"This will be him soon." Erin whispered.
Jay and Erin continued to follow nurse Harper down the long hallway. There were more kids playing and biking in the hallway, but one kid in particular caught Erin's attention. It was a little boy riding on a bike and he seem to be around Hayden's age. There were multiple tubes connected to his little body and nasal cannula was in his nose, but the thing that caught her eye was the fresh scar that stretched from the top of his right ear to the back left side of his neck.
They eventually arrived at room 13.23. Harper opened the door to reveal Hayden watching the same TV show he had been watching earlier that morning; so much had changed since then. He was attached to so many wires and tubes that it completely overwhelmed Jay and Erin. She expected the room to be cramped and cluttered, but just like the waiting room, it was large and spacious. There was a couch that folded out into a bed and an en suite bathroom, kind of like a hotel room. The walls were colorful and there was a large mural of a coral reef directly across from the hospital bed.
"Hey baby." Erin said softly.
"Mommy! Daddy! I missed you." Hayden said as he attempted to sit up.
"Hey, easy there bud. You just had surgery." Jay his bed so he could sit up easier.
"Did you hear that uncle Will owes me four Lego sets!" Hayden said excitedly.
"Yep sounds like he's gonna be broke if you keep being such a brave kid." Erin laughed for the first time that night.
They were interrupted as a group of doctors and nurses filed into the room.
"Good evening." A tall man with a slight accent said as he shook Erin and Jay's hands. "I'm Dr. Nielsen, I am Hayden's oncologist."
"It's nice to meet you." Jay said as he shook the man's hand.
"So we have looked at Hayden's scans, biopsies, and blood work and we have confirmed that this is Neuroblastoma." Dr. Nielsen looked at the couple sadly. "Another important piece of cancer diagnosis is staging. There are four different stages of cancer; stage 1, 2, 3, and 4. This all depends on how far the cancer has spread. If a cancer is stage 4 it means that the cancer has already spread to the bone marrow and/or lymph nodes. After all of the tests we did today we are in agreement that this is Stage 4 Neuroblastoma."
"So what does that mean for him?" Erin asked quietly.
"It means he'll have to go on a aggressive and extensive treatment plan. We have planned for his first cycle of chemo to start tomorrow. He'll probably be here for at least a week."
"Tomorrow?" Jay asked astonished.
"We need to start shrinking this tumor as quickly as possible so we can remove it surgically." The doctor responded. "But for right now, we're going to let you guys get some rest, you've got a long day ahead of you."
With that, the group of doctors and nurses left the room. Jay looked at the clock and it was almost 9:30.
"Alright Hayden, it's time to get some rest." Jay said calmly. He turned the TV off and Erin helped tuck Hayden into bed. She wondered how he'd ever be able to sleep with all of those tubes and wires attached to him and she was amazed when he was fast asleep only moments later. She was relieved to see him sleeping comfortably.
"Crap." Jay said quietly. "We don't have any of our stuff here, we came straight from the district. I'll go back to the apartment and get some stuff, you can stay here with him. Is there anything specific you needed?"
Erin shook her head. She couldn't really think logically at this point because she was still in shock. Once Jay exited the room she pulled out the makeshift bed/couch and laid down one of the blankets the nurses had given them. This would soon be their new normal. They would have to sleep on a couch for days or even weeks on end, and try and ignore the constant beeping of machines and alarms. Erin couldn't fathom how someone could sleep in a hospital, this was her first time and she already couldn't stand it, she just wanted to take her little boy home.
MEANWHILE
Jay didn't want to leave Erin and Hayden at the hospital but they did need some clothes and other essentials. During the drive to the apartment he tried to distract himself by listening to music but it did stop the tears from falling. He had held it in too long, now was his time to let it all out.
He arrived at their apartment 20 minutes later and quickly went inside to get what they needed. He grabbed the essentials; clothes, toothbrushes, shampoo, blankets, pillows etc. He walked into Hayden's room and the tears began to fall again. Everything was in the exact place it had been earlier that day; his Star Wars comforter was on the floor along with some legos, and the pajamas he had slept in the night before were lazily thrown in the hamper by the door. Jay wished more than anything that this was just a nightmare, that he would wake up soon and this would all be over.
He went to the dresser where they kept Hayden's clothes. Dr. Nielsen had told them Hayden would probably be in the hospital for a week or more so Jay grabbed enough clothes and pajamas for 7 days and nights, if they needed more he would come back and get more. He also took a few of Hayden's favorite stuffed animals and toys to keep him entertained. Once he believed he had everything they needed, he got back in his car and headed back to the hospital.
When he opened the door to room 13.23, Jay saw his two favorite people in the world fast asleep. He set their bags next to the couch/bed and changed into a t-shirt and shorts. He laid a blanket over Erin and then crawled in next to her, within minutes he too was fast asleep.
Jay and Erin were awoken by a loud insistent beeping. At first Jay thought it was just their alarm, but when he opened his eyes and saw where he was, the previous day came flooding back to him. He checked his phone and saw it was 7:30, he would have been waking up soon anyways so there was no point in trying to go back to sleep. He got up to investigate the source of the beeping and found it was coming from the IV pump. He walked out of the room to the nurses station and informed the man at the desk about the beeping. He followed Jay and when they at the room, Erin was awake and Hayden was in the process of waking up.
"Good morning Hayden!" The nurse said cheerfully. He pressed buttons on the IV pole and the beeping stopped. "I'm nurse Eli. How are you feeling right now?"
"I feel a lot better." Hayden replied.
"Does your tummy hurt?"
"Kind of but not as much."
"Okay, I'll give you something so you can eat breakfast. Do you know what you want to eat?" Eli asked.
"Do you have pancakes?"
"Yep, you can even order them with chocolate chips." Eli said as he pressed buttons on the machine attached to the IV pole.
"Yes please!" Hayden said excitedly. "That's how mom makes them." Erin smiled.
"Alright I'll send the order. Dr. Nielsen and the rest of your oncology team with be in here for morning rounds in about 20 minutes. From what I've heard they'll start chemo around 8:00." Eli smiled softly at Jay and Erin.
"Okay, thank you." Erin said.
25 minutes later Hayden was eating breakfast and there was a knock at the door. Dr. Nielsen and the rest of the oncology team filed into the room for their morning rounds.
"Good morning Hayden." Dr. Nielsen said. "How are you feeling?"
"Better." Hayden replied shyly.
"We're very glad to hear that." He smiled before turning his attention to Jay and Erin. "So Eli is going to start the chemo infusion in just a few minutes. Hayden may feel nauseous or dizzy but we have some medications to counteract that. This is a pretty aggressive chemo so his hair will begin falling out pretty soon. We encourage him to walk around and play outside of his room, but he will need to wear a mask so he doesn't catch an infection."
The oncology team talked a little while longer with Erin and Jay before they left the room to continue their rounds. Eli came back in a few minutes later with a IV bag containing a yellow substance which Jay and Erin suspected was chemo. Eli hung it on the pole and attached it to the pump. He took flushed Hayden's central line with saline before he attached the chemo line. Before they knew it, the yellow liquid was coursing through through Hayden's veins, ready to attack his cancer.
"Okay, you're all set." Eli said. "I gave him some Zofran which should control the nausea and vomiting but if he begins feeling really nauseous please tell me. Again, we do encourage him to walk around and play with other kids on the floor, but he will need to wear a mask. Did you have any questions?"
"No, thank you." Jay responded.
"Well, if you need anything else just press the nurse call button and you'll be connected with me or another nurse."
Once Eli left the room, Erin looked closer at the IV bag that held the chemo. "TOXIC. WEAR GLOVES WHILE HANDLING" was written in bold, capital letters. Erin was shocked. She couldn't believe that the substance going into her son's body was so toxic it had to be handled with gloves. He was only 4 years old; what did he do to deserve this?
"Hey buddy, do you want to walk around a bit?" Erin asked, she needed to get her mind off of the situation. Hayden nodded so Jay and Erin started to get him ready for the day. Jay carefully took off the hospital gown Hayden had been put in yesterday and Erin picked out a new outfit from the bag of clothes Jay had brought. She decided it would be best to put him in a pair of pajamas so that he would be comfortable and they wouldn't have to change him again later.
"Daddy brought a bunch of pajamas." Erin showed Hayden the pairs Jay had brought. "Do you know which one you want to wear today?"
"Spaceships!" Hayden yelled excitedly.
"Spaceships it is then." Erin laughed.
Jay cautiously slipped the pajamas onto the little boy. Erin grabbed his brush from the bag and gently began brushing his soft brown hair. She began tearing up again. Soon this would all be gone.
"Hey it's okay." Jay soothed her.
"It's all going to fall out." She cried.
"We'll get through it, together."
After Hayden was ready Jay helped him get down from the hospital bed.
"You ready to go play?" Jay asked.
"Yesterday Eli told me there's a train table in the playroom. Can we go in there?" Hayden asked.
"Of course buddy, but like Eli said, you've got to wear a mask." Jay explained as he helped Hayden put on a Mickey Mouse mask the nurse had given them.
They left the room and walked into what was now their new life. Hayden would play in hospital playrooms instead of parks, he would learn the names of his chemos instead of his classmates, and he would sleep in a hospital bed instead of his own.
They opened the door to the pediatric oncology floor playroom and were greeted with a bright and colorful room filled with all different types of toys and games. There were 7 other kids in the room playing and laughing, their smiles hidden behind masks, and the little boy with the giant scar that had caught Erin's eye yesterday was sitting and playing at the train table.
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Follows, favorites, and reviews are greatly appreciated!