Transplant

Chapter 1-2

Noah recalled the Christmas holidays of last year, right after graduation and the beginning of their internship at Bellevue Hospital. The four of them had gone to Lillie’s Union Square, a Victorian-themed bar and restaurant not far from the hospital. The crowd was caught up in the holiday spirit, and the friends were enjoying the revelry. They felt somewhat self-conscious ordering non-alcoholic drinks, but took comfort in the fact they were being charged almost as much as one paid for cheap beer.

“Well, here’s to success,” Adam waxed philosophical as they all raised their glasses. “We spent our whole lives together trying to find this door, and we’re here. We knocked, and they let us in.”

“The journey’s just begun,” Abe, a squat man with prematurely-graying black hair, pointed out. “We’ve been spending so much time getting situated at the hospital, we haven’t had a decent team meeting in weeks. And now with these holidays, oy vey!”

“Oy vey?” Isaac, a tall, athletically built man with thick curly black hair, chided him. “Oy vey? You not only look like your father, but now you’re starting to sound like him! You keep it up, the goys are gonna cross you off their Christmas lists out of respect for your beliefs!”

“That would be terrible,” Abe mocked. “That means I won’t be able to exchange an ugly-looking tie for a pair of socks and underwear.”

“Well, maybe the rest of you have had your time compromised by your families and your obligations, but us bachelors have been able to dedicate our quality time to less important things.” Adam was the only one with Scotch in his glass. “I finally made a breakthrough on Project X.”

“What do you mean, a breakthrough?” Isaac stared at him.

“I guess you’ll have to come out to the house to find out.” Adam smiled mysteriously.

“I thought we agreed we were dropping that one.” Abe squinted. “Didn’t we go over all the spiritual ramifications with the rabbi? We always agreed that we would never do anything that would violate the principles of the Talmud.”

“I didn’t agree with anything, the rest of you did,” Adam pointed out. “Science and religion have always been at odds with one another. We’ve gone over this time and again. If you wanted to stand on religious ground, you should’ve went to Yeshiva. Besides, isn’t the Talmud all about the greater good of mankind? All right, suppose we cause some animals some pain, or we take chances down the line and come up short somewhere? We are looking at the long-range result, my friends, a future where no one dies or lives a barren life because of the loss of a limb or an organ. Nothing in life is attained without pain or loss, at least nothing worthwhile.”

“I will never forget the sight of that rabbit who came off the anesthetic trying to chew his own leg off because of the pain.” Isaac stared at the top of the bar. “That is not science. That is Dr. Mengele at Auschwitz.”

“I’m past that,” Adam replied. “Why don’t we take a cab back to my place and see where I’m at right now?”

The friends dutifully finished their drinks and made their way through the throng, walking out onto the snow-covered sidewalk and hailing a taxi. Each had mixed thoughts about Adam having continued working on his own. He was the most gung-ho on the project, though Isaac would be the last to call the joint venture quits, for whatever reason. Isaac had been called upon to perform restorative surgery on some of the most pitiful burn victims one could imagine. There was little progress being done in helping these people progress beyond horrible and terrible, and anything extra he could bring to the field was a good thing.

Of the four, Abe was the most stable yet the most cautious in proceeding along their chosen path. At thirty, he was the oldest of the group and had a wife and four kids to feed. As a peripheral nerve surgeon, he had state-of-the-art equipment and the latest research and development info at his fingertips. Though he was a mere intern, he did not foresee any undue delay in progressing rapidly up the ranks and becoming a leader in the field. He saw lots of tenured physicians who were both indecisive and tentative at the table, frightened at the prospect of doing too much or too little and being hit with a career-destroying malpractice suit. Though he was not a firebrand by any means, his father always taught him that procrastination and hesitation were two of the deadliest sins. Regardless of right or wrong, one always made a commitment during the hour of decision. Abe Javits had no problem standing by his decisions, and only hoped that sticking with his friends in this endeavor was not a bad move.

It was Noah himself who was the weak link in the chain. He was the exact opposite of Abe in vacillating and being insecure, and relied on his friends’ support to make his way through trying times. Yet he was considered by them as the most technically proficient in being able to interpret new theories and ideas and apply them in the field. They often found themselves bringing articles in medical journals to him for his interpretation. He could read between the lines and give them the insight they needed to resolve a situation they were dealing with at the hospital.

They arrived at Adam’s brownstone on Grace Court overlooking the Promenade at Brooklyn Heights that his father had purchased over a lifetime and was worth millions in today’s spiraling market. Adam Sr. had completely remodeled the home and turned the grade level into a realtor’s dream, while turning the second floor into an apartment for Adam, and reserving the third floor for himself and his wife. After he died, Adam kept the top floor in palatial shape while converting the basement into a research laboratory. The four friends would converge there to work on their joint projects, but had not gotten together since September upon beginning their internships at Bellevue.

“Mm-wwoo-ahhhahahahah!” Isaac put on his best Bela Lugosi accent as they entered through the basement door beneath the upper staircase. “Welcome to the Rauch laboratory!”

“Where’s Igor?” Abe tried to be lighthearted. “You oughta fire his a*s. It smells like a cave down here.”

“C’mon, you guys, keep it down,” Adam insisted. “My mom’s got ears like a bat.”

“Maybe she turned into one and started hanging around down here,” Abe joked, getting a light elbow in the ribs from Adam. “Hey, watch it, I can still kick your ass.”

“In your dreams, old man.” Adam switched on the fluorescent light, revealing the surprisingly spacious research area, replete with two aluminum dissecting tables, shelves full of chemicals and beakers, jars and numerous accessories. There was a bookshelf packed with medical books alongside a workstation with two computers. Along the far wall were cages reserved for lab animals, though only one appeared to be occupied at this time. “Go on, guys, take a look.”

The three of them walked over to the cage and peered in at the sleeping animal. They saw a rabbit sleeping in a nest of shredded newspaper, and as they inspected it they saw what appeared to be two black rear legs beneath its snow-white belly.

“Oh my God, Adam,” Isaac shook his head. “You never give up, do you?”

“He’s in good shape after two weeks,” Adam said proudly. “The body is not rejecting the limbs and he’s showing no signs of discomfort. The limbs aren’t functional but, then again, I didn’t have Abe here to do the nerve surgery.”

“So, what does this prove?” Abe demanded. “You can put legs back on someone, even though they don’t work? I think most of the amputees coming back from Afghanistan would rather have the mechanical ones. At least they can run around on them.”

“Look behind you,” Adam suggested.

The three men turned around and saw a black cat stumbling up to greet them. It had a noticeable limp in its hind legs, both of which were white from joints to paws. It came up and began rubbing affectionately against them.

“Holy shit.” Abe dropped to his haunches and began inspecting the cat. He could feel the surgical incisions where the rear legs were attached, but could discern no abnormalities. If it were not for the color, the operation would have seemed as a successful effort to have reattached two severed limbs. “You did this all by yourself?”

“Couldn’t have done it without you guys,” Adam beamed with pride. “Gentlemen, I see this as a green light from the Almighty. There is no reason on earth why this should not continue. We are on the verge of some of the most groundbreaking advancements in the history of medicine.”

“Okay, I’m still in,” Isaac consented as he and Noah knelt down to inspect the cat themselves. “Let’s just get through Hanukkah so I’m not away from home at sundown. Even the hospital’s making that much of a concession.”

“Hey, I know you and Abe have families, but at least Noah can come by and help out. That okay with you, Noah?”

“Sure,” Noah shrugged.

“Now that we’ve turned the corner, we need to find a new workplace,” Adam insisted. “A location where we’ll be able to interact with the community and apply our knowledge in providing services. Think of it as being a MASH unit, improvising and adapting while performing meatball surgery.”

“Hold on,” Isaac grimaced. “Are you talking about working without a license outside of an approved facility? If we get caught, we’ll never practice medicine again.”

“All I ask is that you hear me out,” Adam insisted.

They retired to the rest area he had set up that resembled a waiting room in a doctor’s office, and they sat around and listened to Adam’s presentation. They debated long into the night, and finally agreed to continue pursuing a lifelong dream that would eventually become a demonic nightmare.