Kyung barely paid attention to the newscaster explaining the increase in gas prices. She ignored the latest from the White House. When the weather came on, she felt her heart tug. She knew how fascinated with weather Lizz was. She would watch The Weather Channel for fun, claiming that she couldn’t turn it because “the local forecast was coming up.” And if it had to do with thunderstorms or tornadoes, Lizz would be glued to the screen. That was, of course, if she wasn’t out chasing them. She was so full of life. And just plain full of it too. Always getting into some kind of trouble. Kyung shook her head of the thoughts. She was not going to start crying. Again.
“Breaking news from the Backstreet Tragedy!”
Kyung’s attention immediately snapped to the TV screen.
“The horror continues to unfold as a young girl’s life ends.” The newscaster stated gravely, yet with a trace of excitement.
“It has been reported that a girl in St. Louis, Missouri has taken her life after hearing that her favorite Backstreet Boy will no longer be the same.”
Nick stared in horror at the screen. He had almost changed the station from the boring grey-weathered forecast, when this new bulletin had come on.
“To recap, Nick Carter, of the world famous pop group, the Backstreet Boys, attempted to take his life only a couple short weeks ago. He was reportedly on the internet at the time and told an online friend over AOL that he didn’t want to live. Out of desperation, the girl, Lizz Hulford, threatened to drink a bottle of medication in order to stop Carter. Her efforts proved futile when both ended up in a hospital in Oklahoma City, in critical condition. After several seizures and even a stroke, Carter is in little more than a vegetative state. Only recently has he regained minimal motor and speech skills. Hulford lost her kidneys and needed a transplant in order to live.”
Brian and AJ stared at the TV in the cafeteria. It had been fairly noisy in there, but as soon as this broadcast came on, it had quieted down. It was becoming rather well-known that both Nick and previously Lizz were being treated here.
“Where the hell did they get all this information?!” Demanded Brian angrily.
AJ gave Brian a look as if to say, “you really have to ask?” Nearly every detail of their lives was thrust into the public eye.
“The National Enquirer recently printed an article on the subject. A fan, who’s name we cannot disclose at this time, was devastated and has taken her life.” The report continued.
“Oh god!” Brian jumped up. “What if Nick is watching this?!”
Simultaneously AJ and Brian took off in a sprint towards the elevators.
Nick’s heart was pounding and he started to feel sick. First Lizz, now this girl. Her life was over because of him! He started to shake and he barely noticed the tears streaming out of his eyes. He tried to will his body to move, but it wouldn’t obey him. He couldn’t do this anymore. He couldn’t take it. He needed Brian. He started to push the call button, but he was stopped by the sudden lack of air that he was experiencing. His whole body was trembling now and he couldn’t seem to get any air. The panic was overwhelming him.
Kyung sat glued to the TV. She couldn’t believe she was watching this. Immediately she was concerned that there was a remote possibility that Nick could be seeing this. She thanked God that Lizz wasn’t. Kyung knew that it would be really bad if either Lizz or Nick found out about the suicide. She wanted to call Brian, but couldn’t tear herself away from the TV. She remained glued to it, unaware of the sudden emergency in the operating room.
Brian and AJ rushed into the hospital room to find Nick gasping for air.
“SHIT,” Brian yelled as he slapped the code button on the wall. A team of people in scrubs rushed into the room pushing AJ and Brian aside. The two stood off to one side the room and could do nothing but watch as the people worked frantically around Nick.
“His sats are 68!” A voice barked out.
“Intubate?” Another voice questioned.
“Prep him,” someone directed.
I could only lay there, trying to keep awake and struggle to breathe. ‘What the hell was happening to me? It felt like I was breathing through a straw after running a mile. When one doctor said intubate I panicked. God, they can’t do that to me! Just let me die, please anything but this!’
“Doctor her sats and BP are dipping,” a nurse observed.
“Her lungs are shot! Shit, why didn’t anyone address this? Why the hell are we putting a kidney into her when her lungs are in this shape?” the doctor yelled. “Call the organ procurement center, stat!”
As the doctor worked frantically on Lizz to keep her alive, a nurse had received the call back from the organ procurement center.
“Doctor Robinson here, I have Elizabeth Hurlford on the table. Donor kidney ready to transplant. Do you still have the host?”
The only noise in the OR was the machines and the respirator, forcing oxygen into Lizz’s taxed lungs.
“Great, can you send the lungs STAT......how long.......okay we are on standby.”
Hanging up the phone, the doctor walked back to the table and looked at Lizz’s face behind the draped sheets. “Hang in there honey, help is coming.”
“What the hell caused that episode?” AJ asked as he stared down at a sedated Nick lying in his bed.
“I’m not sure, it was fluky,” the young resident doctor replied.
“Fluky?” AJ narrowed his eyes. “A man’s oxygen level goes from a 96 to a 68? He’s not even asthmatic!”
“His body has gone through some trauma with the overdosed medications, your guess is as good as mine,” the resident replied. He checked the machines surrounding the bedside again. “His levels are going back up, so see, there’s nothing to get worked up over.”
AJ glared at the young resident. He hated his carefree attitude about Nick’s condition.
Kyung woke up when the surgeon touched her lightly on the shoulder. She was shocked to think that she had fallen asleep. It took her a few moments to orientate her to where she was.
“Hi, my name’s Dr. Richards, Lizz is already out of surgery and back into ICU.”
Kyung looked at her watch. “Oh my god, she’s been on the table for nine hours?”
“There were some complications during the surgery, her lungs were starting to fail her, however, we were lucky that the donor of her kidney was also a suitable donor for lungs and we were able to request them before they were shipped elsewhere.”
Kyung gasped at the thought of a lung transplant. Lizz had been in and out of hospitals most of her life because of her lungs, at one time she had been on a critical waiting list.
“H..how is she?” Kyung stammered, almost afraid to ask.
“She is doing okay, holding her own. I feel that she will have a full recovery and with the new lungs, she will have a new lease on life,” the doctor explained.
“Can I go see her?” Kyung asked as she stood up.
“I don’t see why not,” Dr. Richards replied.
“Thank you doctor, thanks for everything,” Kyung said as she pumped the doctor’s hand up and down.
Kyung hesitantly pushed open the door to Lizz's room in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit. The lighting was dim and the hiss of the ventilator could be heard, along with the steady beeps of the heart monitor. Kyung pulled a chair close to the side of the bed and sank into it. Lizz still hadn't woken up yet and other than the tube that was in her mouth, she looked peaceful.
As she watched Lizz sleep, Kyung’s thoughts drifted to what had happened in the past weeks. How unbelievable it all was. She couldn’t help but wonder what was going to happen now. Everyone’s lives had changed so much because of all this. What would all of this do to the Backstreet Boys? Especially Nick. Kyung felt encouraged that he was expected to make a full recovery, but she also knew it would take time. Not to mention he would always have to take seizure medications, according to that doctor. What concerned her the most, however, was the psychological damage that all this might have on Nick. How was he going to react when he found out about the girl that donated Lizz’s kidney and now lungs?
Kyung’s attention shifted to Lizz. Lizz was a strong person, but this was more than she had ever had to deal with before. Her life was going to be changed drastically in more ways than one. She in the world’s spotlight as The Girl Who Followed Nick Carter’s Suicide Attempt. There were still all kinds of different speculations as to why she did it. It was anywhere from Lizz being an obsessive fan to a torrid affair with Nick. This might be something that could follow her wherever she goes. In addition to all that, providing her body didn’t reject her new organs, Lizz now had a new lease on life. She now could think about having a family, a solid career, even retiring someday without that little doubt in the back of her head. Lizz had always remained positive and confident that she would reach an old age, much for the benefit of those around her as well as for her own sake. Kyung, being her best friend, knew that she had days where she felt discouraged, but she always managed to push it away. Lizz often told Kyung that God put her on this earth for a reason. She was going to live up to it. Now she was going to be able to do it without the burden of compromised health. If she could get through this...
Kyung sighed. It was amazing to her how much Lizz and Nick were alike. And not all of it was complimentary. They were both ornery and stubborn as hell. They made reckless decisions without bothering to think about themselves. Kyung didn’t even want to think about Lizz going to see Nick on her own and ending up tearing her stitches. Nor did she want to remember Nick going to see Lizz and then having a seizure right then and there. But on the other hand, it wasn’t all bad. They were both two of the most sensitive people she had ever known. The entire time that they had both been in the hospital, they didn’t seem to give much of a damn about what was going on with them. Instead they were always asking about each other or Brian or her. She knew Lizz would have given anything to make everything okay, no matter the cost. She knew Nick would have done the same.
Kyung’s thoughts drifted back to what was going on in OKC. She was a little concerned about leaving Brian. He still hadn’t been sleeping or eating enough and she didn’t want him to pass out again. She smiled sardonically when she realized that she wasn’t doing a whole lot better herself. She hadn’t eaten since sometime yesterday morning. And that was just a banana and a half a glass of orange juice. She slipped her hand through Lizz’s and continued to worry.
