The Ballad of Katie: Somewhere Under Heaven Series

Searching for a Miracle

Casey's POV

Three months and a splenectomy later,  Dr. Macy calls us with the news that we were dreading: Katie's going to need a bone marrow transplant. We get Katie on the registry waiting list as a precaution but we start getting everyone we could tested.

Ashton is the first to get tested. Dr. Macy told us siblings sometimes have a better chance to be matched and if Ashton's the match, he might be the best one to use since he's younger. Sadly he was only a 30% match for his sister. Next one to get tested was Shane who was found to be a less than 10% match. I ask the Dr. Macy about me and she says it may be risky since I had a back injury in a car accident when Katie was six but I tell her it's a risk worth taking. She has me tested and even though I'm about an 98% match, several doctors that she consulted with said it's too much of a risk.

Then Shane gets Nina to get tested who is not a match. Katie's friends all get tested even though they would need parental consent to donate. Mila and Byron Kane are the first in the circle and they're not a match and Jaxon, who we occasionally foster would also get tested but he was about a 6% match. 

Dad and Uncle Colin called in some favors as did Shane and contacted old co-workers and anyone else they could think of but there was no luck with finding a match. We also couldn't get Dad and Uncle Colin to get tested because Dr. Macy thought their age would be a problem plus Dad had a back injury after his car accident a couple years back. 

We're running out of options and I hate it. One night after dinner, I tell Rob it's time to throw in what they call in American football a Hail Mary Pass.

"A what," he says to me.

"A Hail Mary pass. In American football it's a pass that is done out of desperation on the part of a team that is trailing as a desperate attempt to come back. They named it after the Catholic prayer, you know." 

"I see. So what's our 'Hail Mary pass,' Coach," he jokes.

I laugh for a second and say, "We're going to have to make a call to London." 

"London?"

"We have to call Victoria and Lizzy and have them get tested. It's going to be a long shot since Shane's percentage of matching was slim but we are running out of options."

"You know I'm talking with Dr. Macy about getting the test redone. Also, we haven't heard from Jalen or Eric."

"And what if it doesn't work," I say to him in a tone that almost sounds like I'm getting annoyed. "What if you get tested and you're nowhere near that 90-100% that Dr. Macy really wants? I know she said that she'll go with 70-80% but that's going to be a last ditch effort!" I then look him in the eye and spell it out: "I don't think I can go through losing another child like this."

He picks up on it and sees I'm getting anxious because he remembers the hell I went through when Loralei was born after we moved back to New Jersey. I'm shaking and crying and thankfully he knows that this whole thing with Katie is giving me flashbacks so he goes easy on me all the time.

"Casey, please calm down, love," he says to me. "I don't want to have to bury Katie either. Truth is when she came into my world, I felt like my world changed. I also know how hurt we both were when we lost Loralei. If you think this is what we need to do, let's get a hold of my sisters and see what we can do." 

We realize that it's 11PM in London and I look on FaceTime on my MacBook to see that Lizzy is still awake. I first send her an iMessage saying that we need to talk to her and Victoria. We arrange the video call and tell them both the situation.

"We're coming up with nothing," I tell them. "My dad and uncle can't donate on account of them being older, my brother is about a 10% match and his kids aren't even a match nor is his wife. Ashton is not a suitable match and if I were to donate, it would be risky on account of the injuries from the car accident when Katie was six."