90 Minutes in Heaven Page #4

Do you understand that, Don?

We're gonna pray all night.

I'm gonna call everybody

I know who can pray.

I want you to know that

all of us who care about you

will be up all night

in prayer for you.

We're taking over from here.

We're gonna

take care of this.

He's in bad shape.

Emotionally,

there's no will to live.

What is there left

for us to do?

Pray.

We all have talents.

David's was organizing.

He was able to rally churches

from all over the world

to pray for me

simply by faxing them.

How long will

my dad be like this?

Well, it's gonna take

some time to heal.

All I do is press

my palms together.

It's not

doing anything.

It's not making my mom

happy or my dad better.

Well, honey,

you gotta keep praying.

You know what they say

about faith.

You can have hope

without faith,

but you can't have faith

without hope.

Grandma loves you.

I love you too.

My sweet baby.

I want you to go

to sleep now, okay?

I love you.

I'll see you

in the morning.

- Eva.

- Morning, Doctor.

Don has developed

pneumonia in both lungs.

If we can't do something

about his breathing,

we're gonna have to do

something else drastic.

How drastic?

The Ilizarov device

stabilizes,

and then at the same time, if

successful, which is a huge if,

what it does is it stretches

the bone by pulling on both ends.

See, new bone is created

by actually breaking the leg above

and below the original breaks.

We push the broken ends

closer and closer together

until they meet and then

they form a new femur.

Will that work?

Ah, that's just it.

I can't guarantee

that it'll work.

We can't give him the kind

of breathing treatments he needs

as long he's

in the prone position.

See, we have

to elevate him.

And that leaves us

with two choices.

One is that

we amputate the leg.

And the other is that we

try this Ilizarov device

which is called

the fixator.

People take sometimes

months of counseling

before they allow

this device to be used on them.

And, of course, in Don's case

we don't have that kind of time.

But there is a chance

to save the leg?

There is a chance.

May I have

a moment, please?

Of course.

I didn't realize

you were home.

Brought the kids by

to pick up a few things.

It doesn't feel like a

home. There's no, "Hi, Mom. "

Eva, it's gonna get better.

But how much worse?

We can't pay

for anything.

This house is a mess.

He might not come home.

Will he even survive?

He might

never walk again.

I'm so afraid.

It's gonna be fine.

We're gonna get through

this together as a family.

That's what families do.

Shh.

I'm here.

I'm here.

Help!

Shh, shh, shh, shh.

It's okay.

It's okay.

It's okay.

What is that?

It's a bone growth device.

What is that?

What is that?

A fixator.

Dr. Greider says it's the only

chance we have to save your leg. Okay?

Shh.

And those rods go all

the way through my leg?

It's a new...

And my arm?

It's a new technique.

Shh.

I believe it's worth the risk.

Why did you let them

do this to me?

Huh?

Unfortunately,

these were the only fireworks

left in our marriage at this point.

Rodeo's over.

Fireworks are on.

Eva's decision

to keep my leg

was so that I could continue to enjoy

skiing and biking with the children.

I always felt bad about

how I spoke to her that day.

Try to control your

breathing. Slow it down.

You can scream if you want.

Easy.

This pain...

I know.

Almost done.

Good morning, Doctor.

How long do I have

to endure this device?

How long before I...

I know if it works?

How long before

I can walk again?

A few months.

How few?

Many months.

Maybe more.

You mean possibly

a few years?

A year maybe.

I really don't know.

And there's no guarantee that I'm

gonna be able to keep these limbs?

No guarantee.

You could develop an infection

and we'd have to amputate the leg.

So I could endure this for months

and still end up with no leg?

I'm hoping your left arm

has a better chance.

We took bones

from your right pelvis

and put them

in your left forearm.

It's kind of like

taking core samples

when you're drilling

for oil, as an example.

We're going to have to move Mr.

Piper to St. Luke's tomorrow.

Why do we have to move him?

I believe Don should

be able to stay here.

I agree.

But this is out of my hands.

I've done everything I know

to prevent this from happening.

But I can't stop it.

There's a situation

at the hospital.

Our insurance no longer covers

Don's treatment here.

Is there anything you can do?

I need answers.

Yes, of course you do.

I'm your Beau. You at the hospital? Yes.

Meet me in the cafeteria.

I tried, but the administrator's

right. They're not gonna budge.

- There's nothing you can do

to change things?

It's about what the hospital can

get from the insurance company.

What about our case?

Our settlement?

Well, I've got good news

and I've got bad news,

but the bad news takes out the good news,

so all we're left with really is bad news.

What?

Well, in Texas, state employees are

indemnified by the State of Texas.

Okay, how does this affect us?

Well, the state,

in this case, Texas,

has put a cap on all damages

that are able to be collected

in any lawsuit

against the state.

And the cap is $250,000.

Now, insurance companies,

they have subrogation rights,

which means that

they're gonna put a lien

against any kind

of claim and settlement

or any funds received from a lawsuit,

to cover their medical expenses.

In other words,

your insurance company

is gonna take all the money.

Don will receive nothing?

No. You know, I had a

friend one time, he asked me.

He said, "What kind of cookies you

bake when you don't have any money?"

I said, "I don't know. What?"

He said, "Shortbread. "

Unfortunately, Don's gonna have to

bake shortbread cookies on this one.

He'd been better off if he'd

been hit by a Budweiser truck.

And then we'd all be talking

about millions of dollars.

Sorry. Partner,

can I give you that card?

You show up here

just to tell me this?

How we gonna do this?

We'll take him by ambulance.

You can drive your car.

Even though St. Luke's was

only five blocks away,

it was such a painful move with

the fixators on my leg and arm.

Every bump resonated

through my bones.

Eva stayed strong,

tried not to cry out as she

watched me go through this.

It's not very pretty here.

It's not ideal.

I'm sorry.

I'm so sorry, Don.

When they picked this color blue,

it must have been a cloudy day.

Mr. Piper, Mrs. Piper, how you guys

doing today? Hi there. Thank you.

Good, good. I've got some

relief for you, Mr. Piper.

I'm gonna take good care of you,

okay? Let me just have that arm.

I'm gonna just

hook this up for you,

and this will make you

feel a lot better.

All righty.

This is real simple,

Mr. Piper.

All you need to do is...

Anytime you feel

you need some relief,

this will just

take it all away for you.

All I need you to do is push

this little button here,

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