Chapter 6

Suddenly, there was the noise of several women moaning as if having a climax in the room. “Sorry,” Dan apologized, sheepishly reaching into his shirt pocket and taking out his cell phone. Karen began to turn red in embarrassment. “I recorded the sounds of Karen, Wendy, and Tina cumming as my ring tone,” he whispered to the others, and they snickered in quiet laughter.

“Sir, cell phones must be turned off in the hospital,” the nurse stated.

“In all the excitement, I forgot to turn it off. Probably Coach Stanton, hello?” He answered the call. “Hello, I can’t understand what you’re saying. You keep cutting in and out,” he added, plugging his left ear.

“The men’s washroom is better for the reception,” Doctor Burnett told him.

Dan walked out of the room. “Just wait a moment, please,” he said, hurrying to the washroom.

Doctor Burnett stood beside Karen when Dan left the room. He pretended to be looking at Abby’s chart but was looking down Karen’s top. She gave him a nice smile. “Can we talk to you a moment, Doctor?” Vicky asked, moving away from Abby.

Karen joined them. “Doctor Burnett, if you save Abby’s life, Karen and I will thank you in ways that would only be in your wildest dreams,” she said, pressing her breasts against his left arm.

“We’re going to fuck the doctor when he saves Abby?” Karen whispered as they went back to Abby’s side.

“Yes, we are.”

“Hello?” Dan asked once in the washroom.

“Mr. Hayward?”

“Yes, I’m Dan Hayward.”

“Hi, Mr. Hayward, I’m Samantha Young with the Liver Donor Foundation of Ontario. Do you have a son named Bradley, born September 10 September 1991?”

“Yes, I have. Brad is my son.”

“Sir, I’m calling because we have an extremely urgent need for Brad to be a living liver donor.”

“Yes, I’m sure Brad would be a definite liver donor.”

“Do you still live in Trenton?”

“Yes, we do.”

“We need to get Brad to the Bellville General Hospital as soon as possible. A young woman has suffered a severe liver injury and will die within hours without a transplant. Brad is a perfect match as a donor for this patient.”

“You won’t believe this, but we are at the Bellville Hospital right now.”

“That’s an amazing coincidence because, as Brad is a living donor, we can tell you the name of the person who will receive a part of his liver, a young woman named Abigail Kendall, also from Trenton.”

“Oh ... my ... God!” Dan exclaimed, his skin tingling and the hairs on the back of his neck standing up to the unbelievable coincidence.

“What is it, sir?”

“The woman you just mentioned, Abby Kendall, is my son’s girlfriend. She’s the one who needs the liver transplant?”

“Yes, that certainly is an unusual coincidence! I’ll call the hospital and tell the doctor that Brad is a confirmed donor. But I guess you’ll be able to tell him quicker than I can. Bye, Mr. Hayward, and good luck to Brad and Abby.”

“Thank you so much, Samantha; you just made our day!”

Dan closed his phone and ran full tilt back to Abby’s room. “Doctor, you’re going to get a phone call very soon. The call I received was from the Liver Donor Foundation of Ontario. You will not, and I mean, will not believe this, but Brad is Abby’s liver donor!”

“What?” Everyone exclaimed almost in unison.

“The woman said that Brad is a perfect match for Abby as a living liver donor!”

“Oh my God!” Karen cried, covering her mouth.

“That’s what I said too.”

“You two were matched as a liver donor and recipient? That’s unbelievable!” Doctor Burnett exclaimed. Just then, his phone chirped. He answered it and confirmed the call Dan talked about. “I had better get busy; we have a long night ahead of us. Brad, we’ll have to do an urgent blood test on you just to confirm all your toxicity tests are negative.”

“You’ll find that they are,” he said, smiling and holding Abby’s hand. The tingling they always felt was growing stronger.

Doctor Burnett went to Abby’s bedside. “I won’t mince words; this is a very, very serious operation for Abby and, of course, also for Brad. The operation will take about four to twelve hours, depending on how the procedures go. I will have a nurse come out and give all of you an update on Abby and Brad every half hour.”

“The liver is divided into two halves. We’ll transplant the left half of his liver. For some reason, the left half gives the donor a better ability for recovery.”

“After surgery, Abby and Brad will go to the intensive care unit and be monitored very closely with several machines. They will be on a respirator, a machine that breathes for the patient, and will have a tube in the trachea bringing oxygen to the lungs, as you saw before on Abby. Once they wake up enough and can breathe on their own, the tube and respirator are removed. Then the small tube of oxygen goes into the nose, like Abby has now. She will have several blood tests, x-ray films, and ECGs during the hospital stay. Blood transfusions may also be necessary. Brad will be watched very closely for any complications.”

“Brad is a hockey player for the Bellville Falcons and is very high on the NHL draft list this June. Will the operation affect his ability to play hockey again?” Dan wondered.

“Brad won’t be playing any hockey for the rest of this season, that’s for sure. As for the NHL draft, the operation cuts through the major stomach and abdomen muscles, and Brad will likely need close to a year of rehab, possibly longer if he is capable of playing at the NHL level.”

“There is a strong possibility Brad might never be able to play that high a level of pro hockey in the AHL or the NHL. His ability to play at that competitive level is more than likely over. I have a nephew playing in the American Hockey League, so I have some idea of the physical strain it causes on the body,” Doctor Burnett revealed.

Brad had a dazed, far-off-looking expression on his face as he suddenly realized what was at stake to save Abby’s life.

“Oh, Brad, I can’t let you do that after all the years and effort you’ve put into your hockey. You’ve dreamed of playing in the NHL since you were a little boy,” Abby objected.

“There’s no decision to make. I may not play in the NHL right away, and who knows, maybe I never will, but that is nothing compared to not having you alive and in my life. I’m ready whenever you’re ready, Doctor.” Brad smiled confidently, not hesitating one second about his choice.

“What kind of incision will you make on their bodies?” Vicky asked.

“I’ll make a cut from just under the breast bone down about six inches, then across in a curve from left to right about eighteen inches,” Doctor Burnett explained, using his own body as an example. “They will both have large scars, but plastic surgery can help reduce the sight of the scar later on,” he added.

Doctor Burnett had the nurse take Brad’s blood sample to the lab for analysis and wait for the results. At the same time, he was admitted to the hospital and changed into a hospital gown. Karen and Vicky kidded Brad about his bare butt showing.

“I guess I should ask you, Doctor Burnett, how much is all of this going to cost us?” Scott asked.

“Brad is the donor, so his costs are covered by OHIP, the Ontario Health Insurance Plan. Abby’s operation can cost forty to seventy thousand dollars or more, depending on if there are any follow-up surgeries required,” the doctor explained.

“Forty thousand dollars or more?” Scott exclaimed, “I don’t have that kind of money!”

“Don’t worry about the money right now, Scott. I’ll gladly pay for it,” Dan said.

“I can’t ask you to do that, Dan.”

“Why not? Abby feels just like a daughter to us too,” he admitted.

“This will be Bellville General’s first liver transplant. I’ll talk to the Board of Directors. I bet they’ll fund the whole operation for the publicity,” Doctor Burnett mentioned.

Brad went to join his sisters, who were with Peter and Derek, to tell them the bad news about his hockey future.