At least we aren’t in an examination room, but an actual office, with a desk. I’ve seen people consulting with doctors in offices, but that was on television. My experience has always been in an exam room, wearing a paper thin gown, freezing my ass off.
The doctor steps in, carrying a folder and looks at all three of us, eyebrows raised in surprise. “Kelsey Fry?”
“That is me,” she says.
“Thank you for coming in.” He takes a seat behind the desk and opens the file. “Mr. and Mrs. Cross have explained the child’s condition?”
“Yes.”
“Our first concern was matching her type.”
“Mrs. Cross said it was rare?” Kelsey asks.
“AB negative. About one percent of the population has that blood type so it makes it difficult when an AB patient needs blood.”
“I thought O negative could be given to anyone,” I ask. At least that’s what I’d heard.
Dr. Prescott shakes his head. “Yes and no.”
“What am I?” Kelsey asks.
“AB positive.”
“Is that good or bad?” she asks slowly. “Is it a problem that my daughter is negative and I’m positive?”
“Not for a transfusion, no.”
“Great, then take my blood. However much you need.”
The side of his mouth quirks. “I wish it were that easy. A blood transfusion will help, but it’s not a cure.”
I grab Kelsey’s hand. I know she was hoping that it would all be easy.
“You just got a tattoo, I understand.”
“Yes,” she and I answer at the same time.
“That prohibits you from donating blood, and certainly not to a child that is already ill, for six months to a year.”
“The tattoo was performed under the strictest protocols for sterilization and sanitation. There is no way Kelsey contracted any disease.”
Dr. Prescott focuses on me. “How can I be sure?”
“I did the tattoo.”
He leans back and studies me. “Walk me through it. Prove to me we don’t have to worry about Kelsey contracting HIV, Hepatitis, or anything else.”
I get that they want to be careful, and I know there are some places out there that aren’t as clean, but I’m not one of them.
“First, all the ink was new.”
“How new?” the doctor asked.
“Those bottles weren’t opened until Kelsey’s tattoo. My other colors, back where I work were running low so I bought knew, fresh, more expensive ink specifically for the competition.”
The doctor nods.
“I poured ink into the cups, as is my practice. When I was done, the cups get tossed to avoid contamination.”
“What about needles.”
“Individual. Prepackaged. Sterile. Used only once and then tossed.”
Dr. Prescott is frowning. “The law is…”
“Look it up. The damn video is out there. It shows me getting ready to do the tat. Watch it. There is no way in hell Kelsey picked anything up from my equipment or ink.”
He leans forward and nods. “I’ll do that, but I’ll have to make a case for the exception.”
“So, what is next?”
“Assuming we are allowed, your daughter will need a blood transfusion. As you are the biological mother, and a match, it would be best coming from you.”
“I researched this online last night. Is it true the only cure is a bone marrow transplant?”
“It isn’t always, but that is the best chance of curing it.”
“Then why not take my bone marrow? Anything you need.”
“First, it is extremely rare that a parent can donate bone marrow. Those tests are still being run. The best match is usually a twin or sibling, but since the child does not have a blood related brother or sister, we are hoping you will be a match.”
“How soon will you find out?”
“It won’t take that long. But, we still need to jump through the same hoops. Similar rules apply for giving marrow as they do for blood following a tattoo.”
Kelsey sits forward and grabs the desk. “You’ve got to convince them. This is my daughter.”
He meets her eyes. “I understand, Miss Fry, but you also need to protect you daughter and make certain she is safe.”
She takes a breath and sits back. “If they reject me?”
“We keep searching for donors. There are several people in the system willing to offer up blood and marrow, but with her blood type, it’s going to be a difficult match.”
Kelsey nods.
“I understand you don’t have any siblings.”
“No. I had an older brother but he died at birth.”
“What?” I ask. “You never said anything about a brother before.”
Her shoulders slump. “My mother got pregnant in high school and came to New York. She told me her baby died at birth.”
“I thought it was you she got pregnant with when she got kicked out.” Has Kelsey been telling me half-truths all this time?
She shakes her head. “I just wanted to tell you the basics then. I didn’t think we’d be spending this much time together, or that we’d be what we are.”
“You could have mentioned it since.” Why the hell does it bug me that she held back some facts?
“Frankly, I didn’t even think about it, and then, when the show aired, it didn’t occur to me to clarify anything.” She squeezes my hand. “I’m sorry. It just didn’t seem so important.”
A lot has happened to her, and it’s not like she has a brother stashed away that she didn’t tell me about.
“She got pregnant with me shortly after that, so it’s not like my mother could have gone home. Even if she wanted to.
“Well, hopefully we’ll have better luck with the child’s biological father,” Dr. Prescott says. “We are looking for family members how.”
“Brandon was an only child.”