I was shocked when I saw Clara and Jake Cooper in the courtroom with them, though. Both kids looked exhausted and beyond bored.
Seemingly reading my thoughts, Alison whispered, “Can you get much lower than that?”
Declan hushed her. “For the record, Kate, I would not have, nor will I ever suggest you bring Rosie to court.”
I thought of Rosie at home with her rehab nurse, Hazel. I couldn’t even express how glad I still was to have my little girl back with me—if not back to normal.
After all that time in the hospital, at least now she was in a familiar place surrounded by her own things, helping to make her feel more comfortable. My heart dropped ever so slightly when I thought of how much assistance she needed all the time now, and how everything was so much harder due to the fact that we couldn’t have our rented house retrofitted with the kind of features that would make things so much easier. For the first couple of months, because she couldn’t walk—the brain injury robbing her of so many of her physical faculties—she had to sleep downstairs. But wanting her to feel more normal, now I carried her up and, even though she tired easily, she was able to get around herself well enough on the ground floor using a wheelchair. Thankfully, all those long months of rehab had helped her regain some of her upper-body strength and thus the use of her arms, but her legs were still very weak.
On the plus side, she was also little by little becoming more responsive verbally. She worked her hardest to speak to me, even though I knew she couldn’t remember some words and had major problems with pronunciation—another direct result of the damage to her brain caused by the hypoxia.
But, despite it all, she was still my Rosie. She still loved to be hugged and kissed and, while I would do anything to take her frustration away, at least I was able to take some joy in the fact that she was OK.
What I didn’t take joy in was applying to the state for welfare assistance to help pay for some of her needs. Not that it covered much. But at least there wassomesupport, given that there was no question of my going back to work now. I had also been granted Carer’s Allowance, which made my unemployment status official and added a little more to our barely-above-water household income, albeit a pittance.
But now that our day in court was finally here, I was forced to consider the soaring cost of Declan’s legal fees, which, if we lost, would be completely insurmountable.
I couldn’t even contemplate that prospect now.
* * *
Declan flipped through his notes, took a glance at the defendants’ table to gauge their attention and listened as their barrister, Patrick Nevin, called Dr. Frank Barrett from Knockroe as the plaintiff’s first witness. He knew Kate had been dubious about someone other than he presenting the case in court, but that was how the Irish legal system worked. “The words might be coming out of someone else’s mouth but it’s still my case, still me and how I want to play it,” he assured her.
Now, recalling his first encounter with the Coopers’ GP many months ago, Declan figured him to be an individual who played by the book, no matter how damaging it might be for people he considered his friends.
“Dr. Barrett, thank you very much for being here today,” the barrister began graciously.
The older man nodded and Declan concluded that the Coopers’ GP wasn’t having the best of days. While he presented a gruff exterior, it was obvious that he was in the middle of a professional and personal conflict. Clearly fond of Madeleine and Tom Cooper and their children, he had nevertheless always been uneasy with their anti-vaccination stance.
And the discomfort that he was feeling right then was very visible.
“Dr. Barrett, how long have you been treating Tom and Madeleine Cooper’s children, Clara and Jake?” asked Patrick Nevin.
The older man answered, “Since they were born.”
“How did you originally meet the Coopers?”
The doctor folded his arms across his chest—a defensive posture. “I was Mrs. Cooper’s GP when she was a child, and remained friendly with her late parents.”
“So you have known the family for quite some time?”
“Yes,” said Dr. Barrett. Declan waited a beat to see if the man would add anything to that. Either the doctor was a man of few words or this wasn’t his first court appearance. He was guessing the latter was true.
“Did you encourage Tom and Madeleine Cooper to vaccinate Jake and Clara Cooper when they were babies?” The barrister looked up from his list of questions and met Dr. Barrett’s eyes. The physician didn’t physically blanch, but it was apparent the wheels were turning in his head. There was only the slightest pause.
“I did.”
“I see. And did they take your advice?” Nevin inquired. Of course, he already knew the answer, but still he had to ask.
“No, they did not.”
The barrister nodded. “I see. And did you treat Clara Cooper in March of last year when she became ill with measles?”
Another nod from Dr. Barrett. “Yes, I did.”
“Can you tell us about your experience treating Clara?”
Dr. Barrett remained quiet, he looked at the floor, pondering the question. Finally, he returned his eyes to meet the barrister’s and answered.
