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“Typically that is the sort of thing that rights itself as the kid grows. In some cases it becomes a situation that needs to be rectified with surgery. In even rarer cases though we see situations where, because the issue has gone on so long unchecked—or because of other reasons in this case—that surgery doesn’t appear to be an option.”
“What do you mean—you can’t perform surgery to fix this problem?” My dad asked, astonished.
Dr. Douglas shook his head. “I’m afraid not. What was found near the hole was something more serious. Josh’s heart is severely malformed. One of the chambers is larger than it is supposed to be. It’s pumping blood in a way that is very difficult for the rest of his heart to keep up with. That, combined with the hole, has made a very serious situation indeed. I don’t want to alarm you, but the truth is that this is a very grave situation and you need to know it now so you are prepared to make the decisions that are going to happen in front of you in the coming days.”
I sat there in shock, not entirely sure what the doctor was going to tell us next. What it sounded like from here was that there wasn’t anything he could do to help my brother and that thought was enough to knock me sideways.
“What I’m saying is…that it’s a miracle Josh is here today. He shouldn’t be, frankly. It’s the sort of thing that might show up in an infant or not and they might be dead the next day. It’s astounding that something hasn’t happened before now. But here we are and you’ve got to think about some things. Josh is young, so he’ll be moved up the list, and he’s healthy so that’s also in his favor.”
“Wait, what? Are you talking about a transplant?” Josh blurted out.
Dr. Douglas nodded. “I’m afraid that is our only option here, Josh. There might be a possibility of repairing the hole in your heart, but given the severity of the malformation it is unlikely that surgery would make much difference. If you want any chance of living out your adult life, we’re going to have to get you a new heart.”
It was then that I thought I was going to pass out. I took a deep breath as the news began to sink in with all of my family members and I silently prayed that this would all work out, somehow.
**
It took a week to hear back from the insurance company. We knew what the cost was going to be now and the first thing Suzy did for me was to start a fundraiser so that we could pay the medical bill for Josh’s new heart.
Hearing the amount it was going to cost after all the insurance would cover was terribly disheartening and I didn’t know how we would ever manage it. It was a debt that my parents would be saddled with for the rest of their lives. Any hope they might have had of retiring was snuffed out of sight, because they would pay every last cent they had to make sure that their child had the medical care he needed to survive, like any parent would.
I cursed the state of American healthcare and buried my face in my hands in the dressing room of Club V. I was on my break and had just gotten off the phone with my mom who was getting ready for whenever they would eventually receive the call that Josh was getting a transplant. It was something that worried her, the thought that someone else was going to have to die to give Josh a chance to live. She was coming to terms with it though and had accepted that somehow, something good was going to come out of all of this.
“Hey,” Suzy said as she came up behind me and rubbed my back. “How are you doing?”
I sighed and shrugged. “I would be a lot better if my lotto winnings decided to show up. You know, the lotto winnings to the lottery that I never remembered to enter.”
“Ah yes, that one. Yeah, I’m waiting on those to come in as well.” She looked at me, pity clear in her eyes. “I wish there was something I could do to help you out, Samara.”
“Suzy, you have done so much already to help with the fundraising. Really, I can’t thank you enough.” I took a deep breath. “It’s just that it won’t ever be enough. I’ve decided to give my parents all that I have saved to go toward Josh’s surgery.”
“Seriously?” She looked shocked at this admission.
I nodded. “I don’t have nearly enough, but even the smallest amount helps. Twenty-thousand is all that I have saved, which I know is a lot, considering, but it’ll hardly touch this. I just have no idea how we’re going to come up with $150,000. I’ve got to find some way to get this money and fast. Seriously, I’ll do anything to get the amount they need, but I just have no idea how to accomplish it. I think it might be impossible.”
Suzy looked a little sheepish then, like she was keeping something from me. We had known each other for far too long for her to start keeping secrets now.
“What?” I asked. “I know that look on your face. You can’t hide anything from me. Cough it up, now.”
Suzy bit her lip. “Okay, I’ll tell you, but I want you to promise you aren’t going to hate me or get mad at me over this. Okay?”
I reached out and grabbed her hand gently. “Suzy, never. You’re my best friend. What’s up?”
“I was thinking about how you might be able to get some cash fast and seriously, Samara, if I could do it myself then I would, but unfortunately that ship sailed a long time ago.”
I shot her a funny look. “What are you talking about?”
She cleared her throat and braced herself to say something that was clearly difficult for her to verbalize.
“I’m talking about ‘The Room’. The one you saw in New York.”
The Room was enough, she didn’t have to clarify any further than that. I took another deep breath.
“I would be lying if I said it hadn’t crossed my mind,” I admitted in a hushed tone.
Suzy gave my hand a squeeze. “Listen, Samara—there is nothing to be ashamed of. Honestly, I’ve never heard of a more admirable reason to do something like this. It would be to help your family and while I in no way think you need to feel pressure to help them financially, if this is something you are committed to doing…then this is an option.”
I nodded and stared at my hands. From the moment I first heard the amount that my parents were going to have to pay for my brother’s transplant surgery, the thought of the auction block at Club V NYC had been floating there in the back of my mind like a specter. As much as I had been averse to the idea when I first encountered it in the flesh, now that it was my brother’s life I was taking into consideration, there were a lot of things I would do to make sure that he got the care he needed.
