"Hashimoto's?" I asked.
"Yes sir, also known as Hypothyroid. Basically, her thyroid has a hard time keeping up with her body, which is really bad cuz it is a really big part of her immune system, almost as important as her heart or brain," Sarah explained.
I nodded, "What happens?"
"Well, with Hashi's, when someone eats gluten, their immune system gets confused and the gluten makes the immune system attack the body, instead of anything that would actually make her sick. And, I'm looking at her past records, and this would make sense for a lot of things in her life. Hashi's has a common link to anxiety and depression, but I know those were made worse because of what happened; it can also be the reason why she can't loose weight for the life of her (unless she is literally starved like she was) and also has a hard time getting rid of zits." Pieces clicked together. There is gluten in regular pizza.
"So, uh, Mari is kinda in the hospital," I confessed.
"Oh! I can't legally diagnose her right now, but I do have medication for her when you guys get back. Or I can send it to you," Sarah said.
I nodded again, "Sending it here would be great. I'll send my address?"
"That would be great, thank you Brendon."
"No, thank you Sarah. Bye," I barely heard her say bye before I hung up. I slumped over in my chair, holding my head in my hands.
"What's wrong?" Andy asked.
"She has a thyroid disease," I mumbled, "and I have no idea how to help."
"What disease?" Pete asked, leaning on the wall. Zach was behind him, texting someone.
"Hashimoto's." I said simply. I had no idea how to help. Maybe I'll ask when the doctor comes in.
There was a knock on the door, speak of the devil. Zach opened it to reveal a smaller female in a lab coat.
"Mr. Urie?" She said. I nodded. "Do you happen to know of anything she has?"
"Well, I just got a call from her primary care doctor that she has Hashimoto's disease," I said.
"Oh that makes sense," She said, walking over. She held her hand out, "I'm doctor Cicere by the way."
"It's nice to meet you," I said, shaking her hand.
"You as well," Cicere walked over to Mari and looked over the machines, checking that everything was in order. "She should be awake soon, and when she does wake up just press this button," she pointed to a button on the side of the bed, "Her nurse, Holmes, should come in as soon as she can. Knowing her past I know you would rather there be an all female team."
I nodded, "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Cicere left the room, and I looked back at Mari. She laid there peacefully, but there was no way she couldn't be in pain.
If she believed in God, why would he do this to her? She was such a nice girl and she has gone through so much shit in her life. She doesn't deserve it. She deserves the world.
And all she gets is pain.
I ran my hands down my face. I was a failure.
MARI'S POV
Ow. Ow ow ow. Ow.
My chest ached, and I still felt nauseous when I woke up. Dad was sleeping in a chair next to my bed.
Wait. Bed?
I suddenly snapped awake. The heart monitor was beeping rapidly, and I was having trouble breathing.
"Hey hey hey, calm down, Mari, it's okay," Tyler was by the end of my bed. He walked forward tentatively. My eyes frantically searched the room to see who else was here. Josh was here as well, but no one else. I took a suddering breath, tears spilling out of my eyes.
"Mari, its okay. No one is here to hurt you, and you're here to recover. Nothing bad happened," Tyler kept his eyes on me, sitting on the bed. I covered my face, his words weren't coming through.
I felt someone take my hand, and I looked up to see Dad had woken up and sat in front of me. I let out a sob and looked back down, realizing, finally, that I was ok. Dad hugged me, rubbing my back and running his hand through my hair reassuringly. I still cried though. I had broken down in front of them. I was supposed to hold my emotions in.
"Baby, you're okay now. I'm right here," Dad held me in his arms until I was breathing normally. When he pulled away he looked uncertaintly at me.
"What happened?" I could see it in his eyes.
"Well... Mrs. Sarah called... The bloodwork came back and it says you have a thyroid disease..." He said slowly, trying to see if I was gonna break down again. Believe me, I wanted to, but all my tears were gone. I just sighed.
"But you're not alone!" Joshua suddenly said. Everyone looked at him curiously, "I looked at celebrities who had Hashi's, Oprah's got it, Zoe Saldana-"
"Doesn't she play Gamora?" I asked. Gamora was my favorite MCU character, I sorta related to her already.
"Yeah," Josh said, smiling. I smiled, rubbing my eyes. Dad made a noise and pressed a button on the side of my bed.
"Hello?" Someone said over an intercom.
"Hi, Mari's up," Dad said.
"Alright, I'll be in in a second," The speaker clicked and I looked at Dad curiously.
"Your nurse," Dad explained. I nodded. "Your team is all girls by the way, I didn't want you freaking out."
"Thank you," I croaked out. Dad nodded. There was a knock at the door and Josh answered it, letting my nurse in.
From what I could tell, she was probably just out of college. She had blonde hair tired up in a ponytail, and her scrubs were Harry Potter. I loved them.