by Bobby Akart
“Oh, God! Thank you, sweet Jesus!” Sarah said the words in between gasping for air. She thought she couldn’t cry anymore. She was wrong.
“Momma, I’m home, and good Lord, I’ve missed you.”
Kristi and Sarah hugged one another so hard they lost sight of the fact that they were rolling back and forth in the dirt.
“Ma! It’s a monkey!” screamed Jesse from the second floor. “Rachel, come see!”
The young child had been taking a nap and was told to stay in her room as Carly ran upstairs.
Tommy had exited the car with Brooke wrapped around his waist. The chimp was shyly burying her face in his chest as he approached the tearful reunion.
“What?” asked Sarah. “Did you bring Knight with you?” She and Squire had never met Knight, but had talked with Kristi about him many times on the phone.
“No, Momma. It’s another chimp. I’ll explain later.”
Kristi stood and helped her mother off the ground. They took turns wiping the dirt and dried grass off each other before Kristi waved Tommy over.
“Mom, I want you to meet Tommy.”
“Hi, Tommy. Please call me Sarah.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Sarah.” Tommy extended his hand to shake, but he and Brooke got a big hug instead.
“Ooo-oo-oo.” Brooke liked the show of affection.
Sarah laughed. “Well, oo-oo to you, too.”
“I wanna hold him!” exclaimed Jesse as he hopped off the porch and ran toward them.
“Yeah, me too!” added Rachel.
Kristi stepped in front of the kids to intercept them. She needed to be careful as she introduced Brooke to the family. The change in Knight was still fresh in her mind. “How ’bout a hug for your long-lost aunt first?”
“You weren’t lost, Aunt Kristi,” said Jesse matter-of-factly. “We knew exactly where you were.”
“Yeah,” Rachel chimed in. “At the zoo.”
Kristi looked at Tommy, and the two burst out laughing. She scruffed on the kid’s hair. “The zoo. You guys have no idea.”
Carly finally emerged from the house and set her rifle against the doorjamb. “Hey, sis!”
“Hey, sis!” replied Kristi. Despite their age difference, the two got along very well. She reached for Tommy’s hand and pulled him closer to her. “Everyone, I’d like you to meet Tommy Bannon. We used to work together, and now, well, we’re, you know, together.”
“Hi, guys,” greeted Tommy with a wave.
The kids shook his hand and Sarah made small talk with Tommy until Kristi noticed Carly had left. She gently nudged her mother away from Tommy, Brooke, and the kids. She lowered her voice and asked, “Mom, is Carly all right?”
“Honey, there’s so much to talk about, so let me just blurt out the short version.” Sarah began to well up in tears, and Kristi immediately hugged her.
“Mom, we can talk later if—”
“No, let me explain. First off, Levi is missing. He went on a huntin’ trip to Canada, and we haven’t heard from him since. Your dad is sick. He’s been hiding it from me, and now it’s gotten out of hand. They took him to the hospital.”
“What hospital?”
“You don’t know, I guess. Supposedly, hopefully it’s true, they turned the power on upstate. Fort Wayne is where they took him.”
“Who?”
“Chapman and Isabella.”
“Chapman made it home? That’s great. Who’s Isabella?” Kristi asked, and then she covered her mouth. “Well, I’ll be damned. He brought that French scientist back to the farm?”
“All the way from Paris,” added Sarah.
“Wonders never cease,” said Kristi with a chuckle. “Listen, is Dad gonna be okay? How serious is it?”
“I don’t know. It all happened so suddenly. I trust that Chapman will get him the help he needs. We still need to pray for them, okay?”
Kristi nodded and glanced back toward Tommy. “He’s a good man, Mom.”
“He’s your boyfriend?”
“Yeah, I guess. I mean, we really just met as this thing started, but …” Her voice trailed off as she gathered her thoughts. “We’ve been through a lot together, and it just sort of happened.”
“God has a plan for us all, dear. Don’t fight it. We’ll make him feel welcome, and he can become a part of the Boone family just as Chapman’s girl has. Okay?”
Kristi hugged her mother again. “It’s so good to be home. I love you, Momma.”
“I love you, too, honey.”
Chapter 53
Lutheran Downtown Hospital
Fort Wayne, Indiana
As promised, the paramedics gave Squire priority once they eased the ambulance up to the emergency room entrance. It helped that one of them recognized Chapman from The Weather Channel and his earlier days as a storm chaser. With this added credibility, and profuse apologies from both Chapman and Isabella for their tactics, tensions were eased, and Squire became the focus of their attention.
They pulled Squire’s gurney out of the back of the ambulance and forced their way through the door. Two armed police officers attempted to stop Isabella, who had shouldered the AR-10, but the lead paramedic, a well-known fixture around town, vouched for her.
The female paramedic pushed through the crowd hovering around the reception desk and walked behind it to speak to the hospital personnel. “We’ve got a male, age sixty-four, with extreme cramping, uncontrollable diarrhea, and blood in his stool. His fever has been running in the one-oh-three to one-oh-four range, indicating possible hyperpyrexia.”
The claim of a high-grade fever was an exaggeration but a tactic discussed while in the back of the ambulance. Both paramedics believed this, coupled with the other symptoms indicating a significant infection, would push Squire to the front of the line.
“I’ll need some paperwork filled out,” responded the hospital administrator without looking up from her workstation. She handed the paramedic a clipboard and continued pushing her pencil.
The senior paramedic saw her response and scowled. Clearly, the administrator didn’t understand the severity of the symptoms to this patient. He turned to Chapman. “Listen, no matter what, keep your cool. Agitating these people won’t help.” He glanced at Isabella, who casually held the rifle tucked against her body. “I’m amazed these people haven’t freaked out over the sight of that thing.”
Chapman tapped the man on the shoulder and pointed to the waiting room. Several people milling about had sidearms strapped to their belts or hunting rifles slung over their shoulders. It was the new normal.
The paramedic shook his head from side to side and continued. “I’m going to take your father back myself. I know what he needs, and I can find a doctor to expedite his treatment. If the administrator asks where the patient is, just tell her that he’s with the paramedics. Got it?”
“When we’re done, how will I find you in this …?” Chapman’s voice trailed off as he took another look around. “Um, all of this.”
“Stay within this general intake area. There are four hallways that branch off the hub, and it’s easy to get lost. We’ll update you as soon as we know he’s being taken care of.”
The paramedic patted Chapman on the back and reassured him one more time before wheeling Squire away from the maddening crowd around the reception desk. He nodded to his partner, who slowly backed away from the administrator and followed his lead.
“What’s the plan?” she asked once they cleared the desk.
“This guy will never make it pushed against a wall like these others. I didn’t want to make a big deal of it and frighten his son, but the amount of blood in his stool is a very big no bueno.”
He stopped and waved down a nurse. “Which doctors are here today?”
The older woman reeled off several names until he heard the one he wanted. “Dr. Rambo? Good. Do you know where she is?”
“The east wing exam rooms. She’s seeing all of them.”
“That’s the Cassie I
know, always the overachiever,” he muttered as he maneuvered Squire’s gurney toward the east wing of the hospital.
“I don’t think I’ve ever met her,” said the female paramedic as they carefully pushed Squire past a group of grieving family members blocking the hallway.
“I know Cassie from when I was in college at Iowa State. She focused on school and became a doctor. I partied and ended up being a paramedic.”
“Kevin Reynolds, don’t sell yourself short. Everyone in Fort Wayne’s medical community respects you.”
“Yeah, I know. It was just a missed opportunity for me, that’s all. Watch our patient for a moment while I find her, okay?”
“Like a hawk, right?” she said with a laugh. “You know? Hawkeyes?”
Reynolds shook his head and chuckled. “Wrong college, but nice try. I’ll be right back.”
He left them alone and moved methodically down the hallway, gently opening each exam room door in search of the doctor. Along the way, the patients on the gurneys reached for him, begging him to help. He felt bad that he couldn’t stop, but Squire’s vitals had been on a downward trend, indicating he was running out of time.
Finally, just before the right-hand turn of the long L-shaped corridor, he found her finishing up with another exam.
“Cassie,” he whispered loudly after he poked his head through the door.
“Kevin? Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, with me. Yeah. Listen, I need a favor.”
“What is it?”
“Have you ever seen The Weather Channel during a hurricane or tornado?”
“Sure, we’re from Iowa, remember? It’s on twenty-four seven in the spring.”
“Chapman Boone. Ring a bell?”
Dr. Rambo chuckled. “Of course. Fearless and a hottie to boot. Is he hurt?”
Reynolds looked back down the hallway and eased inside the room. “Not him, but his dad’s in a bad way. I’m not sure what it is, but I really wanna help the guy out, you know. I, um, well, I kinda pushed him ahead of the line. You know what I mean?”
Dr. Rambo smiled and reached for the door. “You were always the rule breaker, so this comes as no surprise. Let’s have a look.”
The two of them walked together as Reynolds provided her the true symptoms Squire had been experiencing. One should never lie to his doctor or his lawyer.
“Any signs of seizure?”
“No.”
“Blocked airways or cessation of breathing?”
“No and no.”
“Change in level of consciousness at all?”
“Cassie, he’s been in a deep sleep throughout their trip from the southern part of the state and into the hospital. He’d been complaining of fatigue.”
She reached the gurney and began a cursory exam. After gently pressing against his abdomen in several places, she spoke. “Okay, we need to get some ultrasounds done. I need to find a nurse to assist.” She spun around and looked for one to flag down. Only a couple appeared, but they were in a frenzied rush.
The younger paramedic offered her assistance. “Doctor, I might be able to help. I received training as an ultrasound technician in the military. I mean, if that’s okay.”
Dr. Rambo smiled and pointed down the hallway. “Between the two of us, we’ll do just fine. Let’s go.”
Chapter 54
Lutheran Downtown Hospital
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Reynolds and Dr. Rambo approached Chapman, who was standing off to the side from the reception area. Isabella had offered to walk around in search of Squire and the paramedics a few minutes earlier while he stayed put as instructed. Dr. Rambo was pulling off her examination gloves as she approached Chapman.
“Hi, Mr. Boone, I’m Dr. Cassandra Rambo. Let’s talk about your dad for a moment.”
Chapman shook her hand and glanced around in search of Isabella. She was still looking for his dad in the maze of hallways and masses of people.
“How is he?”
“I won’t mince words, sir. There are still tests to be run, but I’ve made an initial determination that your father has an advanced stage of Crohn’s disease.”
“I’ve heard of it, but don’t really know what that means.”
“First, let me ask whether he’s seen any other physician for this. He would’ve been symptomatic for quite some time.”
Chapman sighed and looked to the floor. “My dad is stubborn as a mule. I’m always on the road, but Mom said he never disclosed any of this to her. He complained about being irregular and having bouts of diarrhea, but that was it. It hit him bad yesterday.”
Dr. Rambo grimaced. “Older men have a tendency to hide their illnesses from their families. They want to be the strong provider and convince themselves their families would be better off not worrying about them. As a result, these diseases can progress until they’re hard to manage.”
“So what is Crohn’s disease?” Chapman asked as Isabella rejoined him. He reached out and held her hand as she approached.
He introduced her to Dr. Rambo, who then continued. “Crohn’s is a bowel disease that causes chronic inflammation of your intestinal tract. In most cases, like your dad’s, the start of the inflammation is most prevalent at the end of the small intestine and the first portion of the colon. If treated early, there are medications that can control the inflammation and ease the painful symptoms associated with the disease.”
“How do we fix it?” asked Chapman.
“Well, there is no cure for Crohn’s, only the drugs to control it. But, and I’m sorry we have to even discuss this, when left untreated in the early stages, the disease can develop in other parts of the intestinal tract, including the stomach, rectum and layers of the intestinal lining. This explains the numerous symptoms your father is experiencing.”
Chapman took a deep breath and exhaled. He squeezed Isabella’s hand for support and asked, “Do you have the medicine necessary to give him some comfort?”
Dr. Rambo grimaced. “Mr. Boone, sadly, we’re beyond that. Had we caught it early, then medication could’ve helped, but it’s not always enough. Seventy-five percent of people with the disease require some type of surgery to help relieve the symptoms.”
“Jeez, you’ve got to be kidding,” said Chapman as he looked up to the ceiling and shook his head. “Mom has no idea.”
“I understand this is a lot to take in considering what’s going on around us, but I have to give you my honest assessment. First of all, at this advanced stage of the disease, your father is at an increased risk for colorectal cancer. If it’s present, and we don’t know that as of yet, we can remove certain sections of the colon to stem the spread of cancer and even prevent it from developing.
“However, the tests we’ve run do indicate that one or more of the following complications are present—a bowel abscess, a perforation, and a possible fistula. That’s an abnormal connection I’ve detected between the rectum and his bladder.”
Chapman wiped a tear from his cheek. “Are you saying he needs surgery?”
“Yes. Immediately, in fact,” she replied. “Our surgical team would perform an ostomy. It’s basically the process of creating a hole in your dad’s body to eliminate its contents. In this case, based upon the ultrasound, the team would perform an ileostomy because the small intestine will be their focus.
“I will need to consult with the surgeons, but most likely, they’ll remove diseased sections of the colon through a colectomy and conduct a bowel resection to take out any damaged portions of the small intestine while he’s already under.”
“When?” asked Chapman.
“If you are in agreement, I’ll speak with a surgeon while you sign the necessary consent forms. I understand you’d like to discuss this with your family, but I must urge you to hurry. The disease in his intestinal tract is causing his vitals to deteriorate rapidly.”
“May I speak with him?”
“I’m afraid he’s unconscious, and we’ve hooked him up to pain meds in pr
eparation for surgery, which I expected you to approve. I don’t think he would wake up if you tried.”
Chapman wandered away a few feet and ran his fingers through his hair. More tears poured onto his face as he faced this difficult decision without his mom and siblings. Isabella comforted him and offered words of encouragement. He gathered himself and took in a deep breath before exhaling.
He trusted Dr. Rambo and was confident in her suggestions, so he quickly turned to her and nodded.
“Let’s do it. Please save my dad.”
Chapter 55
Lutheran Downtown Hospital
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Isabella wandered down the east wing of the hospital while Chapman finished the paperwork for his father’s surgery. He’d second-guessed himself as to whether he should’ve committed his father to a serious surgery without his mother’s knowledge, but the doctor was convincing. There was no time to waste. The two paramedics had approached Chapman and Isabella while he got the paperwork started, to let him know they’d already begun prepping his dad and would be taking him in shortly.
Isabella had been told stories by her grandparents of what conditions were like in the Parisian hospitals during World War II. As she strolled down the corridor, she became saddened at the patients lined up against the wall on gurneys, desperate for attention and begging anyone to help them. It brought back the visuals she’d had as a child when hearing the horrific stories from the war.
A male nurse walked in her direction and she stopped him. “Monsieur, these people. Do they not have family? Will they receive treatment?”
The nurse seemed agitated at being stopped but responded anyway. “Most of these don’t have any identification. Their conditions are not deemed critical, but they’re not well enough to be discharged. We’ll get to them when we get to them.”
He tried to pull away, but Isabella reached out to grab his arm. He caught a glimpse of her rifle and pulled away, backing into the wall. “Is that real?”
