time, she didn’t want to repeat it out loud at all. Izzy didn’t think she was going to make it. How had she come to that conclusion? Had they not been positive enough in her presence? Was she really worried that when the baby came, they would forget all about her and start again with a new, perfect child? What on earth could Annabel do to convince her otherwise?
What on earth could she do, full stop?
In the darkness of the night, Annabel’s mind turned the problem over and over, looking for a possible solution. She couldn’t donate a kidney until the baby was born. And the baby was going to be born. That determined heartbeat seen on the scan had put paid to any thought of abortion. Meanwhile, Richard couldn’t donate full stop. And Sarah, who had diabetes, was ruled out before she started, just like Richard. Who could they turn to instead?
Annabel made a mental list of the usual suspects. And then she made a list of the unusual ones. The ones who didn’t have real names. At least, not to Annabel. Would she ever have the courage to ask them?
Chapter Twenty-Two
Annabel
When they next saw Dr Devon she commiserated with them over being unable to donate to Izzy themselves. Richard was still angry. Though it had been explained to him a hundred times, he still couldn’t understand how it was possible that he couldn’t give his daughter one of his organs.
‘So that’s it,’ said Richard. ‘We just have to wait for a donor to appear from nowhere? We have to wait for someone to die or for some stranger to decide on a whim to get tested and then we have to wait for them to be a match?’
‘There could be someone testing on someone else’s behalf right now,’ said Dr Devon.
Dr Devon had explained the principle of paired donations, in which people who wanted to donate to loved ones but were not a good enough match were able to do a sort of swap with other people on the register.
‘It happens more often than you think,’ Dr Devon insisted.
‘It can’t happen quickly enough,’ Richard sighed. ‘Why do we have to wait for a match at all? Why can’t we go down the plasmapheresis route?’
Dr Devon ran through the issues once more. Izzy was still very young and Dr Devon hoped to find her a kidney that would last for as long as possible. Maybe twenty or twenty-five years. There was no particular reason why Izzy wouldn’t find an excellent match relatively quickly. That was better than rushing ahead with a ‘good enough’ match and subjecting Izzy to yet more procedures so that she wouldn’t reject a kidney that probably wouldn’t work out for as long anyway.
‘There isn’t quite the urgency you imagine,’ Dr Devon said.
Richard was not in the least bit comforted by that. Like Annabel, as a result of his education and his wealth, he was used to being able to get what he wanted quickly. The Buchanans were ill equipped to understand why they couldn’t just buy their way out of the situation.
Annabel couldn’t bear it. Her wonderful husband laid so low. Her daughter on dialysis, with no hope of any improvement. And it was all her fault. If she weren’t pregnant. If she hadn’t let Izzy go to SummerBox. She had to do something to make it right. She took a deep breath.
‘There is one other option,’ she said.
Richard and Dr Devon both looked at her with interest.
‘I may have some, er, some other relatives who might agree to be tested.’
‘Then why the fuck haven’t they been tested already?’ Richard asked. ‘Who are you thinking of, Annabel? Who? Your mum can’t because of her diabetes. You haven’t got any cousins. Who else is there?’
‘Oh God.’ Annabel buried her face in her hands and spoke the rest through her fingers. ‘Richard, I can’t believe I’m going to have to tell you this in a doctor’s office.’
‘I can step outside if you like,’ said Dr Devon.
‘No. No, it’s fine,’ said Annabel. If anything, she thought, Dr Devon’s presence would force Richard to
What on earth could she do, full stop?
In the darkness of the night, Annabel’s mind turned the problem over and over, looking for a possible solution. She couldn’t donate a kidney until the baby was born. And the baby was going to be born. That determined heartbeat seen on the scan had put paid to any thought of abortion. Meanwhile, Richard couldn’t donate full stop. And Sarah, who had diabetes, was ruled out before she started, just like Richard. Who could they turn to instead?
Annabel made a mental list of the usual suspects. And then she made a list of the unusual ones. The ones who didn’t have real names. At least, not to Annabel. Would she ever have the courage to ask them?
Chapter Twenty-Two
Annabel
When they next saw Dr Devon she commiserated with them over being unable to donate to Izzy themselves. Richard was still angry. Though it had been explained to him a hundred times, he still couldn’t understand how it was possible that he couldn’t give his daughter one of his organs.
‘So that’s it,’ said Richard. ‘We just have to wait for a donor to appear from nowhere? We have to wait for someone to die or for some stranger to decide on a whim to get tested and then we have to wait for them to be a match?’
‘There could be someone testing on someone else’s behalf right now,’ said Dr Devon.
Dr Devon had explained the principle of paired donations, in which people who wanted to donate to loved ones but were not a good enough match were able to do a sort of swap with other people on the register.
‘It happens more often than you think,’ Dr Devon insisted.
‘It can’t happen quickly enough,’ Richard sighed. ‘Why do we have to wait for a match at all? Why can’t we go down the plasmapheresis route?’
Dr Devon ran through the issues once more. Izzy was still very young and Dr Devon hoped to find her a kidney that would last for as long as possible. Maybe twenty or twenty-five years. There was no particular reason why Izzy wouldn’t find an excellent match relatively quickly. That was better than rushing ahead with a ‘good enough’ match and subjecting Izzy to yet more procedures so that she wouldn’t reject a kidney that probably wouldn’t work out for as long anyway.
‘There isn’t quite the urgency you imagine,’ Dr Devon said.
Richard was not in the least bit comforted by that. Like Annabel, as a result of his education and his wealth, he was used to being able to get what he wanted quickly. The Buchanans were ill equipped to understand why they couldn’t just buy their way out of the situation.
Annabel couldn’t bear it. Her wonderful husband laid so low. Her daughter on dialysis, with no hope of any improvement. And it was all her fault. If she weren’t pregnant. If she hadn’t let Izzy go to SummerBox. She had to do something to make it right. She took a deep breath.
‘There is one other option,’ she said.
Richard and Dr Devon both looked at her with interest.
‘I may have some, er, some other relatives who might agree to be tested.’
‘Then why the fuck haven’t they been tested already?’ Richard asked. ‘Who are you thinking of, Annabel? Who? Your mum can’t because of her diabetes. You haven’t got any cousins. Who else is there?’
‘Oh God.’ Annabel buried her face in her hands and spoke the rest through her fingers. ‘Richard, I can’t believe I’m going to have to tell you this in a doctor’s office.’
‘I can step outside if you like,’ said Dr Devon.
‘No. No, it’s fine,’ said Annabel. If anything, she thought, Dr Devon’s presence would force Richard to
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