EXISTENCE

Continued from Part IV

[BING]

Dr. Davin Lundquist is waiting on Video 1.

[BING]

Victor has just arrived.

"Good morning, Dr. Lundquist. My husband is also on the call."

"Good morning, Mrs. Grey. How are you doing?"

"This morning was a little rough, but I'm doing okay."

"Good, good... I have reviewed your films and would like to go over them with you and Mr. Grey. I have enabled the Holo so that you can see what I am seeing."

"Okay." Anna looked up to see an exact replica of herself standing in the middle of the room.

"We will start with your organs." The body became translucent allowing everyone to see her insides. "You will be pleased to know that your liver, spleen, and kidneys have recovered nicely. We need to keep an eye on your heart as you seem to be experiencing some arrhythmia... muscle tissue... strengthening exercises... possible grafts... no residual brain damage."

Dr. Lunquist's voice echoed out across the room the myriad of issues. The same issues came up during every appointment causing Anna to tune out or only half listen. A new dimension to her personality.

"Lastly, I have taken a really close look at the damage to your spine. It appears that your spinal injury has progressed. Or rather, the healing has stopped and we are beginning to see deterioration. The main injury used to be isolated to L4 and L5, however, S1 has been affected." Anna stared at the skeleton in the middle of the room.

"If you look at the hologram, you will see that L4-5 has a circumferential disc bulge. Severe ligamentum flavum thickening and degenerative facet arthropathy. Severe spinal canal stenosis. Mild left neural foraminal narrowing." None of this would have meant anything to her except for her medical training. She knew how serious the injuries to her spine were. She could lose her ability to walk. Dr. Lundquist continued:

"L5-S1: Circumferential disc bulge asymmetric to the right. Mild degenerative facet arthropathy. No spinal canal stenosis. Minimal right neural foraminal narrowing." Dr. Lundquist paused for a moment to be sure that Anna understood the condition of her back. Anna meekly smiled and Dr. Lundquist added:

"I recommend an epidural and home exercise prior to surgery. If you haven't yet, you may begin to experience some nerve pain."

Anna nodded but didn't answer. When she was laying in bed that morning she had pain all over. However, she had new pain. It was like a line of fire traveling from her hip down her leg with the most intense heat on the left side of her foot. She had also experienced an icy fire centered at her core that radiated out, filling her torso.

"Dr. Lundquist, if Anna has been isolated in an anti-gravity pod every night and stays at home, how is it that she is not healing?"

"Mr. Grey, there might be some other issues that are preventing her spine from healing. It could be that the healing nanites need to be replaced." Addressing Anna: "In order to heal broken bones or teeth, nanites have to take the calcium from your existing bones. So we may need to make some changes to your diet. We should increase your intake of foods rich in calcium. Your healing nanites are currently set to twilight - which means they are only working when you are in the pod. We may need to set the nanites to auto. This would allow them to work while you are awake and while you are asleep. They would be active all the time. We may need to do some screenings, tests, and scans before we make this adjustment. That is, if you feel up to it, Anna."

"Davin, I don't know what I want anymore." Anna stared down at the floor and began to cry. It seemed as though the price she had to pay was greater than she could bear. Her mind returned to the past and the events that led her to this moment.

July 16 (nine and a half months earlier)

Anna sat next to her father's bed as he lay sleeping. She had been warned by her sister, LeAnn, that he was really tired and that he should be left alone. She didn't care. She was the oldest and she needed to spend time with her dad, whether he was asleep or not. Besides, the whole entire family had gathered to celebrate his 79th birthday and each of her siblings had spent countless hours by his side before she arrived. Of all his children, she should have been given priority. She lived over 1000 miles away and it took her an entire day to travel to her parent's home. Everyone else lived locally.

Her father slowly opened his eyes and smiled at Anna and then placed his hand in hers. She knew, at that moment, that he wanted her there. The cancer that ravaged his body had taken away his voice and he could only express himself through his eyes and gestures. Anna's heart was breaking and she longed to hear his voice. The voice that read her bedtime stories when she was little. The voice that sang songs. The voice that instructed. The voice that soothed any pain.

Looking down at their hands, she remembered all the times that he had picked her up and carried her to bed. She remembered working on cars with him. And she remembered weeding the garden with him every summer.

She held back the tears and smiled back at him. This memory was the most important to her because she knew that he loved her and without words, they said their goodbyes. But she wasn't ready to say goodbye. She wanted more time. She had so much she wanted to share with him. That night, after the birthday celebration, Anna expressed to Victor that she needed to return as soon as possible. Victor agreed and said that he would help her get back.

She did return. She didn't get to say goodbye. She was forbidden to see her father. Her siblings told her that she was not wanted. They said horrible things to her. She cried for a whole day and then she drove home without ever seeing her father one last time.

PART VI