The Spirit Survives (39 page)

“Let’s try to get come food in you first,” I said. “Try to eat some for me, and then we can talk.” I put some of the eggs on a spoon and put it to her mouth. She opened her mouth and took it, chewing slowly. It seemed to be a hard task, but she ate most of the eggs, half the cereal and one piece of toast. I moved the bed tray, helped her to the bathroom and then assisted her back into the bed.

When she was settled, she asked, “What happened to you?”

For the next while, I related to her as briefly as I could summarize it, about seeing Bo Lopez kill the girl, the tornado, Cherokee Alverez chasing me, only for both of us to be trapped in the cave. I told her about the snake, the wolf and the rats and how I was miraculously rescued by Rex Herns. I left out the part about my father saving my life and dying. She listened intently as I told her about looking for her in Chicago and then in Houston with the help of Rex Herns and Gerry Stewart. She held my hand firmly during the whole thing. Finally, I said, “That’s it. I can fill you in on the details later. The main thing is that I found you and you’re going to be okay.”
 

I could tell that she was getting very tired. “Why don’t you try to rest for a while? I’ll go to the cafeteria for some breakfast and when you’re rested you can tell me what happened to you.” She nodded and was asleep before I was out of the room.
 

I took the elevator down to the lower level to the cafeteria. I walked through the line and was surprised to see that they had S.O.S., which is chipped beef in a white sauce put over toast. I purchased a plate of that, a pint of fat free milk and went to a table to enjoy my celebration breakfast. I added hot sauce to the S.O.S. and ate every bite of it. The cold fresh milk complimented my feast well. For the first time in weeks, I felt good.
 

After finishing my meal, I took out my cell phone and called Gerry. I related to him that Leah was awake and a little later she was going to tell me what happened to her. He had nothing new on his side as the Russians were not talking. They had already been supplied with lawyers and were stonewalling. We hung up. I went to the lobby, got a newspaper from the stand outside the door and returned to Leah’s room. She was sleeping soundly and Nurse O’Brian was just leaving the room when I arrived. “All her vital signs are excellent,” she reported.

I sat in the chair beside the bed and read the newspaper.
 

About two hours passed and I had dozed off when I heard Leah saying, “Wake up sleepyhead.” She was smiling at me when I awoke. I gave her another cup of water.

“I want to tell you what happened to me,” she said. Her face got somber. “Some of it is going to be hard for me to tell you, but I must get it off my chest.”

“Are you sure you feel up to it,” I asked.

“I need to tell you,” she replied. She rubbed her eyes and began.
 

She told her story in halting sentences. When she finished, Leah started sobbing again. I got up and hugged her until she stopped crying.
 

“Leah, everyone who hurt you will pay the price,” I said. “That’s a promise.”

“I don’t want you taking any chances, Ben,” she said. “I just want to be with you and love you now.”
 

I concealed my rage from her. After she calmed down and went back to sleep, I went outside of the hospital and just walked. She had told me that Sergey had raped her and that Cheche had beaten and drugged her. When my head cleared, I proclaimed to God or, whoever or whatever was within the sound of my voice, “I swear that every sob that hurt her will pay, especially Sergey and Cheche.”
 

After about thirty minutes, I went back to Leah’s room. She was still sleeping and I rested in the chair beside the bed, just looking at my beautiful broken angel. I closed my eyes for a second and dozed off. I don’t know how long I was out, but I was awakened by terrible screams. I opened my eyes and Leah was thrashing on the bed shrieking at the top of her lungs. I grabbed her hand and tried to hold her, but she pushed me away and kept screaming.
 

Nurse O’Brian raced into the room. “What’s going on?” she shouted with the screams almost drowning her out.

“I don’t know she just woke up screaming!” I yelled back.
 

Two orderlies came running into the room. “Get the Doctor in here!” Nurse O’Brian commanded as she tried to hold Leah’s shoulders down.
 

Leah was thrashing all over the bed and her left hand struck the nurse in the face. One of the orderlies had gone out to find a doctor and the other rushed in to assist the nurse.
 

I attempted to help, but the orderly told me to get out of the room, so they could do their job. A young man in a white coat brushed past me as I was leaving the room. He was tall with blond hair and had a stethoscope around his neck. I heard Nurse O’Brian say, “Thank goodness you’re here Doctor. She’s having a panic attack, I think!”

Dr. Jackson hurried to the bedside, took Leah’s arm from the orderly and said, “Bensodiazepine. We need to give her an injection before she hurts herself.”

I felt powerless as the doctor and the nurse tried unsuccessfully to calm Leah down. Within moments, the orderly returned with the drug. He and the nurse held Leah down and the doctor gave her the injection. Less than two minutes later she lay calmly on the bed, eyes glazed. The doctor told Nurse O’Brian to start her on Klonopin in two hours, and that he would update Dr. Batka on the incident.

When he came out of the room, I approached him. “I’m Ben Harris. Leah is my fiancée. What just happened? She seemed okay earlier.”

He extended his hand. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Harris, I’m Dr Lowell Jackson. I’m on emergency room duty now. I’ll report this to Dr. Batka, and I’m sure that he’ll advise you given that your fiancée is his patient. It’s evident to me that the lady is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. PTSD sufferers re-experience the traumatic event in some way and a panic attack occurs. I injected a sedative and we’ll start her on Klupophin to keep her calm until further treatment can be determined.”

I rubbed my eyes and sat down in the closest chair.
 

“Are you okay?” Dr. Jackson seemed concerned.

“I’ll be fine,” I answered.

“Listen Mr. Harris, I have other patients to attend to, but I asked Nurse O’Brian to call Dr. Batka and ask him to come to the hospital. He’ll give you more specific information when he gets here. Just sit out here until he arrives.”

He walked away and as I got up from the chair and turned around, the nurse came out of Leah’s room.

“She’s resting comfortably now,” she said. “Dr. Batka should be here within an hour. Can I get you anything? You’re white as a sheet.”

“No, I’ll just wait here for the doctor,” I said.

There was only one other person in the waiting area, a grey-haired man, probably in his sixties wearing a T-shirt reading, “Texas ain’t no place for amateurs.” He was intently watching the TV mounted on the wall. The T-shirt gave me a little smile since I had seen it one time before.
 

I heard the ding of the elevator and glanced in that direction. Getting off the elevator was Dr. Batka and a lady in her thirties wearing a dark blue business suit. Her black hair was pulled back in a bun, and it was impossible not to notice her large powder blue eyes.
 

Dr. Batka saw me and acknowledged me with a smile. I got up and as they approached. “Mr. Harris, I want you to meet Dr. Mia Giovanni. She’s a psychiatrist, who is very experienced in treating post-traumatic stress and panic attacks. Dr Jackson briefed me on the incident with Ms. Hamilton and I agree with his prognosis that it was a panic attack brought on by her being beaten and raped.”

I shook Dr. Giovanni’s hand. “I’m Ben Harris, nice to meet you.”
 

She had a firm handshake and looked straight into my eyes. “Mr. Harris, I can tell you are very upset and you need to get some rest, otherwise you may need treatment also.”

“I just need to know about Leah,” I said.

She nodded. “I’ve studied Ms. Hamilton’s chart, and although I must interview her to be certain, it appears to me that she suffers from a panic disorder. The mental anguish and physical pain she suffered during her captivity left a negative impression in her mind. This panic disorder is compromised of very intense panic attacks for short durations. The person feels as if they are going to faint and even die. Symptoms may include chest pains, heart palpitations, hot and cold flashes, feelings of unreality, dizziness or faintness. Another major feature of panic disorder is that the person cannot identify the specific reasons for the attack. It feels as if it comes out of nowhere, which makes it even more terrifying to those experiencing them. You may call it post-traumatic stress disorder, or panic disorder or simply panic attacks. It all stems from the same mindset. I’ll return and speak with her when the medication wears off. I wanted to meet you to get permission to proceed, since you are the party responsible for her. I checked the hospital records and a copy of the power of attorney is not there. I understand that you just brought her in, but you need to bring a copy of the document tomorrow. Is that clear?”

“Doctor the document is in our files at our temporary quarters at the hotel. I’ll bring it first thing in the morning.”
 

“Okay,” she said. “If you agree for me to work on this case, you must sign some papers at the admission’s office.”

I listened intently to her, “Of course you have my permission, and I’ll sign the papers, but how can I help? I want her to know I’m here for her.”

“In most cases the patient will have to stay in a rehab center for at least two weeks. She probably will need intense therapy. Dr Batka has informed me that physically she’s fine, but of course mentally she is not. Just let me spend some time with her in the morning, and I can be more specific with you then on my recommendations.”

“May I stay with her tonight?” I asked.

“Sir, that’s not a good idea. Unfortunately, you will probably remind her of the traumatic experience and probably of her shame and humiliation of being raped. It’s common that being with loved ones can bring on another attack.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. However, I decided to follow whatever advice would help Leah.

“You need to go home, get some rest and meet me back here tomorrow morning at eleven. I’ll be here at nine to talk to Leah and, depending on her responses to me, I’ll determine what my specific recommendations will be.” The entire time she was talking, she was looking straight into my eyes, hardly blinking.
 

I thought for a moment and decided that I had no choice but to follow her advice to go get some rest. I looked at Dr. Batka. “If anything else happens tonight, I mean anything, you have the nurse call me, and I’ll be here immediately.” I wrote my cell number on a scrap of paper and handed it to him. He agreed and I turned and left the fourth floor as both doctors were entering Leah’s room.

I went to admissions and signed the forms to allow Dr. Giovanni to treat Leah. I told the lady behind the desk that I would provide the power of attorney papers first thing in the morning. She said that she understood and kindly consented to call a cab for me. I had the taxi driver stop by the Residence Inn where I picked up the document.
During the taxi ride back to the hotel, I was trying to process all the things that had happened for the last two days. I was so tired that my body was rebelling against my attempts to solve problems and make decisions. I paid the taxi driver and went straight to my room. The first thing I did when I got to the room was to fill a glass with ice and Jack Daniels. I rested on the couch and sipped the drink. I placed my feet up on the couch, turned on the TV with the remote, and took a long pull from the glass of bourbon. I set the glass on the coffee table and closed my eyes for a moment. I was out like a light.
 

I was back in the cave and the wolf was licking my hand, as I rubbed his head. The snake was in front of us, consuming a huge rat and the rat’s eyes were bulging while the venom rendered him motionless. Then the dream skipped to a meadow where Leah and I were sitting on a blanket having a picnic. The wolf lay on the corner of the blanket sleeping. I looked at the cloudless sky and felt the cool breeze against my skin when I heard a scream. I looked at Leah and half of her leg was in the snake’s mouth. He was swallowing her. I tried to move to pull him off but my body wouldn’t respond. I was frozen in place while he swallowed her whole. I tried to yell repeatedly and finally got out a grunt.
 

The grunt was more of a shout and that awoke me from the nightmare. I sat up on the couch and wiped the cold sweat from my head. “Oh God!” I repeated several times. I got up from the couch, went to the coffee maker, put in grounds and water and turned it on. I glanced at my watch—7:00 a.m.

I went to the bathroom, undressed and turned on the shower as hot as I could stand. I stood under the steaming water for ten minutes, washed myself, got out and dried with a towel. I wrapped the towel around my waist and moved back to the kitchen and poured a cup of hot black coffee. After one cup, I prepared a couple of slices of toast, ate them with another cup of coffee. I wasn’t hungry but I needed something to settle my stomach. After a third cup of coffee, I got dressed in fresh jeans and a polo shirt. By eight o’clock I was in my rental car heading to the hospital. “How Do You Mend a Broken Heart” by the Bee Gees was playing on the radio.
Go figure.