From the Heart (A Valentine's Day Anthology) (10 page)

Logan thought of his mother. He wished she was with him right there and then. She would have given him the strength he needed. She would have given him the courage he needed to go and be by his beautiful Ella’s side.

He knew what he needed to do. He struggled to his feet and turned towards the door. Before he reached it, it swung open and Megan appeared.

“Logan, you need to come quickly,” she cried and she grabbed his handed at pulled him back inside.

“What is it?” Logan asked, but he feared the worst. “She is not…”

“No!” Megan exclaimed with a broad smile. “They found her a heart.”

As Logan reached Ella’s hospital room, they were just wheeling her out the door to take her to the OR.

“You’re just in time,” Doctor Bennett said when he looked up and saw Logan running along the corridor.

“You got a heart for her?” Logan asked, still unable to take it in. It was the miracle they had prayed for, but one he believed would never come.

“We did,” the doctor replied with a broad smile. “It is on its way here as we speak, so we need to get Ella down to the OR and get her ready.

“Can I just have a moment?” Logan asked as he stepped closer to his wife.

“Of course,” Doctor Bennett replied, and everyone stepped away, to give Logan a little bit of privacy.

“Hey, baby,” he whispered, then leaned down and softly kissed her cheek. “We did it, we got the heart. So now I need you to promise me something, I need you to do one more thing for me. I need you to keep fighting. This is the last hurdle. Survive this operation and we can go back to the perfect life we once had.”

Logan stopped and took a deep steadying breath. He was determined not to cry.

“I need you to come back to me,” he finally continued. “Caroline needs her mom. We can’t do this without you. We have come too far to give up now. Please, Ella.”

“Logan,” Doctor Bennett said in a low voice. “We need to go.”

“Okay,” he said before he kissed her again. “I love you Ella Bryce. I have done since the day you crashed into my life. I will love you forever.”

He slowly stood back, as he wished he didn’t have to let her go.

“I will take good care of her,” Doctor Bennett promised as he patted Logan’s back.

“You better,” Logan replied, and gave him a grateful smile.

He stood and watched while they wheeled her away, as his heart broke that there was a change that was the last time he would see her alive.

“Logan,” Andrew called from the far end of the corridor.

Logan turned and saw his father hurry along the corridor, holding Caroline hands. The minute he saw his little girl, the tears finally broke free, he hurried along the corridor towards his father and his daughter. When he reached them, he swept his little girl up into his arms and held her tightly.

“Daddy, you’re squishing me,” she said in her tiny, four year old voice.

“I’m sorry, sweetie,” Logan replied through his tears.

“Where’s Mommy?” She asked as Logan loosened his embrace on his little girl and looked down into her eyes.

“The doctors have taken her to try and make her better,” Logan said with a smile.

“And then she can come home?” Caroline asked, excitedly.

“Hopefully,” Logan replied.

“Yay,” she squealed excitedly before she hugged her father once again.

Logan, Caroline, Andrew and Megan sat in the waiting room, waiting for news on Ella. The surgery seemed to be taking an eternity. Caroline eventually climbed up into her daddy’s lap and fell asleep.

As Logan sat there with his little girl on his lap, he thought about how they had all ended up there.

“I wish I could shake this damn flu,” Ella said as she and Logan sat at the breakfast table. “I am tired of feeling this exhausted.”

“Maybe you should go back to the doctor?” Logan suggested as he set down his newspaper and looked across at his wife. “This has been going on for too long.”

“I might give him a ring later,” Ella said as she finished off her coffee. She stood to clear the table, but as she turned towards the sink, she just hit the floor like a ton of bricks.

“ELLA!” Logan shouted as he jumped to his feet hurried to his wife. “Sweetheart.”

Ella didn’t respond. She was barely breathing.

Logan looked up at Caroline, who had been sitting with them at the table. She looked beyond terrified, as she had no idea what was going on. Suddenly she burst into tears.

“Caroline, baby,” Logan said in as calm a voice as he could. “I need you to be a brave girl and go into the living room and get me the phone.

She nodded through her tears, climbed down from the chair and ran to do as her daddy had asked. She returned a few moments later with the phone, and Logan quickly called for an ambulance.

Three hours later, he was sitting beside Ella’s bed in the hospital, as they both waited for the doctor to return with the results of the test they had run.

“I am sure it’s just the flu,” she repeated through the oxygen mask for the tenth time. Logan smiled and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, but he knew she was scared and so was he.

“Ella,” the doctor said as he finally walked into the room. Logan prepared himself for bad news because the look on the doctor’s face was one that scared him. “We have got your test results back. I am afraid it’s not good news. The test indicated you have advanced Cardiomyopathy.”

“What’s that?” Ella said as her voice cracked with nerves.

“It’s a deterioration of the heart muscle,” he explained to a shocked Ella and Logan. “Symptoms may include shortness of breath after physical exertion, fatigue, and swelling of the feet, legs, or abdomen. Additionally, you can have arrhythmias and chest pain.”

“But I haven’t had any chest pain,” Ella replied, as she tried to reason with the doctor. “I just had this flu. Yes I am tired and a little breathless, but other than that I feel fine.”

“Then you have been incredibly lucky,” the doctor replied. “There are some treatments we can try.”

“And if they don’t work?” Logan asked.

“Then we have to look at other options,” the doctor replied.

“And what would they be?” Ella asked.

“Well, I think its best that we wait for the cardiologist to come down to talk to you,” he replied.

“No, I need to know now,” Ella insisted. “Please, just tell us.”

“Well if the medication doesn’t work,” the doctor said with a deep breath. “Then the only other option maybe a transplant.”

“I will need a new heart?” Ella exclaimed. “And the fact that I have a rare blood type, how would that work?”

“Look, I really think it’s best that we wait for the cardiologist,” The doctor said, looking a little uncomfortable.

“That means it’s bad,” she sighed. “You’re just afraid to say it.

“No,” the doctor replied. “It just means I don’t have all the answers.”

“Ella, maybe he is right,” Logan said as he stood up and sat on the edge of her bed. He reached out and took hold of her hand. “We should wait to talk to the cardiologist.”

“But I need to know now,” she sighed as she looked up at her husband, with tears dancing in her eyes. “I need to know if I am going to die.”

“No!” Logan exclaimed. “You are not going to die. We will do whatever it takes. I will be with you every step of the way. I will fight for you, when you feel you can’t fight anymore. I will be strong enough for us both, I promise.”

“I know you will,” Ella said with a smile, as the tears trickled down her face. “And I love you so much for that.”

“Please don’t cry,” Logan said as he wrapped her in his arms. He was trying hard to be strong, but inside he was beyond terrified. He knew she was right. She had a rare blood type and he knew enough to know, this was not a good thing.

When the cardiologist came, he confirmed Ella’s fears. Her rare blood type was going to make it hard for them to find a match.

He promised that he would try everything else first, before it came to that, but to be sure, he wanted to put her name down on the transplant list as soon as possible.

And they did try everything, one treatment after another but nothing seemed to help. Finally it became clear, her only chance was the transplant.”

It broke Logan’s heart to watch the love of his life, his Ella, become weaker and weaker. He felt so helpless that he was unable to do anything for her. So he did the only thing he could do. He held her and promised her they would get through this, that they would get their miracle and live happily ever after.