By the time the two women had walked to the waiting room, Elise had actually hatched a better plan. After the finer details had been nailed down, Elise looked to her fellow conspirators.
"OK, are we all clear on what's going to happen?"
Everyone nodded silently.
"OK. You guys head down to Brodi's room. I'll go ask to have Dr. Adams paged, then I'll join you."
Patricia Ford walked into her son's room followed by the two men. She had a lump in her throat, but silently swallowed it down. The emotion she could use later. Right now she needed to focus. She started rummaging through her bag as the men flanked both sides of the bed.
"Yo, Bro!" she heard Nate saying. "Come on, buddy, you're down but you're not out. Isn't that what you're always saying?"
"You're not alone, son. We're here for you. We just need you to come back to us."
Trish thought she heard her husband choking up when he finished that last statement.
"Here, honey, see if you get a response from this."
Her husband took the small jar and opened it.
"He hasn't responded to stimuli, even noxious." Nate said.
"It's a mixture of camphor and menthol." Trish explained. "Strong smell. May not help, can't hurt. Well, unless we get it in his eyes. Put just a very little bit on his temples, Kurt, to help clear the clouds from his mind."
Kurt nodded and did so. In the meantime, Trish had walked over beside Nate. She took her son's hand and turned it palm up, bending his ring and middle fingers to touch his thumb.
"Honey, can you hold his fingers just like this? His index and little fingers can stay where they are."
"Uhm—sure." Nate looked momentarily stunned, but he let Trish take his hand and place it over Brodi's.
Trish walked back around to Brodi's left side, her son's father moving to give her room by his head.
"Now, let's see if we can regain some sort of balance here. Nate, honey, just keep his hand like that. Now, we just need Elise…"
"Here I am!" Elise burst through the door. "Doc Adams is supposed to be here within the hour."
"Good, good. Now here is what I need you to do, sweetheart. This might be more comfortable for you if you sit on the bed and hold his legs in your lap. Please just bear with me—it's going to sound strange." She waited for Elise to get on the bed and slide her legs under Brodi's, then walked down to where she sat. "Keep his legs covered with the blanket. This will work through cloth, and it's best we keep him warm. I want you to hold his feet, with your fingertips at the center of the ball of his foot, your thumb on top. Yes, just like that."
"Trish…"
"Just humor me, Nate. Elise and I have come to an understanding. If it helps, just remind yourself that I'm a crazy New Age witch from California."
Nate laughed in spite of himself.
"Uhm, Trish…I'm not exactly sure what I'm doing."
"It's OK, Elise. Think of it like jump-starting a car. I've been trained in Jin Shin Jyutsu. You don't really have to do anything other than what you're doing right now. Your body knows what it's doing, even if you don't. Do you feel a pulsing?"
Elise nodded.
"Good. Now for the circle."
This time it was Kurt who laughed at the confused look on Nate's face. "Son, I learned a long time ago it's usually best to just go with the flow. When a woman says something you're not sure about, as long as it's not illegal and doesn't hurt anyone, just go with it."
"What is going on in here?"
Everyone turned around at the sound of the angry voice.
"Dr. Adams. Thank you for joining us so quickly."
Elise slid off the bed and rose to meet the doctor.
"Miss Riggs, why are there so many people in this room? You know that only two people at a time…"
"Can be in a room at a time. It's a rule designed to protect the patient from getting overly stimulated or overly tired, to facilitate healing and recovery, and to give the medical staff room to work. However, since he is expected to die, you can hardly deny his family and friends the right to say goodbye, now, can you?"
"Elise…" Nate warned.
"It's OK, Nate. Doctor, we have been discussing Brodi's condition. These are his parents, Kurt and Patricia Ford."
The doctor seemed to pale slightly at the introduction, but recovered by the time Kurt and Trish had stepped forward to shake his hand.
"Mr. And Mrs. Ford. I am so sorry for your loss."
Kurt reddened. "Doctor, I understand that you feel that death is imminent, but please do us the kindness of saving the condolences until our son is actually gone."
"Of course. I meant no offense."
Elise cleared her throat.
"Doctor Adams. We want you to remove the feeding tube. And the IV."
Dr. Adams walked over to his patient and checked the heart and oxygen monitors.
"Dr. Adams, did you hear what I just said?"
"I did. I know we discussed this at length, but I need to be sure you understand the implications. He won't wake up, so he won't suffer, but, Miss Riggs, it won't be quick. It may take a few days."
Elise swallowed hard, but nodded. She glanced at Trish, who gave her a look of reassurance. Dear God, if only she had that much confidence that this was going to work.
"I understand. But I think we all feel that this is the best course of action."
"Well, you do have power of attorney. I'll get the papers ready to sign. If you change your mind…"
"We won't."
"Nonetheless, you can change your mind at any time until the papers are signed."
Elise nodded.
"I'll be back when the papers are ready. Mr. And Mrs. Ford, it was nice to meet you. I'm sorry it wasn't under better circumstances."
Trish grabbed her husband's hand in warning as the doctor left the room.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as the door closed behind him. Elise looked around at her companions. She had held her calm with the doctor, but the unflappable Elise was definitely shaken.
Nate didn't look much better, but then he had enough medical training to know the potential implications of what they were about to do.
Trish walked up to Elise and put a hand on her shoulder. "It's hard to see now, honey, but Brodi will be all right. He'll wake up once the drugs are out of his system. You'll see."
Elise looked over her shoulder at the smaller woman, but said nothing. Trish smiled grimly then went to Brodi's bedside. She took his hand between her two and began singing to him once more.
Without warning, Elise's throat grew hot and she bolted for the bathroom. She made it to the toilet, spitting what was in her throat but then getting nothing but dry heaves since she hadn't eaten anything in recent memory. She then collapsed in a heap of sobs, her body convulsing with grief that she had been holding back. Slowly the sobs subsided, coming in small hiccups of sound. She became aware of Brodi's mother singing, and her first thought was that she was glad her breakdown had gone unnoticed. Then she realized that her head was resting in someone's lap and the singing was coming from above her.
She shot upright suddenly, but felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked around to Trish's smiling face. "Easy, child. You're OK."
Elise rubbed her eyes with the palm of her hand, and Trish stood and handed her a damp washcloth.
"I, uh…"
"No need to explain, dear. We all need to do it from time to time. I'll give you a few minutes alone. I made Nate and Kurt stay out to give you some privacy, so I'll go join them. You just take your time and come out when you're ready, OK?"
Elise sat on the floor for a moment or two after Trish left and closed the door behind her. Then, standing up, she washed her face and brushed her teeth, mentally focusing on her breath while she calmed herself. Then, taking one more deep breath, she walked back out into the room, almost knocking over a woman who was walking in the door at the same moment.
"Oh—excuse me."
"No problem. Uh, you are…"
"Oh—I'm Tanya from administration. I have some papers for Elise Riggs to sign.
Elise motioned for the woman to come into the room. Taking the clipboard, the read over the papers—basically forms saying she couldn't sue the hospital for removing life support. She signed the forms, found the DNR and signed it, and handed it back to the woman with her driver's license so that her identity could be verified.
While Elise was reading and signing papers, Dr. Adams walked in.
"Do you have any questions, Miss Riggs?"
"None."
"OK, then if you'll all clear the room, I'll get a nurse to assist…"
"We're not leaving."
"Sir…Mr. Ford…"
"Dr. Adams, do you have children?"
"I have two, but…"
"Could you leave them alone, even for a moment, if they were in the same spot?"
The doctor sighed. "OK. But please stay on the far side of the room." He turned and pushed the nurse call button, then put on a pair of gloves.
Soon a nurse came in with a cart of supplies. The doctor gave them a sorrowful look as he opened a blue paper sheet and placed it across Brodi's chest. The nurse gloved up and stood on the opposite side of the bed. She gently placed a hand under Brodi's neck and with her other hand turned his head towards her. She worked off the tape that held the tubing in place, then the nurse readied a towel while the doctor grasped the tube. He looked at the intruders of this operation and said, "This may not be pretty," then began to pull.
The tube came out in one smooth motion. Brodi's gag reflex came into play and he coughed. Nate had to hold Elise back.
"Just relax," he whispered.
The IV came out easier—at least, it was easier to watch. Elise looked over at Brodi's parents. His father looked on vigilantly, protectively, seeming ready to intervene if necessary. Brodi's mother was quietly chanting to herself, her eyes closed.
Finally the doctor removed his gloves and tossed them in the biohazard container.
"Well, that's it, I'm afraid. We'll leave the heart monitor attached for now; it might give us some sort of time gauge. Again, I am sorry about the circumstances. Please let me know if you need anything. In the meantime, Linda here will give you the chaplain's information when she's finished cleaning up."
Elise glanced at the nurse, a pretty young thing who had a tender touch about her. She had quickly but softly wiped Brodi's mouth with the towel when he had coughed as the feeding tube came out. She had taken care to clean and compress the entry site for the IV, and she was now efficiently cleaning up the refuse. When she finished with that, she gently covered Brodi and adjusted the pillow under his head.
Elise walked past the doctor as he was on his way out and touched the arm of the nurse. "Thank you," she said quietly. The nurse nodded and went back to her patient.
Elise turned to Trish. "So…what now?"
"We'll get to work as soon as the room clears."
They didn't have to wait long. Linda-the-nurse finished her ministrations and left just as quietly as she had come in.
The four of them took their places at the bedside, with Brodi's mother reminding them of hand positions as needed. Then, Trish got down to business. She smiled at Nate first, with the reminder, "Just humor the crazy Californian, honey."
She then reached into her bag and pulled out a compass, a bell, a small sprig from a spruce tree, a small container of salt, and a small jar of water. "From the Pacific Ocean," she explained. She laid the items out on the bedside table when she suddenly looked up at Elise. "Where is his mala?"
"Oh, uhm…lessee…my purse. Over on the counter by the sink. Should be right on top."
Trish found the small bag and retrieved the beads. She held them a moment between her hands, kissed them, and then closed Brodi's left hand around them. Next, she checked her compass to orient herself in the room.
Walking to the north corner of the room, she placed some of the salt in an empty container and set it down on the floor.
"Guardians of the Watchtower of the North, guardians of earth, we bid you hail and welcome."
Nate stole a confused glance at Elise, but held his tongue. If Trish noticed, she gave no clue. She walked over by Nate and, standing on his left, rang the bell in her hand.
"Guardians of the Watchtower of the East, guardians of air, we bid you hail and welcome."
She did the same with the unlit candle in the South, and the West with a container of the ocean water.
Elise wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but the air seemed to get heavier as she completed her circle. She was used to Brodi's Buddhism, had many conversations with him about how he had been raised to look at everything and find what called to him. But this…she had no frame of reference for this, nor did she have any means of understanding what happened next.
"I call forth and respectfully ask for an audience:
Demeter, great mother, I ask that you help bring back and heal my son. You know my mother's pain.
Brigid, great protector of mothers and children: my son is no longer a child, but he is my child. Lend me your healing fire.
Raphael, archangel, lord of healing, lend us your healing emerald light."
Trish looked at her son, and gently laid her right hand on the top of his head.
"Brodi, honey, we've been able to get the drugs stopped, if that's what's holding you back. You're going to feel me touching you, but it's just Mom, OK? Your father and I are here. Elise is here. Nate is here. No one is going to hurt you. We want you back, sweetheart, and we're trying to clear the way for you."
As Elise watched Trish, who seemed to have grown a couple of inches since this entire thing began, she felt a tear come to her eyes and was nearly overwhelmed by the pain emanating from the woman. That, combined with her own fear and uncertainty, was almost more than she could handle. But she would do it for Brodi; she had to. She didn't care at this point whether or not she believed in what Brodi's mother was doing. She had to believe that she was doing the right thing, that whether it come about because he had been drugged and they had managed to stop it, or because of some desperate prayers set into archaic symbols by a grieving mother, Brodi was going to wake up.
Elise forced these thoughts out of her mind as Trish grew silent and closed her eyes. Trish kept her right hand on Brodi's crown, and placed her left fingers between Brodi's brows. Elise could only guess at what Trish was waiting for, but she seemed to have found it, because she suddenly smiled and said, "Ah, yes. There we are." She did the same with the tip of his nose, and in another few minutes his sternum, followed by his solar plexus. After working her way through what Elise supposed was the alignment of charkas, she opened her eyes and looked back down at her son.
"OK, sweetheart. You rest and let your body do the work. We won't be far."
She did a reversal of what she had done in the beginning to open the circle, saying goodbye to the various archetypal figures she had called and thanking them for their service. Kurt Ford hugged his wife. "Well done, my dear. You still have a beautiful touch."
Trish smiled, but said, "We'll see how well it works."
Kurt pointed out that the biohazard bag attached to his catheter seemed to be draining a little faster.
"True," Trish stated. "It'll take his body a while to work off whatever they were sedating him with."
Finally Nate spoke. "We'll find out. Elise has requisitioned his records, and I have spoken privately with someone I trust at this hospital. She's going to check for any missing drugs that may not be on his official orders."
Elise shook her head. "Why would someone want to hurt him? He doesn't KNOW anyone who works at this hospital."
Nate shrugged. "Misguided Angel of Death? Speaking in, ah, human terms, of course, not ethereal." He winked at Trish as he said this. "And it may not be about Brodi at all. Maybe just window of opportunity. Whatever the reason, we'll find it."
Elise sank down into a chair. Holy cow, was she exhausted. And Trish? Trish looked about ten years older.
Nate seemed to notice, too. "Hey guys, it's about dinner time. How about I spring for food? Seriously…my treat. There's a pizza joint right across the street, we wouldn't have to go far."
Elise held up a hand. "Not me, guys. I couldn't move a step. Besides, someone should stay with Brodi. I don't want him waking up alone."
"Elise," Nate began, but he didn't get far.
"I'm not. Going. Got it?"
Nate waved her off in defeat. "OK, OK. I'll bring you back something. Kurt? Trish?"
Trish looked at Elise. "Are you sure, dear?"
Elise nodded. "Go on. We'll be fine. I'll call you if he so much as moves a pinkie finger."
Trish smiled. "OK, then. We won't be gone long and we'll bring you back something."
"Come on folks. I need to introduce you Californians to an East Coast pizza."
Elise had to smile in spite of herself as they walked out the door. She knew some crazy people. And she was proud of that fact.
