Cake: A Love Story (40 page)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Casey

The surgery was scheduled to take upwards of five hours. I was a nervous wreck. What Jake had shared with me the other day played over and over in my mind. An hour into the surgery, I heard Quinn call over Keith and Kyle. They all hovered over Quinn’s phone. Moments later they looked up with shocked expressions on their faces.

“What is it?” Michelle asked them. Kyle took Quinn’s phone and walked it over to Michelle. I saw her read whatever it was and then she too looked up in surprise. “When did he post this?”

“Just before the surgery,” Kyle answered.

Now I was curious. I stood up and walked over. “What’s up?”

“Jake…um,” Kyle started.

“Is he okay?” I cut him off, fear circulating through my bones.

“It’s not about his surgery. Did you know he was going to post this?” Michelle asked, holding up Quinn’s phone.

“Post what?” I replied.

“Jake issued a public statement.”

I shook my head. “About what?” I asked.

Michelle handed me Quinn’s phone.

To my Fans,

Today I’ll be having surgery. This will be my 15th operation in the past ten years and my third knee replacement. There is a chance that, during the surgery, it may become necessary to amputate my left leg just above the knee. Because I’ve never publicly spoken of my past, the possible outcome of this particular surgery will undoubtedly come as a shock to my devoted fans. Please know that this isn’t a decision I’ve taken lightly

For the past ten years I’ve struggled with a variety of health issues as a result of injuries sustained from a crime committed against me as a young teen. Over the course of the month long ordeal I was subjected to a wide range of cruelties and my life was repeatedly threatened. It was a world I did not understand and one that I struggled to survive in. Extreme desperation pushed me to make difficult decisions. I attempted, and failed, to escape on multiple occasions. The price I paid for those botched attempts was always swift and brutal. One such punishment, the repeated bludgeoning of my kneecap with a blunt object, resulted in the injury I’ll be having surgery for today. I’ve fought long and hard to save my leg but sometimes even the best efforts fail. My hope is that today will be a whole new beginning.

And in the spirit of new beginnings, I’m calling out the media for the years of attacks on my character and for unfairly scrutinizing me for the actions I took all those years ago to save my own life. On the day in question, I was a critically wounded thirteen-year-old kid fighting to stay alive at the hands of a knife-wielding serial killer. To all who condemn…it’s easy to judge from a position of safety. I have not, nor will I ever, apologize for defending myself. I’m only alive today because he’s dead.

And finally, to my seriously incredible and faithful fans…thank you. Through it all, you’ve stood by me, supporting me unconditionally. Your acceptance and love has given me the strength to push forward in times of weakness. I’m only where I am today because of your loyalty and compassion. For that, I’ll forever be indebted. Jake

“Wow,” I breathed out. “I’m shocked.”

“Me too,” Michelle replied as she sat down next to me looking defeated. “He has always been so private. I can’t believe he would open himself up in that way.”

I nodded, knowing what Michelle didn’t. That was Jake’s way of saying goodbye to his fans. No way would I tell his mother that. It upset me that Jake felt the way he did. He could not possibly know how this would end.

“Has he ever spoken to you about the kidnapping?” Michelle asked quietly.

“He has told me some things.”

“Like what?”

“Um…about his knee and how he escaped.”

Michelle nodded. “He obviously trusts you.”

“Well, it’s hard for him to talk about. I don’t push him.”

“That’s smart. I’ve never been successful trying to pull information out of him. That’s been hard for me…not knowing. He came home so broken. You would not even recognize him from the man he is today. But when he was that shattered boy I wanted to know everything because I felt like it was the only way to protect and help him but the more I pushed the more he pulled away.”

“Did you ever get the story out of him?”

“No. I got bits and pieces. I mean I know some of what happened to him because of his injuries but, to this day, I have no idea what Jake went through.”

“Jake told me the only people who know things about his kidnapping are you and Scott, Kyle and Lassen.”

“Lassen? Really?” Michelle said, clearly surprised. “I didn’t know they were that close.”

“They are. I think Jake has confided a lot in Lassen.”

“Huh, that is interesting. Jake always manages to surprise me.”

I laughed. “Yeah, he’s a never boring or predictable that’s for sure.”

“No,” Michelle smiled. “He definitely isn’t. He’s always been that way though…since he was little. I used to call him my free spirit.”

I nodded, smiling.

Then suddenly Michelle’s face turned sad. “That man…he tried to take Jake’s spirit. He did everything he could to break him. And he almost won but Jake, even when he had nothing left in him…Jake fought. He always fights, Casey. He always wins.”

I sat with the McKallister family as we awaited word. I had a long conversation with Emma, whom I’d never spoken to before. She came across as being reserved, but like her famous brother, once she felt comfortable with you, she opened up. We talked for a long time, mostly just mindless chatter, but it was what we both needed to take our minds off Jake lying on a table nearby, unconscious and cut open. Maybe his leg had already been amputated. The image took my breath away. The hours ticked by slowly.

Finally the doctors came out to deliver the good news. The operation had been a huge success. Not only had Jake’s leg been spared but also the doctor was successful in removing previously unseen bone fragments, which he believed were a major cause of Jake’s recurring pain. A new, state of the art, knee replacement was surgically inserted. Jake had done remarkably well during the surgery. The doctors were incredibly pleased.

Jake woke up in recovery and was moved to the ICU. When I came in he was groggy but awake.

“You made it,” I beamed.

“Yep. Only ‘cuz I was scared of you,” he responded in a hoarse voice.

The relief that swept through my body was immense. An entire day passed and Jake was awake and alert. Things looked great. Doctors were pleased. We were all so relieved. But twenty-two hours after the operation, tragedy struck. Keith and his dad and I were in the room when it happened. Jake was talking like everything was fine then stopped abruptly and said with fear etched across his face; “something’s wrong.” He then convulsed in pain and started gasping for air.

Kyle ran from the room screaming for help. A doctor I’d seen before but who wasn’t one of Jake’s came rushing in. Behind him two nurses pushing a cart.

“We’ve got to protect his airway before it closes. Hold his arms,” the doctor said to Scott and Kyle. I watched in horror as the doctor shoved a tube down Jake’s throat as his father and brother held down his thrashing body. Once he was intubated, the doctor, who had been calling out orders during the entire shocking ordeal, pushed Jake’s bed out of the room and ran with him down the hall. Scott, Kyle and I followed after until the doctor finally pushed Jake through some double doors. We were blocked from entering by a nurse in surgical clothes.

“That’s my son,” Scott demanded.

“He’s being taken to surgery. You can’t go in. I’m sorry.”

“THAT’S MY SON!” Scott screamed. I could clearly see the panic on his face.

“Sir, you need to keep your voice down. Go to the waiting room and I’ll have someone come out and talk to you as soon as possible.”

Scott looked ready to explode.

“Dad,” Kyle said, grabbing Scott’s arm. Scott ripped it away. “Dad, come on.”

“Your mom. You need to get your mom, Kyle,” Scott looked frantic now.

“I will. Come sit down. Your blood pressure, dad. Come and sit down. I’ll get mom. Okay?”

Scott looked at the doors and then at Kyle and then at the doors again. Then he started crying. I stood there helplessly.

“Casey, I need your help,” Kyle said to me.

I nodded. He grabbed Scott from one side and I from the other. He was almost limp in our arms as we led him to the waiting room. When we got there it was filled with people. I looked at Kyle for direction.

“Let’s take him back to Jake’s room,” Kyle grunted with effort. We continued on down the hall with Jake’s distraught dad.

“I don’t understand,” he was mumbling. “He was fine a minute ago. I don’t understand.”

Kyle looked at me with dread in his eyes. I looked back in dismay. We got to Jake’s room and sat Scott down onto a chair. A nurse appeared in the doorway.

“What happened?” Kyle asked her.

“It’s possible he threw a clot,” she replied.

“Will he need surgery?”

“Yes.”

“God,” Kyle said dropping his head. He swayed a little to the right. I grabbed his arm. Kyle stood there quietly a second then shook his head and looked up at the nurse, “My dad. He has high blood pressure and he isn’t doing good. Can someone check him?”

“I will. Let me get a cuff,” the nurse said then hurried out.

“I’m going to go outside the door and call my mom. I don’t want my dad to hear, okay?” Kyle whispered. “Can you keep an eye on him?”

“Yeah, of course. Are you okay, Kyle?” I asked.

“Yeah. I…I’m just,” tears filled his eyes. “I’m okay.”

I let go of his arm and he walked out to call his mom. The nurse came in to check Scott’s blood pressure. It was high but not dangerously so.

“I want you to rest here. Don’t get up. I’ll check you again in 20 minutes to make sure the number is coming down,” the nurse said then left.

I stepped up to Scott and rubbed his arm.

“Why?” He questioned. “I just don’t understand. Why can’t he ever just catch a break? Hasn’t he been through enough?”

I didn’t know how to respond so I stayed silent and let Scott vent. Kyle stood in the doorway. He looked worn.

“Did you talk to your mom?”

“She’s on her way.”

“She just wanted to take a shower. She was counting on me to keep him safe.”

“It’s not your fault dad. It’s better you were there and not her. She wouldn’t have been able to hold him down.”

“They just shoved the tube down his throat. Jake was gagging.”

“They had to secure his airway,” I said. “There was no other choice.”

We all waited in the room until Michelle came in with Emma. She looked at Scott in concern.

“Is he alright?” She asked Kyle.

“Yeah, I had a nurse check him out. His blood pressure was high but she checked again a few minutes ago and it was down.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’m not the problem,” he mumbled. “They’ve got Jake back in surgery.”

“I know. I spoke to a doctor. He’s going to try to find out what’s happening and give us an update.”

“Okay. Yeah. I should have thought of that,” Scott said sounding a little disoriented.

“They also have a private waiting room they are going to open for us. Emma can you get dad a candy bar from the vending machine? Kyle I need you to call Keith.”

Michelle took over. Thank God. We just wandered around following her orders. She stayed calm and cool the entire time. The rest of the family followed her lead. She was definitely the glue that kept them all together. I looked at Michelle in a whole new light. I now understood how Jake had made it through those early years. Michelle would never have allowed him to give up. She was my new hero.

It wasn’t until hours later that we learned what had happened to Jake. Despite all the precautions the doctors had taken with Jake as well as the anticoagulant medication he was on, he still developed a pulmonary embolism…a clot from the knee that traveled up his body and entered his heart, causing his heart to arrest and blocking the flow of oxygen to his lungs. Jake was rushed into surgery to remove the clot and afterwards was placed in a medically induced coma and attached to a life support machine. It was unknown whether Jake had suffered any drain damage from the lack of oxygen. We would have to wait until he was removed from the coma and the machines to see what damage had been done.

Within hours of the pulmonary embolism, rumors began circulating that Jake was brain dead and that he was about to be taken off life support. Media descended on the hospital and the streets outside filled up with thousands of crying fans. Police were brought in to control the crowds. After his public statement, Jake’s incredible story of survival filled the airways once again but this time his courage and perseverance was revered, not questioned, and his struggles touched the hearts of millions.

Things spiraled so completely out of control as Jake lay sedated and on the ventilator that the hospital administration begged his parents to consent to a news conference. At first they were adamant about protecting Jake’s privacy but when the worried crowd outside began to unintentionally block ambulances and disrupt the normal functioning of the hospital, Jake’s parents consented to allow Jake’s doctor to give a press conference.