Ancient Island Read online

  Chapter 11

  God’s Plan

  Ms. Shelby was correct when she told Becky that Renee was a fragile man. His tenuous grasp on reality was slipping. He staggered to the cottage and collapsed on the floor, unable to move for twelve hours.

  For three days Becky pleaded with Renee to open the door. Ms. Shelby brought food, but he refused to let her in. He closed himself off the same way he did when his wife and daughter died.

  The loss of his family had done more to Dr. Richard Rogers than make him re-evaluate his life. The intense stress caused permanent psychological damage leading to schizophrenia. He experienced hallucinations of an imaginary therapist who comforted him. The experience felt very real, but Renee knew it wasn’t flesh and blood. On his third day alone in the cottage, the vision appeared to him.

  “Renee,” the apparition said. “Becky and Haley need you.”

  “Go away. I’ve done enough damage,” he begged.

  “You gave them hope.”

  “False hope, that’s what the doctor said. I haven’t practiced medicine in years. I shouldn’t have interfered. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

  “Maybe the same thing you were thinking when you saved those four boys on the boat. You know you aren’t the one who needs help. It’s the girl, just like it was Chris, Steve, Matt, and Brian. Like Haley says, it’s all part of God’s plan.”

  The vision was gone along with the torment that clouded Renee’s mind. His wife and daughter were lost, but Haley still needed his help. As if on cue there was a knock at the door.

  “Who is it?” Renee asked.

  “It’s Becky. There’s a Dr. Orson here to see you. He says you were his advisor at Yale.”

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  Renee remembered Kevin Orson as a gifted student who quit school after his little brother died of Retinoblastoma. The family’s opthalmologist recommended immediate removal of his brother’s eye to prevent the cancerous tumor from spreading, but Kevin was a brash medical student who felt it was too soon to extract the eye. He advised his parents against surgery until further tests were completed. They agreed to postpone the operation.

  Surgery was eventually performed, but his brother died. Kevin believed the delay which he recommended allowed the disease to spread. My arrogance killed my brother, he thought. Despite his parents’ urgings to stay in school, he dropped out.

  Dr. Rogers drove over three hundred miles to Kevin’s home carrying x-rays, charts and pictures to prove Kevin wasn’t responsible for the death. It showed his brother died from complications in surgery that had nothing to do with the delayed treatment.

  Renee comforted the young man and convinced him to return to school.

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  Renee struggled to his feet and opened the door. There stood Kevin who was no longer an insecure medical student, but a self-assured mature doctor in a very expensive suit. He was now Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President with IMICRON Corporation, a world leading company in eye care medicines and devices.

  Becky began to explain, “Professor Morrison has called a dozen times to check on you. He told me yesterday that someone who owed you a favor was coming to help. I believe you have met Dr. Orson.”

  Kevin began talking as he stepped forward, “I knew our department of research and development would be able to help Haley the minute Professor Morrison described her condition.”

  Kevin looked at Becky. “I want to be upfront and honest with you both. We believe the study of Haley’s eyes will advance our research by decades, but we’ll put her welfare first. My company will find the best course of treatment, provide lenses, medicines or anything else she needs. Of course we’ll pay for her time in addition to covering the treatment.”

  Becky returned to the main house while Renee and Dr. Orson reviewed Haley’s files. Dr. Orson said he would fly Becky and Haley to their research headquarters in Houston, Texas.

  “They will stay in the best hotel and be treated like royalty,” Dr. Orson assured Renee.

  “How long will it take?” Renee asked.

  “It will be an ongoing process, but the initial treatment in Houston shouldn’t take more than a couple weeks. We’ll work with Haley until both she and Becky are satisfied.”

  Dr. Orson accompanied Haley and Becky to Houston two days later. The wait for their return seemed like months even though it took only ten days. Ms. Shelby called Chris as soon as she learned Haley’s plane was flying into Tampa International Airport.

  At least twenty people drove to Tampa to welcome her. Chris, Renee and Ms. Shelby rode with Mr. Naidoo and Dan because they felt too nervous to drive. Becky kept the results secret so no one knew what to expect.

  The airport was bustling with activity, a textbook example of the conditions Haley couldn’t handle. Haley’s friends didn’t know what to expect when the passengers began to disembark. Would she be holding on to Becky, walk with a cane, or march off without assistance?

  Chris was the first to see her. She exited the terminal gate slowly and then ran full speed through the crowded waiting area into his arms. They spun around like dancers performing a Viennese Waltz. After a long embrace and tender kiss, he gazed deeply into her eyes which were now emerald green.

  “They’re beautiful. You’re beautiful.” Chris wept as the crowd surrounded them.

  Renee heard Haley whisper, “It’s all part of God’s plan.”