TAYLOR SPRINTED AROUND THE STUDIO AS FAST AS SHE COULD, the adrenaline pumping through her and her heartbeat racing. She needed this. For this one hour, four times a week, she could forget all her worries and focus instead on the art. Jack had encouraged her to take a self-defense class after Evan was born. She’d looked into all the martial arts and had settled on Krav Maga because its focus was on training people for real-life encounters. The philosophy, go home by any means, resonated with her. She had just tested for the advanced class last month, which meant she could participate in weapons training now. She and her fellow students fell in line and awaited direction from their instructor. She was paired with a well-muscled man in his forties as her sparring partner.
They stood facing each other, waiting for the signal to begin. She assessed him quickly, sizing him up. The material was tight over his left knee—maybe a knee brace? That could be an area of vulnerability. The whistle blew and he came at her, pulling out the knife he’d hidden in the waistband of his sweats. Taylor grabbed his wrist and jerked it backward, causing him to release the knife. A kick to the back of his knees felled him and she put a knee on his chest, holding the knife at his throat now.
“Excellent,” her instructor called out to her.
She let the man up and this time, she went after him with the knife so that he could practice his moves. When the class ended, her muscles were already aching but she felt good. Powerful, even. She was determined to be ready for whatever or whomever tried to hurt her in the future.
* * *
Seated at the dining room table, Taylor read through the deposition once more, prepping herself for the video call in a few minutes. She would be speaking to the parents of a young woman who had died after treatment had been denied to her because it was considered experimental. Fawn had been born with spina bifida and had always had a host of health issues. She’d developed lupus at age sixteen, which had progressed aggressively, and despite trying many treatments, it continued to wreak havoc on her joints and organs. Her rheumatologist wanted her to try a new biologic combination that he’d had success with in other resistant patients. Jefferson Health claimed the drug regimen was experimental and denied the claim. Fawn’s organs began to fail, and despite numerous appeals, Jefferson stonewalled the family.
When, in desperation, they’d finally hired an attorney, the firm had discovered that they had approved the drug for other patients with the same policy coverage. Fawn’s family had joined the class action suit on the basis that Jefferson had denied the treatment for their daughter because of her disability. By the time they were able to obtain an override, she had died.
Taylor called them via Skype, and after several rings, she was face-to-face with a woman in her sixties. “Mrs. Brooks?”
“Please call me Rita. You must be Taylor.”
Taylor smiled. “Nice to meet you. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there in person.”
Rita waved her hand. “It’s fine. I’m just grateful for the chance to tell our story.”
“Will your husband be joining us?” Taylor asked.
She lowered her voice. “No, he wasn’t up to it. He sleeps a lot these days.”
Taylor nodded sympathetically. “Of course. I know this must be difficult for both of you. I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you. It’s been almost a year and it still doesn’t seem quite real.” She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. “Everyone expects us to just get on with it. We have three other children who are healthy, thank goodness, but it’s almost as though some of our friends hint that we’re better off.” The woman stopped for a moment to take a deep breath, then continued. “Obviously, taking care of Fawn was a full-time job. She was never going to live on her own. But we all loved her. She was a person. Just because she had physical difficulties, that didn’t make her less of one. And she never complained. She was like our sunshine.” Rita shook her head. “She had a lot of medical issues. I think they just wanted to not have to cover her anymore.”
“From what I’ve read, there were others on the same policy as you who had been green-lighted for the procedure, correct?”
“Yes, but the company is claiming that every case of lupus is different and because of the severity of her case, the drug had less of a chance to work.”
They spoke for a few more minutes, but as they hung up, Taylor quickly realized this wasn’t the right case for the show. It would be difficult to convince the public that the company’s intent was to discriminate based on Fawn’s previous medical condition and not based on the advanced nature of her illness. She would talk to Karen about it tomorrow.