Wednesday morning came, and Meghan groaned as she realized what day it was. Her stomach was growling, and she wasn’t relishing the idea of all the enemas later in the day, but it still seemed like a better plan than taking all the laxatives and letting them wreak havoc on her system. She sighed and got up, opting for sweatpants over a skirt. She made her way to the kitchen, where Kelsey and Mitch already sat, drinking coffee. “Want a cup?” Mitch offered.

Meghan shook her head no. “I can’t stand it without cream, and I’m not allowed that today. I’ll stick with a cup of hot tea.”

She put the kettle on and placed a tea bag in a cup. When the kettle whistled, she poured in the hot water and watched the tea brew. Deciding it had brewed enough, she removed the bag and added sweetener. She set the cup on the bar and made her way to a chair. She sighed.

“Feeling okay, Meghan?” Mitch asked with concern.

“I guess so. I’m just wanting real food and not particularly looking forward to the prep later today.”

He nodded. “I understand. I’ve been through this before, as has Kelsey. I promise you’ll live.”

Meghan snorted but didn’t say anything. She wasn’t really sure why she was in a funk but knew that being surly and taking it out on her in-laws was bad manners. “Sorry for the attitude. I guess I’m having a pity party.”

Kelsey rubbed her sister’s back reassuringly. “You’ve been through a lot the last few weeks. It’ll be okay, sis.”

They sat and chatted quietly for a while before Mitch excused himself to retreat to his office. He had been working on a research paper and opened up the document to type some more when his office phone rang. He looked at the number and saw it was a call from the hospital. He sighed and reached for the phone, prepared to remind them that he was unavailable for the next couple of days.

“Dr. Branston.”

Hey, Mitch, this is Kevin Meyers.

“Oh, hi, Kevin. I thought I was about to turn down another request to fill in for someone,” Mitch responded, leaning back in his chair.

Ha, ha, not from me. I was wondering if it’d be okay for me to stop by your home later this afternoon. I’ve got a pile of stuff from the staff for her and thought I could drop by and deliver it.

“Sure thing, Kevin. Kelsey’d be thrilled to see you.”

Great. How is your sister-in-law? She’s on the docket for tomorrow morning.

“Still having a lot of discomfort. By the way, I wanted you to know that she has opted for an alternative bowel prep for tomorrow.” He wanted to be upfront about that, especially since he had chatted with Kevin about it before in conversation, although not specifically with Meghan in mind.

Oh? What kind of alternative? The liquid diet and enema series you’ve mentioned before?

“Yes. She’s been on liquids all day yesterday and today, and we’ll do the enemas until clear later on this afternoon.” He glanced at the time on his clock.

You have me curious to see how well this works.

“It works, believe me, but you might see if Meghan might let you watch. I don’t have a specific time scheduled for the enemas, but sometime after 4 pm. She’ll be NPO except for water after the enemas are done.”

I would be curious in observing if she’s willing, but I don’t want to pressure her to let me observe.

“Certainly. I don’t want to make her uncomfortable. Well, we’ll see you when you stop by.”

Sure thing. Later, Mitch.

Mitch hung up the phone and sat, thinking, about the procedure he’d be doing later that day. He locked his computer and headed into the exam room. Reaching in cabinets, he started assembling the equipment he would need: nozzles, a colon tube, lubricant. He hung the empty enema bag on the IV pole and was searching for the soap when Kelsey entered the room.

“Getting ready for later?” she asked.

He nodded. “I figured I might as well do it now. I’m not able to concentrate on the prognosis of emphysema patients with comorbidity factors at the moment,” referring to his research paper.

She chuckled. “I don’t blame you. Who was on the phone just now? Were they trying to get you to come in again?”

“No, it was Kevin Meyers. Seems you’ve got a bunch of get-well stuff that he wants to bring over this afternoon.” Mitch found the soap and placed it strategically near the sink. “How do you think Meghan would respond to him staying and observing her enemas?”

“What?” Kelsey wasn’t expecting that.

“I told Kevin about doing the alternate bowel cleanse on Meghan. He and I have had discussions about it before. I don’t think he’s ever seen an actual enema being given, much less receiving one himself. He said he’d like to observe, but he doesn’t want to make her uncomfortable.” Mitch rummaged some more in the cabinets and pulled out two sterile-wrapped instruments, setting them on the tray. He covered everything with clean towels.

Kelsey followed him as he moved to wipe down the exam chair with disinfectant. “I’m not sure, to be honest. My gut says she’ll probably let him, but don’t be surprised if she doesn’t, either. I’d ask her after he gets here, but before bringing her back to start the procedure. That way she doesn’t feel pressured to agree.”

Mitch finished cleaning. “Yes, that sounds like the best route to go. See why I married you?” He grabbed for and caught his wife, sending her giggling. He leaned down and gave her a sound kiss.

**********

It was a little after 4 pm when the doorbell rang. Mitch answered it, ushering Dr. Meyers into the house, carrying a box about to overflow with cards and goodies. Kelsey came into the room as Dr. Meyers set the box down on the dining table. “Goodness, is all this for me?”

He nodded and chuckled. “I think you have your own fan club!”

The three of them laughed. Mitch gestured to a chair. “Have a seat.”

Kevin sat down in a chair after seeing Mitch settle Kelsey in her spot. Meghan, having heard the laughter, came out of her room and into the living room. “Hi, Dr. Meyers.” She seemed surprised at him being there.

“Hey, Miss McCoy. How are you?” He smiled kindly.

“Ah, okay, I guess.” She looked at her sister questioningly, a look not missed by Kevin.

He gestured to the box on the table. “Your sister has been accumulating fan mail. I brought it by for her.”

Meghan saw the box of stuff and relaxed. “Well, she’d better share some of the chocolate when I get over the operation tomorrow.”

Kelsey laughed. “Who said anything about sharing?”

Meghan stuck her tongue out at her sister. She settled on the couch. An awkward silence seemed to settle in the room. She closed her eyes and let out a small sigh.

Kelsey looked at her sister tenderly, eyes full of concern. “Okay, there, sis?”

“Yeah, just tired and ready to get everything over with, especially the prep.” She sighed again, opened her eyes, and saw her sister’s look. She gave a small smile.

Mitch cleared his throat and took advantage of the opening she gave him. “Meghan, I told Dr. Meyers about the prep you are doing.” He looked meaningfully at Kevin.

“I’ve not heard about this kind of prep before a few conversations with Dr. Branston,” Kevin offered. “I trust his expertise, but I’ve never seen an enema series done before on a patient.” He looked at Meghan with intent. “Would you be willing to let me observe?”

She was taken aback by his request and didn’t say anything at first. Her first instinct was to say no, and that was apparent on her face, but then her features relaxed. “I guess so. Yeah, it’ll be okay.”

“You’re sure, Miss McCoy?”

She nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure. And Meghan is fine.”

“Thank you, Meghan.” He looked at Mitch. “When were you planning to do this?”

Mitch looked at Meghan and sensed she wasn’t quite ready yet. “Why don’t you have an early dinner with us?” he decided. “Meghan made some terrific chicken soup yesterday, and there’s still a lot left.” He looked at Kelsey and Meghan. “Is that okay with you ladies?”

They nodded, and Meghan got to her feet to head into the kitchen. She ladled soup from a container in the fridge into a saucepan, then strained broth from the container into a smaller pan to heat up for herself. She put both pans on the stove to heat.

Mitch helped with getting drinks for everyone. “What do you want, Meghan?”

“Apple juice, I guess.” She stirred the soup.

Soon the broth and the soup were hot. Meghan ladled soup into bowls and poured her broth into a mug. Kevin jumped in to help transfer food to the table, having set the box on the floor out of the way.

Everyone enjoyed the soup. Meghan made it through most of her mug and about half of the apple juice. Her appetite had left as she thought about what was about to transpire. Mitch noticed but didn’t say anything.

When they were done, Mitch instructed them to just leave the dishes on the table. “I’ll clean this up later.” They transitioned to the living room and chatted for a while, but it was obvious that Meghan was rather uneasy. Mitch finally cleared his throat and got her attention.

“Meghan, are you ready?”

She grimaced. “Not really, but let’s get this over with. We’ll be here a month of Sundays if we wait until I’m ready.”

He nodded and stood. He assisted Kelsey up and then offered a hand to Meghan. He smiled reassuringly in her direction and got a weak one in response.

Leading the way, Mitch led the group to the exam room. “Meghan, I’ll give you a gown and let you change in the bathroom. I would recommend voiding your bladder. We’ll be in here, getting ready.”

Meghan took the gown he offered and headed for the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She passed through the room into her own, removing her clothing there and putting them away. She returned to the bathroom and utilized the toilet. Then, taking a deep breath, she opened the door back to the exam room, clothed only in her socks, the gown, and her crutches.

***********

Mitch and Kevin watched Meghan leave the room, then turned towards the cabinets. “Let me show you the equipment,” Mitch said and uncovered what he had already prepped. He listed off the various nozzles and the soap and explained how the enemas were set up. Kevin was interested in the procedure. They turned when Meghan re-entered the room.

“Ready?” Mitch asked as Meghan made her way over to the exam chair.

“I guess so,” she replied. “No sense putting it off longer.” She gave him a wry grin.

Mitch smiled reassuringly at her. “This won’t be much different than the other day, just a few more of them. And while I can’t change the setting, I can adjust the ambiance a bit, if you like. I do have speakers installed, can offer some quiet music.” He helped her up onto the chair and set her crutches aside but close by.

Meghan thought about it. “Maybe a little later. I think that it might not be helpful, at least with the first one.”

Mitch nodded. “Understandable. But if you want the music, just let me know. I’ve got Pandora.”

Kevin approached Meghan. “Meghan, if I may, would you be willing for me to palpate that cyst once more?”

She sighed but nodded. “Sure, I guess.”

Kevin glanced at Mitch, who nodded and turned to Meghan. “Let’s get you into position, then.” He helped her scoot her butt to the crack in the table and adjusted her legs in the supports. He then set the chair into motion, raising the chair up higher and dropping the extension so that her bottom was perched on the edge. He had already settled a drape over her lap, so she was modest for the moment.

Kelsey entered the room and appraised the situation. She pulled over a chair with her good hand and settled near Meghan’s head. “I’ll be your moral support, sis,” she said softly, giving the closest hand a squeeze.

“Thanks.”

Kevin by this time had already put gloves on and was reaching for a tube of lubricant. Mitch interrupted his movement with a question. “Do you need a speculum, Kevin?”

Kevin thought for a minute but shook his head no. “No, I think a bimanual will be sufficient.” He looked at Meghan over the drape as he pushed it up onto her stomach, exposing her pelvis. “I will be inserting my fingers now.” He lubed the first two fingers of his right hand, brought them to her vaginal entrance, and gently inserted them. He rested his left hand on her abdomen and started to palpate. He palpated her cervix, her uterus, and her left ovary, then moved to her right ovary, giving her a word of warning. He was brief, but it was enough to cause considerable pain.

“I’m sorry, Meghan, but I’m done,” he said, removing his fingers and discarding the gloves.

Kelsey, however, was the one to notice how much pain Meghan was actually in. “Mitch,” she said, getting her husband’s attention. He looked at her, then at Meghan, whose fist was tightly holding onto Kelsey’s hand. Meghan’s face was screwed up in a grimace, and she was pale.

Mitch quickly started rummaging through cabinets. Kevin, who had also looked more closely at Kelsey’s spoken word, re-draped the sheet over Meghan’s legs and moved up towards her head. “Meghan? Meghan, open your eyes for me. Breathe.”

Meghan took in a slow breath and let it out, but didn’t open her eyes. Kevin could see the tears pooling around her eyelids and felt like crap for having caused this much pain. Mitch approached the exam chair with a syringe. He exposed Meghan’s hip, swabbed it with a prep pad, and inserted the needle into her hip, pushing the medication in slowly. “Give it a couple of minutes, hon. Breathe,” Mitch encouraged and disposed of the syringe in the sharps container.

Kelsey stroked her sister’s hair. “Shh, it’ll be better in just a bit. Breathe through it, sis. Yes, that’s it,” she coached, as Meghan tried to take deep breaths and breathe through the pain.

The medication started taking effect, bringing relief and a fuzzy feeling through Meghan’s body. Everyone was relieved to see her starting to breathe easier and relax. Finally, her eyes opened, and she looked at Kelsey.

“How are you doing now, sis?” Kelsey asked, still stroking her sister’s hair as well as she could with her injured hand. Meghan still had a hold on her good hand, but her grip had considerably loosened.

“How many hours until my surgery?” Meghan asked softly, her voice weak and wavering.

Kevin blew out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He stood in Meghan’s line of sight. “I’m sorry, Meghan. I caused you unnecessary pain, something I did not intend to do.” He felt horrible.

She looked at him and blinked. “I know you didn’t mean to. Just try not to do it again, okay?”

He chuckled for a second. “I promise. Thank you.” He gave a sigh of relief.

Mitch approached Meghan again. “How would you rate your pain right now?”

“Maybe down to a five. But I’m nauseous.” Meghan shifted uncomfortably.

Mitch thought for a minute. “I want to start an IV, Meghan. I’ll give you some more pain meds and something for the nausea. I want you comfortable before we start the enemas.” She nodded, and he went to pull supplies from the cabinets.