With a promise of success and a pat on the back, Vic sent me on my way. “It’s going to be unforgettable.”
At the car, I flipped open my cell phone and dialed Bella.
“Hello?” she answered.
“Hi, it’s me. Just make sure you’re ready for seven, okay?”
“Okay,” she promised. “Is there something going on?”
“Yeah. I’m already starving.”
~
Though there were empty tables up front, Vic escorted Bella and me to a darkened back room where no one else was seated. The table sat in the center of the room and was very nicely decorated. I could tell by Bella’s face that it seemed peculiar to her. As we took our seats, Vic lit a candle. “I’ll be right back,” he said.
Bella started to question it, but I shrugged it off. “There must have been reservations for the other tables up front?” I suggested.
She nodded, and then noticed a man seated on a stool a few tables over. He was holding a guitar and squinting at some sheet music.
He looked over and smiled. “I hope you guys don’t mind, but I’m trying out tonight for a weekend gig at this place.”
“Oh, that’s great,” Bella said, with no idea Gary had already landed the job.
“Not a problem,” I added, acting as though I’d never spoken to the man. And through an acoustic set of love ballads, Gary was just as convincing.
Bella had no idea but the order had already been carefully spelled out – drinks first, Pinot Grigio for her; beer for me, and the itinerary would begin. Vic approached with both drinks on a small round tray. “Appetizers tonight?” he asked.
I smiled. “Why don’t we start with an order of little necks in garlic and oil?”
Vic nodded once and headed for the kitchen, while Gary swooned, “You say it best when you say nothing at all…”
Bella leaned into my ear and whispered, “How did he know I wanted white wine?”
I was into my second shrug when Vic returned to the table with a gorgeous arrangement of long stem red roses. Without a word, he placed them in front of Bella and rotated the vase until the card faced her. “Your appetizer should be out in a few minutes,” he said and strutted away again.
Gary was already on his second number when Bella plucked the card from the arrangement. It read: “Bella, I love you, forever – Don.” She looked up to find the entire restaurant staring at us.
“And always will,” I whispered when she leaned over and kissed me.
After the steaming appetizer and another round of drinks, Vic placed a silver platter before my glowing wife. It held a scrolled sheet of parchment secured by red ribbon. She looked up at him, but he never let on. She glanced over at me. “What…”
“Open it,” I said, while Gary strummed away in the background.
She did. It was the one thing she’d always wanted from me, but had never gotten – until now.
Moments of Destiny
From the moment I met you,
I knew there was a fire between us
that even hard, driving rain could never put out.
From the moment we spoke,
I knew I’d spent my entire life
in search of your deep and passionate love.
From the moment we kissed,
I knew my heart was no longer mine
and I’d finally found my future.
From the moment we laughed,
I knew there would never be enough time
to share all the things I needed to share with you.
From the moment we danced,
I knew, at last, what the phrase ‘better half’ meant
and surrendered to your gentle touch.
From the moment we walked hand-in-hand,
I knew I’d discovered my partner
and that my dreams were suddenly within reach.
From the moment we lay together,
I knew I’d made it to heaven
and thanked God for blessing me with you.
From the moment you agreed to be my wife,
I knew my journey was now worth taking,
through days of sunshine –
or nights of hard, driving rain.
As her watering eyes read the final verse, the musician stopped playing, the restaurant went silent and I went down to one knee. I opened the ring box. “Isabella,” I said, “I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you be my wife…again?”
She never hesitated and dove into my arms. For a while, we just hugged.
“I love you so much,” she cried into my shoulder.
“I know,” I said. “But…”
She pushed away from me and looked into my eyes. “But what?”
“But I need your answer?” I said, grinning.
“Yes…the answer is YES!” she gasped and jumped back into my arms.
The crowd shared a collective sigh, and everyone was clapping when Bella and I returned to reality. It took a few moments before each table returned to its own conversation and half-eaten meals.
Chuckling, I introduced my beautiful wife to Gary, the musician. As they shook hands, Gary admitted, “I was so nervous.”
I bought the man a beer when Vic delivered two previously ordered dinners to our table. Though Bella couldn’t touch hers, I ate and listened to Gary fill the room with a soothing melody. By the time the chocolate covered strawberries arrived for dessert, Bella was emotionally spent. She grabbed me once more for a kiss. “This has been the perfect night,” she whispered.
“And for all these years…you’ve been the perfect wife, my dear.”
As we left the restaurant, another round of applause carried us to the front door. I opened it for my new fiancé – only to discover a white stretch limousine idling at the curb. She quickly turned to me. “It’s not over?”
I shook my head. “It’ll never be over for us.” As we made our way to the limo, waves of nausea threatened to drown me. This is Bella’s perfect night, I told myself, our perfect night. Whatever you do…do not throw up now!
Goodnight, Brian
Readers always ask me, “How did you come up with the idea for Goodnight Brian?” The truth is, the novel was inspired by a true story. I have a dear friend whose cousin suffered terribly from being poisoned by baby formula. The vast majority of the story, however, is fiction. In fact, Mama (the matriarch and central point of the story) is a combination of my grandmother, my mother, my mother-in-law, as well as a few other women I’ve met in my life who have inspired me.
When Brian is first diagnosed with metabolic alkalosis and the family is told that the infant will never be able to walk or talk, his tiny Italian grandmother—Mama—takes a defiant stand. She vows to make it her life’s work to prove the doctors wrong and immediately sets off on a course of tough love to do just that.
Goodnight Brian is an emotional tale about the strength of family bonds and the perseverance to do our best with the challenging gifts we receive. It is also a tribute to what happens when giving up is not an option. But mostly, it’s a story about unconditional love in its truest form.
This excerpt depicts baby Brian’s cruel prognosis and Mama’s unforgettable reaction to it. “I don’t think you understand,” Mama told the doctor, staring straight into his sapphire eyes. “Our boy is going to walk. He’s going to talk. He’s going to ride a bike, swim, and learn to do everything that any other kid can do. It might take a little more doing, but I guarantee it!”
It was a mild summer evening—the air, warm and sweet. While the world peacefully slumbered away, Joan kept a strict vigilance over her ailing baby. Throughout the night, Brian’s diarrhea had become so severe that she had to change his diapers five times and his bedding twice.
Just before dawn, she laid him on his belly in the crib and patted his backside until he finally drifted off.
It felt like she’d just closed her eyes when she awoke with the late morning sun on her face. Ouch! Her lower back throbbed in pain. It took a moment to re
alize that her body was contorted in the chair. She sat up straight and stretched her legs to work out the knot in her back. As she yawned, she spotted Brian lying motionless in his crib, a zombie’s expression on his face. “Oh God!” she screamed and leaped to her feet, nearly tripping from the lack of blood in her legs. Her baby was gray, with big, black circles under his eyes. He’d lost so many bodily fluids through the night that he was scratching at death’s door.
Besides the pins and needles in her legs, all the symptoms of another panic attack—pounding heart, shallow breathing, overwhelming feelings of doom and darkness—ambushed her. But she pushed them away. There’s no time, she thought. Brian’s in trouble and he needs help now!
She lifted him out of the crib and hobbled toward the kitchen phone to call for an ambulance. With trembling hands, she called Doctor Carvalho’s office to inform them of the situation. “Either you admit him, or we’re camping out at the Emergency Room…and we’re not leaving!”
She looked down to find Ross standing there, panicked.
“Brian has to go to the hospital,” she told him. “Go get dressed.”
He ran back to his room.
She then left a message for Frank at work before she dialed her mother’s house. “Ma, Brian’s being admitted into the hospital. I need…” Her strength had finally left her and she broke down in a wounded sob.
“Okay, I’ll meet you there,” Mama promised and hung up the phone.
The sound of an approaching ambulance was the first welcomed wail in weeks.
I need to get dressed, Joan thought, looking down at her pajamas. I’ll just throw on some sweats over these. She looked down the hall. “Hurry up, Ross!”
~~~
While Ross was escorted into the nurse’s station away from the action, Brian was so dehydrated that two nurses had to strap him to a wooden, infant-sized board. They worked at a frantic pace, placing intravenous needles into his arms and legs to feed him the fluids and nutrients that his tiny body screamed for.
“It might be more comfortable in the waiting room,” the younger of the two nurses told Joan.
Joan looked up at her, but never uttered a word. Instead, she squeezed Brian’s hand tighter and firmly planted her feet.
Both nurses looked at each other, the older of the two nodding that it was okay for Joan to stay. After checking his monitor, they quietly left the room.
Mama arrived before Frank. When Joan spotted her, she collapsed into her arms. “I just know something is seriously wrong with Brian, but nobody will listen to me. Everyone just keeps telling me that I worry too much…that I’m overanxious. Frank, Doctor Carvalho…”
Mama pulled her daughter into her chest. “I’m listening, Joan. I’m here and I’m listening.” She nodded. “Everything will be okay.”
~~~
With Joan sleeping in a chair on one side of the hospital bassinette and Mama sleeping in a chair on the other, Brian stayed overnight for observation. Although he felt terrible for not staying, Frank returned home to watch Ross.
In the morning, Doctor Carvalho entered the room with Brian’s chart in hand. “I’m going to prescribe a syrup to bind him up.” He wrote out the script and handed it to Joan. “I just signed your son’s release, so you’re free to go home.” He looked her straight in the eye. “Your son will outgrow his digestive problems, Mrs. Mauretti. Hang in there.”
Joan was stunned. She opened her mouth to argue the point, but was interrupted by the busy doctor. “He’ll be fine…and he needs to go home.” The pediatrician turned and hurried out of the room.
As if she were six years old again, Joan looked toward her mother with scared, desperate eyes. Mama merely shook her head, squirming with the same anxiety that her daughter had been suffering. “We’ll figure this out,” she finally said. “We will.”
~~~
Long days turned into unbearable weeks. The syrup ran out and the diarrhea returned. Brian depended on Neo Mulsoy formula as his sole source of nutrition for nearly six months, and he never did outgrow the digestive problems. In fact, they became worse. The nights of screaming were endless, with Joan feeling helpless to ease her baby’s discomfort.
Mama finally told her, “Doctor Carvalho is a good pediatrician, but maybe you should get a second opinion from someone younger? I know a younger doctor might lack experience, but he’ll be up on the new procedures and products on the market.”
Without hesitation, Joan contacted a new pediatric practice two towns over, requesting a second opinion on her son’s digestive nightmare. After explaining her son’s condition, the receptionist said, “Looks like I can squeeze you in on Monday afternoon… ummm…two o’clock. Is that okay?”
“Yes,” Joan choked out. “We’ll be there.” She hung up the phone and felt the first ray of light touch their dark world.
~~~
With short cropped hair and crystal blue eyes, Doctor Alexander looked like he’d just graduated from high school. Joan second-guessed her decision until the young man spent more time examining Brian in one session than Doctor Carvalho had in all of their appointments combined. At the conclusion of the exam, he actually took a seat, looked at Joan and said, “So tell me everything.”
Her eyes filled and she nearly hugged him for his genuine concern. “I could explain it, but I’d rather give you this.” She reached into her pocketbook, retrieved Brian’s battered medical diary and handed it to him. “I documented everything,” she said.
He opened the book and read the first two pages before skimming through the rest. With a heavy sigh, he stood and asked, “May I keep it for a day or two to read through it thoroughly?”
“Of course.”
“I’m going to help your son, Mrs. Mauretti,” he promised. “Whatever it takes, we’re going to find out what’s wrong with Brian.”
Joan’s knees nearly buckled. “Thank you,” she whimpered. Thank God.
~~~
A slew of tests were conducted on Brian and the initial screens turned up nothing, but Doctor Alexander was a man of his word. He was relentless in his pursuit of answers; for the truth.
The baby gave blood, urine, stool samples and more blood. He squirmed during an abdomen ultra sound and screamed during a scary CT scan. Joan felt pieces of her soul shrivel up and die each time her baby was prodded. The only saving grace was Mama. The old lady never left their sides.
Initially, a diagnosis of Bartter’s Syndrome was made.
“Dear God…what’s that?” Joan asked.
“It’s an inherited defect in the renal tubules that causes low potassium and chloride levels,” Doctor Alexander explained. “We’ll need to start Brian on supplements right away. Let’s set up an appointment for later in the week and discuss in detail. For now, I’ll call the prescriptions into the pharmacy.”
“Okay then,” Joan said, confused.
But the young doctor was still skeptical about the initial diagnosis. For the next few weeks, while Joan prayed that the new supplements would help, he continued his research, reading through current medical journals and making phone call after phone call to colleagues throughout the country. Finally, he discovered several similar cases in Tennessee. A Memphis pediatrician had noticed that three sick babies with strange symptoms had all been depending on Neo Mulsoy as their primary source of nourishment.
According to the Memphis pediatrician, all three infants were unable to gain weight and failed to thrive. He also noticed that all three were being fed the same brand of soy-based formula. To further investigate the possible correlation, he contacted the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta and reported it. The CDC advised that similar infant cases, scattered throughout the country, had been diagnosed with metabolic alkalosis.
After notifying the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration to report his suspicions about Brian, Doctor Alexander telephoned Joan once again and told her, “Mrs. Mauretti, I hate to tell you this but I think we need to conduct a few more tests.”
And the nightmare
continued.
~~~
Brian was eleven months old when Doctor Alexander summoned the Mauretti family into his office to deliver the final verdict. Mama insisted that she be there. No one objected.
It was a late winter afternoon, a howling wind knocking on blocks of ice that were once windows. Doctor Alexander sat behind his tidy desk, looking distressed. Joan nearly cried when she saw his demeanor and immediately leaned on Frank for support. Avoiding initial eye contact, the young doctor was clearly having trouble offering his prognosis. He cleared his throat and finally reported, “We’ve discovered that Brian has metabolic alkalosis.”
“He has what?” Frank asked.
“Metabolic alkalosis is a blood disorder that affects an infant’s ability to digest properly and gain weight. It’s caused by a lack of chloride, or sodium, in the diet.”
“So what does that mean for Brian?” Joan asked.
“Several of Brian’s tests have shown some abnormality in the frontal area of his brain.”
Joan, Frank and Mama’s silence begged for the man to embellish. The doctor took another long pause, making Joan feel like her heart was going to explode. She tried to slow down the hyperventilating. It was no use.
“Your son’s development has been severely damaged,” he finally told Joan and Frank directly. “And at this point, I believe it’s irreversible.”
“Irreversible? I don’t understand?” Joan screeched, frightened for her baby boy’s future. She felt so lightheaded that the room began to spin.
Doctor Alexander shook his head. “It means that Brian will never walk.”
“Never walk?” Frank repeated, his face instantly bleached to white.
“I’m sorry, but we don’t believe he will.” He scanned the reports in front of him and took another deep breath. “It’s also doubtful that Brian will ever talk or communicate effectively.”
Joan looked toward her mother again, her terrified eyes begging for help. Mama got to her feet and took a defensive posture.
Just in Time Page 7
