by M T Stone
“Don’t worry, Brandon. I’m through embarrassing you and your sister for now. I don’t want to have to send you guys to counseling.”
“Too late, the damage is done.”
I smiled as I turned to go back up the stairs. The damage is done… isn’t that the truth.
~~~
Saturday was another beautiful day on the water and everyone was much more subdued and relaxed. After finishing our business in the morning, we spent the rest of the day by the pool enjoying the sunshine and the views. The biggest surprise of the day was how much we all liked Ellie and Sasha. Ellie was a fun-loving, free-spirited girl who kept Brandon on his toes. Despite the fact that Sasha resembled Jackie, she had a much more pleasant demeanor.
By the time we reached Nassau, I actually suggested to Brandon and Kate that they consider hiring both girls to start working on promotional shots. Brandon wasn’t ready to hire anyone at that point. I figured that he was taking his time to figure out whether or not he had a personal interest in Ellie. As long as Sasha was a model, she wouldn’t stand a chance with Brandon. He had already dated a model and put up with all of the eccentricities. He was also the type who wanted to have someone who would be there at the end of the day. Sasha was rarely home and had a career that would be pretty hard to give up. Ellie is a better match for Brandon anyway in this father’s opinion.
Sunday was bitter sweet as everyone headed back to the city. Kate seemed a bit relieved that we no longer had the pressure of having Jayne and Brandon around. It will take her a while to adapt and be totally comfortable around them. As soon as everyone was safely aboard the jet, my thoughts turned to my appointment for stem cell therapy. Monday was the day I had been looking forward to since my first discussion with Peter. As I had told Jayne, I was fully expecting a miracle. If this didn’t turn out to be it, I would simply continue to search until I found it. I’m going to live to be 93 one way or another.
~~~
Chapter 12 – Resetting the Clock
Monday morning - February 6, 2012
Jack
After a 45 minute briefing with my new cardiologist, Dr. Salvatore, I signed the consent form to begin my treatments. I excused myself for a few minutes to give Jayne and Brandon a call. They wanted me to call them prior to going ahead with it because Jayne wanted one more chance to talk some sense into me.
“Where did he go to medical school?” was her first question.
“He’s a Duke graduate,” I replied knowing it would put her at ease. She had been a Blue Devils fan since she was old enough to understand basketball.
“Okay, but give me a call after your treatment so I don’t have to worry.”
“I will, honey… everything is going to be fine. I’ll send you a text from the recovery room in a couple of hours. Then I’ll give you a call later tonight when I’m back on the ship.”
As soon as I hung up my phone, the nurse was ready to take me back to start my treatment. I’ve never liked these sterile looking white hallways flooded with florescent lights. It always smells funny, too. As I sat down on the table, the nurse explained once again that they first would be collecting about a cup of fat from my body using liposuction. They would collect the fat from my abdomen, since that’s the only area where I carry fat.
“They will take a little from each side to keep it even, right?” was the only concern I expressed. Don’t want to walk around with a lopsided stomach for god sake.
“Yes, sir. He’s a plastic surgeon, so everything will be uniform,” she replied with a warm smile.
After collecting the fat, there would be an hour wait while they extracted the viable stem cells and concentrated them. Then a cardiologist would use a catheter to place the stem cells directly into my heart.
“They introduce the cells into a low blood flow area to minimize complications,” the nurse assured.
Next, the anesthesiologist came in to ask if I would prefer to use local or general anesthesia. “We normally use local, unless you have issues with the sight of blood,” he explained.
“Local is fine,” I assured him. The sight of blood had never bothered me.
Once the procedure began, however, the sucking sound made my stomach turn. I also had to close my eyes instead of watching whatever that was coming up through the extraction tube. I really don’t need to see this. What can I think about? I’m going to think about sitting on the Lido deck with Kate and watching the waves go by. There that’s better.
Ten minutes later, I was resting comfortably. I had another hour to kill before the cardiologist injected the stem cells. It would’ve been nice if Kate could’ve come back, but since it was a sterile environment I was on my own. I wanted to send Jayne a text, but they made me leave my phone with Kate. With nothing else to do, I laid back and focused on my heart. I pictured myself running effortlessly on a beach, windsurfing in the waves, and skydiving from an airplane.
Once my heart is strong, I want to do all the things that I haven’t done yet. That’s another reason I wanted to be free from corporate life. I want to be able to do anything and everything. I hope Kate is up for an adventure because that’s what I am looking forward to. I want to do a few crazy things like Richard Branson. He’s always been an inspiration to me.
“Are you ready to get started?” Dr. Salvatore asked, as he re-entered the room.
“I’m definitely ready,” I responded a little too enthusiastically.
“Alright, I’m going to just use a little lidocaine before I insert the atrial catheter,” he explained.
The familiar smell permeated the air as he swabbed it onto my skin. I felt a couple of sharp pains as he positioned the catheter and secured it with tape. Then everything seemed to be normal as he told me they were going to start introducing the stem cells into the area of my heart that had the most damage. I felt a warm sensation, but it could’ve easily been my imagination. He kept reassuring me that everything was going as planned as the stem cells were released into my blood stream.
The first spasm in my throat was something I had experienced hundreds of times in the past ten years. It was nothing more than a pre-ventricular contraction according to my personal cardiologist. What happened in the ensuing moments however was something completely new to me. It felt as if a wild beast had been turned loose inside of my chest. The soothing voice of the cardiologist was suddenly replaced by one of overt panic as he called out, “He’s coding!” This isn’t good… was my only thought as I began to fade into the soft white light.
Kate
“Code Blue Level 3, Room 318!” When those words blasted through the intercom it sent a dagger through my heart. 318 was Jack’s room, and I had watched enough episodes of ER, Grey’s Anatomy, and House to know that code blue most likely meant that Jack had gone into cardiac arrest. I jumped from my seat and tried to look down the hallway. Two guys who looked like paramedics and a nurse were running down the hallway toward Jack’s room.
“He’s in full arrest,” I overheard someone say as they entered the room.
“He’s in good hands,” a nurse assured me. “Please take a seat. We’ll keep you posted on his condition.”
I literally burst into tears as I sat back down. Everyone had assured Jack that there was very little risk involved with this procedure. Had his heart been too weak? Will it have further damage? Will he even make it through this? Question after question kept flooding through my mind. Brandon and Jayne should’ve stayed a couple more days. I had been relieved to see them go back to the city, but it would’ve been nice to have them around for moral support. I should really call them. I have to wait a few minutes though, so I can pull myself together.
The next several minutes were absolutely excruciating as waves of tears poured down my cheeks. I know that Jack wants to be well, but he should’ve stuck to traditional treatments in the United States. Obviously, they aren’t as careful here as they are at home. This never would’ve happened at Johns Hopkins or Mayo. I wanted to sneak down the hall to see what
was going on, but the head nurse was keeping watch. I knew why they kept family away from patients during a time of crisis, but unless you’ve been there, you have no idea how it feels. Please pull through, Jack!
Feeling completely helpless, I resorted to something Jack had told me. I began to picture myself doing fun things with him. I saw him as being healthy and vibrant, no longer suffering from any sort of ailment. He was happy and full of energy like someone half his age. I’m going to focus on that until it comes true. After only a few minutes of concentrating, the doors to the corridor swung open and I was relieved to see Dr. Salvatore.
“Jack went into full cardiac arrest during the initial stage of the injection, but we’ve got him stabilized,” he said much to my relief.
“Can I see him?”
“No. We are keeping him under sedation. Due to his history with tachycardia, our chief surgeon is going to implant a pacemaker. After that, we can finish injecting the stem cells.”
“A pacemaker? How bad was his heart attack?”
“Since it happened here, the damage should be minimal. After witnessing the extreme level of atrial fibrillation, however, there is no doubt that he needs a pacemaker. He would be at great risk without it.”
“Alright, how long will he be under?”
“It will only be a couple of hours until we are done. He will need another hour or two in recovery,” he informed me. “I’ll be back when he’s out of surgery.”
I looked through the small window in the door as they wheeled Jack out of the treatment room and down the hall to the surgical unit. I should probably call Jayne.
~~~
It was a long, arduous wait. I tried to remain focused on Jack being completely healthy. I found out how hard it is to focus on one thing for more than a few minutes. My mind constantly wandered off in seemingly random directions. Each time I would catch myself and return my focus to Jack having a completely healthy heart. As the two-hour mark approached, I once again began to contemplate calling Jayne. Luckily, the surgeon emerged with good news, just as I was scrolling through my contacts looking for her number.
“The surgery was a success and we just finished delivering the stem cells. We used mild sedation, so he should come around shortly,” he explained.
After the surgeon left the waiting room, I picked up my phone and sent Jayne a text:
Me: Jack is in the recovery room. I’ll have him touch base with you asap.
Jayne: Thanks. Why is he in recovery?
After a moment of hesitation, I replied:
Me: They implanted a pacemaker because his heart fluttered while they were doing the stem cell injection.
Upon pressing send, I began counting to ten. I knew that my phone was going to ring before I got there. It actually rang before I reached the number four. Needless to say, Jayne was concerned, but I told her that the surgeon had assured me that the implant had few risks.
“That’s what they said about the stem cell injections,” she countered. “Obviously, that didn’t go exactly as planned.”
“I agree, but Jack admitted that he has been having these episodes for the past ten years. Apparently, your mom and his cardiologist in New York were the only two who knew about them,” I explained so she would understand that this wasn’t an isolated event.
“He’s so damn secretive about his health. That’s what makes me nervous,” Jayne replied with a sigh.
“I know. He thinks by not saying anything we won’t worry about him. He doesn’t realize that it makes us worry more because we don’t know exactly what’s going on.”
“Well, at least you’re there to keep an eye on him. If you weren’t, I would already be on a plane.”
“I know. That’s why I wanted to keep you in the loop. I’ll let you know if anything else comes up. According to Dr. Salvatore, though, he should be healed up within a few days.”
“Alright, thanks, Kate.”
I felt as if a bond was beginning to form between us as I hung up the phone. That went well. Jayne has so much going on in the city. I’m glad that she can trust me to keep her informed. I think it was a good idea to wait until he was out of surgery before contacting her. Jack will have to give her a call later and then everything will be cool.
Jack
Upon coming out of sedation, I immediately knew that my life would never be the same. Holy shit that was wild. I have heard stories of people seeing the other side, but I never would’ve believed how real it is. I can’t believe the pain I’ve caused. I’ve got some making up to do.
“Hi, are you feeling alright?” I heard Kate ask as she saw me beginning to show signs of life.
“I think so, but you aren’t going to believe what I’ve seen.”
“Did you get to see the light?”
“Yeah, have you heard about it before?”
“I was in the room when my grandmother passed and she was telling me what she was seeing as she was dying. It was really strange because she sounded so excited about what was waiting on the other side.”
“I know exactly what she was seeing. It’s amazing!” I completely understood what her grandmother had witnessed.
“After her funeral, I started reading about near death experiences. Apparently everything they talk about is true, huh?”
“You have no idea. I not only saw my life pass before my eyes, but saw all of the consequences that were caused by my actions. There was plenty of good and bad, some really bad,” I admitted.
“Really? What have you done that’s so terrible?”
“Most of it has to do with off shore factories that we recommended to designers over the past 20 years. I knew they weren’t the best places for workers, but I had no idea how bad they really were.” I could feel tears forming as I recalled the faces I had seen.
“Maybe that’s why you were so excited about my idea to manufacture my line in the U.S.,” she said with a supportive look in her eyes.
“I’m sure that was part of it. We’ve got so much to do. I don’t even know where to begin.”
“Relax, Jack, you just got out of surgery. You have to start by recovering,” she replied running her fingers through my hair.
“I’m fine. I’m ready to get out of here.”
“You better just chill for a few more minutes. The cardiologist will let us know when it’s safe for you to get up.”
I knew she was right, but I was so energized by the experience that I just wanted to jump out of bed and get on with my life. My eyes had been opened for the first time and I realized how many lives were impacted by each decision I had made. I always knew that most of the things we spend our life worrying about were futile, but suddenly I realized exactly what was most important in this world. I’ve got so much to do.
“I love you. Kate,” I said, being met with a stabbing pain as I attempted to lift my arm.
“I love you, too, but you need stay still. They just cut you open, you know.”
“I know. I’m still not thinking too clearly.”
Even though my head was still fuzzy, I could see the concern in Kate’s eyes. After losing Eva, I had become increasingly focused on my declining health and myself. Having the kids to look out for kept me from becoming completely self-absorbed, but now they were grown up. As I gazed into Kate’s loving eyes, I was glad to have a new focal point.
In addition to Kate, I had a new life mission as well. In fact, my mission in life had never been clearer. Kate and I were going to move high-end fashion manufacturing back to the U.S. Then I would use all of my manufacturing contacts to put pressure on some of the overseas factory owners. If what I had seen was accurate, there were thousands of workers out there who were in desperate need of help. Ouch! In the meantime, I better just relax and get some rest.
~~~
Later That Evening
Kate
As Jack and I got ready for bed, I knew our lives would never be the same. Whatever Jack had experienced earlier that day was going to send us on a much more dynamic co
urse. Even though he wasn’t feeling very well, there was definitely a new light in his eyes. It reminded me of the Jack that I had met a dozen years earlier as a little girl. The fire was back.
“In spite of everything, this was an amazing day,” he whispered softly as he got comfortable.
I snuggled into him getting as close as possible. I wanted to be enveloped by his energy and bask in the warmth that constantly radiated from his body.
“You are going to be completely healthy,” I whispered back gliding my hand across his abdomen.
“I’m glad you were focused on that. I could sense that you were pulling me back.”
“That’s good, I’m glad it helped.” Could he really sense my thoughts? I had read all kinds of crazy beyond and back stories. In some, people had floated above their bodies and saw their loved ones crying or people working on their body. I had always wondered how much of that was exaggerated just to sell books. In this case, though, Jack didn’t have anything to gain by overstating his experience.
“I love you, Jack.”
“I love you more,” he replied with a genuine smile.
I don’t think so.
Chapter 13 – Kristen Drops In Unexpectedly
Tuesday February 7, 2012
Kate
The amazing changes in Jack began to accelerate after his encounter that day in the hospital. Some would say that his renewed energy was a result of the pacemaker. Others would give the credit to the stem cell injections. I, however, had concluded that it was because of whatever Jack had seen on the other side. He no longer focused on his weakened heart or the fact that he was aging. It seemed as if his brush with death had actually turned back the clock for him. As each day passed, he became more and more energetic. He seemed to be eating and drinking healthier without even thinking about it.
He began calling Brandon and Jayne each morning to say hello and get any business updates. Then he would do the exercises that the doctor had sent home with him and have a healthy breakfast of fruit and egg white omelets with veggies.