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them. “Is it her brain?”
    “No, it's her kidney,” the doctor explained.
    He showed her the other images too and shook his head in disbelief.
    “It's unbelievable how fast your sister has recovered,” he said. “It's truly amazing. How is she healing so quickly?”
    Later, Kerry explained to her sister that she was simply using her energy, concentrating it on healing her body and sending it out to help C onor and all the other victims.
    Kerry was thrilled when Nuala came to visit her unexpectedly. I t was so good to see her. Nuala had learned through her contacts in the media that a large amount of money was being offered for Kerry's photograph. Someone said it was as high as a hundred thousand euro! Kerry couldn't believe it. She was know n in literary circles for her writing achievements but she certainly wasn't famous or remotely a “celebrity.” However, the world seemed to have become fascinated by her story and that of her family. Photographers were trying to sneak into the hospital to snap photos of her and security guards were positioned outside her door to keep them out.
    “Maybe you should let them take your photo,” Nuala suggested tentatively one morning when she'd beaten a path through the photographers to her room. “Your photograph might help to find Conor. You could ask if anyone has seen him and who knows who might happen to read the newspaper and might just know some information about him.”
    Reluctantly, Kerry agreed. She'd do anything to find her husband but giving her story and photo to the media somehow seemed gratuitous to her. Nuala took her pic t ure and the photo was sent around the world. The photo was quite striking and man y people wanted to know who had taken it. They assumed it was the work of a professional photographer. Kerry joked that Nuala could have a second career.
    Kerry was smiling in the photo. She really had a serene feeling at the time , like there was a light within her . Look, her smiled seemed to say, how wonderful it is to be alive! She was, in fact, starting to feel much better. The tube was out of her nose and although her legs remained up and tied together, the bed was electric, so she could chan ge positions.
    Sophie was on the phone to her every day, checking on her progress. She was constantly talking to the doctors in Ireland and relaying their recommendations to Maura and Kerry . Based on the doctors ’ advice, Sophie told Maura that it was im perative to regularly massage Kerry’s legs in order to keep the blood flowing to them. Sophie and Emer helped to rub her feet and arms too.
    The calls kept co ming. Aunt Aisling and Uncle Sean w anted to come out to see her right away but although Kerry longed to see them she knew it would be too much for them. She knew she'd be worried about them and it was important that she remained totally focused on herself and her recovery. When they continued to insist on flying out she almost gave in but she caught herself and said that she would see them when she went to the hospital in Cork. It was such a relief that they listened to he r . She knew that she was surrounded by love and best wishes from everyone and although of course it meant a lot to her to have such loving friends and family, she still hadn't heard anything from her beloved Conor.
    The doctors were coming and going, checking on her all the time. She was getting better every day but she was still being fed intravenously. Somehow, she had settled into a daily routine. She was on drips for a long time, being fed intravenously, and every morning she was getting morphine injections and having blood taken. Then the nurses would wash her. They were very gentle and so kind and they were always smiling; but they insisted on taking her blanket to wash it. She protested for as long as she could. The grubby blanket had been on quite a journey with her and she had bonded with it in the same way that she imagined a small child loved their blanket. That dirty old piece