Chapter 5
Juniper
She awoke twice in the night, when nurses came in to take her vital signs or change her IV medication. Each time, she battled
panic, not knowing where she was or what had happened.
Each time, the same quiet voice would assure her she was all right, that she was in the hospital, that the doctors and nurses
were taking good care of her. She had vague impressions of a soft, gentle hand on her arm that soothed her panic.
For some reason, it made her think of her mother. Doctors had removed June’s tonsils when she was eight and she could remember
her mother snuggling in the hospital bed with her, her vanilla-and-lavender scent surrounding them both as Elizabeth sang
her to sleep.
She missed her mother deeply. She had been gone nearly twenty years but June still ached from the loss of the only family
she had ever really known.
Her mother felt closer than ever now as she lay in a hospital bed trying not to think about how close she had come to death.
She awoke fully with sun pouring in through the blinds of a high window and a nurse speaking to someone in the corner, telling
her a cart was coming around with free coffee and bagels.
Coffee would be great right about now. June opened her eyes and looked over to the corner. To her shock, Alison Wells again
sat in an uncomfortable-looking recliner.
“You’re still here.” Her voice came out raspy and thin and more abrupt than she intended.
Alison blinked at her, looking rumpled and sleepy and rather disgruntled.
“I went home for a while to grab something to eat and change into more comfortable clothes.”
“Why are you still here?”
Alison seemed to hesitate. “I didn’t want you to wake up alone,” she finally said, then gave June that scared-kitten look
she sometimes wore, as if she was afraid someone might jump out at her from around the corner.
Had June really been that awful of a boss that she had completely terrified the younger woman? She hoped not.
“You didn’t have to do that,” she said, touched, despite her discomfort with the whole situation.
“I know I didn’t. But you’ve been through a terrible ordeal and you didn’t seem to have anyone else to stay here with you.”
And that, in a nutshell, clarified her life down to the bare essentials.
Alison moved closer to the bed and gave an unexpected smile. “And to be honest, I feel bonded with you now, since I did save
your life.”
She seemed to be joking, but June couldn’t completely tell.
She didn’t know what to say. When was the last time someone had been so kind to her? Not saving her life. She still hadn’t
quite processed that. Staying all night in an uncomfortable chair of a hospital room with a woman who was a virtual stranger.
Wasn’t that taking devotion to duty to the next level?
“Thank you,” she said, feeling overwhelmed and out of control again.
The nurse, a different one than the woman she had met the day before, hurried over and was adjusting some settings on her
IV when the door opened and the room suddenly filled with a whole crowd of people.
An older man with dark hair, glasses and a kind smile seemed to be in charge. “Hello, Ms. Connelly. I’m Doctor Singh. I am a cardiologist here and I was called in to help yesterday in the emergency department when you arrived. You gave us all quite a fright.”
“So I understand. I don’t remember most of it. Can you tell me what happened?”
“You had a cardiac arrest. You were lucky your coworkers knew what to do or we wouldn’t be talking right now.”
June’s gaze shifted to Alison, who seemed thrilled at the doctor’s words.
She turned her attention back to Dr. Singh. “I don’t understand how this could happen. I had a checkup three months ago and
all of my numbers were good.”
He looked at something on a laptop. “Have you had any dizzy episodes or possibly even fainted momentarily?”
She frowned, thinking back. “Dizzy spells. Yes. More over the past year, I suppose. That’s one of the reasons I went for a
full workup with my primary care doctor. My blood pressure was quite low so my doctor suggested that might be responsible.
At the time, I was also under a great deal of stress at work and traveling quite a bit.”
That particular state of affairs wasn’t anything new. She had been working hard for years while she, Adam and Rudy worked
to build the company.
“Your case is an interesting one. I’ve been going over your file and the test results we’ve done so far. I’d like to run a
few more tests today while you’re here in the hospital. Our initial test results suggest you might have a condition called
Catecholaminergic Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia.”
“What is that?”
“It’s a big, scary name, I know. You can call it CPVT. Again, we won’t know for sure until we do some further tests.”
How could this be possible? Maintaining healthy habits was an important part of her life.
“Is it... fatal?”
“In certain cases, it can be, especially when it goes undiagnosed into adulthood. Your case might have been if circumstances had been different. But it can also be very well controlled through the use of an implanted device that helps regulate the electric pulses of your heart.”
“A pacemaker? You’re talking about a pacemaker?”
“This would be what we call an ICD. An implantable cardioverter-defibrillator that senses an irregular heartbeat and can administer
a tiny shock to your heart to get it back on track. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We still have some tests to run
today and will hopefully have a better plan at that point.”
“This can’t be happening.”
“If we determine such a device is indicated in your particular case, you can, of course, choose to decline the surgery. I
would highly recommend against that. It would place you at serious risk of another cardiac event, especially now that you’ve
had a serious event and your heart has sustained damage.”
Heart damage. She couldn’t wrap her head around it. She suddenly yearned for Adam or Rudy or one of her other close friends.
How was it possible that the only person here was an intern she barely knew? An intern she had been in the process of letting
go, she suddenly remembered.
“We don’t have to make any decisions yet. Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, I would like to run these additional
tests to see if there might be something else we’re missing, if that’s all right with you.”
“Do I really have a choice?”
His eyes were kind even as his expression was firm. “You always have a choice. But again, we won’t have a clear picture of
what’s going on with your heart without these tests.”
Right. She was always telling her team that information was power.
“It’s important to remember that you are an extraordinarily fortunate young woman. You’re here, you are alive, you have the chance to resume a normal life, for all intents and purposes.”
That was easy for him to say. He wasn’t the one in a hospital bed, hooked up to machines and IV lines and having to confront
the harsh reality of her own mortality.
He did a quick exam, listening closely to her heart and her lungs, then two other younger medical professionals, whose name
tags also included the descriptors Resident and Medical Student, followed his lead and listened, as well.
After they left, June fought the ridiculous burn of tears. She had almost forgotten her erstwhile intern was still there until
the woman spoke from her chair in the corner.
“Ms. Connelly, is there someone else you would like me to call for you?”
She blinked rapidly. “No. I’m fine. You don’t have to stay, either. While I appreciate everything you’ve done, you’re under
no obligation to camp out here with me.”
“Does it bother you to have me here? I can go, if that is your preference. But I would like to stay, if you don’t mind.”
She didn’t quite know how to answer. It was more than a little mortifying to find out that despite everything she had achieved,
all her vaunted independence and how far she had come, she still felt like a small, frightened child here in a hospital bed,
surrounded by machines and strangers.
“Surely, you have something better to do.”
Alison raised an eyebrow. “Like what? I don’t have an internship. You let me go, remember?”
The casual way she said it made June wince a little. “I wondered if you remembered.”
To her surprise, the other woman smiled. “I can’t say I wasn’t expecting it. You should have done it a week ago. I’m grateful
for the second and third chances you gave me.”
“The fact that you apparently saved my life certainly doesn’t make you responsible for me. You don’t have to be nice to me
or stick around for hours in a hospital room.”
She sounded stuffy and ungrateful, she realized with a qualm. “As much as I appreciate it,” she added.
She knew some of those who worked with her at the company considered her remote and unapproachable and perhaps even arrogant.
She wasn’t, at all. June had just learned through hard experience to rely mostly on herself.
“I don’t feel any obligation toward you,” Alison insisted. “It didn’t seem right to leave you alone here. I wanted to be sure
you had someone in case you needed anything during the night. My mom spent a few weeks in the hospital before she died and
I remember her saying how much she hated waking up alone in a hospital bed. I don’t want to be intrusive, though. If you think
you’re okay, I’ll get out of your hair and let you rest.”
“I’m fine. Thank you again.”
“You’re welcome.” Alison suddenly looked young and uncertain again. “Would you mind if I came back later to check on you?”
She should tell her not to bother, but somehow the idea of someone being so concerned about her felt... comforting. She
didn’t feel quite as alone.
“No. I wouldn’t mind.”
“Great. I’ll be back this afternoon. Try to get some rest.”
She nodded. After Alison left, June closed her eyes and wondered how her carefully organized life had fallen so completely
off the rails.