Romance for Matthew (6 page)

"Can I hold him?" Bethany said, wiping at her eyes.

"Sure, sweetie. Here, let me help you." Working around the IV bottle, Bethany held him close, as he squealed, recognizing her. She sat on a bedside chair with him.

"Can I feed him?" she asked her mother.

"Let me check."

She came back in a few seconds. "Yes. They said that's fine."

Bethany fastened Jacob's lips on her breast, while murmuring entreaties and soothing sounds. He fed for a while then fell asleep against her.

"He's exhausted. What happened?" Bethany asked her mother, while she buttoned her blouse.

"He just stiffened up all over, and he was jerking his legs up towards his chest. His eyes rolled back a bit, and that's when I called the emergency."

"Oh, my." Then her eyes filled with tears again.

"It could be just the fever from the teething," her mother assured her with a hug. "I've heard of that happening."

Just then, an older grey-haired man came in the curtained area. "I'm Doctor James," he said with a smile. "I'm a pediatric neurologist."

Bethany looked up at him. "Do you need to examine Jacob?" She didn't want to put him down. He'd been through enough, she thought.

"Yes. Just put him right here on the bed please."

Trying not to wake him, Bethany lay Jacob on the gurney. His arms jerked at that, but she thought it was probably the cold air on him. She watched as the doctor listened to his heart and lungs and tested his reflexes.

"He's a good weight," he said to no one in particular, "his heart is good as well as his lungs. No congestion. When did the fever start?"

"Sunday," Bethany answered, still dabbing at her eyes.

"There are so many things this could be," he said, looking up at her, while Jacob let out a little sigh and opened his eyes. "We'll run blood tests, but we'll also have to do a spinal tap for meningitis."

"Isn't that painful?" Bethany whispered.

"Not really. We'll sedate him beforehand. He shouldn't feel anything."

He hesitated, before he said, "During your pregnancy, did you have any viruses? Were you ill?"

Bethany thought back. It seemed as if her pregnancy went smoothly and she never even had morning sickness. "No. Not that I can remember."

"We'll do an MRI and an EEG to make sure his brain is formed properly with no lesions or other problems."

The more Bethany listened to him, the worse she felt. "How long will he have to stay here?"

The doctor smiled at her. "We'll watch him-"

But, before he could finish, Jacob began seizing, with his little arms and legs jerking spasmodically.

"Nurse!" he called. "We need Phenobarbital here."

Bethany sobbed, backing out of the way, as they ran quickly around the bed and injected a syringe into his leg. Slowly, Jacob's jerking stopped and he slept soundly.

Matthew waited in the hallway while Ollie checked to see if Jacob was still in emergency.

Several minutes later, Ollie came back. "Yes, Matt, he's still in there."

Sighing, Matthew said, "I don't know why I'm here. They'll never let me in. I just wanted Bethany to know I was here for her, I guess. So she wouldn't feel alone."

But her mother came out to the hall just then, and said, "Matthew? I didn't know you were coming up." She squeezed his hand. "Would you like to see Jacob and Bethany?"

He smiled. "That would be wonderful."

She led him into the curtained area, after being buzzed in by a nurse.

"Bethany?" he said softly.

"Oh, Matthew," she cried, as she impulsively walked up and hugged him. "Thank you for coming."

"Is he all right?" Matthew asked, as his arm held her close to his heart. "I don't hear him."

"He just had another seizure," Bethany said, wiping at her eyes, "they gave him some medicine."

"Pray with me," he urged, as he took her hands in his. "Lord God, we send a prayer to you today to protect Jacob and make him better so he can grow up healthy. Let us know what he needs for his health. Bring him the best medical care. And most of all, let him know we love him, sweet boy that he is."

Bethany's sobs punctuated the silence, while Matthew held her close to him again. "Shhh," he comforted, "It will be all right. You'll see. We've prayed and we'll pray until he gets better."

As if hearing the words, Jacob's little eyes opened, and he stared up at Bethany innocently. "Oh, my baby," she said, as she carefully picked him up again, and held him in her arms.

Matthew smiled, while his hands came up on Jacobs legs. "He looks better?"

"Yes," Bethany said softly, "he really does."

The next few hours were spent with blood tests and an MRI scan on Jacob's brain. Matthew stayed with Bethany while her mother paced the hall outside the ER.

As they took Jacob to the MRI, Kate came in. "How is he?" she asked Bethany.

"They don't know yet."

"I'm sorry about the call, Beth. I just didn't know what to say to you."

"It's all right," Bethany told her. "Sometimes people run out of words to say, I guess."

Kate's eyes filled with tears. "I'm so sorry, Beth. If I could take back all the years, I would."

"This isn't about you," Bethany said irritably.

With that, Kate ran out into the hallway, crying.

"You were hard on her," Matthew said softly.

"Well, she's been hard on us over the years," she said hotly. "I don't think 'forgiveness' when I think of my sister."

"Jesus forgave," he said simply.

They both stood as the specialist returned to the curtained off section later that evening. Jacob was sleeping again on the gurney now, covered with a blanket.

"The news is not good," he said seriously. "Jacob has Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome. He runs the risk of grand mal seizures. He has lesions on the frontal lobe of his brain."

Bethany let out her breath in a long gasp and sat on a chair. "So it isn't the fever? What does this mean for his future?" she asked, as her tears started again.

"It's uncertain. He could have seizures when he's tired. He runs the risk of falling. And, there is a chance of behavior disorders later on." But then, his voice was brisk. "
L
et's concentrate on how to make him more comfortable. The more seizures he has, the worse it will be for him. We'll start him on Clonazepam and prednisone. We may change that as things roll forward. We'll keep him overnight for observation and to monitor his dosages."

Still in shock from the diagnosis, Bethany said slowly, "Can I stay with him?"

"Yes. We have a room upstairs on the third floor with an extra bed for you."

After he'd left to arrange for the room, Bethany looked up at Matthew who rubbed his eyes now. "You don't have to stay. I'll be back at work as soon as he's stable. Maybe a few days."

He brought his hand on her shoulder, unable to speak for a minute. "Don't worry about that. Don't worry about anything at all. I'll take care of everything."

She smiled, watching her beautiful baby boy sleep. "How? With prayer? You really think that will help him?" Her voice sounded bitter.

He took both her hands in his. "God, please help baby Jacob to recover and give his mother faith again. You are truly a miracle worker, and we need Your help, now."

He continued, "I'll start a prayer chain in my church congregation and they'll help me online too."

She stood and gave him a quick hug. "See you soon."

And before he left, he gave Jacob's foot a light squeeze, and smoothed his little t-shirt.

When Matthew got home, he made his way to the den and turned on his computer. He felt his watch and realized it was almost nine o'clock at night. Too late to really do anything over the phone, but he searched online for the syndrome the doctor mentioned. And the synthesized voice of his computer read off the symptoms and diagnosis as well as the grim prognosis for Jacob's future.

But along with this, he listened and heard something called Ketogenic Diet, a high fat, medium protein and very low carb diet that had been very successful in treating seizures in children. And his hopes were lifted. He wanted to call Bethany, but thought she'd be tied up at the emergency, and he didn't want to bother her.

He was excited about this, and decided to call in another specialist from Mayo Clinic in the morning to look over the records.

Then, there was the prayer chain. He phoned the pastor at his church and explained the situation. They decided to have a three for one phone tag, that is, they'd each call one person who would then need to call three others for the prayer chain. And also, over the internet and on Facebook, linking various pages for the chain.

Soon, Jacob's story was in phone calls and on the internet, as people, mostly strangers, prayed for his good health and well-being.

Matthew barely slept that night, thinking about Bethany and Jacob all alone at the hospital. Early in the morning, five o'clock, he took a taxi to the hospital, not wanting to wake Ollie, and with the help of many General Hospital employees and his cane, found his way to the third floor and Jacob's room.

Recognizing Jacob's little sighing and pursing sleep noises, he smiled and felt for him and covered him with the blanket, and smoothed his downy hair back from his face. Feeling around for the chair, he sat by the bedside.

He didn't want to wake Bethany, as he heard her steady breaths coming from the next bed over.

What a triple load for her to carry, he thought, and he wondered if she could bear it. Between her sister letting her down and her husband's death, then now the diagnosis for Jacob, hers was a rough road. And, he thought her bitterness would consume her if she let it. She was railing against God's will, not understanding that they never could know the why of it.

He just didn't know how to reach her, and it was frustrating for him. But, he knew what she was feeling. How well he knew. Getting around his blindness was a challenge for him on a daily basis. But, that was the difference, he realized. For him, it was a challenge and for her it was 'things' happening to her. She felt helpless, where he was more in control.

Not that he was perfect, as he was the first to admit. He'd had his own doubting moments in the past. But, with Nat's help and his pastor, he'd gotten through the rough spots.

An hour later, a woman came in carrying a tray and Matthew heard the vials clinking. "Blood work?" he asked quietly.

"Yes," she said, as she put the tray down and lifted up one of Jacob's feet. "Well, little one, I'll try to be quick," she said softly.

"What's going on?" Bethany said in a voice husky with sleep. "Matthew? Have you been here all night?"

He smiled. "No. I came early. How are you doing?"

"Okay, I guess," she said, coming to the bed side rail where he sat. "I suppose I couldn't talk you out of that," she said to the woman from the lab.

"No. Sorry."

But, luckily, Jacob barely woke up, then she was done.

Bethany looked down at Jacob, and thought her heart would break with love for him. They'd taken his IV out, and now his arms and legs moved up and back as he tried to turn over. "You hungry, little man?" she said.

"Here sit down," he said, moving to one side, "I didn't know if there was another chair in the room."

"Yes, just around the other side there." And as she and Jacob got situated, and he fed, she told Matthew, "I so appreciate you being here for me. And yesterday too. It's nice to have someone to rely on."

"I just wish the circumstances could be different," he said. "By the way, a prayer chain has been started for Jacob. By phone and internet. And also, I've read of a diet for Jacob. It's called Ketogenic Diet. It's high fat, with protein, but hardly any carbohydrates at all. It is supposed to really work well with seizures in children."

"And," he added, "I'm calling in a specialist from Mayo Clinic to work with your regular doctor. You know, look over the records."

"Oh," she said, "I can't afford that. I don't have medical insurance. I was going to try to get it through the temp agency."

"Don't worry at all about that. It's covered completely."

"I couldn't let you pay anything. I always pay my own way."

He smiled. "Think of it as a charitable donation then."

She was quiet for a minute, before she said "I guess God does provide, doesn't He?"

"Yes. And I'm glad to hear you say that. You have no idea how glad."

But after Matthew left with Ollie later that morning, her thoughts strayed to Samuel and his fight against the cancer that eventually overtook him. How brave he'd been against the pain, all the while telling her not to worry, as Matthew had just done.

Jacob slept soundly now on his back, with his little hands and feet moving occasionally. The thought occurred to her that he wasn't perfect anymore. He had many hurdles now to surmount in his life. And she found herself praying that he'd have strength to overcome that weakness. Just as Matthew had.