Two days later Isaac drove to Charity’s house. He was welcomed and offered a piece of Jeremiah’s Banana Split cake and a cup of coffee. He sat at the kitchen table to eat and talk to Charity.
“Dr. Yoder,” Charity began.
“I told you to call me Isaac.”
“Isaac,” she smiled, “what news do you have about the tests for Jeremiah?”
“That’s why I’m here. I have scheduled the MRI for next Tuesday and the CAT scan for Thursday. It may be overkill, but I want a good, clear picture of what is inside his head.”
“I do appreciate it. As you know, we don’t carry insurance, but I have enough to pay for whatever he needs. Just make him well, please Gott.”
“Don’t worry about payment yet. I’ll pick him up at eight Tuesday morning and bring him back some time after lunch. I’ll make sure he is fed and cared for.”
“Do you mean I can not go with him?”
“Charity, you would not be permitted in the room where the tests are taking place, and you would just sit outside and get tired. Why don’t you go on to work and keep your mind occupied? Have something to do. Don’t you trust me to take good care of him? I care for both of you a great deal.”
“Ja. Ja, I trust you. It is just so soon after I lost him for two weeks and I want to be with him as much as possible. Besides, every little child needs their mother with them when they are in the hospital.”
“I understand how you feel, and if he were in the hospital, I would say you could sit with him. When he gets there you won’t see him at all until the tests are over.”
“All right, I will have him ready for you, but we will be at my store. You can pick him up there.”
“Fine with me and do you want me to return him there?”
“Please. I will be on pins and needles until I see him and hear from you.”
“Charity, I shall not allow you to suffer one minute,” he laughed. “I shall be delighted to bring him wherever you want him.”
“I can not keep from being concerned. It is my only child and something is wrong in his head. Of course I am worried. I will have him ready for you and grateful that you are such a good friend.”
“Charity, I will always be your friend.” He started to say more but decided to wait. He meant to remind her of how much she meant to him. He felt the time was not right.
He left and went to his office at the hospital. Charity could hardly wait to talk to her father and father-in-law to tell them the news. She didn’t want to say much where Jeremiah could hear because he would not understand all of it and might be frightened.
First she went to talk to Bishop Jonah Slabough, who had taken the place of Amos Yoder who was so sick. She told him of Jeremiah’s behavior and what Dr. Yoder wanted to do.
“God gave the skill to the doctors to help us and we would be foolish not to accept them,” Jonah assured her. “We will keep praying for Jeremiah and for you because you have had so much grief and suffering.”
“But our Lord has given me more blessings than I can count and I am so thankful,” she stated.
“I am so pleased that you give proper credit to our Lord for we could not survive without him and without His mercy.”
“Ja. Danki, Bishop. May Gott segeneich.” (Yes. Thank you, Bishop. May God bless you.)
“D Herr sei mit du,” he answered her as she left. (The Lord be with you.)
Charity got in her buggy and drove to Jacob’s house. He was out in his workroom building more beautiful, finished furniture.
“Oh, daed, I thought you were going to do your work at the store.”
“I do some, but this is for a neighbor who will pick it up when it is ready. I have a lot to do yet. What is on your mind?”
She proceeded to tell him of the appointments for Jeremiah. He promptly said he was going and she had to explain why she could not even go. He promised to tell Joshua and Leah and she went back home. Jeremiah would be home from school soon. He would probably have to repeat the sixth year, but that didn’t bother her.
She went home planning what she would provide for the Sunday service. This Sunday it would be at the home of Bishop Slabough. She would go over on Saturday and offer to help with any housework or extra cooking.
Sunday rolled around cold but clear. A huge crowd had gathered for this service for they were going to discuss some business as well as have a worship service. Charity had baked a ham with vegetables around it, potato salad and a cake. Jeremiah was unusually quiet and thoughtful.
“What are you thinking, Jeremiah,” she asked as she guided her horse through the crowd of buggies.
“Nothing special, mamm. I am just wondering where Morty is and if the police found him. They said because of his age and all he had done that he would probably go to jail. I am so thankful I did not have to go. Those two nights I spent in the cell were scary. Drunks were yelling and threatening the guards and the guards were cursing them and beating on the cell bars with a stick.”
“I am so sorry you had that experience, but maybe God allowed you to have it so you would not get into real serious trouble later.”
“I guess you are right. Mamm, when can I drive the horse? Grossvader Joshua took my horse away for a while. I do not know when I will get him back. This time I will listen carefully and do as I am told. I want to be a good horseman like my daed.”
“Your daed was the best and he treated all animals with love and respect. He did not rush his training or beat them. He would be so proud of you now.”
“He would not be proud of what I did by leaving with those older boys and getting into trouble.”
“No, his heart would be broken, but you will not do anything like that again, will you.”
“No, mamm, I sure will not. Oh, my head hurts so bad. What is wrong with me?”
“Dr. Yoder has scheduled your tests for this week and we will soon know. Try to be brave and ask God to protect you.”
Much to Charity’s embarrassment the business was about Jeremiah’s coming tests and the cost involved. The Bishop was asking people to contribute more to the benevolent fund. He also asked for volunteers to do her chores while her son was in the hospital.
Charity stood quickly. She heard gasps around her because women did not, as a rule, speak out in business meeting or in worship services.
“Bishop Slabough, may I have permission to speak?”
“Yes, my child. What is it you want to say?”
“I love all of my brothers and sisters as God wants us to. I will not have to stay in the hospital and can take care of my chores with my brudders’ help. I am sure that I can make enough money in the store to pay the costs. Please use our fund to help someone who is desperately in need such as a fire or an accident. Thank you all for your love and caring, but with God’s help, I will be all right. Please continue to pray for Jeremiah.”
Jeremiah was embarrassed at being in the spotlight, but he sat quietly and straight-backed as he was taught.
With the business meeting, the service took three and a half hours. The people were more than ready for lunch. The men quickly converted the benches into tables and the women hurried to bring out the food. The teenage girls passed beverages to everyone and the younger girls passed bread. The boys would help clean up after the meal, pick up the benches and load them on the wagon to be used a the next service, while the men talked and the women took care of left-over food.
On the way home Jeremiah wanted to know more about his tests. Charity could understand that he was nervous.
“Dr. Yoder will let you see the machines and explain everything to you when you go to the hospital. He can do a better job than I can do. It might be a little uncomfortable, but it will not be painful and nothing will hurt you.”
“I will be brave. I am so glad I am not running and hiding while feeling so dirty and hungry and scared. I can take anything Dr. Yoder wishes to do.”
“I know you can. You are my young man and, even though you broke my heart for a short time and I was so worried, I love you so much and am proud of you.”
“Thank you, mamm. I will always try to make you proud.”
On Monday Isaac came to the house to talk to Jeremiah. He had pictures of the machines and showed him how they worked. “There will be some banging noises in the tube for the MRI, but nothing will hurt you. In fact, sometimes they have earphones that play music while you are in there and you will pay no attention to the banging. It will take almost an hour, so you must be brave and lie very still.”
“I will, Dr. Yoder. I will be very brave. Do you think my dad and grandmother will look down and see me?”
“I don’t know about that, but I do know your guardian angel will be with you and God never leaves us. You will be well cared for.”
“I will be happy to have anything that will take away these headaches and awful feeling. I am sorry that it made me do bad thing.”
“That’s all in the past. Think about the future and what great plans you’re going to make. I’ll pick you up at eight tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you. I will get up early and do my chores and be ready.”
Jeremiah was waiting impatiently for Dr. Yoder. Charity was so anxious and sad that she could not go and hold her son while the tests were being made. She would go on to the store and try to stay busy to keep from thinking too much.
“Mamm, here is Dr. Yoder. Look! I will get to ride in his big car. We will go fast and be there in a short time.”
Jeremiah ran out before Charity could get to the door. She stepped out to thank Isaac again and say she would be anxious to know the results.
“We won’t know anything today, Charity. A radiologist has to read the report and then send it to the doctor. We’ll more than likely wait until the CAT scan to put it all together. I probably won’t be able to tell you anything until the first of next week.”
“Oh, I did so hope we would know today,” Charity said.
“I’m sorry, but it doesn’t work that quickly. I’ll take good care of our boy and feed him before I bring him back to you this afternoon.”
“Thank you again. Bye Jeremiah.” Charity kept repeating Psalm 55:22, Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you.
She went on to the store with a heavy heart, but soon was too busy to do much thinking. Seven Amish women had come in to quilt. Two Amish women and three English women were making clothing for the English who had placed orders. A lot of tourists came in and all of them bought something.
Charity had her back to the door when a friendly voice called out, “Hello everyone.”
She whirled around and gaped in surprise. She was quickly hugged by Bonnie Kate Mercer and Emily Hutchinson. Their husbands Bernard Mercer and Bill Hutchinson just smiled at her.
“I’m so sorry we didn’t get back sooner, although I did send several friends to you. One of my friends bought a complete set of bedroom furniture and she is thrilled.” Bonnie Kate was so happy to be back that she had trouble stopping incessant talking. Bernard put an arm around her.
“Hold on, sweetheart. We’re all glad to be here. What Bonnie has not told you is that a month, or so, after we were here I fell off a ladder, where I was cleaning out the gutters, and broke my hip. I was unable to travel for a long time. Then we got pregnant and Bonnie gave birth to a downs syndrome girl. We have been in and out of hospitals with her, but we lost her at three years of age. We’ve neither one had any interest in traveling.”
“I am so sorry. I do not know what to say,” Charity felt like crying. “It is so unfair to want a child as much as you did and then to lose her. I would not be able to go on living if anything happened to Jeremiah.”
Emily held up an antique pie press. “How much do you want for this? My mother would love to have it.”
“I have not put a price on it yet because I was not sure what to charge. Let me ask someone and I will let you know.”
“While the ladies are doing all the talking, I would like to ask about your son,” Bill spoke up quickly.
“Oh, you have been gone a long time. He will be ten soon and he has been a handful. He got into some trouble which helped him learn a valuable lesson and he is now my sweet son again. He is having MRIs and CAT scans to determine why he is having so many headaches and why his personality changed so much.”
“Charity, it sounds as if you, too, have had some heartaches. Forgive us for barging in and sounding so happy, but we are happy to see you again.”
Bonnie Kate assured her.
“Yes, my mother died from cancer and my father keeps going but I know deep in his heart he is hurting. They were married at a young age and have been in love since they were children.”
“I’m sorry,” Emily said. “We barged in here bringing joy and you have had so much to bear.”
“I have not had any more than others, and the Lord takes care of us. We do not always understand why His will is so upsetting to us, but He loves us and cares about us.”
At that time Jeremiah burst in the door talking as he came. “Oh, mamm, you would not believe the big machine I was in. They put me on a table and then the table slid back into a big tube and wow! What banging. It was wonderful. I did get tired of having to be so still, but it is fine. Dr. Yoder took me to the hospital cafeteria and we had the best lunch and then an ice cream sundae.”
“Holy Hannah. This tall, good-looking young man can’t be Jeremiah.”
Bonnie Kate was surprised.
He turned looking quizzically at her. “Yes, I am Jeremiah. Who are you?”
“Jeremiah, do not be rude. This is the good doctor who took care of you when you were just a baby and a spider bit you.”
“Yes, you have told me about them. Thank you, and thank you for the money you left. My mother put it in the bank and has been adding to it, but I can not get it until I am twenty-five.”
Everyone laughed. Bernard stood next to Jeremiah and placed a hand on his shoulder. “We are so glad you are doing well. I hear you’re an honor student. What work would you like to do when you complete your education?”
“I have been thinking, and I think I would like to be a doctor like Dr. Yoder and help children get well.”
Isaac chuckled. “Jeremiah, you have no idea how many years of school you would need or how hard you would have to work. It’s not so glamorous when you are working with someone and trying you best and they die in spite of all you can do.”
Charity chuckled. “You have two more years of schooling in your Amish classes. We will talk then about what you want to do.” Looking at her guests she invited, “Please come with me and have a seat. We will have some pastries. Would you like hot cider, coffee, water, milk or a soft drink?” She called to Rebeka Bergerstein to serve them.
Bill did his best to suck in his stomach. “I need pastries like I need a hole in my head, but the odors are mouth-watering. I’ll join you. I’d like to try some hot cider. Thank you.”
As they walked through the store the four exclaimed at the addition of rooms and all that was offered. They spoke pleasantly to workers and volunteers as they went back.
Charity seated them at one of the bigger tables joined by Jeremiah and Isaac Yoder. Charity sent for Rosemary to join them telling her guests how much she depended on Rosemary and what she had done to help. Rosemary was embarrassed but secretly pleased that Charity appreciated her so much. They had been friends since early childhood.
With interruptions from Jeremiah, Isaac and Rosemary, Charity told them of her trip to Shipshewana and her attackers. She and Rosemary told of the men coming to Shickshinny and trying to rob a jewelry store. Charity then told of one man being in her store of meeting U. S. Marshal Richard Longbow.
This took so long that Isaac had to run to get back to the hospital.
Jeremiah hung his head and said, “As long as stories are being told, I might as well tell you what mamm meant by me being in trouble.”
Charity looked at him with pride and tears in her eyes as she realized that Jeremiah was maturing after all. He could face what he had done, but she was sure he would not give her any more trouble.
They were surprised that four hours had gone by, and everyone had left the store. The girls, working for Charity, had checked everything and closed up.
Charity was so happy to see them that she invited them to her house for supper.
“Charity,” Emily and Bonnie Kate began at the same time. They laughed. Emily continued. “We would love to see your home and spend more time with you and Jeremiah, but we have reservations at a B&B and want to do more sightseeing.”
“Maybe we can return on another day, at a better time, and spend more time with you. We would love to have you come see us, also,” Bonnie Kate said as she stood and twisted around to get her back straightened.
The two men thanked her for her hospitality and the delicious food. Bill and Bernard had stood talking quietly to each other in another part of the room. They came to Jeremiah. Bernard said, “Jeremiah, we are so proud of you for becoming an excellent student and a wonderful gentleman. We are going to give you something that your mother will possibly not like, but we want to do it. Bill and I are giving you one hundred dollars to put into that bank account. It will grow and maybe pay for an education that will help you achieve your desires.”
Jeremiah did not know what to say. He looked hopefully at his mother. She was undecided and wondered what her father would say. She finally nodded and Jeremiah accepted the money with a big grin.
“Thank you. Yes, I will put it in the bank and I want to go on to school past what we have here. The Bishop will have to approve, but I do not think he will object when he hears what I would like to do.”
With hugs all around and promises to keep in touch, the four left to continue their vacation. Lawrence had driven to take Charity and Jeremiah home. Jeremiah talked his ears off telling him about the visitors and his test that day.
Charity was gratified to learn that Lawrence and Joseph had done the chores. She only had to get supper. She invited Lawrence to stay, but he declined.
Jeremiah wanted egg sandwiches, so she made bacon and fried egg sandwiches with hot apples and potato salad on the side. Jeremiah had milk and Charity had hot peppermint tea.
Jeremiah read the Bible passages and they had prayer together. They each went to their own room, dressed for the night and thankfully got onto a soft, comfortable feather mattress.
Wednesday passed and then Charity had to get Jeremiah up Thursday morning for his CAT scan. Dr. Yoder picked him up promptly at eight and told Charity that this would not take as long.
Jeremiah was delivered to her in time for them to have lunch together. Now she had to wait impatiently for the results of the test. She didn’t hear anything from Isaac until Monday afternoon of the following week.
Jeremiah was at school, but Charity was at the store. He asked her to go sit in his car with him so they could talk privately. She was worried because Isaac looked very serious.
“Please, Isaac, tell me if my son will live, and can you do anything to help him?”
“Yes and yes. Jeremiah had a small tumor of his brain. That will have to come out. He has had pressure on his brain. I’m more concerned about all the fluid I found. That must be drained off.”
“How did he get a tumor and what do you mean by fluid on the brain?”
“I could give you a lot of medical vocabulary which you would not understand. I’ll try to tell you as simply as I can. If it is the tumor I’m thinking about it is called an astrocytomas which comes from connective tissue cells called astrocytes. It is the most common type of brain tumors in children. We can remove it easily as it is still in the formation stages. Headaches and vomiting are the most common side effects. It can be malignant if not treated. Jeremiah’s has been diagnosed in time.”
“I only understood part of that. The most important is that Jeremiah is not in immediate danger, or is not going to die.”
“No, Charity, he will not die. I’ll see to that. Now to the fluid. I need to do a biopsy to be sure of my findings about the type of tumor. The fluid is sometimes found on infants. Tumors occur in the very young, but most of them are six years old before becoming affected.”
“Isaac, is this something new like polio?”
“No, it is not new and there might have been polio in ancient Egypt. Information regarding fluid on the brain has been found in ancient Egyptian medical scrolls from 2500 BC. The ancient Greek physician, Hippocrates, wrote of it in the fourth century BC. A more enlightening description was written by the Roman physician, Galen, in the second century AD. The most informative surgical descriptions come from an Arab surgeon, Abulcasis.”
“All of that is real Greek to me,” Charity laughed.
“Water, or fluid, on the brain is abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).”
“Stop, stop, Isaac. I don’t know any more than I did. I am just so anxious to know all that I can about my son’s problems. Will any of this come back later?”
“I seriously doubt that it will. There really isn’t much fluid and the tumor is still small. I want to do a biopsy tomorrow and keep him in the hospital. With your permission, after the biopsy is diagnosed, I would like to proceed with the surgery.”
“Isaac, you know you have my permission. Will you be doing the surgery?”
“Usually Dr. David Boggs works on the children, but I’m sure he won’t be offended if I request to do the surgery on Jeremiah.”
“Is that all you can tell me now?”
“Yes, as of today, but I promise to keep you informed.”