Andrew’s Dilemma

Part 10

By, Cain129

Special Thanks to Wren Phoenix for the editing.

Synopsis: Things are not always as they seem, and every now and then life has a way of throwing its own little surprises into the mix. Sometimes those surprises can be a blessing or a curse. I was screaming in pain. The cramps were back and they hurt worse than earlier. That was when everything went black.<!--break-->

 

Chapter 21

 

Janice screamed out to someone call 911; she pulled up Jessica’s blouse and took a look around the area that Jessica had been holding before she passed out. It looked very swollen, and as she pressed on it she could feel that there was a lot of pressure pushing back and there was definite discoloration.

Although Janice’s specialty was not in that kind of medicine, in her years of medical school she’d had to learn many things. To her, it looked like some kind of internal bleeding, possibly her appendix.   If that was true, Jessica would have been in pain much longer then she had appeared to be. In any case, Janice knew something was definitely not right with Jessica.

Anthony came running into the room with the phone in hand.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, fearfully.  

“I don’t know, honey.” Janice said nervously as she took her pulse.

“I have the operator on the line.” Anthony said. “What do I tell them?”

“Tell them that her pulse is normal and she is breathing fine. She’s in severe pain, and it looks like there could be some internal bleeding.” Janice tried to stay calm, but she couldn’t help being anxious.

Megan and Jennifer were standing at the door.   Both of them were crying and very worried about their friend. In the distance you could hear the siren of the ambulance coming closer.

“Mom, what’s wrong with her?” cried Megan.

“I don’t know, honey, but we’re going to find out. Don’t worry baby, believe me, everything will be all right.” Janice held Jessica in her arms, carefully.

 [-][+][-]

 

After the ambulance arrived, Janice climbed in the back with Jessica. Anthony said that he would take the kids with him in the car.   The ride to the hospital was a long one. Janice reached into her purse and pulled out her cell phone. She dialed Dr. Masters’ number and listened to it ring a few times before he answered.

  “Hi John, Janice here. By any chance are you at the hospital?”

“I’m home, what’s going on? Jessica didn’t try something stupid again, did she?”

“No John, but something else is seriously wrong; we’re in an ambulance right now, headed for the hospital. Is there any way you can get there?”

“I’ll be there as fast as I can. Tell the Doctor on call that she’s my patient and I’ll be there shortly. Can you tell me anything about her condition?”

“She was fine, just upset one minute, and then she started screaming in pain and said something about having really bad cramps and she passed out. When I checked her over, I found that the area felt hard to the touch and it had a bluish discoloration. I’m worried that it could be internal bleeding, John.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out. I’ll see you at the hospital soon and Janice, it might not be a good idea to have her admitted under his real name.   There may be some issues. The police are still looking for Andrews’s father and as far as I know he is still at large.”

“What name should I admit her under then?”

“Admit her under the name of Jessica Dawn Tanner, and when you get the chance, explain to the doctor on call that Jessica is a transsexual. I know most of the doctors at the hospital, and they will keep it quiet. All right Janice, I have to get going. I will see you at the hospital.”   John said as he ended the call.

 [-][+][-]

 

After arriving at the hospital, Janice was met by a doctor and nurses that were waiting for them. She told the doctor that Dr. Masters was Jessica’s doctor, and would be in shortly.

He smiled. “That’s fine, but for right now, let’s get her inside and see if we can discover what’s going on.”

  Janice followed the doctor into emergency.   Once Jessica had been admitted, she filled out the paperwork, then joined Jessica in the examining room.

It was about that time when Jessica started coming around. As she opened her eyes, she was slightly blinded by the lights, but knew that she wasn’t alone. She could feel someone holding her hand, and when she turned her head she could see that it was Janice and she looked like she had been crying.

“God, my tummy hurts! What’s wrong with me?”   I asked, wincing from the pain.

“I don’t know baby, but we are going to find out. How long have you been having those cramps, Jessica?”   Asked Janice

I looked over at her, while breathing heavily from the pain. “Off and on for a few months. Usually they’re not this bad, and they only last for a few days.”

“When was the last time you saw a doctor, Jessica?”

“I was maybe eight years old, other then recently.”

“Did your mother and father know that you were having pain?” Janice asked her.

“I told Mom, but she said it was just indigestion, and it would go away and it always did, until now, anyway. It hurts really bad, Janice!”

A few minutes later the ER doctor and nurse quickly came into the room, “Hello, I see you’ve finally joined the rest of us, Jessica. I’m Dr, Jennings, and I’ll be taking care of you until Dr. Masters arrives. We’ll get you on some pain medication as soon as we can. I need to know what’s happening, so I’m going to be sending you down to x-ray to get some pictures taken, and the nurse   will be taking a little of your blood. Is that all right Jessica?”

I nodded and undid my sleeve on my blouse and the nurse came over. She tried to be gentle but it still hurt, and she filled five vials. Then she took a cotton ball and told me to hold it over where she had taken the blood, while she wrote down the information.

While this was going on, Janice stood up and asked to talk to Dr. Jennings alone.

“There are a few things that you need to know. Jessica is a transsexual and I am counseling her. It might be a good idea that you call x-ray and let them know that she is coming down. They mustn’t make a big deal out of it, as she is very fragile right now. She was apparently abused before my husband and I took her in.”

“You’re telling me that she is a boy?” Dr. Jennings asked, shaking his head. “I would have never guessed. How long has she been in transition?

“It’s been about a week now since she started.” Janice said.

Dr. Jennings shook his head, “That is unbelievable. I have seen transsexuals before, but never one so convincing.”

Janice smiled. “She is not trying to convince anyone, this is the person she has always been. The only difference is her clothes.”

Dr. Jennings and Janice returned to Jessica, and Dr. Jennings walked over to her. “Hang in there, you’re very brave. If it means anything, you make a very beautiful young lady, too.”

I soon found myself being quickly taken down to x-ray. I hoped this wouldn’t take long; I was in a lot of pain! I tried to tell Janice that she didn’t have to come, I would be all right, but she refused to leave my side.  

I looked over at her. “You told Dr. Jennings about me, didn’t you?

“Yes honey, when you get to x-ray, you will have to have to undress. I’m sure they’ll notice that you’re not complete yet. I wanted to make sure that they knew that you were coming. I hope you don’t mind, Jessica?”

“It’s alright, I understand you are doing what you feel is right.”

“You need to understand something baby. I will not let anyone hurt you, and if anyone does, God help them!” Janice said

I was overtaken by what Janice had just said, and found myself crying again.

“Hang in there honey, we’ll find out what’s wrong.” Janice said, squeezing my hand.

“It’s not the pain, Janice, I am just happy”, I said with a smile.

 [-][+][-]

 

Janice was right I had to get undress but she helped me and I soon found myself in a hospital robe and lying on the stretcher, then the attendant smiled at me.

“Hi Jessica, I’m Tracy. We are going to do our best not to hurt you at all.   The doctor has ordered an ultrasound to look at what is going on inside you. Just relax, sweetie.” She then rubbed gel all over my tummy and took the wand and slowly ran it up and down my tummy and as she worked she kept talking to me.

She smiled, “You know Jessica, you are not what I expected.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Well, when Doctor Jennings told me that you were coming, I was expecting to see a boy dressed as a girl. Looking at you, though, I don’t see a boy at all.” She then turned back to the monitor, and then looked at me with a look of shock on her face.

“What is it I asked?”

“I think it would be best if you waited to talk to your doctor. I have something else that I need to do Jessica, and it might be a little embarrassing, but it’s important.”

  I said alright. She then pulled my panties down lower, put more gel on me and ran the wand over me for a few more minutes, and then told me that we were finished.

Jessica, I think you are a very brave girl. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, and believe me life is full of surprises, Tracy said as I was being wheeled out of the room.

 

 Chapter 22

 

After Janice and I returned to emergency and I was wheeled back into my room, Janice said she was going to make a quick run to the waiting room to let everyone know what was going on, but she would be back in a few minutes.   As I lay on the bed a nurse came in carrying a needle.

“Dr. Jennings ordered this for you; it will help to ease your pain, honey.”

I let her inject me with it and found that after it started working, the pain was much less. I could still feel the pressure down below. At least it wasn’t hurting like it was.

 [-][+][-]

 

When Janice entered the waiting room she found her family waiting, Anthony came over to her and gave her a hug, “How is she doing?”

“She’s in a lot of pain but holding on. We’re just waiting on the results of her blood work and an ultrasound, when those come in we should know more. Why don’t you go see her Anthony? I’m sure she’d like to see you, and I’ll let Megan know what is going on.”

“All right, what room is she in?” He asked.

“She’s in the third room on the right,” Janice said, taking a seat next to her daughter.

“How’s Jessica doing Mom?” asked Megan.

“She’s going to be all right honey, but she’s in a lot of pain right now. I need to ask you something, honey. Your father and I were going to wait but I think that it’s important that you and I discuss it now. How would you feel if Jessica stayed with us permanently?

“What do you mean, like, adopt her Mom?”

“Maybe honey, we are not even sure if we can, that will be up to the courts.“

“I don’t know Mom; this was supposed to be temporary. Don’t get me wrong, I like Jessica a lot, but this is different. We would be sisters.”

“I know Megan, you would be sisters, but I need you to look at the bigger picture. Put yourself in Jessica’s shoes. Think about what your life would be like if you were in her place, having her parents and living her life. Tell me how you would feel.” Janice suggested, hoping that her daughter would understand.

“Honey, I want you to think about this for awhile. If we do this, it’s going to be a decision that is going to affect all of us including Jessica. That poor girl is scared to death and has no idea what is going to happen to her. She will likely end up in foster care, living with people who neither love her nor accept her, and that is no life for her. She needs a real family that will love her, and we can do that as family.

Now I think that we should join your father, the results should be back soon and Jessica is going to need us, okay?”

 [-][+][-]

 

Megan thought about what her mother had been saying. She tried to put herself in Jessica’s position and thought about what it had been like for Andrew, living with his parents, and everything that she had read about in his journal. The life that Andrew led was a sad one, full of pain and suffering at the hands of people that should have loved and protected him.

She thought about what happened once he moved into her home, and was allowed to just be himself. That’s when Jessica finally emerged. Jessica was a fragile girl that was slowly starting to break free of her bonds. There was this look in Jessica’s eyes that Andrew never really had. Andrew had always had sad, empty eyes like someone that was waiting to die. Jessica, her eyes were bright and lively, she wanted to live and she was always happy and you could see it in her eyes especially when she was with Megan’s parents.

Megan worried about Jessica, but she was also a little jealous.   At times it almost felt like they were starting to care for Jessica more than they did her. Deep down, she knew that it wasn’t true, though. Seeing how sick Jessica was at the moment, the only thing that she could think about was that someone she cared about was hurting, and it was time that she grew up. She walked over to Jessica and climbed on the bed with her and gave her a hug

I looked up at Megan. “What was that for?”

“Because I love you, Sis, but I could kick your butt for dragging me back here.” Megan said, smiling.

“I love you too, Megan,” I said, returning the hug with one of my own.

[-][+][-]

An hour later, Dr. Masters arrived carrying a patient chart in his hand. He had a big smile on his face.

“You must love hospitals; that’s the only time I get to see you!   It’s a good thing that you came in though, because we’re going to have to operate.”

“What’s wrong with me, Doc?” I asked him.

“You, my young lady, have a condition called Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia”

“What the hell is that?” I asked.

“Let’s just put it this way honey, when we did the ultrasound, what we found was a complete surprise. Inside, you have all the normal female reproductive organs, like ovaries and fallopian tubes, and all that stuff.”

“How is that possible? I have a penis!” I said in shock.

“The condition tends to work that way, Jessica. Most patients appear to be male until puberty, then they start to develop. You are just a late bloomer. The immediate problem is that you are having your period as we speak, and unfortunately there is nowhere for the discharge to go.   That is why you are having the painful cramps and swelling. When we’re done with you, though, everything will be as God intended it to be.”

“I was a girl all along?” I said, in utter shock.

“Yes Jessica, you are a girl and you always have been.” Dr. Masters said with a big smile.

As I sat there, I was in complete shock. I was overwhelmed by my emotions. Megan just held me and told me she was so happy for me, as did Janice and Anthony. All I was able to do was cry, because for the first time in my life, I truly believed that dreams could come true.

 
 
 

End of part 10

To be continued in part 11