Preface:
As I write this, you should know that this isn't a story I'm writing for fun. Hi! y name is Haley Wells. I'm 13, almost 14, and this is my story.
Haley's POV
I can hide things, as can any child, from my parents. In my case it's the unusual amount of nosebleeds I've been having. I run up the stairs one day after school and into my bathroom. I go to weigh myself, something I always did, something routine. The scale beeps, and when I look down, the scale says 105 lbs, which is how much I usually am, but I remind myself that I've got a ton of clothes on and ate a lot today. I stand up straight and look in the mirror. My skin looks pale, ill. I cough and blow my nose and then keep blowing my nose into the sink. Blood streams out and there is a knock on the usually locked door. But unlike most days, I forgot to lock it. My sister Megan comes in.
"Oh my god!" she screeches.
"I'm fine." I assure her.
"Haley, what happened?" Megan asks.
"Nothing...my nose is just dry." I make up.
"I'm getting Mom." she starts to leave.
"No!" I yell.
"Why not?" Megan fights.
"Because it's nothing." I mutter.
"Has this happened before?"
"It's just because it's the winter, my nose is dry." I say.
"Fine...but it this happens again...tell someone." she urges. She closes the door and I rinse out the sink and wash my face.
My mother calls me down to dinner and I've got my homework already done. I walk down and sit at my usual spot, careful to avoid Megan's stare.
"How was school?" Dad asks.
"Fine. I'm tired, can I got upstairs? I ask.
"Are you feeling alright?" My mother asks.
"Yeah, I'm just tired." I say.
"Surely you can eat some of your dinner?" Dad replies.
"I guess." I say, shoving a forkful of peas into my mouth. I look at my sister who's watching me carefully. I eat about half of my food before the door opens and my two older brothers come in, tracking snow with them.
"Miles! Nathan!" Dad bellows.
"Hey, sorry were late. We had to stay after school." Miles says. I brush my brown hair over my shoulder and watch my family.
"Can I be done yet?" I ask.
"Alright, bring your plate into the kitchen." Mom say. I bring my plate into the kitchen and scrap it off into the trash. I close my door tightly and change into pajamas, scuttle into bed shivering. I wake up that night, covered in warm blankets, but shivering. I roll up into a ball, but it just gets worse. Something falls off my night stand. I get up and shiver into my parent's bedroom.
"Mom?" I chatter.
"Haley? Are you okay?" Mom's voice says.
"Come here, Haley." Dad's voice says from next to Mom's. I climb into their bed.
"She's burning up, Matt. Go get the thermometer." Mom orders. My dad goes downstairs, and when he comes back, he turns the light on, sticking a thermometer under my tongue.
"Wow." Dad breathes when the thermometer beeps.
"How high?"
"She's 103.2 degrees Fahrenheit." Dad says.
"If she gets any higher, I'm bringing her to the hospital." Mom says. I fall asleep, engulfed by dreams. When I wake, it's 11:30 in the morning. I'm quiet, still shivery. Mom comes in after a little while to check on me and see's I'm awake. She takes my temperature again.
"103.7. Okay, baby, can you get into the car?" I stand up and get my shoes on. At the hospital, they take a lot of blood, get an IV into me, and have me in a bed.
"Haley Wells?" the nurse asks.
"That's us." Mom says.
"I just need to take a little more blood." She says. She takes it and after a little while, the doctor comes in.
"Mrs. Wells? Hi, I'm Dr. Mary Richards. I've taken a look at Haley's CBC and am seeing abnormalities. I have a theory, but I don't want to worry you with it unless it is absolutly true, so I would like to take a bone marrow aspiration to confirm." Dr. Richards says. Mom nods as they prepare me for surgery. First they get me into a gown. When I've got that on, they have my lie down on a bed and take me into the operating room.
"Have you ever fallen asleep in a grape vine?" the nurse asks me, placing a mask over my nose and mouth. I fall asleep.
"Haley? Can you hear me?" a voice says. My eyes open and I feel an immediate pain, a soreness, in my hip.
"Mom?" I mutter.
"Mom! She's awake!" Megan's voice says from beside me. I go to sit up and feel a tug in my arm. When I look I see an IV and I roll my eyes before continuing to sit up.
"How are you feeling?" my mother asks.
"Alright...who's here?" I ask.
"Your father and brother's are in the cafeteria." Mom replies.
"Mrs. Wells?" a voice says. I look over to see a woman in the doorway, Dr. Richards.
"Hello." my mom says, offering a hand.
"Hi, I have the results, if you would like to have a husband with you?" Dr. Richards asks.
"Yes, Meg, honey, can you go get your father and brothers?" Mom asks, but it's more of an order. She comes back in a few minutes with the boys and Dad. Dad leaves with mom.
"How you feeling, Littles?" Miles asks.
"Haha very funny." I say. My family pet name is Littles because I'm the youngest.
"You think something's wrong?" Nathan asks.
"Nah, I'll probably just have the flu or something." I hope.
"What about your nosebleeds?" Megan asks.
"I told you. It's nothing."
"And your weight? I check your scale everyday." Nathan points out.
"Ha! What about how you're always sleeping?" Miles says.
"What is this? Proof that something's wrong?" I snap.
"Jeeze." Miles replies.
"I just-" I sneeze.
"Oh!" Megan cries, handing me a tissue. I blow my nose and she hands me another.
"Hold it there." Megan instruct. I keep it there, wadded up. My parents come in, tears wiped away, but leaving red, puffy eyes.
"Uh oh." I say.
"No duh." Miles replies. I was getting ready to flick him in the forehead.
"Kids, we have something to tell you." Mom starts, A nurse comes past me with a new IV bag, one covered by a black bag. She hooks it up to me and leaves.
"Kids, Haley's got what they call Acute Myelogenous Leukemia, or AML." Mom bursts into tears.
"What are they doing?" Nathan asks.
"They just gave her Cytoxan, a medicine used in chemotherapy." Dad replies, calm. Inside, I'm flipping out.
"You'll be fine." Miles waves his hand off to the side.
"Miles is actually right for once!" Megan says, but I swear I can see her crossing her fingers behind her back.
"They are going to move you to a more permanent location, easier for us to access." Mom sniffles.
"How?" I ask.
"Hello, Miss Wells, I'm Manny, your nurse who will be bringing you to your new room." says a man from the doorway, as if on cue. Megan helps me get into the bed and pushes my IV through the hallways.
"Here we are." Manny says, bringing me into a large room.
"Does someone else stay here?" Miles asks from the doorway.
"Yes, she's in a bone marrow aspiration at the moment. Her name is Audrey." Manny says. Other nurses come in and set up bed as Manny waved and left.
"How do you feel?" Mom asks.
"I'm alright, you look awful." I reply.
"I'm just worried. We all are."I bite my lip.
"We'll be back, get some rest." Dad says. Everyone but Nathan gets up and leaves. I fall asleep, but after about 3 hours, I start to feel sick.
"You okay, Hales?" Nathan asks. I sit up and look around frantically. I point to the pink emesis basin and Nathan shoves it under my mouth, in time for me to throw up in it, violently. My shoulders hunch forward and shake. Nathan rubs my back in circles. When I'm done, he takes it upon himself the clean the bin out. He hands me water.
"What was that?" I ask when I'm done.
"Chemo...maybe." Nathan says. He pressed the button for the nurse.
"Is something wrong?" the nurse asks when she comes in. I'm in the oncology section of the hospital, and she asks what's wrong?
"Yes, my sister was just throwing up, is there a reason for that?" Nathan asks politely.
"Was she given chemotherapy?" she asks.
"Yes."
"Oh, well that's why. I'll be right back." she says. I look at Nathan, my eyebrows raised. He bites back a smile. I throw up twice before the nurse comes back, handing us each a pamphlet labeled 'Your Chemotherapy.' I roll my eyes and start reading.
"Hello there! You must be receiving chemotherapy!" I get sick again, this time along with a lot of couching. When I'm finished, I finnish reading the pamphlet. I look over at Nathan when I'm done.
"Wow sorry you have to go through this." Nate whispers.
"Ha! Now I'll have an excuse to wear hats in school. I laugh. The door opens and they wheel in a bed occupied by a girl whom I assumed was Audrey. She was unconcious, bald, wait no- she had very fine, light hair that war extremley short. A boy follows after the nurse who brings her in and then leaves. I throw up.
"Nathan?" I ask.
"What's up, Littles?" Nathan replies.
"When's the rest of the family going to be back?" I ask. It's now around 7:30 at night.
"Do you want me to go find them? I'll get a nurse to come in and help you." Nathan says.
"Yeah, go get them, no I don't need a nurse I'll be fine." I say. Nathan leaves and gives me the basin. Within seconds, I'm throwing up.
"Do you need me to call the nurse?" the boy asks. I forgot he was even there.
"No, I'm fine. I'm Haley, are you Audrey's brother?" I ask,
"Step-brother." he correct.
"Mind giving me a name? Something to-" I'm cut off by nothing more than me getting sick. The boy comes over when I'm done and rinses out the basin for me.
"Thanks.." I trail off.
"Max."
"Thanks Max." I smile. We are quiet and my family soon comes in.
"Turns out chemo makes you not only sick, but lose your hair a few years to early. I say to my mother.
"I forgot to tell you that?" she asks. I shrug and get sick. Everyone rushes to me, but Nathan's the only one who actually does anything.
Nathan's POV
I watch my sister, the youngest member of our family. She's sick, getting visably weaker, every time she throws up. It's hard to watch this, but nice to know I can semi-help. She's got the whole family with her in the room, but I'm the only one already used to her being sick.
"Haley, are you hungry?" Mom asks after she's done getting sick.
"Not really." she says. "Max? Is there a remote to the tv?" Haley asks. It takes a few seconds to realize she's talking to the boy across the room. He comes over and hands her a remote. She smiles, and starts to cough, coughing up blood, just from an irritated throat. I give her water and tissues, and call the nurse in. She gives Haley cough drops. Haley leans back and falls asleep.
"Mom, take the family home. I've got her." I say.
"I'll stay too. You guys go home, we'll take care of her." Megan says. Mom nods and they al kiss Haley's forehead. I fall asleep that night for the first time in a chair next to Haley's hospital bed, listening to the beeps of her machines, running, assuring us that she is alive.