“Don’t argue with her.” Chris grinned as he handed her a glass of wine. “She’s been talking and planning this ever since Christopher called and said he had the tickets for the gallery opening. That’s why we’ve been staying here instead of at a hotel.” He grinned, and they all looked up as Christopher, Douglas, Sean, and Trish joined them.
Introductions were made, and Christopher went immediately to Wanda and sat down beside her after he kissed her on the lips, then her temple. Once everyone was settled Wanda looked around.
“Okay, please forgive my language kids, but what the hell happened last night. It’s all fuzzy to me.”
“Before we get into that.” Douglas looked at his sister and then grinned. “What the hell made you decide to do what you did?”
Wanda giggled. “From my point of view, once I was down, I saw Sean and Trish off to the side, where Trish was trying to stop the bleeding. You and Christopher were standing like he-man with your legs spread, but solid like you were getting ready to pounce. I saw Amy pacing back and forth. She was wobbling on her heels. I remembered the pearl necklace I bought earlier that day at a thrift store. I broke it and gathered the pearls. I thought if she was wobbling on smooth floors, what if she walked on marbles? I waited until she was pacing away from us and threw the pebbles.”
“And I thank you. That gave us the opportunity to take her down. But to answer your question, after spending most of the night at the police station I can answer now. Remember when you got sick with your kidney problem?”
Wanda nodded and looked around and saw that Gypsy and Trish, along with Sean and Christopher were very intent on the conversation. Along with the elder Evans, everyone else had lived through it. “Yes.”
“You were sick, admitted to the hospital and put on dialysis immediately. At first, it seemed like it was going to work. But then it didn’t, and you took a turn for the worse. When they put your name on the donor list, because of the severity of your illness, you were put to the top of the list.”
“So, that meant that I’d get the first kidney available? If it matched me?”
“Yes. But that also meant everyone else already on the list was bumped down. Emily’s sister was near the top of the list and was bumped down. You got your kidney, got better, left the hospital and got on with your life. I know a lot of times you’d get so frustrated with Mom, Dad, Fern, and I when we would constantly ask you if you’d taken your medication. And remember about a year afterward when you were so mad you threatened to stop taking them?”
“Yes, because I gained the weight. No matter what I did, I couldn’t lose it. But after talking to the doctor and realizing what the alternative was, I knuckled down and took them.”
“What alternatives?” Trish frowned.
“Death.” Several people said at once.
“Oh my,” Trish said, and brought her hand to her throat.
“See, I was always skinny growing up, but after I had that kidney transplant, and started taking the medication, I went up to a size fourteen. I didn’t think I was fat, but I wasn’t used to being that size. I had to buy all new clothes and everything. I only gained about fifty pounds, but still, for someone who was always a size six, it was a shock. After not taking my meds for two days straight, Mom and Dad literally dragged me to the doctor’s office and told him to talk to me.
“The way he explained it was that yes, I had a new working kidney. However, even though it was working and it was a match, it wasn’t an original part. That if I didn’t take the meds, then my own original body would see the new kidney as a foreign body and attack it to try to get rid of it. Like the body does when it has a cold, or a cut. The white blood cells kick in, and attackthe affected area. The meds help my original body recognize the new organ as mine. And if I didn’t take the meds, then my body would attack it. After that talk, I embraced my new size and didn’t think about it again. I’d been through enough in my life. What were fifty extra pounds versus the alternative.”
“And you’ve never had a setback since,” Angie said, and wiped her tears.
“Nope.”
“Okay, with that in mind, Emily’s sister was finally able to get a kidney, after you got yours, she was moved back to the top of the list. She had to wait for about four months, but she got one. She was older and was married and had three children. After her surgery, she got better, left the hospital and began taking her meds.” Douglas looked over at Trish and said, “I did a lot of research when we found out Wanda needed a new organ. Every organ transplant recipient always gained some weight from the meds. It’s a side effect. But every recipient has to deal with that. You don’t get to pick and choose if that makes sense.”
“It does. So, Amy’s sister got her organ, got better, taking the meds, and she ended up gaining weight. I'm not morbid, but when you’re sick in the hospital on dialysis, I’m guessing you lose weight?”
“Yes,” Wanda said and gripped Christopher’s hand. “I can’t say this about anyone else but me, but in my case, I lost a lot when I was sick like that. Like sixty pounds. I was nothing but skin and bones, and yellow. After the transplant, I gained back the sixty then the additional fifty. I’ve known some who gained an additional hundred or more.”
“Right.” Douglas sighed. “But Emily’s sister did the same when she refused to lose the weight when her husband started harassing her, he left her. No matter how much the doctors talked to him, he didn’t believe it. After he left and took the kids away, she stopped taking the meds. It took about eight months before she was back in the hospital on dialysis.” Douglas shook his head sadly. “Let me point out that less than five percent of people with kidney failure are in the hospital using dialysis. There are people out there that live a normal life, and only go to dialysis three times a week. You are severely ill when you’re admitted to the hospital for treatment.”
“Did she go back on the donor list?” Christine asked.
“No. Because she willingly stopped the meds that were one of the no-nos about getting an organ. She willingly caused her body to reject the perfectly good kidney. Because of that, then she didn’t meet the criteria to go back on the list.” Douglas nodded, then shook his head. “Believe you me, there is a lot entailed to get on the list. Tests after tests, doctor after doctor. Every part of Wanda’s body was poked, prodded, and examined. It’s not a pretty sight.”
“Is that like if someone smokes and needs a transplant but refuses to quick smoking or drinking, they don’t go on the list?” Gypsy asked.
“Yes, because she stopped the meds to lose the weight to get her husband back, she got sick again and ended up dying.”
“I still don’t understand.” Wanda frowned. “Why is that my fault?”
“It’s not,” Brandon said. He pulled a small notepad from his pocket. “When Douglas was in with the locals questioning the suspect.” He coughed and grinned. “Sorry, but when he was there, I worked with some other locals to do a background check on her story. It appears that when Wanda was in the hospital waiting for a transplant, her first transplant, Emily’s sister was in the same hospital. However, due to being under the age of twenty-one Wanda was in the children’s ward while, Amy, Emily’s sister was in another part of the hospital.”
“Wait, Daddy,” Sarah spoke up. “What is the right name for this woman?”
Brandon sighed. “The woman in custody is Amy Brown that is her legal name. But when she was dating Uncle Douglas, she used her sister’s name of Emily. After our research, we found out that Amy knew about Wanda getting that first kidney. She was at the hospital when Wanda was in surgery.”
