Hello! Here's Chapter 4! This is THE chapter, so you should know what's about to happen.

Also, there is a Theory of Everything reference in this chapter, simply because I love that movie, and I love Eddie Redmayne.

Enjoy!

Chapter 4

So, soon I was scheduled to see the nurse the following Friday after my last class. I considered taking a friend along with me, and Galinda practically begged to go, but I view medical appointments as very private things. In fact, Galinda was the only person who even knew I was going to the nurse; I decided the others would be on a need to know basis so as not to scare them.

Luckily, the cabs at Shiz are very active on Friday afternoons, so I was easily able to get to and from the nurse's without having to worry about my weakening legs. As I sat in the waiting room, most of the other people there were too absorbed in their own aliments to worry about me, but one boy, who was clearly a new transfer student as I had never seen him before, looked at me with wide eyes and said, "Whoh! What did you get?!"

"None of your business," I answered with a glare. He promptly moved two seats away from me, probably thinking I was contagious. Welcome to Shiz, nimrod.

After what seemed like an eternity, the nurse, Serapha, called me back. I noticed she avoided looking at me as she led me into one of the exam rooms. "So, Miss … um … Elphaba," she began, looking at the top of my file. "What seems to be the trouble?"

"My legs," I said firmly, wanting to get straight to the point. "They're tiring easily, I'm having trouble walking long distances, and I've noticed that my right foot is beginning to drag behind me when I walk."
Her surprise was evident. She began to scribble in her notes. "Oh. I see. Well … um … when did this start?"

"About a month ago."

More scribbling. "Uh-huh. Any other symptoms such as drowsiness, shortness of breath, or pain in your legs and back?"

"Not that I've noticed, no."

After even more writing (I thought I was obsessive in taking notes), Serapha said to me, "Alright, Miss Elphaba, if you'll just give me a few clock ticks to consult with my colleagues, I'll be right back with some answers for you. Okay?"

I nodded. "Alright." She could not have left the room faster, it seemed to me.

Through the walls, I could hear snippets of what Serapha and her "colleagues" (nurses in training, I assumed) were saying: "… almost sounds like … but she's so young … if this was a 50 year old, I would say …" They thought I might have something that elderly people typically got? That was a little worrisome.

Eventually, Serapha came back in. "I cannot help you," she told me, sounding more desperate than apologetic. "But, I can refer you to a neurologist at Shiz General, Dr. Headly-Silon. She has more expertise than I when it comes to these types of things. For your ease, I will set up an appointment for you, and all your expenses will be added to your university bill. You live at Crage Hall, correct?"

"That's right."

"You will receive a call from me this time next week, or possibly sooner, with information about your appointment."

"Great," I said, trying to hide my anxiety. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome. Have a nice day."

"You have to go to Shiz General?!" Galinda almost shrieked when I told what happened. "But that's, like, where people who actually live here go!"

"I know," I said grimly. "I have to tell you, Glin, this is starting to really worry me. I have this hunch that this will be something very serious that'll impact my life, you know, permanently!"

Galinda grabbed onto my arm. "Oh, Elphie! You mustn't think that! Of course, you should be concerned about this, but be positive! This is just as likely to be nothing as it is to be something serious. Glass half full!"

I grinned. "Right. Honestly, I don't know what I would do without your optimism."

"Probably wither and die."

"Probably."

True to her word, Serapha was early, calling the dorm on Wednesday night. She informed me that Dr. Headly-Silon was very eager to see me, and that I had an appointment for the coming Monday afternoon at four. Once again, Galinda tried to convince me to let her come, but I stuck to my guns, mostly because I didn't want to her to become hysterical if she didn't need to be.

I had never been to Shiz General before, so I was in awe over just how big it was. It had a fine reputation as one of the best hospitals in Oz, second only to Ohneeds Yobins Hospital in the Emerald City. My destination was the Brain, Spinal Cord, and Nervous System Center, where Dr. Headly-Silon worked. I only had to wait a few clock ticks before I was called back.

After a nurse checked my vitals, a woman who looked to be in her early 40s came into the exam room. "Good afternoon!" she said cheerfully. "I'm Dr. Headly-Silon! You must be Miss Elphaba. Lovely to meet you! How're we doing today?"

"Fine," I replied. "How are you?"

"Wonderful! Now, I have a report from Serapha on you. You're not the first Shiz student to come here, nor will you be the last. It says that you have recently experienced leg fatigue, trouble with endurance, and a right foot drag. Is that correct?"

"Yes, that's exactly right."

To be frank, the rest of the appointment was kind of a blur. Dr. Headly-Silon asked me a bunch more questions, and then took samples of just about every bodily substance imaginable: blood, urine, even muscle. That last one was especially painful. "It'll take about two weeks for me to finalize these tests," she told me at the end of the appointment. "So I need you to come back the Monday after next, okay?"

I forced a smile. "Alright. I'll see you then, I guess."

Those were the longest two weeks of my life. Galinda was even more overly perky than usual, and dragged me out of Crage Hall almost every night to distract me. And the others, of course, had no idea what was going on, so talking to any of them was a distraction in and of itself since I couldn't talk about my medical problems.

But finally, the two weeks passed, and I was back at Dr. Headly-Silon's office. When I was called back, she was already waiting for me in one of the exam rooms. "Good afternoon, Miss Elphaba," she said with significantly less cheer than two weeks earlier. "How are you?"

"I'm good," I answered. "So, what have you found out?" It was pretty clear that she was forcing herself to make small talk with me, and I wanted to get straight to the point.

"You might want to sit down." I did so, mostly because my legs were already tired from the walk up to her office. She sighed. "Miss Elphaba … diagnosis is often less about identifying a condition, and more about eliminating a number of conditions that the patient does not have. You could have had any number of things: multiple sclerosis, a spinal cord tumor, and so on. But the tests we did eliminated all of those. You don't have any of those conditions."

"But what do I have?"

Another sigh. Come on, get to the point! "I'm very sorry. You have amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. You know what that is?"

I nodded. "Vaguely. It causes loss of motion, right?"

"Yes, that's right. Basically, the nerve cells that control your voluntary movement gradually die. For you, it's started in your legs; most likely, it will spread to your arms next, then to your face, eventually resulting in almost total paralysis. By the time of your death, you will almost definitely not be able to walk, talk, care for yourself, or possibly even breathe without assistance."

I took a deep breath, trying to take all this in. "And … when will that happen? My death, I mean."

"Life expectancy for people with ALS is three to five years after diagnosis." That hit me especially hard. I wouldn't get to help the Wizard for very long, and even if the Wizard decided he didn't need me, Nessa still did! From what Dr. Headly-Silon was saying, there would come a time when I would be more dependent than her. Who would take care of my sister when I couldn't even take care of myself?

But there was still one important question I needed an answer for. "And my cognitive abilities? Will those be affected at all?"

Dr. Headly-Silon shook her head. "No. You'll have completely normal thoughts. It's just … eventually no one will know what they are." My face must have shown how stricken I felt, because then she said, "I'm really sorry. I wish I could tell you that there's a pill you could take that would stop this, but unfortunately, there's really not. All I can give you right now is this." She reached under the exam table and pulled out a cane with four prongs. "Use this in your right hand, and it should take some of the pressure off your legs."

So after thanking Dr. Headly-Silon and making an appointment for the next month, I walked out of the hospital and to the nearest cab. I noticed that the cane really did make a difference in how easily I could walk. Sitting down in the cab was still a relief, but not as much as it would have been. But soon it wouldn't be enough. Soon I would be in a wheelchair, completely dependent, which I hated being. I could barely comprehend all this myself, which made me wonder how in Oz I would tell everyone else.

There you are! Hope you liked it! Thanks for reading!
Cheers,

Elle Dottore