It was after midnight, and Sophie couldn’t sleep. She had learned
the NICU also never slept. It was as busy at eleven at night as
it was at eleven in the morning. She got up and headed to the
hall with the vending machines. She was craving a Milky Way.
She heard footsteps coming toward her from behind. She spun
around. The person was backlit, making it difficult for her to see
who it was. She turned back and started toward the NICU.
“Sophie.”
“Dr. Sheldon! Jesus, why are you sneaking up on me like
that?”
“I couldn’t sleep either, and I wanted to talk. About the
BrainHealth study Danny is in.”
“Can’t it wait until the morning?”
“No.” He guided her out from under the fluorescent lighting.
“I’m taking Danny out of the study.”
“Why?” She stood against the wall next to the vending
machines. Dr. Sheldon was standing so close to her. She moved
away a step.
“Because I have all the numbers I need. I have enough data
to present to the FDA and for publication. There’s no need to
keep him in the study. He’ll stay on caffeine until he’s closer
to discharge. After that, you and your pediatrician can decide
whether to keep him on it.”
“What do the results show?”
“Equivocal. Might help, might not. A little disappointing,
199
THE VERY BEST OF CARE
to be honest. I still need to follow up on the babies that enrolled
initially, follow them over the next couple of years to see whether
their development is better than those who stopped taking it.”
“Is that all you wanted to tell me?”
“No, I also wanted to say something about my other project,
the one on X-linked diseases.”
“Yes . . .”
“Sophie, it’s not a big deal.”
“Oh really.”
He nodded.
“Dr. Sheldon, why are we talking about this now?”
“Because it’s important that you understand. You need to
know that all I’m doing in the study is tagging the male babies
who are positive for the defect. That’s it. I’m doing nothing else
to them. I’m simply identifying the ones who are an insurance
risk for HHI.”
“But, Dr. Sheldon, that is so wrong.”
“I know you don’t agree with it, but it’s the way things work.
The truth of the matter is if I don’t do it, someone else will. I
can’t fix the system, but I can play along. And the bottom line
is, I’m not harming the babies, not in the least. I’m just giving
insurance companies information that they would eventually get
anyway.” He held Sophie’s gaze.
She swallowed hard. “Dr. Sheldon, you’re only one step away
from crossing the line—the line where the insurance companies
have the power to decide whether to provide health insurance
to these kids or not. How does that, as you say, eradicate the
disease?”
He gently held her by the arm. “The reality is, Sophie, that
health insurance companies, along with the pharmaceutical
companies, are running this country. It’s happening right under
our noses, and nobody’s going to realize the extent of it until it’s
too late.”
200
JULIE HATCH
“But why do you have to be such an active participant?”
He studied her, not saying a word.
She backed up a step. “What?”
“I want you to see another project I’m working on. Forget
HHI and genetic illnesses. I’ve got something that’s going to
blow everybody’s mind. It’s a totally new advancement in neo
natology. Mitch and I started it together. And he may have been
the brains behind it initially, but he blew it. So now it’s my turn.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The New NICU. It’s a promise for the future of babies. I’ve
got WMI’s backing, which is important. I don’t need Mitch, and
I can’t trust him anyway. This is too big a deal.” He stopped.
“Seriously, you should come check it out someday.” He turned to
walk away. “I’ll tell Rihanna you say hi.”
Sophie bought her candy bar and walked to the parents’
lounge. She was still trying to figure out what Dr. Sheldon had
been talking about as she drifted off to sleep.
