That afternoon Quinn was lying in bed with her mother, listening to her father tell yet another embarrassing story about Quinn as a child with James and Elliott,
"So, she stands on the coffee table and says 'Mom does this mean it's cold in hell now?'." Quinn covered her face with her hand,
"Daddy come on, please don't." Elliott laughed,
"No, please do." Robert Garner continued,
"So her mother goes 'what are you talking about?' and Quinn says, 'Daddy said it will be a cold day in hell before Andre married Aunt Hannah." Everyone in the room broke out in laughter, even Quinn and she was happy her father was telling some of these stories, no matter how much she protested. It was the first time she had laughed in days. Their laughter stopped abruptly when the door opened and two doctors appeared. Her mother was about to sit up when she held her arm,
"Stay here with me." She turned her attention to Mac's doctor,
"Dr. Khan, how is she?" She looked over at Mac briefly, her father and Elliott sitting the closest to her,
"Hi Ms. Garner." He glanced around the room,
"Hello everyone." They said their hello's and he turned back to Quinn,
"It's never easy to tell someone what is wrong with a loved one so I'll just say it. MacKenzie has a single ventricle anamoly." She frowned and he nodded,
"A single ventricle anamoly is a group of cardiac defects that may differ quite dramatically from each other but share the common feature that only one ventricle is of adequate functional size." Her father knew she wouldn't be able to cope,
"So does she have all these defects or just one?" The doctor looked at Mr. Garner but when he answered he turned his attention back to Quinn,
"She has a defect called tricuspid atresia, which means the valve between the right atria and ventricle fails to develop. Blood that returns from the body to the right atrium cannot directly enter the right ventricle, and must pass through a hole in the atrial septum into the left atrium and then the left ventricle." Quinn nodded her head, she wasn't quite sure what he was saying she just knew there was something wrong with her little girl's heart,
"It's usually detected with an ultrasound, like most heart conditions, I've seen all your ultrasounds and medical records for you and MacKenzie, she is one of the unfortunate cases where nothing was able to be detected. Sometimes they are so small." He stopped and took a deep breath before continuing,
"Mackenzie isn't getting enough blood flow and it requires surgery called a modified Blalock-Taussig shunt, more commonly called a BT shunt. It involves the placement of a small tube between the artery to the arm and the arteries to the lungs." Quinn looked around the room and everyone else had a blank look on their faces.
"Usually this procedure is done pretty early in the child's life and Mac would be getting ready for the second surgery which is the Bi-directional Glenn. The superior vena cava is detached from the heart and connected directly to the pulmonary artery and the BT shunt is removed." Lillian shook her head,
"How many surgeries does she need?" Dr. Khan nodded his head as if he was preparing to say something he just didn't want to say,
"Three. Now, the Bi-directional Glenn allows blood from the body to flow directly to the lungs to pick up oxygen without having to be pumped by the heart. It also prevents blood that already has oxygen from returning to the lungs, and keeps the heart from doing unnecessary work. At the age range of two to five years of age comes the third, the Fontan procedure. It involves connection of the inferior vena cava directly to the pulmonary artery, it forces all blood returning from the body to pass through the lungs and pick up oxygen before being pumped to the body. This will get the normal color in the skin and lips." Quinn held her head down and played with her fingers,
"What are the chances...how dangerous is all of this?" He handed a packet of papers and brochures to her,
"Here is the material on her condition and all the procedures I just spoke of. The chances...the results of the approach I just explained to a child with tricuspid atresia are generally good, with an expected survival of all three stages of sevnety-five percent to ninety-five percent. The long-term quality of life following the Fontan operation is also generally good, but several complications may occur like heart rhythm problems requiring medication or placement of a pacemaker. Patients may also experience lung problems resulting in a decrease in oxygen in the blood, or digestive problems caused by loss of protein in the stool resulting in swelling and water retention. For a minority of patients,and possibly lung transplantation later in life may be necessary." Quinn began to cry and her father walked over and held her head against his chest,
"Honey, right now we just need to concentrate on the first step, you can't think down the road right now." Dr. Khan placed his hand on the other doctor's back,
"This is Dr. Elder, he will be MacKenzie's surgeon." He was an older man and he smiled at Quinn,
"Is there anything you want to ask Ms. Garner?" She was lost, she didn't know what to ask or what she should know, she simply shook her head,
"We ran the tests on all your blood and no one is a match. Of course we do have a blood supply but it's always good to have a blood donor from the immediate family. MacKenzie's dad hasn't been tested. Can-" Quinn shook her head,
"He won't be here. It's not an option." He nodded,
"MacKenzie is scheduled for surgery the day after tomorrow. If there is anything you need, any questions just ask the nurse to page me." Quinn nodded and listened to her mother and father thank them before they walked out of the room. They all sat around in silence for a moment before they all tried to comfort her and tell her it was going to be ok. She just lay there and listened to them as she cried in her father's arms.
Elliott and her parents went to get dinner from a little diner down the street and James and Quinn were alone with Mac,
"The doctors think its best for her to have a family member's blood. Does the father know she's going to have surgery?" She shook her head and sighed, tired of talking about Nick,
"Yes, he knows and he can't be here." James frowned,
"Why not? Where is he? He lives here right?" She continued to look down at Mac,
"No, the Keys." James sighed heavily,
"That's not far. Why isn't he here?" She shook her head,
"He's out of the state on business."
"But he knows Mac needs surgery right?" She simply nodded her head his voice rose considerably,
"Great job Quinn, great job of picking a fucking sperm donor for your daughter." Quinn turned, shocked at his harsh words, as he walked out the door and looked down at Mac crying yet again,
"I'm sorry baby."
Chapter 39
Reunited
Stories
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