The Language of Love
Jackee Maren, a beautiful blond young wife and mother has a terrible car wreck with her two young sons, Malcolm and Bryon in the back seat. Her body is beat up badly and especially her face. Her sons suffer little physical hurt. After five months, Jackee's husband, Phil, who runs North Chicago Printing, convinces her to have facial surgery to correct severe disfigurement. But when she wakes up from the surgery, she finds that she has no feeling anywhere nor can she talk. It is like she is in a black body of water, non-existent. She can't understand it until she hears three doctors in her room discussing her and they say she is brain dead except for her eyes, which she can open and close. She is in a "Locked In" syndrome. They also say it can only happen when some type of tranquilizer is given prior to the anesthetic and her admittance form said she had taken nothing. But she remembered that Phil had insisted before coming that she take two tranquilizers to calm her and he filled out the admittance form. She is in the hospital for many days and during that time, Phil never brings her sons to visit her. He is having the house remodeled so that a nurse can sleep next to her bedroom and the bedroom is being converted to meet her special needs like her bed, a therapy table, refrigerator for her special liquid food and a cabinet. She cannot eat normally. Food is provided her by a tube that goes through her nose into her esophagus and then to her stomach. She absolutely can move nothing. But it is like she has bionic hearing, sight, smell, sound and thought: these senses are far more sensitive than usual for a human. She can hear sounds clearly far away, identifies objects by smell and can pick up the thoughts of others if she concentrates.
Kevin Martin, a huge, muscular older man, a physical therapist, is hired to massage and exercise her body each day to keep her muscle mass. He speaks like a southerner from Appalachia and his face is scarred and disfigured because he was an ex-fighter and when he gave that up, he went to school to be a therapist. He is extremely gentle with Jackee, senses her every need, and feels what she feels. Eventually he develops a code for her to communicate by blinking her eyes and in the beginning one blink is yes and two blinks is no. A small, strong, extremely competent Filipino nurse, Maria, is hired to take care of her bathing, changing of diapers and clothing and any other medical help she may need. Jackee can never be left alone because she is totally helpless. If she is lying down flat when the feeding tube is being used, she will suffocate and this happens once when Phil sends everyone on an errand, guaranteeing he will stay with her, but instead makes her bed flat and leaves. Jackee is rescued almost too late.
Jackee is wealthy. Her father Chester Webster, a widower, left three trusts when he died. One for Jackee and one for each of her sons. He left nothing for Phil and Phil is extremely angry over that. Attorney Arthur Osborn takes care of the trusts, but allows Phil to draw on them to support the family with these added expenses. Jackee always wondered why Phil would work so late so many nights, literally ignoring his sons and her. He used the job as an excuse but eventually a beautiful red haired woman enters Jackee's life. Her name is Rhonda.
The plot of this story is brilliant. Jackee has talents and gifts she is unaware of until she strains to communicate. Through her own love of the others in her life and the love that Kevin, Maria and her children hold for her, obstacles are overcome, even though mysteriously bad things happen. This tale is well written and the reader feels what Jackee is feeling, what the others are feeling and how Jackee uses her newly found gifts to help herself and the others, eventually bringing about justice to herself and her family. It is a most entertaining story and I truly enjoyed it.
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