Halfway to forever by Karen Kingsbury

Tanner thought about that for a moment and the worry left
his face. "I love you, Jade." He leaned up and brought his lips to
hers.
Their kiss lingered, and for a brief moment jade forgot about
the pain in her head. "I love you, too."
"Go shower." He smiled. "And I'll pray it won't be four months." He settled back into the pillow and closed his eyes once more. "Okay. Sweet
dreams."
Jade studied the image of her husband as she stood and pulled her robe tight. As she headed for the bathroom, his words rang her heart. I love
you, jade...
Despite her aching head, the thought of an angry God punishing her for loving Tanner seemed nothing short of outlandish. She knew God better
than that.
But five minutes into her shower, her vision doubled and grew so blurry she couldn't see. As she struggled to focus, a piercing pain sliced
through her head, and she screamed in agony. "Tanner!" She groped to keep her balance as everything around her began to spin. "Help me!"
His footsteps sounded fast and hard against the floor outside the bathroom, but it was too late. Darkness overtook her as she collapsed on the
floor of the shower, unable to move.
"Jade!" Tanner was at her side. "Dear God, help me..."
She could feel his hands on her shoulders, then under her arms as he lifted her from the wet tile, but the sounds around her were fading fast.
65 And in that moment her symptoms seemed terrifyingly clear.
Nausea, morning headaches, double vision. Now this...
How many children had she cared for with similar symptoms? If it was what she feared, then her thoughts hadn't been irrational
after all. God must indeed be punishing her. Punishing both of
them.
Jade opened her mouth to speak but she no longer could. No,
God... please. Don't let it be...
She wanted to tell Tanner she was sorry, that she loved him
more than words could say, and that he needed to call an ambulance, but she couldn't make her tongue work to form words.
For a while Tanner was gone, and Jade fought to remain conscious. He's calling for help... everything's going to be fine. Then he was back
and he swept her into his arms again. The last thing she remembered was his breath on her face, his distant voice begging her to hold on,
telling her that help was on the way.
And something else ...a damp area on her chest. With a jolt
she realized Tanner was crying. Tanner... honey, don't cry. I'll be
okay, I promise.
Then there was nothing but cold, quiet darkness ... and the
lingering wetness of Tanner's tears.
Tanner could force himself to do only two things as he followed the ambulance in his car: breathe and pray Neither was easy. The moment he
had seen Jade on the floor of the shower, her lips blue, her arms and legs jerking unnaturally, a grenade of raw fear had exploded in his heart.
Over and over he had pictured himself waking to her screams
and finding her on the floor. "No, God!" he'd shouted as he stared
at her, panic coursing through his veins. He'd had no idea what to
do first. Call for an ambulance? Help her stop shaking?
64
H A L F W A Y 7 0 F 0 R E V E R
In a split-second decision, he dropped to the floor, took her
by the shoulders, and tried to force her body to stop shaking.
When that didn't work he called 9-1-1.
"What's the emergency?" an operator had asked him.
"I don't know... my wife is dying! Come quick. Please!"
In the minutes after that, Tanner hadn't meant to cry, but tears came anyway. Streams of them. As though his heart knew something his mind
wasn't ready to grasp. That there was something terribly wrong with the only woman he'd ever loved.
When the paramedics arrived, Tanner told them jade was pregnant. They noted the information, hooked her up to several monitors, and gave
her a shot of something. While they did, Tanner pounded them with as many questions as he dared ask. Was this something they'd seen
before? Was she dying? What was the shot for? Could they help her stop shaking?
Two men worked on her, loading her onto a stretcher, and one of them answered Tanner's questions, his tone calm and confident. "It happens
often," the man explained while he helped his partner hook an IV line into jade's arm. "She isn't dying. She's having
a seizure. The shot will calm her down."
Seizure? The word screamed in Tanner's mind even now A seizure? Other people might have seizures, but not his wife. Not his precious jade.
The memory evaporated in a desert of fear. Tanner swallowed hard and kept his eyes glued on the swirling lights in front of him. He knew
nothing about medicine, but he knew this: Seizures were a sign of something bad.
Something very bad.
It was more than Tanner could process, so he continued to pray. Not the conversational prayer he so often shared with God, but a desperate
cry for help, for an answer they could live with. One jade could live with.
67 I K A R E N K I N G S B U R Y At the hospital Tanner tore from his car and raced into the emergency room. Jade was being moved
through the lobby toward the back. Tanner was at her side in seconds, his heart rac ing as he gently leaned over and hugged her close. "Jade,
honey..." He took hold of her hand and walked along side the stretcher. "How are you?" She forced a smile, and Tanner tried to keep the fear