Alison Strobel - The Heart of Memory

One of the nurses had called on behalf of Savannah that morning to tell him not to come up because of the storm that was expected to roll across the state. It had been sunny when she’d called, but by lunch the clouds had begun to darken. He’d almost blown off the warning and gone up anyway; but now that the rain was pouring in buckets, he was glad he hadn’t.

Instead, he was eating an entirely unappetizing dinner and reviewing some stocks he was considering buying. It had been awhile since he’d actively played the market, but it was one of the few ways he could think of that might bring in some extra money. He’d taken out everything he could when the IRS had come calling a few years back, and hadn’t had the time to research stock picks thoroughly enough to make any moves since then. But with two more bills from the insurance company and Jessie’s tuition due, he knew it was time to get back into it.

He ate his pancakes as he made them and took the salmon to his office to eat while he read up on the two stocks he was interested in. The seed money was the one problem. He could get it if he went into their retirement, but he’d get penalized, which meant losing some of the money they desperately needed. But what choice was there?

By the time the salmon was gone his choice was made. All he had to do was bite the bullet and pull the money out of his 403b. He was about to pick up his cell to call his investment company when it surprised him by ringing.

“Hello?”

“Shaun, it’s Tammy – Savannah’s transplant coordinator.”

His blood iced in his veins. “Oh God-she’s not-”

“No, no, Shaun-we have a heart.”

It took a second for his emotions to put the brakes on his grief. “Wait-a heart-for Savannah?”

She laughed. “If it were for someone else I wouldn’t be calling you.”

He darted for the kitchen where his car keys sat. “I don’t know when I’ll get there with the rain. Oh man-I never packed a bag.”

“That’s alright, just get here when you can. The heart isn’t here yet, and it probably won’t get here for another couple hours anyway; it’s up in Fort Collins right now.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Drive safely now-no speeding.”

“Right, right. No speeding.” He hung up and ran back into the bedroom to grab a change of clothes, then shoved them into the computer bag that held his laptop.

He was on the road before he realized he ought to call people. But who? Jessie first, of course. He dialed, praying God would protect him from crashing as he drove through the storm. “They’ve got a heart,” he said when she picked up. “They said it’ll get there in a couple hours. I’m guessing she’ll go straight into surgery once it’s there. I’m on my way up now.”

“Oh my gosh! Okay, okay… we’ll finish up dinner and hit the road in about ten minutes.”

He called Alex after that, who promised to get the word out to their friends and Pastor John. Then he dialed Marisa, who had just gotten back two days prior from a visit to her boyfriend in New York. “They got a heart; it’s on its way.”

“Hallelujah! I can’t believe it! That was so fast.”

“Fast?”

“It’s only been, what, twelve days since she was admitted to the hospital the first time? Some people are on the list for months.”

Shaun had to do the math himself to believe it. Less than two weeks? It felt like a lifetime. “She wouldn’t have lasted months. God knew what he was doing.”

“Are you on your way?”

“Just left ten minutes ago.”

“I’ll call the staff and let them know. Is it okay if people come up?”

“As long as they promise to pray like crazy while they’re here, sure.”

She laughed. “You got it. See you as soon as I can make it up.”

The rain lessened as he drove, and by the time he was halfway there it had stopped completely. Without the weather to worry about, his mind was free to wander. They had a heart. Savannah had been right; God was going to heal her. Why had he doubted?

His thoughts turned to the surgery, and then to the bill that would be coming. Hopefully he’d be able to grab those stocks beforehand. If he had a minute alone, he’d leave a voicemail for the investor who handled A &A’s retirement program to find out about pulling out the funds.

Between the rush hour traffic he’d hit and the weather, it took him almost two hours to get to the hospital. It was just after eight when he ran at full-tilt from the car to the building and up the two flights of stairs to Savannah’s room. Two nurses were preparing to take her to the operating room. “I’m here, Van!” he said, squeezing her foot. She opened her eyes and smiled bigger than he’d seen in weeks. “Jessie’s on her way; Marisa’s coming up, too. I called Alex; not sure who will come up but he’s calling everyone.”

“Tell them all hi.”

He laughed. “I will.”

Tammy entered and threw an arm around Shaun’s shoulder. “You made it! What a night, huh?”

“You can say that again.”

“They’ll take her down in a minute; the heart is about half an hour away. I’ll walk you down to the waiting room and we can go over any questions you have about the surgery.”

“We’re done here, Tammy,” said one of the nurses.

“Alright then – Shaun, you and Savannah can have a minute alone.” She and the nurses left, and Shaun moved beside Savannah and held her hand.

“You okay, babe?”

She nodded. “You?”

“Better than I have been.”

“Pray for me.”

He closed his eyes and found himself speechless. Words couldn’t convey the desperation he felt for this surgery to go right. He stumbled through a prayer he was sure would make Savannah roll her eyes, but when he opened his own she was smiling wide. “See you tomorrow.”

He felt his throat threatening to close. “Promise?”

“Promise.” She squeezed his hand and he kissed her as hard as he dared.

Tammy returned. “Ready to go?”

Shaun let Savannah go and stepped back. “Not really.”

She chuckled. “Savannah?”

“Let’s get this… show on the road.”

“You’ve got it. Off we go!” The nurses wheeled the bed into the hall, and Shaun and Tammy followed them as far as the swinging double doors that led to the OR. He kissed her once more, then let Tammy lead him to the spacious waiting room lined with couches and dotted with tables and chairs.

“Will anyone else be coming?”

“Our daughter and her boyfriend, Savannah’s assistant… possibly some others, but I don’t know for sure.”

“I’ll let reception know and they’ll send them all here. Do you want to wait for your daughter before we go over the surgery?”

“No, I’m not sure when she’ll get here. Let’s just do it now while I can still concentrate.”

They sat at a table and Tammy went over the sequence of events that would begin with the arrival of the heart, but Shaun barely paid attention. All he could think about was his wife in the OR, chest splayed open, her life in the hands of a team of mere mortals. Well, and God, too. But that didn’t comfort him as much as it comforted Savannah.

“Dad!”

He turned in his seat and saw Jessie and Adam coming down the hall. She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Is she okay?”

“She just went in a few minutes ago for prep. The heart should be here soon. This is Tammy, the transplant coordinator. Tammy, this is our daughter, Jessie, and her boyfriend, Adam.”

“Nice to meet you. Boy, aren’t you the spitting image of your mother.”

Jessie smiled a little. “Thank you.”

“I just finished explaining the next twenty-four hours to your dad, but I’ll leave these papers here so you can read over them. Feel free to page me if you have any questions. I’ll be here until she’s out of surgery.”