A Series of Unfortunate Events

Chapter 39

Several hours later, Sharon had been admitted and was asleep in her room on the Cardiology floor. Andy was sitting beside her holding her hand, while Rusty sat on her other side also holding her hand. His other hand held his iPad, with which he was going over case notes. In a couple of hours, he would be replaced by Emily, Ricky, and they by her parents Eileen and Richard.

Sharon had been in and out of consciousness since she passed out. Finally, her eyes opened and she started to blink. Her eyes started looking frantically around until they settled on Andy. Then her entire body relaxed. "What happened?" she asked hoarsely.

"You fainted in the lab." Andy squeezed her hand softly.

"I fainted?" she asked incredulously. "I don't think I've ever fainted before, not even when I was pregnant."

Andy's expression was full of concern. "Yeah, you did. Apparently, you weren't getting enough oxygen and your heart was beating erratically. They did all the tests that Elizabeth ordered and a few more. The doctor will be in soon to tell us what's going on. Would you like some water?"

Sharon ran her tongue over her lips, realizing her throat was dry and she was very thirsty. A little hungry too. She nodded. Andy made the bed sit up and handed her a cup of cold water, and a straw. He held the glass until he could see that she had it and wasn't going to drop it, then he let go and she smiled tremulously at him. "How long have I been here?" she asked with trepidation. She wasn't sure she wanted to know.

Being able to read Sharon well, Andy stroked her knuckles with his thumb and said reassuring, "Only since this morning. You fainted at 8:00 am. Once they got you stabilized, they took you for tests right away. They finished doing the tests at 1:30 then they brought you up here. You've been here ever since, asleep. It's 2:00 pm now."

Sharon bowed her head and closed her eyes. Then she opened her eyes and looked at her wristband. It said her name Sharon Rose O'Dwyer Raydor. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, they got the name right this time," she said ironically.

"Yes, of course, they did because this time I was there to make sure they did. They tried to kick me out a couple of times. I told them I was your medical power of attorney and your fiancé, and they would have to work around me. The doctor looked like he was going to object but Patrice told him something and he closed his mouth." Just as he was finishing his sentence, Patrice showed up.

She moved to the side of the bed where Rusty was and Rusty moved over to a different chair. "Hi, Andy. Hi, Sharon. How are feeling, girlfriend? Any better?" Patrice asked As she stuck a digital thermometer in Sharon's mouth. There were machines surrounding the back of Sharon's bed that measured her heart rate her pulse and her breathing. There were lines attaching her to those machines stuck to her chest so it was unnecessary for Patrice to do anything but read the information off the machines, but old habits die hard and she preferred a hands-on approach. She held Sharon's wrist in her hand and took her pulse manually.

Once the thermometer came out of her mouth, Sharon asked a tad bit irritably, "Why do nurses ask a question and then stick a thermometer in your mouth so you can't answer?"

Patrice chuckled. "We do do that don't we? Sorry honey. Now how are you feeling? Any better?"

"Well, better is a relative term. I can tell you I'd feel a whole lot better if I could go home! When can I go home?" Sharon pleaded.

"We'll see what the doctor has to say first, Sharon. After all, you fainted and we want to find out why. You said yourself that it's not normal for you to faint and we both know that you haven't been feeling like yourself lately." Patrice told her

Andy nodded in agreement as she said, "Yes, the doctor first and then home when he says so. Thems the rules my love."

Rusty piped in, "Yeah the rules. Mom, the rules."

Sharon looked at Rusty with a look that said, "watch it, buster." And then she all but stuck her tongue out at him. Andy laughed as did Patrice and Rusty.

Suddenly a middle-aged man with a day or two worth of silver stubble on his face came in. His eyes were dark, he had an impressive sized nose, and he wasn't really smiling. He had on a blue shirt and black trousers. He had left his lab-coat outside the door, remembering what Patrice had told him about Sharon's experiences at the last hospital she had been in. He wanted her to be focused on what he was saying and not feel threatened. "Hello, my name is Dr. Carson Jacobs and you are Sharon Raydor. I almost didn't recognize you. The last time I saw you were unconscious."

"Hmmm, that's what I've been told. That I fainted, that is. So um, Doctor have you figured out what's been going on with me?" Sharon asked, needing answers.

"Yes, I have." The doctor glanced around the room. "Could I speak to you alone?"

Rusty said, "I'm her son."

"Children are definitely leaving," said Dr. Jacobs.

"I'm not a child, I'm 21," Rusty said indignantly.

"Rusty, it's okay wait outside and we'll brief you when we're done," Sharon said placatingly. Rusty nodded, gave her a hug and left the room with Patrice.

Before she left the room entirely, Patrice turned back to Sharon. "I'll be back in a few and if you have any questions, I'll answer them. Rusty and I will go to the cafeteria and have some lunch. Okay, Rusty?" asked Patrice, Rusty nodded. Still feeling a bit miffed by the Doctors summary dismissal.

A bit annoyed herself Sharon questioned the doctor, "Was that really necessary? He's my son and very concerned for me."

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Raydor but it is my policy to talk to patients alone. Giving unsettling news to patients as well as their families, especially the children, can become very fraught with emotion and the patient's needs are quite often ignored while they try to soothe their families. So, I may have sounded abrupt but it's necessary." He looked at Andy and raised his eyebrows imperiously.

Andy shook his head. "Nope, uh uh, Doc, I told you, I'm not going anywhere."

Sharon decided to put her two cents in, "doctor, I ... I'd like Andy to stay. We're partners. We're getting married very soon and we live together. He can hear whatever you have to say," Sharon said and swallowed.

Andy smiled at her and got out of the chair to sit beside her on the bed. Once he was settled, he put his arm around her shoulders. "Okay, Doc, we're listening. Go ahead."

"Okay, This isn't just having a hard time getting past the effects of all that's happened to you recently, which after speaking to Patrice and being briefed on everything, I realize has been quite a lot and quite difficult. What I'm about to tell you is initially going to sound upsetting but we caught it early and I think that no matter what you'll end up in a good place." Sharon swallowed and her eyes became glassy with unshed tears. She nodded ever so slightly and the doctor went on with his explanation. "What you have is something called Cardiomyopathy. It's an infection that is attacking the pericardium which is the outer lining of your heart."

Sharon swallowed again. Her eyes filled with tears that in spite of her best efforts spilled down her cheeks. She wiped them quickly away with a tissue Andy handed her. "Am I going to die?" She asked trying hard to control her emotions, but it was nearly impossible.

"Most people die with this disease, not from it., but that being said, the infection could stay as is, get better, or it could develop into something more serious. If that happens there are lot of things we can do to treat the problem. We'll be starting you off with using medications to control the disease. If it still develops into something serious we will try nonsurgical procedures first, then failing that we'll try surgical procedures. The first choice will be a placing a pacemaker inside you. Then if that doesn't work, a transplant will be our last resort." He explained it all in a crisp physician's tone.

Andy blanched. "A transplant?! Whoo, that's serious."

"Yes, and I repeat, our last resort. You are still young enough to qualify, but the process is a bit long. Then there's the fact that we can't put you on the list until you actually need the transplant. Then it's a matter of whatever heart becomes available needs to be compatible with your body."

"Doctor, what can we do to keep it from developing into something more serious?" Asked Andy concerned.

"Well, you can help her slow down, avoid stress, eat healthier..."

Sharon scoffed, "Okay if I slowed down anymore, I'll be at a complete standstill. After all, I'm not working," she said with a slight resentfulness in her voice. She loved her job and missed it terribly. "I do a couple of hours of work-related paperwork every day, but I do it at home. As far as stress is concerned, we have a serial killer after our youngest son and possibly me. We have a baby daughter who is deaf and about to get her first hearing aid, she'll be getting tubes in her ears when she turns six months old. Add to that we're getting ready to get married in the not too distant future. Also, there's the PTSD I keep experiencing because of what happened to me recently. Avoiding stress, is not really doable right now, Doctor. What else did you say? Oh yes, you said eating healthier. I already eat healthy!" Andy could tell Sharon was getting more and more upset as she ticked off the stressors in her life. He gently ran his hand up and down her arm to help her calm down.

"Okay, well you asked and I gave you my standard answer. Doctor Jacobs asked, "You said you have an infant daughter. Did you give birth recently? I didn't see evidence of that in my exam."

Sharon gave an amused chuckle in spite of her current emotional upheaval due to the upsetting news she had just received. "No, Doctor, I'm afraid that ship sailed and sunk quite awhile ago." The doctor waited for the rest of the explanation, his eyebrows raised in question. "I'm sorry, I can understand your confusion. She's adopted, or she will be. She's actually the biological sister to my youngest son, who is also adopted. His biological mother died and we had signed papers saying we'd become guardians to Olivia, should anything happen to Rusty, and Olivia's mother, and Olivia's grandparents. The day we signed those papers they, all three of them were murdered and um… and once we decided to take her into our family, she became part of us like Rusty did. So I forget to mention the adopted part of the story. She's quite simply our daughter and was from the moment we signed the guardianship papers."

Doctor Jacob's nodded in understanding. "Well, you've got a lot going on in your life. I can see that avoiding stress is going to be tricky for you at least until the serial killer situation gets resolved and Olivia's health situation gets attended to. Your life situation, in general, seems a lot more complicated than most of my patients. So, let's concentrate on what can be done. Avoiding salt would be a good idea and rest is very important. You should try to rest when you feel tired. A nap in the afternoon might not be a bad thing. Also, let me know about any headaches or any changes to what you've been experiencing. One of the possible side effects of this disease are blood clots. So, I've already started you off with a low dose of blood thinners or anticoagulants. You need to be careful and try not to cut yourself or fall." Sharon and Andy looked at each other, remembering the long list of do's and don'ts Andy's doctor had given him.

Sharon swallowed, blushed and asked, "What about sex?"

"What about it?"

"Can we… um… can we… have sex? Or… um... do we… do we have to give it… up?" Sharon asked clearly worried and slightly embarrassed.

"No… oh... no you don't have to give it up. I wouldn't engage in it, at least not too… um vigorously, until we get all your medications figured out. I'll have my secretary call you and you can make an appointment, let's say, Monday?" Sharon nodded. "Okay, then I'll see you Monday and try not to worry too much. We'll get this situation under control. I have every confidence."

"Thank you, Doctor. Um before you go, when can I go home?" Sharon was determined to get out of the hospital as soon as possible.

The doctor stroked his chin. "Well, ordinarily, I'd keep you overnight, mostly for observation but, I sense that it would be more stressful for you than anything. So, you can go home later on this evening. While you're here the nurses will be giving you another bag of IV fluids, monitoring your food and fluid intake and output, and administering the medications that need to be given through injection." Seeing Sharon go a little pale, he amended his statement. "Most will be given through the IV port. Only two are inter-muscular. Okay, I'll see you at 7 pm with your discharge papers."

"Thank You," Sharon said, her voice tremulous with emotion.

They watched as the doctor left. Then Andy turned and nudged Sharon so that she was closer to the opposite side of the bed. He then kicked his shoes off and laid beside her, cuddling her close. She sobbed into his shoulder for quite awhile, until she was finally cried out. Then she looked into his eyes. "Andy, I think we should postpone the wedding. At least until we know what I'm dealing with. "

Andy's head snapped up and he looked at Sharon in disbelief. "What?! Absolutely not! How could you think I'd let anything get in the way of being your husband?!"

Her eyes started to fill up on unshed tears, "but, Andy, it's not fair to you! You could end up tied to an invalid, or a vegetable or I could d.."

"I don't know who you were listening to, but I heard something entirely different. In any case, I love you, Sharon and I can't wait to become your husband and to be able to call you my wife." He hesitated and looked down at his hands as he asked, "Unless… unless you've changed your mind. Is that it? Have you changed your mind about us?"

Sharon smiled thru her tears. "Nooo, no, Andy, I love you so so much, but Andy think for a second, we don't know what's going to happen. I don't want to ruin your life by tying you to me when I could end up dy…"

Andy put his fingers over her lips. "Sharon, you wouldn't be ruining my life. Do you remember what Julia Roberts said in your favorite movie tear-jerker?"

Sharon looked up at him confused by his mention of Julia Roberts. "What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Um… you know, the one with all your favorite actresses. Oh, what's the name of that movie um… um…" he snapped his fingers a couple of times. "It was some kind of metal flower. Hmmm, oh wait it was called Steel Magnolias! That's it! Shelby, that was her name in the movie, she said, "I'd rather have a half an hour of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special." Andy looked into her eyes and kissed her gently on the lips.

Sharon couldn't help but smile. "You, my love, are my wonderful and I want to spend whatever time we have together. No matter how long or short a time that may be."

TBC...

Thank you to all that have taken the time to leave a review they are truly appreciated. A special thank you to my devoted readers and repeat reviewers. Reviews really do help keep the motivation flowing.