The Solar Wind (26 page)

Tuesday night into Wednesday was rough for Ava. She could not make herself comfortable. Her temperature had not changed, however she started having achiness in her joints and a headache. After a night of intermittent sleep, she woke up late, showered, took her medication, and made it to her appointment with Dr. Tom.

“Heard you were feeling ill Ava. How do you feel today?” Dr. Tom inquired as he entered the exam room with his nurse, both of them wearing masks.

“I think I’m getting worse.”

“Your temperature and heart rate are elevated. Blood pressure is still normal. Respirations normal. Are you having any other symptoms?”

“I’m sweating during the night and my joints ache terribly. I’m still feeling dizzy and weak. I started taking the antiviral meds yesterday and I’ve been taking aspirin to reduce the fever.”

“I see.” Dr. Tom examined Ava carefully. “You look worn out and pale. Ava, I don’t think we should take any chances with you given your exposure to the new virus last week. I think we should admit you as I understand you do not have anyone at home to keep an eye on you.”

“Admit me to the hospital unit?”

“Yes, I think that would be prudent.”

“You think it’s that serious?”

“I do think it’s that serious. I’d like to run some tests on you.”

“Dr. Tom, do you know what happened to the patient I saw last week that became ill and was admitted? I know that you were on the case.”

“Yes Ava. Unfortunately we could not stabilize him and he expired yesterday.”

“Oh no.” Ava looked at the floor, still feeling dizzy.

“I’ll have Amy,” Dr. Tom gestured to his nurse, “get started on your admission orders to the hospital unit. He put a hand on her shoulder. You can stay here until they get your room ready. The nurses can wheel you down there and I’ll come and check on you once my clinic is over in about an hour.”

“Thank you Dr. Tom. Can I use the computer in here to send a message while I am waiting?”

“Certainly.”

“Thank you.”

Ava didn’t know what to think to do other than send Wesley another message in the queue. One thing was certain, she was sick, and getting worse. She did not want to expose Wesley and the crew more than she already had. She worried about them, hoping that they had not become ill from spending time with her this past weekend. She wrote to Wesley about her condition and that she was being admitted and to stay away and that she would leave a message when she started to feel better. If she would feel better, she wondered. She also sent Elaine a brief message, notifying her of her condition. She tried to sound positive despite the fact that her patient’s death frightened her.

A few hours later Ava was resting in her small private hospital unit room. Dr. Tom had ordered several blood tests, a urine test, chest imaging, and placed her on respiratory droplet precautions. This meant that everyone entering the room must wear gloves and a mask. A nurse had started an intravenous drip to provide fluid support as Ava had lost her appetite. As the night approached, her temperature slowly increased and she began to feel worse and worse. How ironic, Ava thought with her face unconsciously set in a bitter frown. I might die from possibly the same virus that killed Nathan.  Tears welled up in her eyes as she remembered her late husband. Ava still regretted not being able to say good bye to him before he died. She knew it wasn’t her fault. She suddenly began to worry about Wesley. What if she died suddenly and she could not say good bye to him? No, I must think positively, I’m going to make it through this, she silently told herself. No matter how hard she tried to push these dark thoughts from her mind, they kept creeping back, little by little, until she finally fell asleep.

Ava remained stable on Thursday morning. It took her a long time to take her sponge bath in her weakened condition. Dr. Tom came in with Ava’s nurse in the late afternoon.

“How are you feeling today Ava?”

“I’m a little worse, I think.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, you look very pale.” He lifted the electronic tablet and reviewed her vital signs, noting the elevation in temperature, now 100.6 degrees.

“What did my tests show?”

“Your complete blood count indicates that you have a viral infection, as we suspected. Your urine test indicated that there is a trace amount of protein present.”

“Protein in my urine? I’ve never had that before.”

“Ava, I’m going to be honest with you. This virus is very serious. The patient’s we have treated so far have gone into renal failure and we’ve had difficulty stabilizing them. The protein in your urine concerns me. It means that you could be heading in that direction. Now we are going to do everything that we can for you. I remain hopeful that because you are young and strong and that we started treating you early, we can try to prevent you from getting much worse, but as you know, we have no cure for this virus right now.”

Ava stared at the floor. Her head ached and she wished Wesley was with her. He always had a plan, always knew what to say or do. “I understand.”

“I’m going to run a few more tests today. Believe me, we are working around the clock to isolate this virus and develop an effective antiviral. Meanwhile, I’m going to change some of your fluids around and start some steroids. That may help to keep some of the inflammation in the kidneys down. All we need you to do is rest and report any changes in your condition to your nurse.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

“Ava?”

“Yes,” Ava said absently. The news of her condition had sort of numbed her.

“Is there anything else I can do for you? Do you need anything?”

“No thank you. I’ll just rest, like you said.”

“Where is your boyfriend? Would you like me to speak with him?”

“No, that won’t be necessary. Besides, he’s a captain of the starship Andromeda and he’s not within range right now. He’s due back on Friday night.” Hopefully I can make it that long, she thought to herself.

“I see. If you need anything Ava, please don’t hesitate to have me paged.”

“Thank you Dr. Tom. You’ve been very kind.”

“You are welcome. I’ll stop by later this evening to check on you.”

“Okay.”

After the doctor left, and the next wave of blood and urine tests were obtained, Ava fell asleep again, with the help of some of the pain relievers the doctor prescribed. Ava hated fevers, they have such a way of making you feel terrible. Dr. Grant stopped by a little after four o’clock, dressed in respiratory isolation gear.

“How’s our Ava doing?” He inquired cheerfully.

Ava knew he was trying to be positive. She felt awful and probably looked it judging from the way his medically trained eyes were studying her. “I’m hanging in there I guess.” She managed a weak smile at him.

“Has there been much change since this morning?”

“I don’t think so. Still aching everywhere.”

“Just think, when you make it through this, we can create a research study to identify and isolate the antibodies your body develops to rid you of this virus.” She could not tell from his tone whether or not he was being serious.

“Sounds like fun.” She laughed feebly.

They spoke for a few more minutes before he left for the day. He did not want to wear her out. His visit meant a lot to her. She was pleased that he actually did care about her as a person, not just as a co-worker. She never doubted that he was a good man. She envied Dr. Tom for having such a kind, patient father. She herself, had never really known her parents.

Ava began to feel much worse overnight. Her fever increased slightly and she could not become comfortable no matter what position she tried to rest in, nor whatever the nursing staff could do to help her. She felt as though she were burning inside out and wondered how much longer this could go on. The nursing staff paged Dr. Tom during the early morning hours to notify him of the change in Ava’s condition. He left a few more orders to help make her more comfortable. She had developed a mild rash by the time he rounded on her in the morning.

The latest test results had become available and Ava’s condition continued to worsen. The urine analysis revealed that the protein levels had increased and now there was evidence of blood in the urine. Ava’s kidneys were not in good shape. Dr. Tom placed her on respiratory isolation to protect the hospital staff. Droplet precautions were initiated across the entire station as the doctors were concerned about a possible epidemic given the recent rise in the number of cases. Despite their best efforts to prevent the symptoms of a full blown case of the virus, they now knew that Ava’s condition was progressing in the same fashion as the previous patients they had tried to save. She appeared to be heading towards renal failure. They knew her condition was potentially grave and Dr. Tom made the decision to move her to the Critical Care Unit. The nephrologist assigned to Ava’s case made the decision to start hemodialysis on Friday afternoon. Between the shaking chills and burning up, Ava could not do much other than lie there and try to rest. She could not stop thinking of Wesley and her friends, she did not want to leave them without saying good bye, but how much longer could she hold on?

The Andromeda left Kyanos several hours early and was ahead of schedule to arrive back on Orionis. Wesley felt uneasy leaving Ava on Sunday after Justin’s comments about her health. He was anxious to check on her. As they neared Orionis, Wesley checked for messages from Ava as he routinely did. As soon as he could access and read the messages Ava had left for him regarding her condition, he could barely contain himself. Andre took over handling the docking of the ship because Wesley could not concentrate on Orionis’ strict procedures at this time. As soon as the ship touched down and the ramp was lowered he, Naomi, and Andre literally ran to the security checkpoint, leaving the others to secure the ship before they too would join them. Fortunately the officers on duty were used to seeing the three of them and expedited their clearance, providing them with masks to wear to comply with the newly initiated droplet precautions. They broke into a vigorous run to the OMC hospital unit as soon as they left security. The normal people walking around the station stopped to stare as the light-footed trio hurried past them in a blur. Naomi and Andre could not keep up with Wesley as he ran as fast as he could, the three of them were careful not to smash into anyone in their haste. The last thing they needed was another security delay. Wesley wished he could teleport there, which would take mere seconds, but he could not risk being seen.

Wesley ran up to the front desk of the OMC hospital unit and paused only to ask where Ava was. Once he found out he was off again, this time walking in a hurry as the receptionist informed him that running in the OMC was strictly forbidden. Not wanting to attract the attention of security he abided by their rules. He arrived at Ava’s room scarcely out of breath. He ignored the respiratory isolation sign on the door and was about to walk in before the nurse stopped him.

“Sir! You can’t go in there without putting these on,” she commanded while pointing to the cart next to the door with the personal protection equipment which consisted of gloves, a disposable isolation gown, and a mask with an eye shield.

She showed him what he needed and as soon as he was properly “protected” he opened the door and stepped in. He ran over to Ava, who was sleeping, sat down at the chair close to her bedside and touched her face. She felt so hot, too hot, he noticed. A red blotchy rash covered her body and there was an IV in her left arm, slowly pumping fluid into her. He breathing was quick and he saw that she was being given oxygen through nasal cannula through her nose. He continued to stroke her face gently for a few moments until Naomi and Andre arrived, wearing the appropriate “protection” gear that they did not really need.

“How is she?” Naomi asked through her mask, her voice full of concern.

“I don’t know but it’s bad. I need to talk to her nurse, or her doctor immediately,” he replied quietly. He did not want to disturb Ava’s rest.

“We can wait with her while you do that. We need to know what’s going on, maybe there is something we can do,” she replied softly.

Wesley immediately rose from the chair and marched out of the room to the nurse’s station. He asked one of the masked women at the desk whom Ava’s nurse was. The woman at the desk paged Heather, Ava’s nurse for the evening shift. Heather came quickly to speak with Wesley. He introduced himself and began asking questions.

“What is happening to her? I last saw her on Sunday and it’s hard to believe she has become this ill so suddenly.”

“Captain, Ava has apparently contracted the virus that has been going around the station. Unfortunately we haven’t found a cure yet and our care is mostly supportive at this time.”

“What is the virus doing to her that she is so ill?”

“She has been running a fever in her body’s attempt to fight it off, however she has not shown any signs of improvement. It appears as though the virus is attacking her kidneys. It is a condition known as glomerulonephritis, or inflammation of the small blood vessels in the kidneys. Her tests are showing that there is so much inflammation going on that her kidneys are not functioning normally. The nephrologist on the case has started hemodialysis to take the strain off of the kidneys, however she has not shown any signs of improvement.”