The Phoenix Resolution

By Rich Keene

Young Emily Mercer has a rare, incurable leukemia that will not respond to chemotherapy. The doctors all say it will be fatal within a few years. Emilys parents, Paul and Lisa Mercer, are naturally frustrated by modern medicines helpless attitude. When Emilys health suddenly worsens, Paul and Lisa search for alternative therapies. Their best option comes from an unusual alliance of people that work diligently to produce a cure in time. The experimental treatmentneither FDA approved nor tested in humansmight stop the leukemia, but it also might kill Emily. As time runs out, the untested treatment must be tried as Emilys disease progresses to a critical and deadly stage. Will the cure save Emily, or will it kill her? See for yourself as we race toward a cure for Emily in The Phoenix Resolution. This story carries a message of hope tempered by the suffering and challenges faced by patients and their families living with diseases such as cancer and cystic fibrosis. The Phoenix Resolution explores the promises, limitations, and potential impacts of modern personalized medicine and gene therapy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Mar 20, 2010
• ISBN: 9781450024075

Rich Keene

The author, Richard Keene, Ph.D., lives in the Coachella Valley in Southern California. He has higher degrees in Biology and Chemistry and explores the promises, limitations and potential impacts of modern personalized medicine and gene therapy on contemporary illnesses such as cancer and cystic fibrosis.

Book preview

Chapter 2

The Right Path

Lisa was expecting her mother anytime now. She looked out the front windows of her house for about the tenth time this afternoon. Finally, she saw her mother, Lilleth Anderson, pull up in her van. Another gentleman dressed in a dark suit and tie, wearing a hat, got out of the van. He stood straight and tall, clutching his leather-bound bible and prayer books.

Lisa opened the door. Hello, Mom. She held the door open while Lilleth stepped through the door.

Lilleth said, This is Willard Danforth, one of our church elders.

Lisa shook his hand, receiving the firm grip that she expected based upon his stalwart appearance. She led them inside her house to the central hallway. Lilleth and Willard stood in the hallway awaiting directions. Lisa studied her mother, a slender drawn woman with dark hair, now graying in places, dressed in a plain but rather formal dress. Lilleth had a few more wrinkles but otherwise hadn’t changed too much in the many years since they’d seen one another. No doubt, she was still fit and firm from living her disciplined, regimented life. Lisa closed the distance and hugged Lilleth. Mom. It’s been a long time. Lilleth stood, arms straight down, while Lisa hugged her.

Willard turned around, acting like he was admiring the furnishings. Nice place you have here. He nodded amicably.

Lisa said, Please come in. She led them to the den off the side of the living room. Can I get you something to eat or drink?

Willard said, A glass of water would be nice.

Lilleth nodded and said, That would suit me just fine, too. We don’t need anything fancy.

Lisa motioned Willard and her mother to sit down and went into the kitchen to get drinks.

Lilleth appeared in the kitchen. We’re here to pray with you and Emily.

Lisa said, Yes. I know. You told me that on the phone. That’s fine with Paul and me. We do bring Emily to church. It’s just that we do believe in medicine, too; vaccinations, treatments and so on. We believe in both God and medicine.

Your father wouldn’t approve. We raised you with certain beliefs for a reason. She looked around the house, inspecting the walls, the furniture, perhaps their way of life.

We’ve been through all this before, Mom. Daddy might have survived his heart attack if he’d have gotten treatment.

Lilleth put up her hand to silence Lisa. Don’t you dare disrespect the memory of your father.

Lisa yelled, I’m not disrespecting Daddy. You need to realize that God helps those who help themselves. Isn’t it God who gives doctors their knowledge and allows hospitals to exist?

Your father and I always prayed for our healing. You should, too. She cocked her head to one side, waiting for acknowledgement of her words.

Lisa said, Well, praying wasn’t enough for Daddy was it?

Lilleth raised her hand to slap Lisa. Then she pulled her hand back. Don’t you ever blaspheme to me about that again. She crossed her arms and paced slowly around the kitchen as she talked. Do all heart attack patients who get rushed off to the emergency room live? Do all these cancer patients end up living with all the medical treatments these doctors give? How many end up dead, poisoned from chemotherapy? Your doctors don’t tell you that part, do they? God calls us home at the time of his own choosing. She nodded, convinced of the soundness of her own reasoning.

Lisa said, I’ll allow prayer, but don’t you try and push your beliefs on my daughter. She’s too young to understand. It took me all the way through college and then some to realize how offthewall your faithhealing beliefs are. It might have been one thing to have those beliefs in the eighteen hundreds when no one could do anything medical anyway. There were no vaccines, no antibiotics and so on. Praying sure couldn’t hurt. But not bringing people to doctors now is sheer carelessness. No, it’s worse. It’s neglect. It’s criminal. My daughter is going to get treatments for her leukemia. That’s not negotiable.

Lilleth turned and walked out.

Lisa leaned against the counter and took several deep breaths. Her heart pounded. Why was it always this way when she spoke with Mom? Should she just ask her to leave now or should she keep the peace and try to get through this prayer session? Emily already knew her grandmother was coming and she hadn’t seen Lilleth in years. Relax, stay cool, for Emily’s sake. She took a few more deep breaths. Lisa went upstairs and got Emily.

Lilleth said, My, how you’ve grown, Emily. This is Mr. Danforth, one of our healing practitioners.

Emily said, Hi, Grandma. Nice to meet you, Mr. Danforth. Emily shook his hand.

Lilleth smiled at her. Come, give me a hug. She held her arms wide open, waiting.

Lisa motioned Emily toward Lilleth. Go ahead, give Grandma a hug, Emily. Lilleth rocked Emily tightly in her arms, offering Emily the hug that Lisa couldn’t have.

Lilleth said, We’re going to say some prayers with you, Emily. They sat on the couch and love seat in the den and opened their prayer books.

Emily said, That’s very nice of you, Grandma. Let’s pray that all of us stay healthy, too. Don’t just pray for me. Emily folded her hands together.

Mr. Danforth and Lilleth took turns reading scriptures. They’d speak of healing then read a scripture about healing. They spoke of sickness and read a scripture about sickness. This went on for what seemed like quite a while.

Paul arrived home in the middle of the prayer session. After the introductions, Mr. Danforth and Lilleth continued their prayers.

Lilleth said, Lord, give my daughter the wisdom to see that she needs to welcome your healing power into their lives and reject the farce and pretension of modern medicine.

Lisa stood up and pointed at Lilleth. That’s enough, Momma. Now you’re being disrespectful. I already told you that Paul and I believe in God and medicine. It’s not one or the other. We’re not unwise because we’re getting treatments for Emily. Lisa took Emily’s hand and made her stand. Lisa wrapped her arms around Emily, as if to protect her.

Lilleth stood up and was about to speak. Mr. Danforth rose and stepped in front of Lilleth. He announced, We’ll probably need to be going soon. We’ve actually been here for some time and Lilleth and I have quite a drive home. He smiled at Emily, who still looked sullen after hearing their words.

Lilleth hesitated for a moment, head held high, about to say more. She wore a serious, tight-lipped expression. Yes, it’s time to go. It was so nice seeing you again, Emily. May God watch over you. Our prayers will be with you. She nodded to Emily, seeming to ignore Lisa and Paul as she walked briskly from the room.

*     *     *

What did a prisoner feel when sentenced to execution? What did they think of in the hours or days before being walked to the gallows for the inevitable completion of the sentence? This must feel the same, then, since one member of Paul’s family was sentenced to death. In this case, that sentence would eventually be carried out only after a long and torturous wait.

Before the leukemia, their kitchen danced with smells at dinnertime. It was a time of freshly cooked food, vibrant aromas, and excited conversation. Meals were made using a trusted, worn cookbook with small post-it notes and folded page corners that marked the tried-and-true favorite recipes. Lisa stopped often, practically everyday, at her favorite fresh food stores for just the right ingredients.

After the leukemia arrived they got frozen dinners warmed over in a microwave. Shake more salt on it yourself if you wanted more flavor. The evening rituals changed, too. Before the leukemia, Emily and Lisa played violin together. They had a little game they played with scales. It involved sudden changes in style with one trying to outplay the other. Suddenly, a change of pace and slow vibrato progression up the scale for one would be countered with shallow rapid scales with plucked strings by the other. Sometimes they mirrored one another’s playing style and sometimes there were abrupt differences, as if in a contest. After the leukemia, Lisa told Emily to practice. Lisa rested in Emily’s bed, half-listening while Emily played, sleepy, rarely commenting.

For Paul, dinner time and the evening hours were the hardest. The clink of silverware on plates created a sort of musical tension that Paul wanted to break. He’d already given up trying to involve Lisa in conversations. When he asked Emily about what happened in school today, Lisa wouldn’t join in like she used to. After another mostly silent dinner, Paul went off to his office. He’d been reading a lot about Emily’s disease in his spare time.

He spotted one of the brochures from Dr. Kelding called Living with Leukemia in a pile. The light from the monitor gave the room an eerie glow. He browsed through it briefly and typed in one of the listed links to a National Institutes of Health website. At the top of the web page, each of the twenty-three chromosomes was laid out with corresponding lists of genes that were involved in human cancers.

Paul clicked on the button marked p53, the gene Emily lacked in her leukemia cells. An article popped up describing p53. It was important in repairing DNA, the genetic material in the cell, and also in stopping the cell from uncontrolled growth. One article described a line of mice where the p53 gene was missing. Those mice must have cells a lot like Emily’s cancer cells. No p53 at all. The mice developed normally, but had a high rate of cancer. These doctors seem to know all about why Emily is going to die, but they can’t do a damn thing about it. So much work and study went into diseases like Emily’s. Genes were identified. Studies performed and published. Yet, no cure existed, not even experimental treatments.

Paul looked at the time. It was way past bedtime. He’d gotten so engrossed in his reading and thoughts that he’d lost track of time. He walked upstairs, hesitating before he walked into Emily’s room. She might object if she was still awake. She constantly reminded him and Lisa that she wasn’t a little girl anymore. Paul quietly opened the door. Lisa lay in bed with Emily, both fast asleep. He smelled the wine on Lisa’s breath. What had happened here? No doubt Lisa lay down with Emily and stroked her hair as they both fell asleep. She used to do that sometimes when Emily was sick as a young child. Paul wasn’t going to try and drag Lisa out from behind Emily this time. Last time he did, he bumped against Emily and woke her up. He got a blanket from the closet and covered them both.

Paul sat on the floor with his back to the wall in the quiet darkness. Only the moonlight and the city lights lit the room through the window. He noticed other changes in Lisa. She drank more than just an occasional glass of wine now. Most nights she had slurred speech by bedtime. She took the Prozac that the family therapist prescribed, too. The booze and Prozac made a particularly bad combination and caused Lisa to completely pass out. I should discuss that with the family counselor. She shouldn’t be combining the two. She seemed in a haze most of the next morning, too.

Cancer stormed into his home, taking their serenity away—afflicting them all. It would torture first, then kill—just like it had killed his father. All they could do is wait, so the doctors said. Was it really true that nothing could be done? How many children with ACLL were dying right now? Not too many, really, it’s pretty rare. How many doctors were working on a cure at this moment? Probably even fewer. And yet people spoke of hope. They were supposed to have it. We should hope for some kind of miracle breakthrough. Why couldn’t there be a way?

Paul bolted up and went for a walk. He found himself walking briskly outside with clenched fists. He spoke out loud into the darkness. Why can’t we do something! I don’t want to just sit by. I want to do something. If only there was a way. He felt the tension in every muscle of his body. His heart pounded. He walked around in the darkness thinking and searching for solutions no one else had, solutions desperately needed for Emily.

Chapter 3

The spirit guide

Saturday came and Paul awoke to the faraway sounds of Emily’s violin trailing upstairs from the living room. Lisa hummed to the familiar songs as she cooked in the kitchen.

Paul dressed, went downstairs and as he entered the kitchen, Lisa said, Good morning, darling. She put her spatula down and gave Paul a little kiss on the lips.

You seem chipper this morning. Paul poured a cup of coffee and sniffed its aroma deeply to help catalyze the process of waking up. He sat down at the kitchen table and peered out the window, taking in the sunlight of a new day.

Paul, we’re going to drop Emily off at your mother’s house for a while. She’ll probably stay the night with Nan.

Why? Where are we going?

Lisa said, I’ve made some other plans. I want you to come with me late this afternoon. She moved around, cooking energetically. Her hair was up, makeup on already, dressed as if to go somewhere. She seemed more like her old self today.

Where? He looked at her for clues.

Lisa didn’t answer.

Paul said, Where do you want to go? Usually you want us all together on weekends.

She turned to face him. I called Kristina Lee. We’re going to go visit her this afternoon. We need to talk with her.

Kristina Lee? Isn’t she the spiritualist? Honey, I don’t think that’s such a good idea right now.

Lisa said, Then I’ll go alone. She walked out of the room.

Paul didn’t bring the topic up again until he could see Lisa getting ready to leave. Paul said, You’re still going—aren’t you?

Yes, I am.

You should speak to people like her just for fun. It’s not like she’s really—psychic.

I know you think it’s silly, but I’ve really had some amazing experiences with Kristina over the years. She really can see things. You’ve never been along with me for a reading—so you don’t understand. But I really need to talk to her. It’s just a feeling I have. Please come with me to Kristina’s. Lisa kissed Paul. Please.

Paul said, I’ll go with you, but I don’t know if this is a good idea. Paul gently massaged her neck the way she liked. He sighed. I’ve also been angry and frustrated about feeling so helpless.

Lisa hugged him and kissed him on the lips. Me, too. Let’s do everything we can. We’ll even look into alternative treatments,if we need to. There must be something we can do.

I hope it doesn’t come to trying snake oil, herbs, and medicine men to save our daughter. She’s fighting a cancer.

Lisa looked deeply into his eyes. Maybe there’s something the doctors overlooked. We need to do something. She kissed him again.

Paul nodded. Yes, I agree. We do need to do something to help Emily.

Paul drove along the interstate East of Cleveland. The barren trees just started to bud leaves, showing only twigs with the promise of green leaves to come. Lisa was sitting quietly, rarely speaking. She rubbed the locket she’d gotten from her father slowly between her thumb and finger like she always did when she was deep in thought. He took the proper exit and followed the directions to turn into a driveway with a wooden sign outside that read Kristina Lee, psychic readings. They drove the half-mile up the road to a farmhouse and barn. The house sat far back into the side of a large hill, and the trees and house gave long shadows this late in the day. A middle-aged Asian woman with long, black hair and a plain, dark dress walked down the steps of the farmhouse and greeted them. She wore necklaces of polished stones and shells. She hugged Lisa. Lisa introduced Paul and Kristina. She certainly looked ordinary enough, like someone you’d pass by on the street without a second thought. Somehow, Lisa thought she was the key to seeing the family’s future.

Kristina said, Let’s go inside my boutique. She motioned them toward the barn. She walked calmly and slowly with them.

Once they entered, Paul saw displays of candles, books, and other items relating to the occult. The smell of incense hung heavy in the air. Kristina motioned them over to a table near the front window. Kristina drew the blinds nearly closed to filter the remaining sunlight out while Paul and Lisa sat down.

Paul said, Nice place here. Have you ever thought about not being so far out?

Kristina gave a knowing smile, almost laughing. Years ago I used to be in Cleveland. But I needed to be away from people—away from their thoughts. It’s much more peaceful for me out here. Kristina lit a large candle with three wicks in the center of the table. It gave off a deep, complex aroma. Then she dimmed the lights. So you came here for a reading today?

Lisa nodded. Please.

Kristina said, Have you ever been to a reading, Paul? Only half of Kristina’s face was lit by the candles, making everything seem more surreal.

Paul shook his head.

Here is how a reading works. We say a blessing and summon forth the angels and saints. Then I have you handle the cards. I read from the Tarot deck and use the cards and my intuition. We ask questions and the cards and the angels give us directions. Kristina shuffled the cards. Then she handed them to Lisa. "I’m going to work