Chapter Fifty-Seven

Take Nothing For Granted

A/N – There is no better storyline in the long relationship of Amy and Ty than the jumping course. Thanks to a reader I made an attempt to bring it the recognition it deserved. The summer continues with all the regular activity. The family and the business is rolling along. But as in life, sometimes there are disruptions in the flow of things and remember Heartland is a family drama. Let's see what pans out and how the family draws strength from each other. Enjoy

The Borden family sat at breakfast and were engaged in several conversations. The girls were excited because the Trudeau girls would be visiting in a few weeks before school started. They were already thinking of things to do with them. Lyndy and Wyatt were going to plan a couple of group movie nights so Haley and Rusty could hang out. She looked at her mom, "How would you guys feel about just the four of us going to dinner at Maggie's and catching a movie?" Amy looked at Ty and smiled, "Well I think we are ok and we will give you a ride there and back." Ty continued, "And when you plan make sure it is no later than 11:00. I need my beauty sleep." Maddie had all sorts of ideas for the younger group mainly focused on horses. The time they were coming was the date of a major qualifier for the Fall Finale and everyone was excited. JT was a little bummed that Bart wasn't coming but he was still recovering and couldn't travel yet. Ty saw his frowned and pulled him to his lap, "I know you wish Bart was coming too but he is still getting better. How about you hang with me sometimes, I'll let you help me with the horses." He smiled, "You mean like your assistant." "You bet," he laughed. "In fact let's get you some scrubs and you can use my old stethoscope, the one your mom gave me years ago." His excitement help him forget about not seeing his friend. Amy smiled Ty mouthing 'thank you and I love you.'

Amy and Ty were very busy with a number of new higher profile clients. It seemed that their reputation was spreading among that group and referrals were increasing. Several of them requested Amy only and the clients were needy. Amy always said that although her European experience resulted in some issues the one thing she did learn was how to manage this needy group. A horse in particular was from the Canadian Racing Circuit and his owners were wealthy investors from Toronto. The horse, "All That Money" was struggling at the gate, specifically at the start of a race. They had several local people look at him and finally decided that Amy and Ty Borden were who they needed. Even though they were investors they had a personal interest as well. When they arrived Amy and Ty had a formal meeting at Fairfield as they were staying in one of the nicer rooms. As they listened to the owners describe the issue Amy and Ty saw two different approaches. The husband was aggressive and outspoken, the wife understanding and kind. As they talked they also showed some videos of the issues the horse was having. The husband blurted out, "Mr. and Mrs. Borden we can't have this. All That Money is a triple crown contender next year and if we don't resolve this he won't even be worth the breeding income." Amy smiled, "I completely understand and please call us Amy and Ty, we like to be informal with all of our clients. First step, Ty will do a complete workup on the horse." As he put up his hand Amy continued, "And we will also have Dr. Scott Cardinal, Ty's mentor have a look at his as well. With his value we believe two opinions are needed." As the husband calmed the wife spoke up, "Amy that is great, he is a special horse to us, not just because of the financial potential, he is just a sweet boy." "I understand, so first step we will look him over and I would also like to get him in the round pen today to start getting to know him. As we committed, I will be the only person working with him. I can't wait to meet him."

Satisfied Amy and Ty left them with a timeline as they expected them to be hands on. Right before lunch, Scott and Ty did a complete workup, The horse was in amazing shape and they found no physical issue, in fact he was one of the most fit horses they had ever seen. After lunch, the owners showed up to watch over the join up work with Amy. Before Amy started, Scott and Ty went over the assessment and confirmed with them that there was no physical issues. Amy smiled, "Well that is what I need to know so as I start to work with him I will gain his trust and begin to figure out what is causing the issue." The husband smirked, "You make it sound easy Mrs. Borden, sorry Amy." In a serious tone Amy answered, "Well every horse is different, my goal is to have him tell me what is wrong." The wife gave a puzzled look as Ty responded, "Just watch my wife and you will understand what she means." As Amy began she lunged the horse in a circle. He was aggressive and a little hardheaded, not really uncommon for a racehorse. She spoke to the owners and the horse as she continued to work with him. After about 30 minutes the owners watched the horse's demeanor change becoming more responsive to Amy's efforts. Then Ty saw it first and whispered to them, "Get ready for this, it is the most amazing thing you will ever see." With astonishment they watched Amy stop and walk away from their horse. Slowly he walked up to her nuzzling his snout in her shoulder. She reached back to him saying calmly, "Well hello there boy, thank you." She walked over to the owners as the horse greeted them as well. Amy smiled, "Ok step one is complete, tomorrow we will go to the Hudson Racetrack and work at their gate." The owners were tongue tied and the wife spoke, "Amy that was unbelievable, thank you." Two days later Amy had determined the issue and corrected it. The owners were ecstatic and were thankful, even the husband.

Ty smiled as they walked back to the office together. "The Miracle Girl strikes again." She smiled hugging him tightly, "You know you calling me the Miracle Girl never gets old." As they embraced they heard the familiar rumble of the Norton. As Clay looked on Addie was taking it around one of the larger round pens. Amy and Ty approached as Clay held up his arms smiling. "She begged me and she is in the round pen with nice soft dirt." As they watched, Ty was impressed with her level of improvement. His only concern was with better skills she may get braver. He motioned to her, "Slow down a little bit there young lady." She smiled, obliged and waved to her parents. In the blink of an eye everything went bad. She did not see a horse lead that was laying in the pen partially covered. When the bike ran over it the tire became wrapped and jammed, hurling her over the handlebars. Amy, Ty and Clay looked on in horror as the little girl landed very hard in the dirt while the bike lurched to her right. Before he could breath, Ty was over the fence heading to his daughter. Others heard th commotion and headed to the pen. Amy and Clay were right behind Ty. Amy was yelling in fear, "Addie!" Luckily one of the ranch hands had already called 911 and when Ty asked it was confirmed. Ty gently rolled his little girl over making sure there were no serious injuries. At first glance the only thing he saw was a possible broken wrist. Amy and Ty hovered over comforting her as she began to regain consciousness. "Dad, Mom what happened, Ow, my wrist hurts daddy." She tried to sit up and Ty gently told her to stay down so he can as her questions. After a few minutes, she seemed to be calmed down as Amy held on to her with all her might. Lyndy and Annie ran over from the other side of the ranch. Annie immediately ran to them saying, "Dad here wrist is hurt, I felt it." As always the onlookers were amazed at their connection.

As the ambulance arrived Addie was complaining about all the fuss. She had sat up with assistance and spoke with frustration, "Mom why do I need to go to the hospital, I am Ok just a messed-up wrist." Ty looked at his daughter with earnest. "Honey I know you feel that way now but trust me when I had my wreck I felt worse two days later after I calmed down." She put her head down in agreement. The paramedics looked her over, wrapped her arm and gave them the option to have her go with them or that Ty and Amy could take her. Addies eyes widened and Amy smiled, "We will take her in to be looked at. As they got ready to leave, Lyndy, Annie and Maddie joined them. Wyatt offered to take care for JT although he made sure he gave his sister a big hug. "I love you Sissie." They loaded up and headed to the ER. Addie got in right away and after a half hour Ty came out to see his anxious daughters. Annie looked at him, "I sense that she is OK daddy, right?" Your right honey, her wrist is sprained badly, and she has a pretty good bump and a slight concussion. Overall she is very lucky and one tough little girl." Maddie who had been unusually quiet whispered, "I am so relieved that she is Ok, I was so worried." Ty brought her into a big hug knowing she needed it right now. About a half hour later a smiling Addie in a wheelchair and a relieved Amy headed their way. The girls went to hug their sister, the family loaded up and headed home. Addie was already talking about all the help she would need as the girls giggled in the back. Amy looked at Ty and smiled with a small tear in her eye. He grabbed her hand tightly soothing her and whispering, "She is fine Amy and I think she will milk this for everything she can."

As things settled over the next week Addie was just a little overbearing but after some stern conversations with Annie and Lyndy she calmed down a bit. Ty, Clay and Addie talked about the accident to make sure she learned from it. She said she remembered hurling over the handlebars and relaxed like her dad had taught her. Her actions saved her from added harm for sure. She was recovering well and outside of a sore wrist she was back to normal. She only missed one jumping competition but had enough points anyway. With her mother's encouragement she stayed away from the bike and was looking forward to the minibikes that were arriving soon. A few days after the accident the family talked about how everyone felt. Each child had the chance to say how they felt and the openness was welcomed and discussed. Ty and Amy marveled at how their children interacted and leaned on each other for support. JT sat quietly as the conversation continued. Amy pulled him to her lap and asked, "He little guy what's up, how do you feel. He looked seriously at all of them. "Anytime one of us is hurt, I hurt too. I want to help them to feel better. When Addie was on the ground I wanted to take her pain for her so she was Ok. I love each of you so much." He put his head down starting to sob. Amy spoke up as the girls were all in tears. "Well honey that is a wonderful thing to say and you are a very special little boy. We all love you so much and are proud of you." The family embraced and quietly cleaned up from dinner. Amy and Ty put JT to bed spending some time talking to him. The went to see the girls and went to their bedroom. After getting ready they held each other without words falling asleep quickly.

The next morning Ty and Amy were getting ready for the day. They normally shared a shower but this morning Ty was on the phone about a surgery that day and Amy started without him. As she showered thinking about her day she took time to do a self-exam of her breast. Although not prevalent with the women in her family her Grandma Lyndy did have it when she was in her 50's. As she raised her arms her she did her check. As she was checking the outside of her left breast she hesitated, feeling a very small like bump no bigger than the width of a pencil It had been a while since she had done a check and felt over it several times. Her eyes grew wide and she called out to Ty. "Ty can you come here please, I am in the shower." Sensing a concern in her voice, without shedding his boxers, he got in the shower to see his wife holding the side of her breast with tears forming in her eyes. Her voice trembled "Ty feel this, I was checking myself and felt this." He got behind her reaching around as she guide him to the spot. He felt around the bump taking his time. A normally romantic moment was now one of pure concern. He spoke softly as she leaned back into his strong chest. "Well there is definitely something there that I haven't felt before," he said smirking trying to lighten the mood. She whispered, "I haven't checked myself in a month or so and I never felt it before." As tears started to flow she continued, "Ty I am so scared, what do we do." He turned her around and pulled he into him tightly. "Well we go and have a normal day. Let's call the doctor and see how soon we can get in to see her. We have it checked out and do what we need to do. Amy I know you are a pretty tough horsey girl. I am hear with you." She meekly smiled and kissed him. They got ready for their day and headed down to breakfast.

Although her mind was elsewhere she spent the early morning working with two newly arrived horses. The interaction with the owners and horses seemed to make her feel better. About mid-morning Ty and her called the doctor from the privacy of their office. JT was off with Maddie and Gwen so he was not there. The doctor was able to see her that afternoon. Luckily, Amy's schedule was light and Ty called Scott to get Cass handle the surgery he had with him. After they had a quick lunch with the owners Amy was working with they headed to the doctor's office. Amy sat quietly holding Ty's hand tightly. Ty had his other hand on her shoulders gently rubbing them. She leaned into him with a slight whimper, "Ty, what if…" He stopped her, "Amy let's just see what the doctor says and we will move from there. No matter what we will get through it together." After 15 minutes that seemed like hours they were called into the exam room. Amy quietly told the doctor about what she had found. The doctor had her change into a gown and did an inspection. She looked over both breasts completely and when she came to the bump she spent a little more time on it. She asked Amy some questions and talked of a plan, "Well Amy I want to have you do a mammogram and I will take some blood. The mammogram will show us the location in detail but the blood work will tell us what is up. Since you know what breast cancer is once we find out what we need to do we will start treatment if needed. Sometimes these are just calcified deposits but if not we will address it. You should be commended that you are so aware of your body and check this routinely. If it is the worst-case scenario, it is early which makes moving to a cure much easier." Amy always liked how her doctor was succinct and to the point.

After the test she got dressed and they went to the doctor's office. The entire time Ty soothed and comforted her. He was generally quiet leaving her to her own thoughts. As they sat waiting for the doctor she leaned into him, "Ty thank you so much for being here for me. You are always my rock, there for me when I need you." She kissed his cheek and he smiled, "Always and forever." As they kissed they startled apart as the doctor came in. She smirked, "Seems you two are Ok." Amy giggled, "It's just that my husband is amazing." The doctor responded smiling and grabbing Amy's hand. "So many times my patients don't have a support structure but I see that is not an issue here. So, here is the plan. The mammogram did show me that there is a very small mass on the outside of the left breast. It is not deep but it is there. As of now it is relatively soft , which is good and another reason why your early detection is very good." As she spoke they looked over the mammogram and Ty interceded. "As you know I am a vet so looking at these scans is very familiar. And actually both of us have achieved a certification in paramedic care. It is interesting that what I see is similar to scans we have made of animals and I understand what you are saying." He smiled at Amy, "I am so proud of you. Catching this early definitely is a good thing." The doctor smiled, "I agree and you two are amazing. So now we wait. I have put a rush on the lab work and may hear something later today or first thing in the morning. Either way lets met tomorrow again, say 10:00am. We'll see what we have and make a plan, agreed?" Amy and Ty nodded yes and thanked the doctor. The doctor was so moved she gently hugged Amy goodbye.

On the ride home they decided to hold off talking to the kids but dropped by Heartland to talk to Jack, Lisa and Lou. Amy just needed a diversion so they all sat on the porch as Amy and Ty told them about the doctor's visit. Jack spoke first trying to keep himself centered, "Amy, Lyndy did have breast cancer and back then the treatments were not as good as they are now. I know you will be OK because you have Ty, your kids and all of us." Amy leaned over and gave him a hug. Lou mentioned a couple of people she knew that had survived it and confirming what their grandpa had said that the treatments today are far more advanced and mostly have good results. But the biggest surprise came from Lisa. She had been quiet but drew the strength to speak up, "Honey I am a breast cancer survivor. It happened well before I met all of you. It was diagnosed early and after some treatments it went into to remission and went away. The only difference was that I was all by myself to go through it. Dan and I were done and I had no family. You have all of us and if you want I will be there for you as well." Amy broke down and went to hug Lisa, "Thank you Lisa, thank you all. I will need all of you moving forward. We are not going to tell the kids until after we meet with the doctors tomorrow. Can you come over for dinner and Lou, would you tell Katie and Georgie to come as well. I want all of you there when we tell them, no matter what the outcome of our meeting in the morning." They all hugged as Amy and Ty headed home. Amy was exhausted but needed to be strong for the kids at dinner.

The evening went well although as they went to say goodnight, Lyndy asked her mom if she was Ok. She just said she was tired and Lyndy seemed to accept that. Ty and Amy went to their room and quietly got under the covers. Amy held onto Ty and she finally succumbed to her fears, sobbing deeply. All Ty did was hold her until she finally fell asleep from exhaustion. Ty didn't sleep well as Amy was on his mind. He was nervous and anxious for tomorrow morning. Amy had a good night's sleep and woke up in a better mood. The family had a great breakfast actively talking about their lives and what was planned for their day. Ty spoke, "Mom and I have a meeting in town so we will be gone for a couple of hours." Before he could ask, Wyatt spoke up pulling JT into his lap. "Well don't worry about my little buddy here, he is going to help me this morning with a couple of horses so I have him." He looked at JT and they gave each other high fives. Amy smiled at the love of her kids and Wyatt, amazed at how wonderful they were. Ty and Amy worked in the office and headed to the appointment. As they entered the office, Ty held Amy as she staggered whispering to her love, "Ty, I am so scared." Ty grabbed her and looked into her deep blue eyes, "I got you baby, I am here, always." She steadied herself and when called went onto the doctor's office. They both sat in anticipation as the doctor began to speak.

She greeted them and seemed in a rather good mood. "Ok, as you know Amy I like to get right to it. The nodule is malignant but has not metastasized. Due to your attention to this it is at Stage 1, which is the lowest level of malignancy. It is localized and has not spread." Amy dropped her shoulders as she listened and they spoke feebly, "So that is good, right." The doctor smiled, "Amy it is still malignant which is serious and needs to be addressed. The last thing we want is for it to spread. But in the scope of things this is the best-case scenario for this type of cancer." Amy leaned into Ty and he spoke, "So Doc what's the plan, we are all in." The doctor describe her plan and they both listened asking questions when they had them. "So we will begin low level chemo treatments tomorrow and will do them for 4 weeks. This is the good chemo, minor sickness and no hair loss." Amy instinctively put her hands through her beautiful blonde hair. "We will continue to do a mammogram and lab work before each session and then one a week after the last one. We will monitor the progress with one of three alternatives. First we will have eradicated the cancer and are done, second we continue the treatments for a few more weeks or third we remove the cancerous tissue. Now Amy before you panic we will only remove the area infected only, this is not a complete mastectomy. In fact based on the size outside of a small scar there would be no physical change in the breast. The good thing with any of these alternative, although it is never 100%, there is a very good chance it will not return. This type and level of your cancer generally will not return once removed."

Everyone took a deep breath as the doctor made a final comment. "Amy and Ty I know this is scary and although life doesn't always have certainties I feel really good about your prognosis and treatment plan. You are a healthy woman and I have little doubt that the outcome will be optimal." Amy seemed to finally calm down and Ty sensed a newfound determination in his beautiful wife. He had seen it before in most every challenge she had in her life. He spoke with a love that was unmatched, "Well, I will tell you this doc, Amy is the strongest woman I have ever known. She is loving and tough all at once. I can already tell by her body language that she is ready to beat this." Amy smiled hugging her husband and looking at the doctor, "I am all in and will be here tomorrow and beat this. Ty and I are going to talk to the kids tonight and some other family we have talked to will be there for them as well. My girls will be scared but with our support they will be Ok." The doctor smiled, "Amy and Ty it seems like you two and your family is amazing. I will see you tomorrow." They stood up thanking the doctor and went to the SUV to head home. As they drove Ty sensed a newfound determination in his wife. She grabbed his hand and spoke with confidence. "Ty we will beat this." They headed to a planned lunch with Lou, Jack and Lisa at Fairfield and when they arrived Georgie and Katie were there as well. After hugs the group headed in for lunch where Amy and Ty went over the diagnosis and treatment plan. Overall the group was relieved and committed their support for Amy and Ty. Lou spoke up, "Amy we decided that we would have dinner at Heartland, the last thing you need is to worry about dinner. It will be all of us, your kids, Scott, Clay and Steven if that is OK. Will Wyatt come as well?" Amy replied that he would be there and thanked her silently. She loved her family so much.

Amy and Ty kept themselves busy the rest of the afternoon and let the kids know that they would all have dinner at Heartland. Lyndy asked about Wyatt and Ty said he could be there as well. She sensed something was up and asked her dad directly, "Daddy is everything Ok, you and mom have seen preoccupied." He looked at her with respect as Amy walked in the office, overhearing their conversation. She closed the door and looked directly at their concerned daughter. "Honey there is something we need to tell you because we feel you need to know. The other day in the shower I was checking my breast like I try to do every month or so. When I was doing it I felt a very small lump so dad and I went to see the doctor." At this point Lydy was in tears as her dad supported her. Amy sat down next to her. "It is cancerous but we have a plan and the doctor, your dad and I feel really good about th outcome." Lyndy still in tears took a breath, "You have breast cancer mom, does it hurt?" Honey I want to be clear, "We caught it very early and the doctor is confident the outcome will be good. Now I know this is hard but you need to be strong which I have no doubt that you will be. You are an amazing young woman and we love you so, so much." Amy and Lyndy hugged as Ty looked on with pride. They were so much alike and he loved them both more and more every day. After she settled she went back to the horse she was with. Amy watched her beaming with pride. Even with hearing the news, she was still 100% focused on the horse.

As the family gathered for dinner the group was upbeat. A family dinner was always fun. Maddie asked, "It's a small group mom, where are the others." She answered, "It just close family night, hey it looks like Steven needs help with the twins." She giggled and headed over to help a stressed Steven with two very active toddlers. As the group sat down they enjoyed a great dinner. As usual it was all about the kids and what was going on with them. Katie and Georgie talked about how Lyndy, Wyatt and Rusty were improving with their horse skills. Everyone smiled as the conversations were light and happy. After desert, the kids cleared off the table and Ty asked them to come back and sit down. A little confused, Maddie, Annie and Addie came back looking at their father. Girls we need to talk to you all about something. With Amy's permission Lyndy had confided in Wyatt and everyone else was in the loop. Amy started the conversation. "Girls the other day in the shower I felt a small lump on my left breast right here." She pointed at the location and continued. "Now I know you may know but let me explain more. A lump on a woman's breast could be a sign of Breast Cancer. Your dad and I went to the doctor and she confirmed the lump is cancerous." The girls broke out into sobs as Lyndy, Georgie and Katie comforted them. JT was confused but sat in GG's lap watching and listening. Ty continued as Amy joined in consoling her girls. "Girls listen to me. We caught this very early and the cancer is at the lowest level, which is good. We have talked with the doctor and have a plan. Starting tomorrow, mom will begin getting treatments for 4 weeks. After that we will see where we are. The doctor is optimistic and your mom is determined to beat this. You all know when your mom puts her mind to something it generally works out." The group sat for a second and gathered their thoughts.

Addie was the first to speak, "Mommy does it hurt?" She smiled, "No honey it is just there, do you guys want to feel it?" Surprised they all nodded yes. The girls came over to Amy who had turned her back to the others. She removed her bra and opened her shirt and let each of the girls feel the lump. The others stepped back a little and looked on in amazement as Amy shared such a personal thing with them. All the time Ty had his hand on her lower back in support. The girls quietly asked her questions. Maddie asked if there was anything she needed or if there was anything she could do for her. Amy smiled, "I just need all of you to be positive and support your dad, little brother and your other sisters. We are all going through this together. Annie was struggling and sobbed saying, "Mommy I am so sorry this happened, I just can't believe it. What are we going to do. Abigail's mom had breast cancer and she..." She couldn't finish and Addie hugged her tightly. Ty stepped in, "Girls your mom is a very courageous and tough woman, she will beat this but she definitely needs us. Annie we understand how you feel but we all have to be there for each other." Lyndy held on to her mom the entire time. She said with confidence, "Guys we need to be here for mom and dad and I know everything will be Ok. With the commotion settling little JT quietly walked over to his mom, "Mommy can I see." Amy gently took his hand and pressed it on the lump. The girls were trying to hold it together. He was inquisitive, "It's really small, does it hurt." She smiled at her little boy, "No honey it doesn't." He calmly looked in her eyes. "Don't cry mommy, I will talk to Grandma the next time I see her. She will make sure you are OK, I know it." In silence the Broden family hugged each other. The onlookers were astonished. Ty, Amy and the kids would need them more than ever and each one of them were ready to be there for them all.