“Again, with the caveat that I’m not an expert in this area, I suspect that there is not. Or it is minimal.”
“Now, I get that Owen Fiske is not a healthy person, but let me ask you the question that Judge Martin said she wanted answered: If the police follow the hospital’s precautionary procedures, will Owen Fiske’s recovery be compromised by his giving a DNA sample?”
“That is unlikely. He has a CVC already in place.” Dr. Cammerman looked up to Judge Martin to explain. “That’s a catheter for the withdrawal of blood.”
“In fact, the doctors and nurses at the hospital often take Mr. Fiske’s blood, do they not?” Salvesen said.
“They do.”
“In other words, what the police want to do through the execution of this warrant is already being done to Owen Fiske on a fairly regular basis. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes.”
“Your witness,” Salvesen said.
Lisa Kaplan returned to the podium.
“Dr. Cammerman, please explain the treatment you have been providing to Owen.”
“Owen was diagnosed with AML when he was thirteen. He was treated at that time with chemotherapy and radiation, and the cancer went into remission. However, it returned earlier this year. When it did, the decision was reached that additional chemotherapy alone was not recommended because his cells would continue to produce leukemia. Instead, we suggested he undergo what is called an allogeneic transplant, by which donor stem cells are implanted into the bone marrow.”
“Prior to the transplant, a process called myeloablation occurs, correct?”
“Yes. Myeloablation is a particularly aggressive round of chemotherapy, in which the patient’s existing stem cells are largely destroyed to make way for the transplanted cells.”
“Was that process completed?”
“Yes.”
“And did you immediately begin the transplant?”
“No. We waited forty-eight hours.”
“Why was that?”
“It’s the standard protocol. The myeloablation is severely debilitating to the patient. We want them to get their strength up before the transplant.”
“Did there come a time when you performed an allogeneic transplant on Owen?”
“Yes.”
“Did it work?”
“It was a successful procedure, but it is still far from clear whether it will, as you say, work. Or even what working means in this context. We deal with five-year survival rates, and our patients, of course, hope for much more than that. So it hasn’t, quote, unquote, ‘worked’ until we pass at least that milestone.”
“So there is still a possibility that Owen Fiske could die from his leukemia?”
“Yes, of course.”
“What are the risks that Owen faces now that the transplant has been completed?”
“There are many, but the thing we’re most concerned about after a transplant is a rejection of the transplanted cells. After that, the focus turns to the elevated risk of infection. The myeloablation process eliminates the entirety of the patient’s white blood cells. The white blood cells are the body’s defense against infection. It can take up to a year before the new stem cells—the stem cells that have been transplanted—are producing sufficient white blood cells to fight infection. During this period, we monitor the patient very closely and take precautions to ward off infection.”
“What precautions do you take?”
“The patient remains hospitalized after the procedure for about a month. Sometimes a bit shorter, sometimes a little longer. During that period, visitation is limited, and we require anyone who has contact with the patient to wear gloves and a mask.”
“Is Owen still in that phase of the treatment?”
“He is. And he will be for at least another week. Maybe longer.”
“What are the other risks?”
“The medicines we provide to fight off other risks unfortunately increase the likelihood of the patient contracting a fungal infection. Even mold is a serious risk for these patients.”
“How serious are these risks?”
Dr. Cammerman hesitated for a moment as he considered the question. “They run the gamut from mere annoyances, like a skin rash, to fungal pneumonia, which is potentially fatal.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” Kaplan said. “No further questions.”
After Dr. Cammerman was excused, Judge Martin asked whether either side had any further witnesses to call. Both lawyers answered that they did not.
Jessica held her breath. She knew that a decision might come immediately, just as it had when the judge considered the DNA issue with regard to Wayne.
Judge Martin said, “Thank you. I will take the matter under advisement and issue a written ruling with all deliberate speed. I understand the importance of the issues for both sides, so you will not wait long.”
Once they had left the courtroom, Wayne opined that it was a good sign that the judge hadn’t ruled from the bench. Jessica didn’t have the strength to disagree.
27
Jessica was at home, seeking comfort in a bottle of chardonnay, when her phone rang. It was Alex Miller.
“Is there a decision?”
“There is. I have Wayne on the line too. I conferenced him into the call before calling you so I could tell you both at the same time.”
“Hi, Jessica,” Wayne said.
She didn’t return the greeting. She didn’t want to say anything to delay Alex’s reveal of the judge’s ruling.
“I’m sorry to report that Judge Martin went against us and is allowing the police to get Owen’s DNA,” Alex said. “Lisa asked me to convey her disappointment as well. But as I told you from the beginning, these motions are real long shots. Judges like to grant the police every benefit of the doubt. And Dr. Cammerman didn’t help our cause by saying that compliance with the warrant wouldn’t put Owen’s recovery at any risk.”
Jessica wasn’t listening. She didn’t care why they’d lost. All that mattered was that the police were now going to get Owen’s DNA. And once they had it, they’d be able to prove that her son had left his blood at the crime scene.
“When will it happen?” she asked.
“Lisa called the ADA and told him that she needed twenty-four to forty-eight hours to decide whether to make an emergency stay application. He agreed to hold off executing the warrant until then.”
“So we’re going to appeal, then?” Wayne asked. He sounded hopeful, as if he wanted to continue
