Sharing Corrie

Chapter Nineteen

"Good evening," the doctor said, offering a shallow bow to Corrie, Hannah, and Jack. "I'm Doctor Howard."

Corrie introduced herself, "I'm Corrie Walker, Christina's sister. How is she? Have you any news?"
The doctor had just returned from examining Christina in the small bedroom they'd set aside for her. Much like Dr. Benjamin, the Howards had their medical practice attached to their brick home. Corrie, Hannah, and Jack had anxiously awaited news of their charge while the two doctors examined her. Dr. Howard, a man of average height with dark hair, adjusted the glasses on his narrow nose. While his wife was petite and plump, he was gawky and prim.

"May I speak with you in private, Miss Walker?" he asked, gesturing to a private room nearby.

Corrie felt her heart sink to her toes as she wordlessly followed the man into the office. Dr. Benjamin came after her and closed the door behind them. Corrie squeezed her hands together, fingernails digging into her palms. Both doctors faced her, and Corrie risked a glance at Dr. Benjamin. While Dr. Howard merely appeared grave and serious, Dr. Benjamin looked worried and his hair was ruffled from raking his hands through it too many times. Corrie felt a dark flutter of anxiety.

"What's going on?" she asked, her voice wavering.

"Alexander was right to bring her to me," Dr. Howard started. "While the fever, coughing, and throat congestion are of concern, I'm more worried about her growing weakness. I fear she's succumbing to the disease." Corrie fought a wave of dizziness that came with his words. "To be honest with you, Miss Walker, I'm amazed she has survived this long and that you and your family have not been infected. I strongly suggest to both you and Alexander that you undertake stricter sanitization methods. Pneumonia is both infectious and potentially fatal," he added, and Corrie watched Dr. Benjamin cowher under his critique.

"Is there anything we can do?" Corrie asked, straightening her back. "Is there hope?"

Dr. Howard sighed. "The fact that she's made it this long gives me hope if nothing else. Her leg has healed though I'm afraid she might not be able to use it again. At this point, there's not much else you can do. Salt air might help with the problems in her breathing, so you could take her to the ocean, but that's not going to cure her."

Corrie pressed her hand to her mouth and summoned her composure. "There's nothing we can do?"

Dr. Howard traded a glance with Dr. Benjamin. "There is an experimental procedure that has proven to support patients' immune systems so they can fight against the disease. It's an antiserum given to the patient via a transfusion which can be quite risky. It's not yet proven, but it does seem to reduce fatalities from pneumonia. Unfortunately, as I mentioned, it's experimental, and thus I can't promise the results. It's also quite costly, and-"

"We have to try," Corrie exclaimed, grasping the hope he offered fervently. "If there's a chance it could save her life. I'll call my parents and get the money somehow."

Again the two doctors traded a glance and Corrie fought her impatience. Why are they standing about instead of treating her?

"Miss Walker, there is no promise that the antiserum treatment will save her life. I have to stress that it's untested; it could make her worse instead of better," Dr. Howard said, his expression inscrutable.

Both doctors looked at her, and Corrie wondered how the weight of such an important decision had come to rest on her shoulders. Corrie was only four years older than her sister, and yet she was the one deciding her fate.

"Are there...what is the success rate in the past?" Corrie asked, her voice low.

"It's hard to tell. Most patients showed a little improvement, but new treatments always come with risks," Dr. Howard explained.