Karen D. Badger - Yesterday Once More

To Babs:

Here’s to scar-ified pavement, raise-ified drains and holeified tires! Thank you for making me laugh and for teaching me to believe in myself again. Never doubt that our time together was anything but phenomenal. You made me feel treasured. You made me feel loved. You made me feel beautiful. Thank you for all of those things, and so much more. You will always own a special piece of my heart. I love you, and miss you. Be happy. You deserve that and so much more.

This is a work of fiction. All characters, locales and events are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

YESTERDAY ONCE MORE

Copyright © 2008 by Karen Badger

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, save for brief quotations used in critical articles or reviews.

Cover design by Ann Phillips

A Blue Feather Book

Published by Blue Feather Books, Ltd.

P.O. Box 5867

Atlanta, GA 31107-5967

www.bluefeatherbooks.com

ISBN: 978-0-9794120-3-5

First edition: July, 2008

Printed in the United States of America and in the United Kingdom.

So many people… So many strong, beautiful women contributed to making this work the best it could be. To my beta readers: Barbara, Bliss, Mom, Cindy, Pat, Carol, and Brenda, you ladies rock! Thank you so much for your diligence in reading, commenting and correcting my errors. Your unique views and perspectives added great depth and validation to the story. Barbara, you are an awesome editor and a fantastic taskmaster! To Sher, for verifying and scrubbing (pun intended) the medical situations and terminology—I love you, Big Guy. A special thanks to Joan for tying to make the editing process as painless as possible, and to Andi for your awesome comments and suggestions. To B for putting up with my foul temper during the edits, and loving me anyway—ILYWAMH! To my sons, Heath and Dane and their lovely ladies Kacie and Daisy for believing Mom can do anything… and expecting nothing less. To my babies Ky and Ari for reflecting in your eyes the belief that Nona is the coolest grandmother on earth. You keep me young. Many thanks to my entire family for looking beyond
what
I am, and for unconditionally loving me for
who
I am. Finally, to all of my friends who love me regardless of the fact they think I’m whacked. I love you guys!

“911—What is your emergency?”

“Please! Send an ambulance! My daughter’s been injured!” The woman’s voice was almost indiscernible as she sobbed hysterically.

“Let me confirm your address, ma’am. Are you at 1029 Pheasant Hill Road, Shelburne, Vermont?”

“Yes, please hurry!”

“Help is on the way, ma’am. Please tell me the nature of your daughter’s injury so it can be relayed to the emergency response team currently en route to your home.”

“I… I don’t know. We found her lying in the north pasture. It looks like she was thrown by her horse. So much blood! We don’t dare to move her. Please… please hurry!” The woman gasped for air as she choked on her own tears.

“Calm down, ma’am. We’ll be there as soon as we can. A unit has already been dispatched. Could I have your name, please?”

“Kathleen Lewis.”

“And your daughter’s name?”

“Jordan Marie Lewis.”

“How old is Jordan?”

Kathleen began to sob once more. “She’s sixteen. She’s just a baby. Oh, God—please let her be all right!”

“Is Jordan conscious?”

“She’s been drifting in and out.”

“Help is on the way, Mrs. Lewis. I will stay on the line with you until the ambulance arrives.”

* * *

Raymond and Kathleen Lewis clung to each other in the waiting area of the emergency room at the Fletcher Allen Medical Center. After four hours of waiting, Raymond intercepted the next person who exited from the trauma unit.

“Excuse me, but you have our daughter in there. Is there anyone who can tell us what’s going on?”

The resident frowned at Raymond, and then looked at the clipboard he was holding in his hands. “Is your daughter’s name Jordan Lewis?” he asked.

Kathleen rose from her seat and approached from across the room. “Yes. Yes, Jordan is our daughter. Please, how is she?” Kathleen wrung her tear-dampened handkerchief between her hands.

The resident looked around the room, nervously avoiding the gaze of the concerned parents. “Ah… why don’t you have a seat,” he suggested. “I’ll let the attending physician know you’re waiting.” A moment later, he was gone.

After what seemed like an eternity, the attending physician emerged from the emergency room and approached them. “Mr. and Mrs. Lewis?” He extended his hand. “My name is Dr. Lindale. I’ve been treating Jordan since she was brought in.”

Kathleen grasped Dr. Lindale’s arm. “How is she? Please tell me she’s all right.” 

Dr. Lindale cleared his throat. “Maybe we should step into a consultation room. Please, have a seat,” he urged. 

When the Lewises were seated, Dr. Lindale positioned himself in the chair opposite them and began paging through Jordan’s chart. It was obvious that he was stalling for time.

Unable to contain his frustration any longer, Raymond spoke. “Look, Dr. Lindale. You’ve had our daughter in that room for over four hours. We want to know how she is, and we want to know now.”

Dr. Lindale glanced at the Lewises, then closed Jordan’s file. Finally, he spoke. “Jordan’s injuries are more extensive than we thought. “I wish I had better news for you, but I’m sorry to say that Jordan has a complete spinal cord injury at the L1 vertebra.”

“What exactly does that mean?” Raymond asked.

Dr. Lindale sighed deeply then looked at the Lewises once again. “It means that Jordan is paralyzed from the waist down.”

A high-pitched wail erupted from Kathleen’s throat.

“She will heal from this, won’t she? She’ll be okay, right, Dr. Lindale?”

“Jordan will survive, but I’m afraid she will never walk again.”

Dr. Jordan Lewis reached into her pocket for a remote control as she walked across her office. She tucked her shoulder-length brown hair behind her ear and pointed the remote at the computer on the desk. Her three-dimensional holographic image appeared over the projection plate in the desk. Her students across the world would see her this way, while lecture notes appeared on the screen. Her hips swayed as she paced back and forth across the room.

“Welcome back from the break. Now, let’s resume our lecture. As first-year medical students, I am sure you all realize that what you see here is a healthy spinal cord. When functioning properly, it coordinates all movement and sensation in the body. Considered an organ, it is a type of switchboard between the brain and the body.” Jordan stopped and acknowledged an inquiry from one of the students in her multinational audience. An instant interpreter relayed the student’s question to Jordan in English.

“Dr. Lewis, why is it that spinal cord injuries cause varying degrees of immobility in the patient? I mean, disability can range anywhere from lack of coordination to total paralysis.”

Jordan crossed her arms in front of her chest. “That is a very good question. Actually, the answer is quite simple.” Jordan advanced the hologram to display a three-dimensional figure of a human being with the central nervous system highlighted. “Keep in mind that each part of the spinal column is responsible for a different neurological area of the body. The type of disability resulting from a spinal cord injury greatly depends on where the injury is, the severity of the injury, and how much damage is caused to the nerve fiber pathways.”

Another student asked a question. “Dr. Lewis, an injury to the spinal cord seems only to affect the area of the body below the injury. Why is that?”

Jordan walked once more across the room. “Well, imagine the spinal cord as a sheathed wire and the brain as a battery. An electrical system depends on a closed loop to work properly. As long as the wires remain intact, all functions between the brain and foot will react to commands given by the brain in the form of electrical impulses. If you cut the wire, say, just above the lower back, the neck, shoulder and arm will continue to receive the impulse, but the hip, knee and ankle will not. By cutting the wire, you no longer have a closed loop to the foot. Mobility ends at the point where the wire was cut. Does that make more sense?”

Jordan scanned her monitor for negative responses from her students. When she received none, she moved on. “Now, let’s discuss varying degrees of injury. Injuries to the spinal cord are categorized as either complete or incomplete. A complete SCI results in a total loss of function and sensation below the affected vertebra, and an incomplete SCI means only partial loss of function or sensation. Loss of function depends on the level of damage to the neural pathways between the body and the brain.”

Another student submitted an electronic inquiry. “Dr. Lewis, does it matter how soon a spinal cord injury is treated? I mean, are the chances of recovery better if the injury is treated immediately?”

“Yes and no,” Jordan responded quickly. “Complete SCIs rarely heal to the point where mobility returns; however, for incomplete injuries with a lower level of severity, the speed at which the injury is treated absolutely plays a factor in the degree of recovery. Speed is an important factor in minimizing neuron death. It makes sense that the lower the rate of neuron death, the greater the chances of reestablishing sensory channels.”

Jordan scanned the monitor for more inquires. “Are there any more questions?”

A student beeped in. “Dr. Lewis, is there any hope for victims of severe trauma, for example, complete severance of the spinal cord?”