A Life Worth Fighting (22 page)

When we pull up at the hospital, I jump out of the front seat. I wait in the back of the ambulance for the doors to open. I see that Leah has an I.V. hooked up to her right hand and she looks pale. I can’t tell if she’s awake; her eyes are closed. I give them room to get Leah out, then I follow closely behind the gurney into the emergency room.  

Quickly I give them Leah’s personal info and medical history and then the insurance information. Finally, I am reunited with Leah. She is awake and is talking softly to the doctor when I enter her room. Her color is slowly returning to her face. She looks over at me and then reaches for my hand. She is connected to a baby monitor that is strapped to her belly. I hear a heartbeat and the swooshing of the baby moving.
Thank God, my baby is fine.
I wait quietly until the doctor is done talking to and examining Leah.  

The doctor stands and says, “We’ll get some labs ordered and go from there.” 

“Thank you,” I say as I stand up. 

“Someone will be in shortly to draw her blood,” the doctor says as he walks out of the room.  

I sit back down and ask Leah, “Are you all right?” I can see the tears in her eyes. I lift her hand up and kiss it. “It’ll be okay, Leah.” Leah closes her eyes and her lips tremble. I hate to see her so upset. I squeeze her hand to let her know I am here for her.
I will always be here for her.
  

They come in and draw her labs and the doctor comes in and checks on her again. When the doctor leaves, I walk out into the hall with him.  

“My wife is visibly upset; is she going to be all right?” I ask.  

“I’ll know more when the labs return.” 

“She’s never fainted before.” 

“I’ll know more when the labs come back and then I’ll be in to talk to you both.” 

“Thank you,” I say and begin to walk behind the curtain to join Leah. 

A nurse walks up and says, “You have a visitor in the waiting room. She says it’s crucial she sees you.” 

“Thank you.” I peek in on Leah and see that she is lying in bed and staring up at the ceiling. “I’ll be right back, we have a visitor. Do you need anything?” 

She looks over at me and tries to smile. “No, I’m fine.” 

I walk down the hall and into the waiting area where I see Jo standing. She is holding the opened manilla envelope that I picked up at the post office earlier.  

“Hi, Jo.” 

“How is she, Bobby?” 

I run my hands through my hair and take a deep breath. “They’re running tests on her. They’ll know more when her labs come back.” 

“Here, I found this on the floor where Leah fainted.” I take the envelope from her and begin to remove the contents from the envelope.
Maybe this is why she fainted. 
 

“Bobby, don’t open it now. This needs to be read in front of Leah.” 

“Why? What is it?” I ask, removing the contents from the envelope. 

Jo puts her hand lightly on the envelope to stop me. “Bobby, please trust me. Don’t read that until you are with Leah.” Jo is insistent. I look at her and I can see sadness, or concern, or both, in her eyes that I hadn’t noticed earlier.  

“Okay, I need to get back in there to her.” 

“Call me if you need me.” 

“Thank you, I will.” Jo and I both leave the waiting room together. She walks towards the exit sign and I walk towards Leah’s room. Leah is still in bed when I get there.  

“That was Jo. She wanted to stop by and check on you.” 

Leah smiles sadly and says, “I imagine that I frightened her earlier.” 

“She’ll be okay. She’s a tough girl.” I sit down beside Leah and show her the envelope. “She brought this and said she found it lying on the floor where you fainted.” 

Leah sits up in bed and says, “I was reading that when I fainted.” 

“Jo said that we should read it together.” 

“It’s about Jamie.” 

I watch as Leah closes her eyes. A tear falls from her cheek and she wipes the tear track away. I slowly and carefully remove the single sheet of paper from the envelope. It says:  

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Grether,
 

The Manasota Memorial Hospital
believes that there may have been a mix-up with two baby girls who were born on the same day. The babies were both born at the same time to two different mothers. Recent tests on a six-year-old girl and both of her parents have revealed that the child they took home from the hospital isn’t their biological child. Although it is highly unlikely that your daughter was the one who was switched at birth, we are asking everyone who gave birth to a daughter at that time to submit DNA for testing. Please call the number below to set up an appointment with one of our medical staff. We’ll need to collect DNA from your daughter and both of the parents. 
 

I blink. That’s all I can do. I suddenly feel like I am in a large room, alone, with a giant spotlight shining down on me. I know Leah is here, but I can no longer see her. Is this for real? Is this a joke? Can shit like this still happen? I feel like I am having an out-of-body experience. The doctor comes in and tells us Leah’s labs and tests are fine. He can’t say for sure what caused her fainting. I don’t say anything. I can’t speak. I hand him the letter and wait under the spotlight that I feel shining on me. Someone holds my hand and I think it’s Leah.
I hope it’s Leah
. I can’t look at her. I know I should say something to her, but what? 

“Oh,” the doctor says. “Do you want to call someone?” he asks. 

I blink. I know I should call someone. “Our parents are on their way.” 

“I think they’re already here. The nurse said you had some family in the waiting area. I’ll go out and get them and give you some time.” 

I think I say, “Thank you,” but I’m not sure.  

“Robert?” a soft angelic voice says. I blink and look up at Leah. She is still holding my large hand in her small one. She brings me back to the here and now. The spotlight is moving away from me and I am starting to re-enter my body.  

“We need an attorney,” I say. It’s the only thing I can think of. “Leah?” I look over at her. “We’ll need an attorney.” 

The doctor opens the curtain and our parents walk into the small room. “I’ll give you a few minutes,” he says before leaving. 

“Leah, are you all right?” her mom asks. 

“I’m fine, but Robert and I have some news,” she says. 

“Oh, God, it’s not the baby, is it?” 

I say, “No, Leah and the baby are fine. We got this in the mail today. It came by certified mail.”  

I hand my dad the letter and watch as Tim, Sue, and Mom lean in to read it. Leah and I hold hands and wait. I think Leah and I are in shock. My mind hasn’t even processed what this will mean. I look at Leah and she is watching our parents read the letter from the hospital. I look away from Leah and turn my attention to our parents.  

My mom and Sue gasp and cover their mouths with their hands. I stand and offer my chair as Tim gets another chair from the hallway. I’m almost scared they’ll faint, too.  

“How can this happen?” Dad asks. 

“I don’t know,” I say honestly. “I think we need an attorney before we do anything.” 

“I think that’s a good idea,” Dad says. “I can call Judge Myles to see if he can meet with us.” 

Leah asks, “Why will we need an attorney? I don’t want to sue them. I’m sure it was an honest mistake.” 

Tim says calmly while walking closer to Leah, “You may need an attorney if it proves that Jamie isn’t your biological child.” 

“Oh, God. I never even considered that. She’s our daughter, I can feel it.” Leah rubs her hand over her belly.  

Tears fill her eyes and suddenly I want to beat the shit out of someone. The doctor comes in, sits down, and talks to us about Leah and the baby. When he sees how upset Leah is, he tells us he wants to keep her overnight for observation. I think for a moment and then decide this is a great idea. I have some things that I want to do and I think it’ll be best if Leah isn’t involved.  

Leah

I get moved upstairs to a hospital room, and Mom and Margie stay with me. Dad, Walter, and Robert leave. Robert is worried about me and I am equally as worried about him. Before Robert left, I read and re-read the letter we received from the hospital, and I don’t think the meaning of the letter has sunk in. Mom and Margie are quiet, and I think it’s because of strict instructions from Robert. Robert took the letter with him when he left. I know he has plans to meet with an attorney.  

“Why do you think we’ll need an attorney?” I ask.  

Mom and Margie just look at me.  

When they don’t answer, I say, “If Jamie was switched at birth, what will happen?” 

“Leah,” my mom says, “I honestly don’t know.” 

Robert

“I called Judge Myles and he can see us now,” my dad says.  

“Great, where’s his office located?” 

“It’s over on Long Boat Key.” 

I’m not driving, Tim is. I left Leah at the hospital with our mothers. I asked them to please avoid any conversations about Jamie if they can. I don’t want my wife worrying about something we have no control over. I need to do as much as I can while Leah is in the hospital. I honestly don’t think either of us have a clue of the magnitude of this problem. Leah said she knows that Jamie was our daughter because she could feel it. Jamie will always be my daughter; nothing will ever change that.  

We pull up at the attorney’s office and suddenly my legs feel like lead. I know I have to talk to someone about this, but I’m not sure I want to. If Jamie isn’t our biological daughter, there is no quick way to fix this. Scratch that, there is no way at all to fix this.  

“Are you coming, Robert?” 

I look up and see Tim standing at the car door, waiting for me. I force myself to get out of the car and remind myself to put one foot in front of the other. My legs are wobbly, and I have no idea how I remain standing.  

Once inside, I sit down and Dad checks in with the receptionist. My life and the memories I have with Jamie replay over and over in my head as if in slow motion. I remember my mom watching the Lifetime movie
Switched at Birth
many years ago.
Shit like this does happen, but how?
 

“Bruce will see you now,” I hear a woman say. I stand and follow Dad and Tim down the hallway and into a large conference room.
It looks like they are expecting us.
“Please have a seat. Bruce will be right with you. Please help yourself to coffee and water.” Before we can say anything, she leaves and closes the door behind her. I take a seat as Dad and Tim get something to drink. Dad hands me a bottled water and sits down next to me. Tim sits across the glass table from us. 

I look out the large window at the water view when I hear a man’s voice say, “I’m sorry to keep you waiting.” 

I turn to look at the man walking into the room. He is a wearing a crisp black suit and he has graying hair, mostly at his temples. We all stand as he walks further into the room. He extends his hand to my dad first. “Walter, it’s great seeing you again.” 

“Thank you for seeing us so quickly. This is my son, Robert, and his father-in-law, Tim.” 

I extend my hand and also thank him for seeing us. Once the introductions are finished, Bruce says, “Please have a seat.” He sits at the head of the table and jumps right into the reason why we are here. “You received something in the mail? Do you have that with you?” 

“I do.” I hand him the manilla envelope and watch as he reads it.  

“Have you spoken to anyone about this yet?” he asks.  

“Just family.” 

“I just heard on Friday that there was the possibility of a baby swap at the local hospital. It’s hard to believe that things like this can still happen.” 

“What should we do?” I ask.  

“First of all, they’re going to want to collect DNA from your daughter, your wife, and you. They’ll suggest having everyone go to a hospital and collect DNA from everyone at the same time. You can also decide to hire your own company to perform the DNA testing. I can set this up for you now if you would like.” 

“Yes, please.” 

“Is there a time we can get everyone together for the testing?” 

“Our daughter, Jamie, passed away
almost two years ago.”  

“I’m sorry to hear that.” I watch as he sits further back into his leather chair. He rocks and taps his pen on the table top. 

“Thank you.” 

“They can collect her DNA by other means, like hair fibers.”  

“What will happen if the tests reveal that Jamie isn’t our biological daughter?” 

“It depends on the other girl’s family. Let’s just hope that Jamie is your daughter.” I nod. “I wouldn’t talk to anyone, especially the media. There’s no telling when this will get leaked out. How is your wife?” 

“Currently pregnant and in the hospital for observation. She fainted when she read the letter.” 

“Robert, I’m going to be honest. This won’t be easy for you or your wife. If the DNA comes back that Jamie isn’t your biological child, you may be faced with
a battle for custody or visitation rights
.
That is assuming that you want to see your recently discovered daughter.”