“What?”
“It’s okay. I took myself.”
“What happened? You just went to get coffee. I don’t get it.”
“I was at the cash register. They were ringing me up. I started feeling this chest pain I’d never experienced before. It scared the shit out of me. I didn’t want to risk coming home, so I went straight to the emergency room.”
“What’s happening now?”
“They’re admitting me.”
“I’m coming there.”
“Please don’t get into an accident. Take your time. I’m gonna be fine, okay?”
“Okay.”
He could tell I was starting to tear up. “Chelsea…please. Don’t cry, alright? Be strong for me. I’ll be okay. I’m just gonna get checked out, and then we’ll be back home having our coffee by the tree in no time.”
“Alright. I love you.”
The ride to the hospital seemed to take forever. When I got to his room, Damien was sitting up in bed.
Rushing to him, I started to sob.
Damien took me in his arms. “Calm down, baby. I’m fine.” He wiped my eyes.
“You were saying all those things to me. And then…I was afraid that…”
“That I’d be dead when you got here? Because I’d just told you I would love you until the day I died?”
I sniffled. “Yes.”
“That would be horrible timing. You’ve been reading too many shitty romance novels.” He forced a smile.
I returned it. “I’m just glad you’re okay. What can I do while we wait?”
He took my hand and kissed my knuckles. “Just stay with me. That’s all I need.”
“Like I could be anywhere else right now.”
We ended up spending most of Christmas day into the evening at the hospital. They’d run a series of tests then let Damien go with the understanding that he would see his doctor as soon as possible after the holiday.
The following Tuesday, we were able to get in to see Damien’s cardiologist at Stanford.
Dr. Tuscano was mild-mannered and did his best to put me at ease. After the examination winded down, he smiled over at me. “I’ve been seeing Damien for some time now. I have to say, he’s never seemed this happy.”
“Thank you.”
“Doc, I brought Chelsea with me so that you could personally answer any questions she has. I still haven’t made any decision about surgery, but I want her to be informed.”
“It’s my pleasure to do that.” The doctor took a seat on a small stool. “What can I answer for you specifically?”
Clearing my throat, I said, “I guess, I just want to learn more about the risks versus the benefits.”
“Okay, well, as you probably already know, the procedure we would be performing is called a septal myectomy. We would be removing a small amount of the thickened septal wall surrounding his heart to eliminate the obstruction. This will make it easier for the heart to pump blood. We’ve always felt that he’s a good candidate for this procedure, because Damien is fairly young and because of his significant septal thickness.”
When I drew a blank, Damien decided to embarrass me. “Sorry, Doc…you said thickness, and her mind must have gone to another part of my anatomy.”
The doctor chuckled but otherwise decided to ignore the comment. “Anyway, the surgery will likely provide him with relief from his symptoms, but more than that, it can lengthen his life expectancy.”
“Is it safe?”
“It is generally very safe, yes. As with any surgical procedure, there are risks, albeit very low.”
“What are those risks?”
“Infection, heart attack, stroke or death. But we do everything in our power to reduce the chances of anything like that ever happening.”
“I’ve read a lot of conflicting things about whether this operation actually impacts life expectancy.”
“You’re right. There have been differing schools of thought on that. But the newest research has shown that for individuals like Damien who are symptomatic, myectomy may actually normalize their life expectancy. Ten-year survival would be ninety-five percent, which is on par with the general population.”
“What’s the ten-year survival for those who don’t have the operation?”
“About seventy-three percent.”
“Wow.”
“There are no guarantees, Chelsea. Even with the surgery, we wouldn’t be able to say with absolute certainty that sudden cardiac arrest won’t happen. But given his family history, with his father dying so young, we recommend being as proactive as possible. He’ll, of course, continue taking his medications either way.”