Ruthless(21)

“No, everything that I ate was kosher and I’ve been in California the entire time I’ve been pregnant,” I said plaintively. “In fact, I haven’t even left the Bay Area.”

The doctors looked at each other. “Is there anything that you could have done that exposed you to a parasite? Maybe walked barefoot in a park, or punctured yourself with a sharp object?”

“No,” I reiterated plaintively. “Well, do cats count? I was housesitting a friend’s cat, not even really housesitting, I’d go over and fill up her water and food bowls. The damn cat scratched me pretty badly, I had a rash for a little while, but it was nothing,” I said, almost crying. “Please tell me it’s nothing.”

The doctors shared another glance.

“We don’t have any answers at this point,” said Dr. Conwell cautiously, “but it’s possible that the cat infected you with a parasite which then invaded your fetus, causing cancer in your baby … in this case blood cancer, or leukemia.”

“Leu- leu- leukemia?” I gasped. “That can’t be right, Janie is a newborn.”

“I’m so sorry,” said Dr. Conwell, “but our initial tests indicate that Janie’s got a rare form of leukemia where abnormal white blood cells form in the bone marrow. The abnormal cells quickly travel through the bloodstream and crowd out healthy cells, causing all sorts of damage, which has manifested through the baby’s lack of appetite, a slight fever, weight loss, and general failure to thrive. I’m afraid that her symptoms will only get worse,” he said sadly.

“But what can we do?” I asked, my voice rising with panic. “Surely there has to be something. You can’t tell me it’s over before it’s begun.”

“Ms. Walsh, the only treatment is experimental at this stage and prohibitively expensive,” said Dr. Conwell.

“Tell me what it is!” I practically shrieked. I would come up with the money, one way or another. With my new job starting soon, I’d soon be flush, making a decent lawyer’s salary.

“The medication is one called Pernacular,” said the good doctor slowly. “Maybe you’ve heard of it. It’s a single-source generic produced by only one company, which recently raised its price to over a thousand dollars per pill. Janie would need three pills daily for six months I’m afraid, making any treatment unrealistic.” He shook his head sadly. “I’m so sorry to break the news to you. It’s hard to know that there is an option just out of reach.”

But my mind had screeched to the halt at the word “Pernacular.” Pernacular, Pernacular, Pernacular, the words kept ringing in my mind like a taunt. I’d cut off Janie’s father because of his ruthless profit-seeking, but suddenly I knew I had an option, a way out. Sure, I’d have a ton of explaining to do and it wouldn’t be easy, but I’d do anything for my little girl … even if Jake drove an impossible bargain.#p#分页标题#e#





CHAPTER TWELVE


Jake




I was growing bored at the head of the conference table. As usual, my brothers and I were surrounded by a bevy of lawyers, bankers, media strategists, publicists, and their hangers-on, all wanting to tell us what to do. I wanted to tell them, “Listen, Sterling Pharma has made you rich as fuck … so shut the fuck up.”

But no such pronouncement left my lips. I didn’t want to be branded a rogue CEO anymore than necessary because there was already a ton of bad press about Pernacular and Sterling’s decision to jack up the price. What people didn’t understand was that the decision wasn’t so simple, nor the outcome so black and white. Despite the price increase, patient co-pays are actually lower; many patients get the drug at no cost; Sterling has since expanded our free drug program; and half of our drugs are available for one dollar, making them accessible to all.

Unfortunately, the media had focused on only one aspect, Pernacular’s list price, which isn’t the price insurers pay. Anyone familiar with the drug industry knows that insurers often haggle like old women, driving down the actual price to a mere fraction of what we charge. So the $700 pill touted by the media was largely an illusion, subject to the whims of a host of interested parties.

I cursed mentally. And yet here I was in this miserable position, listening to publicists put forth their plans for “re-framing the issue” and such bullshit. I wanted to kick their asses for putting us in this position in the first place.

Fuck my life. I just couldn’t see how things could get worse. The woman I was crazy about had left me with no reason except that “she couldn’t do this.” What the fuck did that mean? It was so vague and evasive, impossible to understand. What started as a hot fuck had turned into much more, Tina’s intelligence and sassiness intriguing me until I was downright near-obsessive about the girl.