Chapter Seventy Six

The doctors were amazed that James was able to stay home without the full care and attention provided by a hospital. Something beyond the medication he was taking must be assisting him somehow. A person in his condition with that many tumors growing within his body and travelling back and forth three times a week as an outpatient for his treatments astounded the medical profession at the General Hospital. In the next month that followed, James’ condition, although stable, demanded more vigilance. The doctors insisted that if he wanted to stay at home an attending nurse around the clock was absolutely necessary. Even though Matilda provided exceptional attention and support for her employer, a trained nurse could detect signs sooner than Matti and would be qualified to administer medical care if required.

James finally agreed. He was adamant to beat the disease until Christmas which was only three weeks away. He wanted desperately to have one Christmas with Marjorie, J.J. and his family. Of all the memories he had of his own childhood there was only one Christmas that stood out. It had snowed heavily that year and his father had no choice but to be at home at that time. And for some reason James’ mother was there for the family as well. Perhaps it was because it was early in the day and she hadn’t started to drink yet. It was the only happy memory James had of his family all being together in front of the Christmas tree opening gifts.

He admitted to Jenny that he had been guilty of carrying out that same pattern in their family. Within the first few years after J.J. was born, they rarely spent a Christmas together and the times they did were not very memorable.

Could he stave off death for the next few weeks and achieve all the goals he wanted? His biggest challenge was to get his son on his side. He had talked to J.J. over and over during the last month but to no avail. The boy wouldn’t budge. In the weeks Jenny had been back at the Manor, J.J. would not come to visit since that day she had first arrived. Even then, he left before saying hello. Each time James spoke with his son he needed to take sedatives to keep him calm as it only aggravated his condition. Neither Matti, Jenny nor Thomas knew exactly what was ailing the boy and even in the face of the impending death of his father, J.J. was unwilling to soften his firm, hardened position.

What was it that kept her son so cold and rigid? That was the last thought Jenny had before she drifted off into a deep sleep.

Jenny wasn’t sure if she was dreaming or if she really was hearing a siren. She looked at the clock on the end table: 3:25 am. A flashing light coming through the windows echoed in the room.

“What is going on?” Jenny muttered as she got up and made her way to the window. The front portion of a vehicle was visible but the rest was hidden under the canopy of the entrance to the front doors of the Manor. Just enough showed so as to partially expose a flashing light.

It must be an ambulance.

Jenny’s heart began to race; were they picking up James? Last week he had been deteriorating and complaining of abdominal pains. Jenny turned on the lights and quickly put on her housecoat.

Matti was just closing the front door and Charles was making his way into the kitchen when Jenny came down to the front foyer.

“What’s happened, Matti?” Jenny asked with concern covering her question.

“They be taking Jim to the hospital, Jen. He’s not doing so good. The nurse called me over an hour ago. He be throwin up and in considerable pain. We tried to help Jim up but the pain be too much for the man. Best let the ambulance people tend to their business. They know how best to move an ailing man and get him to the hospital.”

Jenny didn’t know what to say. She just stood there shaking her head. How quickly one’s condition could change for the worse. Would James make it through the day? Was he dead already?

“Oh, Matti, I just have to get ready and go. He needs someone there… I know what it’s like…”

Jenny quickly turned and ran up the stairs to get dressed.

Jenny felt sorry for James as she drove to the hospital. He talked about Christmas everyday for the last week and what it would be like to have the family together. Everything now had suddenly come to a halt. Death waits for no man was a phrase that crossed Jenny’s mind but for only a fleeting moment. She quickly started to pray for James and that God would heal him. She would ask Henry to pray for James and perhaps call Father Engelmann to do so as well.

Jenny parked her car and made her way into the front entrance of the hospital. She went to the admittance desk and asked if they might know what room James Hamilton would be in. The information had just been entered minutes ago. James was up in the I.C. ward, room 4C.

When Jenny came up to the nurse’s station, she was informed that James was taken down to the second floor for x-rays. Jenny was instructed to sit in the waiting area and that she would be notified as soon as James was settled back into his room.

No one was in the waiting room when she entered and sat down. There were several magazines lying on the chair next to her but she didn’t want to read. She just allowed her mind to drift over all that had happened since she came to Ottawa. She was still in awe of all the changes for the better that had been made on the estate. She had to hand it to James, when he made up his mind to do something, he forged ahead, nonstop. That was one of James’ traits that had always reminded her of Henry.

And what about Henry; last night when they spoke he asked if she would be home for Christmas. She would love to spend her first Christmas with her daughter and her family and with Henry and his family but Jenny had family here, as well. She felt like a butterfly caught in a spider web, unable to fly in either direction. If only they all lived in the same city and this marriage problem was resolved.

How will this all end?

Jenny wondered what caused James pain; was it the existing tumors or a new one? She recalled only too well her bouts with the disease and how tumors can pop up just about any place in the body and even in the head. She had hoped that she wouldn’t see the inside of a hospital for a long time since her healing and release but here she was again.

It should have been unsettling for Jenny and yet she realized this was the nature of life and how fragile it can be. Yesterday, she and James strolled through fresh fallen snow in the garden, marveling that the flowers in the Angel of Thanksgiving basket had survived the first week of the real onset of winter. Now, here today, they both were in the hospital, awaiting the prognosis and fate of James.

Jenny shook her head; one just doesn’t know what tomorrow will bring. She was learning to take one day at time and live it to the full.

Just then, Jenny heard a woman scream. The lady was shouting out someone’s name. Perhaps her husband, child or close friend had passed away. She would find it difficult to work in a hospital day in and day out and tend to illness and peoples hurts of all kinds…and death.

“Excuse me, Miss Hamilton… Mr. Hamilton is settled in his room if you wish to see him now.”

Jenny immediately stood up, “Yes, which room is he in?”

“I will take you. Please follow me.”

James had several monitors attached to his chest and an IV tube going to his right arm.

“Oh, James, how are you feeling? I was so concerned about you.”

“I didn’t think I would make it a couple of hours ago. The stomach pain was something else, Marjorie. The x-rays they just took show a growth inside of the wall of the intestinal tract. That’s why I was finding it harder to keep things down. The doctor is not certain if the growth was malignant or not. He said my regular doctor would check it out when he comes in later in the morning and decide if they want to do a biopsy at this point. Anyway, they gave me a pain killer and are feeding me with this thing…” James looked at the tube going into his arm.

“Geez, I hate being in the hospital… I hope I can get well enough to get out of here again. I was doing okay until this damn stomach problem… maybe they can operate and remove whatever it is.”

Jenny took the chair next to his bed and sat down. She reached for his hand and squeezed it. She knew all too well the nature of this disease and what it could do, not only physically, but mentally, emotionally and spiritually as well.

“We’ll keep praying for you James. Hopefully, you will be out for Christmas.”

“If only J.J. would come around. I never thought there could ever be anyone more stubborn and proud than myself. I guess it’s true what they say, ‘the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.’”

Jenny smiled, “I might call him later when I get back home—”

“Yeah, tell him I’m not doing so hot and that I would like to see him about a couple of matters. And please call Nancy as well to see if she can make it up for a visit. I would like to run a couple of things past her, too.”

James took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Jenny could see he was beginning to relax.

James squeezed Jenny’s hand, “It was good of you come right away, Marj. I’m glad there is still someone who cares about me.”

“I do care for you, James, and I understand what you’re going through… I hope you continue to read the Bible, it will help you to understand things better.”

“I know we have talked about this before, but if there is a God, surely he could have created it so there is not all this pain and suffering.”

“He does allow suffering, James, but He is there to comfort you. Trust me, I know. Just think, James, if this illness hadn’t fallen on you, you would still be leading the life you were living. In spite of your pain, can you see how all this has drawn you closer to Him and the truth about life and what is important? It’s all part of the cross we must bear in an imperfect world, but even out of suffering comes such good. I see a much happier James than before…”

James tightened his lips and nodded slightly as if to agree with her.

“The important thing is, James, that you don’t turn your back on Him. Now is the time that you need God the most. If you chose to go against Him, your pain will multiply…”

“How is Mr. Hamilton doing?” asked a cheerful nurse as she walked into the room.

James rolled his eyes as the nurse went to check the quantity of fluid left in the IV bag.

“Dr. Reiner and Dr. Fritz want to examine you in a few minutes. There are also two other technicians from a Cryonics facility that wish to see you as well.”

Turning to Jenny she continued, “You will have to wait in the waiting area. It shouldn’t take longer than a half hour.”

“Yes, thank you.”

As soon as the nurse left, Jenny said, “I think I will go home and freshen up. I’ll call J.J. and Nancy and tell them you are here and that you would like to see them. I will be back right after lunch.”

Jenny smiled tenderly at James. She got up, bent over and kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”

“Thanks for coming, Marjorie…and, could you bring up Thomas’s Bible when you come back?”

Jenny nodded, smiled and left.