chicken in the oven and made rice. She went to check on her parents and both were still sleeping but her Abba was drenched in sweat. He looked pale. She grabbed a wash cloth from the bathroom and wiped her father's face with it. He turned slightly and mumbled, "Thanks, Tali," but then went back to sleep. His breathing sounded raspy.
Tali fed her sisters and brothers and cleaned up the kitchen. They watched a movie together and then all of them headed to bed. Tali was worried about her Abba, so she went to check on him. Neither he nor Ziva were awake, and Tony's breathing sounded better to Tali, so she closed their door most of the way and went to her own room. She kept her door open to listen for the others.
~TIVA~
Around 0400, Ziva's fever finally broke and she woke up drenched in sweat. She got up and went into the bathroom, where she peeled off her sweat soaked pajamas and rinsed off in a quick shower. She put on a pair of sweats and one of Tony's OSU shirts. She went back to the bed and Tony had shifted. His breathing was ragged and his face pale. She turned on the bedside light on her side and noticed that Tony's lips were a bluish tinge. She used the forehead thermometer to take his temperature: 103.4º. NOT GOOD. Ziva tried waking Tony and he barely responded. She got her phone and called 911.
As she talked to the dispatcher, she moved through the house, turning on enough lights so the EMTs could move through the house and get Tony. She turned on the porch lights and the walkway lights as well. She went to Tali's room and woke her daughter.
"Tali, Abba is very sick and I have called 911. The emergency crew is on its way here. When they take him to the hospital, I am going with him. I will call you when we know something." Tali hugged her Ima and then told her she would watch for the ambulance and that Ziva should go back to Tony.
Ziva went back to the master bedroom. Tony's breathing was even more ragged and he was sweating profusely. She grabbed the cloth and wiped his face and neck.
The EMTs arrived and Tali led them to her parents' room. Abba was pale and having trouble breathing. Tali tried not to get too worried as that would not help her Ima. The EMTs did an assessment and then got the stretcher and portable oxygen. They put Tony on the stretcher and started the oxygen with a mask over his mouth and nose. Once in the ambulance, they contacted the ER doctor for permission to administer a bronchodilator medication to open the lung airways.
Ziva rode with the ambulance, trying to stay as calm as she could, but wanting to be with Tony and have him know she was there. Tali closed up the house and made a pot of coffee. She decided to stay awake so that she could tell her siblings about Abba and also in case Ima called with news. She planned to call Grandpa Gibbs around 0730.
~TIVA~
In the ER, Tony was taken to into an examination area immediately. The bronchodilator meds had helped some, but Tony's breathing was still labored. The ER doctor ordered full chest x-rays STAT. Ziva had just finished completing the admittance forms when the doctor came out to talk to her.
"He is going for chest x-rays as we speak, Mrs. DiNozzo." The doctor had her sit down on one of the chairs in the waiting area. "Has he had any problems with his lungs before?" Ziva told the doctor about Tony's bout with the plague many years ago, and gave him the name of Tony's pulmonologist.
"I suspect pneumonia, and the x-rays will confirm it, if so. We will be admitting him after the x-rays, but I'm not sure if it will be ICU or a regular room yet. Let me go check on the x-rays and do more examination. I'll get back to you shortly." The doctor went down the hallway to check on Tony and on the x-rays.
Ziva called Tali to give her the update and promised to call back when she heard more from the doctor. "Tali, I am scared. Tony has never been this sick since I have known him." Ziva needed reassurance, when there was none yet.
"Ima, Abba is strong, and stubborn. He will make it through this. Love you and wish I could hug you." Tali felt scared as well, but she was not going to let on to her mother.
~TIVA~
Ziva focused on the television in the ER waiting room as it played a news show. She must have drifted off to sleep, because the next thing she knew, the nurse was trying to wake her. "Mrs. DiNozzo, the doctor is moving your husband to ICU room 15. You can go with him." Ziva thanked the nurse and went in the direction she pointed.
As she got to the area where Tony had been examined in the ER, two attendants came to move him. Ziva walked alongside the bed, holding Tony's hand. His color looked a bit better and his breathing was not as labored. He was being given a decongestant and a corticosteroid via IV. At the ICU, the attendants transferred Tony to one of the ICU beds and left to take the ER bed back. The ICU nurse told Ziva that the doctor would be there in about fifteen minutes to explain the treatment and Tony's condition. Ziva pulled a chair to Tony's bedside and sat holding his hand to wait for the doctor. She interlaced her fingers with his, careful not to disturb the IV line. Before she sat down, she placed a kiss on his cheek and one on his forehead. "I am here, my love. I shall not leave you."
The doctor arrived and confirmed that Tony had pneumonia, and explained the planned treatments to Ziva. He also explained that Tony would most likely stay unconscious for a day or so while his body started healing. He asked if Ziva had any questions and she shook her head no. After he left, Ziva sent Tali a text message about the updates. Tali sent a reply "Love you and Abba. "
Ziva glanced at the clock on her phone: 0715. She sat back down in the chair and held Tony's hand interlacing her fingers with his. She rested her head on the bed next to his arm. She said a silent prayer that he would recover and be okay. Then she started singing softly to him, starting with the lullabies she sang for the children when they were small, some in Hebrew, some in English.
She didn't remember feeling sleepy, but she must have drifted off, because the cell phone vibrating in her free hand awakened her. Tali called to let her Ima know that the rest of the family was up and had been told about their Abba's condition. Tali had also called Gibbs to let him know and the older man was on his way to the DiNozzo house. "Toda, Tali. I will find out about visiting times and will call you back in a bit."
~TIVA~
Ziva did not leave Tony's side except for using the bathroom and taking a quick stretch break every two to three hours. Visiting hours for the ICU were limited and only for ten minutes at a time. Only one other person was allowed at a time with Ziva there. Tali came by on her way to go grocery shopping for the family. She squeezed her Abba's hand and kissed his cheek. "Get well, Abba, we all need you. I love you, Abba." She hugged Ziva and left when her ten minutes were over.
Gibbs came by with Anthony, Beth, Rivka and LJ. Only Anthony was old enough to be allowed to visit, so Gibbs told him to go in first. The other three watched from the windows to Tony's room. Anthony walked over to his Ima and hugged her. He looked at his Abba, and paled. "Ima, is he going to be okay?" Ziva nodded to her son, "He is a fighter, Anthony. He will get through this." She hugged her son once more and his time was over.
Gibbs came in and hugged Ziva. "I'm here, Ziva. I love you." Ziva melted into his arms, "Toda, Abba." She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed. Gibbs hugged her tighter and whispered in her ear, "He is under order to get well, and I will tell him so. Worked last time!" Ziva smiled through her tears.
Gibbs leaned over to Tony and touched his shoulder, giving it a small squeeze. "DiNozzo, you are ordered to get well, or you get a head slap." Ziva grinned. Gibbs' hand ruffled Tony's hair, "I love you son. Get well for all of us, Tony." He hugged Ziva one more time and promised he would be back.
~TIVA~
Tony had been at the hospital for nearly 48 hours before he woke up. Ziva stayed by his side the whole time. Other family came for their short visits, and each one helped Ziva not to worry while they were there. It was early morning, 0445 by Ziva's phone, when he finally stirred. Ziva had been dozing on and off and had held Tony's hand almost nonstop. Tony moved slightly and moaned, and Ziva was instantly awake. "Tony? Can you hear me?" Ziva felt him squeeze her hand. He opened his eyes, and looked confused at first. "I am here." Ziva moved into his line of sight. They locked gazes. "You are in the hospital ICU with pneumonia." Ziva could no longer hold back the tears and as Tony moved his thumb over the back of Ziva's hand she let them fall. Tony also had tears on his face.
Tony was moved to a regular room later that morning. Tali and Gibbs brought Anthony, Beth, Rivka and LJ to the hospital to visit with Abba. Tim stopped by on his way home from work and Jimmy called during a break. Abby and Leon brought Tony a miniature Bert the hippo.
A day later he was discharged on medication and with orders to take it easy on himself. He was also told to follow up with his pulmonologist and family practice doctors in about two weeks.
Thanksgiving was very low key for the DiNozzo family that year. The extended family all went to the Palmer's house as usual. Ziva made more chicken soup and rice for Thanksgiving dinner for the DiNozzo family.
At the two week checkup, Tony was doing much better and almost back to himself. His pulmonologist prescribed some additional medications to help with breathing, including a rescue inhaler and an inhaled maintenance med to keep Tony from having any more acute bouts of difficulty breathing
~TIVA~
In mid-January, Ziva had an annual appointment for a routine checkup with her gynecologist. Although she had gone through menopause, since Christmas she had been having some spotting. The gynecologist performed a pelvic exam and sent Ziva for x-rays. He had felt an enlarged ovary. He told Ziva and Tony that the enlargement could be due to any one of a number of factors, but with the spotting, a likely culprit could be cancer. He explained the options, including chemotherapy and radiation, a total hysterectomy and an oophorectomy.
Ziva and Tony discussed the options and decided on the total hysterectomy as a first course of action. Ziva's surgery was scheduled for 1 February. Tony took her to the hospital at 0600 for prep. He sat in the room with her until the time came to take her to the OR. He walked as far as he could with her, holding her hand and when he had to let go, he kissed her. "I love you, Zi."
The surgery went as anticipated and Ziva was taken back to her room. Tony was there by her side, just as she had been for him. He sat holding her hand and watching her sleep, praying that the biopsy would not be bad news. Ziva stirred about four hours after coming from the OR. She squeezed Tony's hand and asked for some water. He put the straw of her cup of water to her lips so she could drink. The doctor came by on his evening rounds and told them the biopsy results would be available the next afternoon. Ziva asked how soon she could go home: two days.
The following morning, the nurses had Ziva up and walking, slowly, with Tony's support. In the afternoon, the gynecologist came around. "We have the biopsy results. You had stage 0 ovarian cancer. The good news is that the cancer cells only showed in a part of one ovary and nowhere else. We will do a check every three months, but it looks like we removed it all." Both Ziva and Tony let out breaths they didn't realize they were holding. Tony pulled Ziva to him and hugged her. He wiped the tears off her face as she did so for him as well. "Thank you, doctor."
Ziva went home the following day. At three months, the exam showed no signs of cancer and again at six, nine, and twelve months.