Lesson 1 NWME

DAY ONE
Genre- Inspirational Romance
Idea- A nurse has to deal with her tough boss and the fact that her son has Leukemia
Title- Healing Hearts
Theme- Give your troubles to God
Setting- Midwestern town


DAY TWO
A nurse deals with a demanding doctor, her son’s Leukemia, and single parenthood.


DAY THREE
While holding onto her faith, nurse Brianna Handel struggles to keep her job to provide for her young son battling Leukemia. When a clerical error causes Dr Lawson to question her abilities, she must prove herself in order to save her job. Just when she thinks her son’s battle with Leukemia may be coming to an end, he faces a setback that threatens her strength. Money problems compound when the insurance company denies payment. Dr Lawson saves her son’s life and opens her heart to the possibility of love.



Main Character- Nurse Brianna Handel
Romantic Interest- Doctor Robert Lawson
Opposing force- Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL)



DAY FOUR
Brianna Handel’s faith is tested every day. Raising a young son on her own is tough enough, but the fact that little Jeremy has Leukemia has made her job even tougher. Brianna knows that she must hold onto her faith in God or she’d never make it through the day. Helping her son to learn to rely on God’s love will be much easier if she sets a good example. Growing up in a small Midwestern town helped to form the feeling of community, something she wishes to share with Jeremy, which is why she decided that coming home was the best for their small family.

Providing for Jeremy’s well-being is Brianna’s main priority. When her job at Dr. Robert Lawson’s office is threatened by a clerical error, Brianna must prove she knows what she’s doing. The handsome doctor’s suspicious gaze is nerve racking, but she can’t afford to lose her job now. With bills piling up, she will do whatever she has to in order to keep her job security.

The light at the end of the tunnel turns out to be misleading when Jeremy’s condition worsens. Just when she thought the treatments were working, she’s faced with a new problem. Time is running out and she must decide the best course of action with Jeremy’s treatments.

With the insurance company trying to deny payment for Jeremy’s treatment, her spare money is non-existent. She barely has enough to make ends meet, much less pay for the whole treatment on what she makes. How can she provide for his medical care when she can barely pay the monthly bills? Will the pediatric oncologist and hospital continue to care for Jeremy when the money runs out?

Jeremy’s health is critical and Brianna has no where left to turn. When Dr. Lawson steps up and saves Jeremy’s life, she realizes that his love is strong enough to pull them through. For the first time, she knows loves healing touch.



DAY FIVE
Synopsis

Brianna Handel was used to living a tough life. Becoming a single parent at age 33 after the death of her husband had been a hard blow. But nothing could have prepared her for the shocking news of her son’s illness. Leukemia. She would have never thought it could happen to her little Jeremy. The mop-haired 5 year old boy was full of life. He was hard to keep up with most of the time. When he’d started slowing down and complaining of pain in his knees after barely being outside, she knew something was wrong.

After working many twelve hour nights at the local emergency room, she’d seen many children suffering. But nothing compared to watching her own son crying in agony. When the small bruises started popping up with barely a bump, her fear intensified. He was wasting away in front of her own eyes, barely eating and laying around most of the time.

Sitting in the doctor’s office, she wasn’t used to being on this end of the health care field. The waiting was agony. Her mind raced with fear as she waited for the results of the tests. Being a nurse, she knew the long drawn out processes that it took to reach the final diagnosis. There were no shortcuts to be had. She must simply wait it out. When the doctor delivered the devastating news, she stared in disbelief. How could this be? Her baby couldn’t possibly have cancer. She couldn’t handle another illness, not so soon after her husband’s.

She’d been lucky to land a job with Dr. Robert Lawson’s office. Changing routines had been the hardest. After working nights for so many years, it was a major adjustment to start working the day shift again. But it was needed when her husband had passed away. Now she was grateful that she’d landed that job when she had. Jeremy needed her to be on the same schedule that he was. His needs would always come first. Now with this latest news, there was no doubt that she’d done the right thing.

Dr. Lawson was considered a tough man to work for. Although his patients loved him, his employees did not. The man had the bedside manner of a saint, always putting the patient at ease, no matter what the problem. But his staff wasn’t lucky enough to receive the same treatment. He was tough, no doubt about that. A perfectionist was putting it mildly. There was no room for error in his office. He’d earned the nickname “Dr. Dread” among his staff.

Brianna wasn’t concerned with his attitude. She understood that it was simply concern for his patients well-being that stood behind his attitude. As a doctor, she respected him. As an employee, she feared him. Her job was too precious to risk losing, which was why she tread lightly around her handsome boss. She knew her job and did it well, but sometimes that wasn’t enough.

At least he was lenient when it came to her schedule. Whenever she needed a day off for anything Jeremy related, she never had a problem. She wasn’t afforded that flexibility at he hospital.

After moving back to her hometown, she hadn’t had time to find Jeremy a new pediatrician. Luckily, her new job allowed her visits to Dr. Lawson at a huge discount. And Jeremy loved Dr. Lawson. He was constantly telling her how lucky she was to work for him because ‘he’s so nice’. Brianna would just nod her head and smile, Jeremy didn’t need to know how tough her job really was.

Even though her job paid well, money was tight. She never knew if she was going to have enough to last until the next paycheck. Her savings account was non-existent. Fourteen dollars and thirty-eight cents. Unfortunately, her checkbook balance was usually lower, barely above zero.

Dr. Lawson delivered the bad news of Jeremy’s condition and immediately set up an appointment with a pediatric oncologist at Children’s Hospital. Even with her health insurance, she didn’t know how she was going to pay for the treatments Jeremy would need. Not to mention the fact that the new doctor was one hundred and fifty miles away.

Dealing with Jeremy’s diagnosis was the most difficult thing she’d ever imagined. Her faith was tested, but she held strong to her beliefs. Allowing God to comfort her in her darkest hours. She knew she’d never make it through without His love and her church family to support her.

The day Dr. Lawson confronted her about a mixup with a patient’s chart, she was on the verge of tears. His condescending attitude in telling her that it was her fault threw her off guard. She knew she’d written down exactly what the patient had told her, but she had no way of defending herself. The fact that the patient had an allergic reaction to the medication rested on her shoulders. Even though the man hadn’t told her of the allergy, Dr. Lawson’s accusing eyes said that he didn’t care what the reason. It was her fault.

Brianna didn’t know how much more she could take. Life was surging at her too fast and she was dodging problems around every turn. It got to the point that she was afraid to pick up the telephone. Then one day, she wished she hadn’t. The hospital called to notify her that her insurance company had refused to pay and they wanted the rest of their money.

With medical bills piling up and walking on eggshells at the office, Brianna was unsure where to turn. Multiple calls to the insurance company had resolved nothing. The insurance adjuster was rude and thoroughly unhelpful. Jeremy’s treatments were becoming more and more expensive and she could no longer afford to pay the full payment while she fought to receive her benefits. There was only one person left to turn to, Dr. Lawson.

Although, she was slowly gaining his trust back, Brianna was still afraid to turn to the man who’d given her so much grief. Could she trust him enough to put her fate in his hands?

Fighting his own battles, Dr. Lawson did care about Brianna and her son. He knew that he’d earned the reputation of being an uncaring and evil boss. It wasn’t something he was proud of, but he had no choice. After the senseless death of a patient, he couldn’t take any chances. He’d been fighting those nightmares for too many years to count. He knew how easily mistakes could happen, and he couldn’t take the chance of them happening again. Luckily, no one here knew of his past mistakes. He’d taken great pains to ensure that didn’t happen. Yet the ghosts of his past still haunted him.

He’d moved to this small town trying to run, yet he’d never been able to completely escape. His mind was filled with reminders daily of his life left behind. The large practice in which he was headed for partner was a bittersweet memory. It was best to focus on the here and now.

How many times had his family told him to put his faith in God? He’d lost his faith years ago on that fateful night, and he knew he’d never be able to get it back. He couldn’t understand how a loving God could allow and innocent person to die for someone else’s mistake.

He’d watched Brianna fighting her own demons, yet holding onto her own faith. He couldn’t understand how she could place her faith in a God who’d let you down so easily. Respect for the woman who carried such a heavy burden filled his heart. How could he not offer whatever help he could provide? If she would just let him.

Working together daily, each fighting their own battles, brought them closer than Brianna would have liked. She didn’t want to put her trust in a man who didn’t share her values and beliefs. Yet he was the one reaching out to her, trying to help her. Maybe this was God’s way of telling her she needed to help this man in return. Maybe she could bring him back into God’s fold and show him the love that was there for the taking, if only he’d believe. If God wanted to show His love through her, how could she deny Him that? It was her Christian duty.

Brianna felt like she never had a day off. Between working at the office and taking care of Jeremy, her time was limited. That’s why when Jeremy’s chemotherapy forced her to stay home and miss her weekly church attendance, she felt such a loss. Even though she continued to pray and read her bible, she missed the interaction between her fellow church family. But she knew that there was no choice. The chemotherapy had been killing the cancer cells, but it also put him at higher risk for infection. It was a risk she couldn’t take. She’d been meticulous with cleaning to make sure no germs got through.

When Jeremy’s fever started to rise, her fear escalated. Even a small cold could have dire consequences with his weakened immunity. When she rushed him to the hospital, she was surprised to find Dr. Lawson already there waiting for them in the emergency room. He wasted no time getting Jeremy placed in a reverse isolation room and started on antibiotics. She knew the infection could be a life or death situation and her heart ached. There was no way she could handle losing another person she loved so much. She’d already been through it once with Jeremy’s father, but now to watch her son fighting for his life was more than she could bear.

With her faith in God and her renewed faith in Dr. Lawson, she placed all her trust in the men in her life. Jeremy was a fighter and Dr. Lawson wasn’t backing down. Her son would pull through this.

After sleepless nights and ocean’s of tears, her relief was palpable when the fever broke. Jeremy had made it through and Dr. Lawson rarely left his side. Her heart had lightened at the sight on the large man holding the small hand in his.

When Jeremy drifted back into sleep, the doctor rose from his side and pulled her hands into his own. His question nearly brought her to her knees as her eyes filled with tears. “Will you take me to church with you? I want to find God again, with you by my side."