“What’s all the excitement about?” Mike asked, peering into Tess’s room. The forced calmness in his tone did little to mask his anxiety.
“We were just about to call you,” Marc said. “There’s been a change in Tess’s condition. She’s developed some new neurologic symptoms and a facial rash.”
Mike took a hard look at Jack before turning back to Marc. “What does all that mean?”
“We can’t be completely sure. There are several possibilities we’re looking into.”
“It sounds like you’re saying Tess is getting worse, and you don’t know why.”
“Dr. Shaw and I are looking after the baby, so it would probably be better if you spoke with Dr. Fuller directly.”
With his eyebrows drawn together, Mike said, “If Tess had suddenly improved, I suspect you’d be more than happy to share the news with me.” Mike was not one to become easily unhinged or forget his manners. Jack suspected the pure weight of the stress he was under was to blame.
“Take it easy, Mike,” Jack said in a calming voice. “The new symptoms don’t necessarily mean things are worse. It may just be the natural course of the disease. Marc and Dr. Shaw are going to do an ultrasound of the baby to make sure she’s okay.”
“I don’t think you’re as convinced as you’re trying to sound.”
Before Jack could respond, Mike turned and walked toward the nursing station. With his back to them, he shook his head slowly. Jack was tempted to join him but thought better of the idea and decided to give him a few moments alone to regain his composure.
As Jack suspected, after a minute or so, Mike walked back down the hall.
His words were measured. “Ever since Tess was admitted I’ve listened to one learned medical opinion after another. The only thing I know for sure is that none of the doctors has the first damn clue of what to do to help Tess or our baby. I’m not naïve and I don’t believe in miracles, so I wasn’t expecting you to breeze in here and instantly tell me what’s wrong with her, but I was hoping you’d…you’d at least have some—”
“We’re only a few days into this illness. The only thing I can tell you for certain is this will be an hour-to-hour process. Right now, nobody can say when the pieces will start coming together.”
“Or if they ever will,” Mike stated.
“I’m not going to paint a rosy picture for you. Figuring out what’s wrong with Tess isn’t going to be easy. I understand that right now you’re a little frantic, but every disease leaves footprints. We need more time to find them, and then see where they take us.”
For the moment, Mike guarded his silence, looking at Jack through a barely perceptible veil of tears. “Tess isn’t going to die. It’s not her time. There are thousands of people out there with sick kids she hasn’t met yet who are going to desperately need her.” Without waiting for Jack to answer, Mike turned around and walked into Tess’s room.
Jack’s instincts were telling him a cure was possible. But he suspected they didn’t have a lot of time, and in the absence of swift treatment options, GNS would turn out to be a fatal disease. Jack felt his resolve strengthening. He thought to himself that irrespective of how discouraging things appeared at the moment, he was light-years away from taking a knee on saving Tess Ryan’s life.