Antibodies 16

© Copyright BG Taff

Characters.
Verna Spiro Type one Virus
Nana Bev, Interplanetary prospector.
Jamie, Bev’s younger prospecting Partner.
Dennis Potter Freight manager and old friend of Beverly’s.
Jack Godfrey Yard foreman and walking boss.
Charlotte and Lucy - Jamie’s younger dancing & clubbing friends.
Rose and Violet. Cis-girl friends of Jamie.
Dr Williams Virologist
Jennifer Jamie’s girlfriend. (Sleeping partner.)

Chapter 16.

Jamie’s words fairly took my breath away. We had long known that Jamie had always hoped for the chance one day to become a mother but until now it had always been a forlorn hope. The technology for womb transplants had been well established for several decades and indeed there had been several transgender operations but they had met with very little success.

Furthermore, attempts to transplant into Trans individuals had met with a lot of adverse publicity and even violent protests on a couple of occasions in different countries. Consequently the medical profession had avoided the political issues like the plague and this had virtually closed out any hopes for the transgender community.

I stared at my erstwhile friend and smiled. She looked so nervous yet hopeful lying in her IC bed and for a moment a tear forced its way to my eye. Finally I recovered from the surprise of her announcement.

“Your sister!” I croaked softly.

Then I realised it was essentially a very pragmatic deal.

If Jamie’s sister received my or Jamie’s blood she would survive the virus. If that donation were also supplied to Jamie’s three nieces, nephew and brother-in-law then the essential sympathetic component of Jamie’s family would survive to give Jamie some connectivity and identity.

In return Jamie’s sister could donate her womb, ovaries and even her cervix because the sister already had three daughters and a son.

Doctor Williams could see my mind ticking portentously but she misinterpreted my thoughts and swiftly intervened with a moral bribe for fear of the deal falling through.

“If you help Jamie, you’ll be helping the transplant team because they’ll be needed to conduct the surgery. You’ll be helping mankind.” She finally added hoping it was a conclusive argument.

I smiled inwardly at first, as I sensed Doctor William’s desperation; then my smile broke out to my lips as I failed to contain my amusement.

“I’m already helping mankind doctor.” I intoned softly.

The expression on her face tightened monetarily before she realised I was winding her up; then her smile broke out with relief before she scolded me.

“Don’t do that! I’m wound enough as it is.”

“Then you’d better calm down and prepare to take my blood. Let Jamie get her rest if she’s going to face major surgery.”

“Aa ah! Thank god for that!” She sighed as she collapsed into the bedside chair and glare irritably at me. “Don’t do that!”

“She’s always doing stuff like that,” Jamie interrupted. “She’s a bitch!”

I chuckled and turned to make some coffee whilst softly reciting. -----

“Fee, fi, fo, fum! I smell the blood of excambium.”

“Stoppit Nana!” Jamie Chided.

“Is she always like this?” Doctor Williams hazarded. “I’m surprised you haven’t murdered her on those long lonesome voyages.”

“Haven’t you got a plane to meet?” I asked.

ooo000ooo

Doctor Williams glanced at her watch and frowned.

“Dammit! We’d better get moving. D’ you want to come?”

“Nah, I’d be better off staying here and donating blood.”

“Dammit! Of course. I forgot! Some of Professor Servensen’s team are three days into their infections.”

“Then best we crack on,” I advised; without humour; “time’s a runnin’.”

With no more ado, she dragged me down to the laboratory and handed me to the blood donor team as she prepared to drive to a military airfield, outside Swindon.

“You’re a bit early for another donation.” The team leader exclaimed as she tapped the calendar on the laboratory wall.

“It’s a special,” I explained, “Doctor Williams will explain as soon as she gets back.”

“There isn’t supposed to be any favouritism, it’s for essential personnel only.”

“Just do it!” I snapped rather irritably. “It’s my blood anyway, so give me a break occasionally.”

She harrumphed her objection but I gave her a meaningful stare and nodded towards my outstretched arm.

“A hundred cc and no more! She’ll explain when she gets back.”

“Very well, but you can sign a disclaimer.”

“Oooh Jeeze!” I sighed. “Give me a pen and paper!”

Her assistant scrabbled through a desk and returned with a pen and notebook. I hand-wrote the disclaimer and thrust it towards her.

“That’ll have to do, it’s in my own handwriting. You couldn’t ask for a more authentic document. Now – make some vaccine ASAP!”

She moved quickly and we had cause to be grateful when Doctor Williams returned that evening with a busload of infected medical staff. The vaccine team were aboard the bus with needles and vaccines before the Swedes could even disembark. All but one of the Swedish team were inoculated and secured in the laboratory hostel. The seriously ill remaining individual was promptly placed in the ICU.

After the task was completed I spoke to Doctor Williams.

“The sick one Doc; he looks really bad. Is it too late?”

“We’ll have to see Nana. This’ll be a useful test sample and we’ll be monitoring his condition constantly. We’ve never had one this far gone before.”

“You don’t have to call me Nana Doc. You’re older than I am.”
“I heard Jamie calling you that and it seems like a term of endearment. If you’ve no objections, I’ll continue using it because it helps my vaccine team relate to your contribution.”

“Okay.” I shrugged. “No skin off my nose.”

We were sharing a coffee in Doctor Williams’s office-cum-lab when the vaccine team leader reappeared.

“We’ve got some surplus vaccines.”

“Put them in the fridge, they’re for Jamie’s Sister’s family; and don’t go protesting favouritism. It’s part of another experiment concerning all these Swedes who’ve just arrived.”

“Am I right in believing they are Professor Servensen’s womb transplant team from Stockholm?”

“Yes. It’s a back-up plan if the mass vaccine plan proves less successful than planned.”

“Hah! Good luck with that. Your logistics don’t make sense.”

“It’ll be the last chance saloon scenario but we have to plan for all eventualities. Talking of last-chance saloons, how is the general vaccine development plan going?”

“The predictions are on course. I’m reckoning in six months we’ll have something viable for universal distribution.”

“And what about the volunteer group?”

“It’s not gone as quickly as we were hoping. It’ll be about six to eight weeks before they’ll be producing harvestable antibodies. Perhaps not as potent as Nana and Jamie but the numbers game is a big step up. Three hundred donors instead of just two.”

“And how many recipients per donor?”
“Can’t say with certainty. Definitely five or possibly as high as fifteen thousand.”

“Can’t wait!” Doctor Williams sighed as she did the maths.

“So you’re still basically ‘firefighting’ with Jamie and my donations.” I observed.

“Yeah, and it’s minefield. When some poor devil is infected, how do you choose who to inoculate and who to let die?”

“Rather you than me,” I replied.

“It’s neither you nor me,” Doctor Williams revealed. “The vaccines are distributed on a strict ration basis to each area health authority. The poor buggers in each authority have to decide and the protocols that you and Jamie set down are adhered to as best we can.”

“I’ll bet the bloody prime ministers been jabbed.”

“Not unless he’s been infected, he hasn’t; and even then –“

“Glad to hear it.” I finished.

“Anyway, I’m for bed. I’ll sleep in the visitor’s cot beside Jamie’s bed.”

“That reminds me,” Doctor Williams replied, “she’ll be out of ICU tomorrow. Her blood count is almost up to normal.”

“But not enough to return to donating.” I observed.

“Not yet. The bone marrow still needs to complete repairs. Well, good night Nana.”

“See you in the morning.” I yawned.
ooo000ooo

When I crept into the visitor cot beside Jamie’s ICU bed, she was fast asleep.

‘Best thing for her,’ I concluded as I lay abed and quickly fell asleep myself.

I think I woke up in in the morning in the same position as I fell asleep and that said something of how tired I must have been. Jamie was sitting up eating when I came to.

“You slept well.” She observed as I uncurled reluctantly.

“Has anybody been in?” I asked.

“Your morning coffee’s on the table and the nurse says that those Swedish doctors want to speak to me.”

“D’ you want me with you?”

“I dunno.’ It might be best. I suppose there’ll be lots to talk about.”

“You’ll have to talk with your sister as well and go through it together with the doctors..”

“Yeah, there’s a lot goin’ on.”

We sat silently while I sipped my cold coffee and Jamie combed her long hair. Then a few minutes later there was a noise in the corridor and Doctor Williams arrived with Professor Servensen and some other Swedish doctors in tow, I motioned to leave but they suggested that I stay so I sat on the edge of my cot which formed the edge of the circle.

There was only a brief discussion where they agreed to contact Jamie’s sister and organise a family visit so Jamie’s nephew and nieces could collect their vaccines as well.
Three days later Jamie’s sister, and relatives arrived and half of the south wing was taken over. The brother-in-law stayed briefly then returned to the farm having agreed to stay only for the operation and immediate recovery day because it was harvest time and he could not afford to leave the farm during a time of serious labour shortage.

A week later, after all the tests and preparations had been completed and the Swedish medical team were recovered from their infections. Jamie’s brother-in-law returned for the day and the operation was performed.

I was privileged to be allowed to watch the operation on the monitors but after a few minutes I had to give up. Watching my only true friend being slit open from pelvis to pelvis and down to her pubis was too much for me to handle. Instead I joined the children and entertained them as best I could. Eventually in the evening, we were allowed in briefly to visit the siblings but they were still asleep. The doctors reassured us.

“They’ve both been conscious but they’re sleeping again now. You can see them again in the morning.”

That night I could not sleep in the visitors cot. The IC nurse was supervising both Jamie and her sister.

Dawn found both me and the brother-in-law pacing nervously outside the ICU.

“This as bad as the maternity ward,” he declared.

I had no experiences of maternity so I just nodded mutely as the nurse invited us in.

“They’re still sleeping and that’s a good thing,” she advised as we stepped up to our respective beds.

It may have been a good thing reparatively for the girls but it did nothing for my peace of mind. Just watching them lying there barely seeming to breath and just a few tell-tale electronic beeps and wavy lines, giving any signs of life.

“They’ve both been sedated for twelve hours so they’ll be waking up about tennish.” Professor Severson advised, so we went for breakfast.

Over breakfast we chatted at length with the medical team about Jamie’s prospects of motherhood. The odds were reasonable so both I and Jamie’s brother-in-law went to our fall-back position and entertained the children. They naturally wanted to know what was happening so I left it to their father to do the explanations.

Naturally, the children were more interested in the prospect of having cousins would actually be their half brothers or sisters.

Fortunately, the children lived on a farm so most of the biology was known to them; though they were curious to find out if ‘Auntie Jamie’ would actually be able to give birth. The oldest daughter who at twelve, had some knowledge about birthing, was very curious and actually wondered if Jamie would actually be able to ‘push the baby out.’

“I know she’ll have the bits to make and grow the baby Nana, but will she be able bear down.”

“You’ll have to ask the professor Servensen when he comes back,” her father replied.

Then the oldest daughter amused us all again.

“I can always help. I’ve got small hands and I’ve pulled lots of lambs that were stuck.”

“Thank you darling,” her father stifled a chuckle as he replied, “I sure there’ll be nurses with small hands, on hand to assist if need be.”

ooo000ooo