Chapter 3 #2
I chuckled. “No, he’s a good kid.”
Dr. Hill grinned as he flipped a page. “Well, it looks like your weight’s holding steady, buddy. That’s good.”
Then his eyes darted between me and Kyrin.
“Breathing any better lately?” he included.
“Yup!” Kyrin answered before I could. “I played 2K all weekend and didn’t even cough.”
Dr. Hill chuckled, the sound light even though his eyes stayed thoughtful.
“I like to hear that. Alright, buddy, let’s take a listen.”
He slipped the stethoscope into his ears and leaned forward.
The cold metal touched Kyrin’s chest, traveling from his back to his side, pausing every few seconds.
Dr. Hill nodded to himself once or twice, but the slight furrow in his brow didn’t go unnoticed.
When he finally straightened up, he removed the earpieces and let the stethoscope rest around his neck.
“Well,” he said calmly, offering Kyrin a reassuring smile, “you’re still one of my toughest patients.”
Kyrin puffed his chest out a little at that.
“But listen, I’m going to borrow your sister for a minute. You stay right here and work on that comic book.”
Kyrin nodded. Meanwhile, I was nervous. Anytime he wanted to step away from Kyrin to talk, it usually meant the conversation was about to get real.
We stepped into the hallway, leaving the door cracked so Kyrin could still see us.
Dr. Hill’s voice lowered. Ajori, I’m going to level with you. On paper, Kyrin’s stable. He’s not in crisis, which is good, but that also means he’s low priority on the transplant list.”
I crossed my arms. “How low?”
“Right now, he’s probably looking at six months minimum… maybe a year or more.”
I swallowed hard. “He probably doesn’t have a year.”
Dr. Hill sighed. “That’s what I’m worried about. With a heart like his, all it takes is one bad infection, one complication, and he could go downhill fast. And once that happens, it’s harder to keep him strong enough for surgery.”
“Well, surely there are some alternatives.”
“Of course. If we stay with Medicaid, the surgery itself is covered—every penny—but then we’re at the mercy of the national donor list. There’s no shortcuts…
no jumping the line. No matter how much I push, he’ll only move up if someone sicker ahead of him recovers or…
doesn’t make it. If I’m being totally honest, waiting on the list is like waiting for lightning to strike in your backyard. ”
“Okay. So what is the actual alternative?” I asked, almost irritated, waiting for him to get to the real point.
He hesitated, glancing toward the room before looking me dead in the eye.
“We could go private. I know people at hospitals who have access to different donor networks here and overseas. They move faster, but the catch is you’d have to pay out of pocket.
Medicaid won’t cover a dime because it’s outside the approved network. ”
“How much ‘out of pocket’ are we talking?”
“Average pediatric heart transplant in the U.S. runs over a million dollars.”
“A million dollars?!” I shrilled, causing a few nurses at the desk to glance our way.
“Sometimes more,” he confirmed, in a hushed tone.
I shook my head slowly. “Dr. Hill, you know I don’t have that kind of money.”
He exhaled, almost in pity. “I know. Now I might be able to pull some strings through colleagues, bypass some of the hospital bureaucracy, and cut that down drastically. I can’t erase the cost completely, but I could make it… less impossible.”
“How much less impossible?”
“Best-case scenario? You’ll still be looking at around two hundred thousand… maybe one-seventy-five if everything aligns.”
I scoffed. “That’s your discount?”
He gave a faint, apologetic smile. “The surgery isn’t cheap, Ajori. But that number would include the pre-transplant testing, the surgery itself, recovery, and his first year of anti-rejection medication.”
“What about the risks?”
“The risks are the same whichever route you choose. There could still be rejection, complications, or even follow-up procedures. But Kyrin is young and otherwise healthy, and that works in his favor. His chances would be strong. The biggest risk is financial. Once you start this process privately, there’s no going back to the Medicaid list. You’ll be committing to that path.
And if you can’t finish paying, there’s no surgery. ”
I stared at him for a long moment. “Is this alternative even legal?”
“Risky? Absolutely. But legal? Yes.”
“So say I can’t come up with the money. What then?” I was almost afraid to ask.
His expression softened. “Then we keep waiting. Ajori, you’ve been doing everything right. Just continue to keep him healthy and stable. Still, think about the alternative. I don’t want to see you lose him because the system moves too slow.”
My voice was low. “Then tell me how to speed it up without selling my soul, because two hundred thousand might as well be a million for me right now.”
“I don’t have that answer, but I do know this… desperate situations make people consider desperate options. Just please don’t go full John Q on me,” he added with a small chuckle, trying to lighten the moment.
Then his tone turned serious again.
“Seriously, Ajori, whatever you do, think it through. Don’t let panic make decisions for you.
You’re smart. You’ve kept your brother alive this long through sheer determination; that tells me you’re capable of finding a way.
And if you do, I promise I’ll do everything in my power to make sure Kyrin is ready when the time comes.
For now, I’ll keep working the numbers, making calls, and seeing what doors might open. ”
From the room, Kyrin called out, “Jo, can we get smoothies after this?”
I turned, forcing a smile for him. “Yeah, sport. We can get smoothies.”
But inside, all I could hear was that number.
Two hundred thousand? Where the hell would I come up with that amount of money in such short time?