A/N: See Chapter 1 for Disclaimer.
Chapter Summary: The Jeffersons learn what type of leukemia Joy has.
Chapter 9: The Bigger Picture
"I don't believe you!" Will yelled at his sister as he and Hannah burst through the door of their apartment at half past three. "I don't believe you actually threw a spitball at the substitute teacher today and tried to blame it on me! Don't you know that if I get sent to the principal's office just one more time, I'll get suspended?! And then if that happens, I'll have to face something even worse than suspension: Mom and Dad's wrath. They'd kill me for sure!"
"Puh-leeze! If you had gotten sent to the principal's office today, it would've served you right!" Hannah shouted as Florence came out of the kitchen. "It would've served you right because you put a whoopee cushion in the substitute teacher's chair last week and tried to blame it on me!"
"Stop all this yellin' right now! Both of you!" Florence said aloud in her best no-nonsense voice.
"What is it, Aunt Florence?" Hannah asked cautiously. "Why are you so angry and upset?"
"What's the matter, Aunt Florence? Did you have a bad day or something?" asked Will.
"We've all had a bad day. Your mama, your daddy, me, and Joy especially. And your day is also gonna get worse. A lot worse. Sit down on the couch, both of you. I've got somethin' to tell you."
"What is it, Aunt Florence?" Will asked quietly, him and Hannah still standing.
"Just sit down with me. Now," Florence insisted, and then the two kids finally did as they were told and sat down on the couch with her.
"Where's Mom?" asked Hannah. "Is she in our room with Joy now?"
Florence shook her head and responded, "Your mama's not here, Hannah. Joy and your daddy ain't here neither. Your parents had to take Joy to the children's hospital."
"Joy's in the hospital?" Will said fearfully, and it was then that Hannah started really looking worried as well. In that moment, the twins began to realize that something was terribly wrong.
"Yes, she's in the hospital," Florence confirmed.
"Did her flu get worse or something?" Hannah inquired.
"Joy doesn't have the flu," Florence told them. "Will…Hannah…your baby sister's got cancer."
"Cancer?!" Hannah cried out.
"No, wait. It can't be," Will gasped, now obviously scared to death.
"If this is a joke, Aunt Florence, it's not funny," said Hannah, who was just as scared as her brother.
"This ain't a joke, you two. How, how I wish it was a joke, but it's not. This is for real. When Dr. Bates called the apartment this mornin' after you two went to school, he told your parents that he wanted them to come down to his office to discuss the results of Joy's blood tests in person. And when they went to talk to him, he told them that Joy has leukemia. He had her admitted into the East Manhattan Children's Hospital and he put another doctor in charge of her care who specializes in treating children with leukemia. They're gonna start runnin' more tests on her tomorrow so they can find out what particular kind of leukemia she has. And then the doctor will know how best to treat it."
"And Mom and Dad are with her at the children's hospital now?" asked Hannah.
"Yeah, they're there with her now. They took her there in a cab this afternoon. Your mom called a little while ago. She's in room 4401."
"Well what are we just sitting here for?" asked Hannah as she rose from her seat. "We need to be getting down there. Now." Florence got up from the couch as well while Will remained seated and still as a statue, feeling as though he'd just been punched in the gut. Hannah then touched Will's shoulder and told him, "Will, come on."
Will got up in that moment and walked out the door with Hannah and Florence, stumbling behind them in a complete sense of shock. He and Hannah had played countless pranks and jokes on their baby sister in the past, and they'd picked on her relentlessly. But deep down underneath it all, they did treasure Joy, and they were protective of her since she was the baby of the family. And now that something had happened to their family's baby, they were just as terrified as their parents and Florence.
"It's called chronic myelogenous leukemia, or CML for short," Dr. Jill Everton, a short, slim redheaded lady in her forties with glasses explained to Joy, her parents, and Florence two days later. "Frankly, I was very surprised when I learned that it was CML. This type of leukemia is typically only seen in patients who are much older than you are, Joy. It's rare to see it in someone so young."
"Okay, so what does this mean? Am I going to have to have a lot of chemotherapy or radiation?" Joy asked.
"Yes, Dr. Everett, just what does this mean for us exactly?" asked Louise.
"Chemotherapy and radiation won't work. They're ineffective with CML. There's only one way to cure it," Dr. Everett answered.
"What way is that?" asked Joy.
"Whatever it is that we've gotta do, doctor, we'll do it. No matter what it takes; no matter how much it costs," said George.
"The only cure for chronic myelogenous leukemia is a bone marrow transplant," Dr. Everton told them.
"Okay, doc," George said with a nod. "If Joy needs bone marrow, you take as much bone marrow from me as you need."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Jefferson, but I'm afraid you and Mrs. Jefferson wouldn't be the best candidates."
"Why not?" George asked.
"Well think about it, Mr. Jefferson. Joy only gets half of her DNA from you. The most you or Mrs. Jefferson could possibly be is a fifty-percent match. We need Joy's bone marrow donor to be as close to a one hundred percent match as possible. The best candidate would naturally be a full-blooded sibling."
"That makes sense," said Florence.
"We have two older children, Dr. Everett. Their names are Will and Hannah," Louise informed her.
"They're twins," said Joy.
"Well we need to have Will and Hannah tested as soon as possible," said Dr. Everett.
"We can bring them over here to be tested this afternoon as soon as they come home from school," said Louise.
"Perfect. Can you have them here by three-thirty or four?" the doctor asked.
"Absolutely," Louise replied.
"Great. We'll test them today, and as soon as we know the results, which should be in about two weeks, we can go from there."
"Dr. Everett, may I ask you somethin'?" questioned Florence.
"Of course."
"What happens if neither Will nor Hannah is a good match for Joy? What if neither one of them can be a donor? What do we do then?"
"Let's just wait and cross that bridge if we come to it, alright?" Dr. Everett responded in a kind voice, and then she left to finish her rounds that morning.
The next two weeks were agonizing for everyone as they waited to learn if either Will or Hannah would be a suitable bone marrow donor for Joy. In the meantime, Dr. Everett treated Joy with medication to try to bring her white blood cell count under control and manage her symptoms, and Louise remained by her baby's side in the hospital practically twenty-four-seven. On the night before they would be getting the results, however, Louise was actually at home while George stayed with Joy at the children's hospital. George could tell that all her time at the hospital had really started to wear her out, and even though she hadn't had a seizure in years, it was always one of his deepest fears that it would happen again. He was particularly worried about Louise now with her having to deal with so much stress and anxiety over Joy's leukemia diagnosis. He had tried in vain over the past week to convince her to go home for a good night's rest, but she was so tired now that she finally agreed to go home and let him take over for her at the hospital.
It was now ten-thirty on a Sunday night and Louise had already made Will and Hannah go to bed so they would be rested for school tomorrow. Louise and Florence, on the other hand, were both in the kitchen together in their gowns, robes, and slippers, each of them putting off going to bed because they knew it was unlikely that they'd get much sleep. Florence had made some hot chocolate for them and they were sitting at the kitchen table with each other drinking it now. Dr. Everett would be meeting with them at the hospital the next morning to discuss Will's and Hannah's test results, and Louise and Florence were now filled to the brim with anxiety.
"Are you praying, Florence?" Louise asked her.
"Every second, Ms. Jefferson. Every second," Florence assured her.
"Thank you. We sure need it."
"I know it's hard, Ms. Jefferson, but try to hang in there. I'm sure either Will or Hannah will be a good match for Joy."
"I'm trying to believe that. I'm trying to hang onto my faith and stay positive. But I'm scared, Florence. I'm so scared. I haven't told the kids this, but Dr. Everett says that even though Joy's best hope for a match is a full-blooded sibling, Will's and Hannah's chances of being a match are only twenty-five percent at best. Even though Joy has two full-blooded siblings, her chances of having a bone marrow donor in either Will or Hannah are still so small. And if neither one of them are a match, then she's going to test George and me and everyone else in our family, and she's also going to start looking for an unrelated donor. And if no one in our family can donate bone marrow to Joy and we have to have Joy registered with the National Marrow Donor Registry and all the international registries to try to find an unrelated donor, it'll be like trying to find a needle in a haystack."
"Like I said just now, Ms. Jefferson, I know it's hard. I can't even imagine how hard all this has got to be for you and Mr. Jefferson after y'all already lost one child. I know you're scared. I would be too if I were in your shoes. Shoot, I wouldn't just be scared. I'd be petrified. But sometimes, Ms. Jefferson, we end up in situations where we can't see the forest for the trees, as the old saying goes."
"Can't see the forest for the trees? What do you mean?"
"I mean that I think that you need to step back for a moment and try to see the bigger picture."
"What bigger picture?"
"Think about it, Ms. Jefferson. Even though Lionel's death hurt you and Mr. Jefferson so badly, you know that y'all would never have even considered tryin' to get pregnant again had Lionel not died when he did. And you've told me before that you and Mr. Jefferson believe that Joy was actually conceived on the night of the twins' first birthday when y'all decided to 'celebrate' their birthday in private. If it hadn't been for Lionel's untimely death, y'all would never have had Will and Hannah. And if it hadn't been for y'all wantin' to 'celebrate' their first birthday, you would never have had Joy. God used the most tragic event of your lives, the untimely death of your son, to bring about the existence of the three miracles y'all have in your lives today. He didn't cause the tragedy, of course. That drunk driver caused the tragedy. But God used it to give you Will, Hannah, and Joy. And after takin' all the time and trouble it took Him to bring Will, Hannah, and Joy into your lives, do you really believe He's gonna abandon y'all now?"
"Wow Florence, I…I never thought of it that way before."
"I know it can be really hard to have faith in times like these, but it's in times like these when faith matters the most. It's in times like these when it's more important than ever for us to cling to our faith with all we have. I know it's hard to imagine anything good comin' out of Joy's leukemia, but I, for one, am thoroughly convinced that Jesus is gonna use this tragedy to bring about somethin' good. Somethin' wonderful, even. He didn't cause Joy's leukemia. Joy's cancer happened because we live in a fallen world, and we live in a fallen world because Adam willfully chose to disobey God in the Garden of Eden. But just like with Lionel's untimely death, Jesus is gonna use Joy's illness to accomplish somethin' great in the future. Mark my words."
"Thank you, Florence," said Louise as she put her hand on top of Florence's. "Thank you so much for telling me that. You know, when I was told after I came out of my coma that Lionel had died in the car wreck, I thought my whole world had come to an end. I really did believe for a while that my life was over. There were so many times when I wished so hard that it had been me who died in that terrible accident and not Lionel. But now I know that if God had done what I'd wished for and taken me instead of Lionel, we wouldn't have Will, Hannah, and Joy with us today."
"That's right," Florence agreed.
"Sometimes, it seems as though God's ways make absolutely no sense, and it can get so frustrating. But I guess that's because all we ever think about is what's happening to us in the moment. We never stop to think about the bigger picture, like Jesus is always doing. We never stop to think of the possibility that the good Lord might be using what we're going through to accomplish something important in the future. But whatever it is that He's going to accomplish through all this, I just hope and pray He won't take another child away from me in order to do it," said Louise as tears came to her eyes, and Florence immediately reached over and hugged her.
"That ain't gonna happen, Ms. Jefferson. You hear me? That is not gonna happen. God's gonna take care of Joy. He's gonna get her through this, and He's gonna get you and Mr. Jefferson through this, too. Everything is gonna be alright. You'll see. This is gonna work out. I know it. Just hang onto Him now, Ms. Jefferson. Hang onto Jesus and hang onto me. We're both right here. It's gonna be alright," Florence assured Louise, and she just rocked her and let her cling to her for the longest time while she got everything all cried out.
"Hey Mom, Dad, what did the doctor say?" asked Will as he, Hannah, and Florence came into Joy's hospital room at three-thirty the following afternoon.
"Yeah, are we a match?" Joy asked anxiously.
"Good news, kids," Louise answered them with a smile. "Dr. Everett says that both of you are an excellent match for Joy."
"Yes!" Will cried out.
"Alright!" Hannah shouted, and then she and Will gave each other a high five.
"So if Hannah and I are both an excellent match, I guess it's up to Hannah and me to decide which one of us is going to be Joy's donor," Will concluded. "And since I'm the man and Hannah's the woman, obviously, it should be me who steps up to the plate and bravely takes the risk of dangerous surgery to save the day. After all, it's us men who have been saving the day for centuries. It's our job to step in and be the hero when the occasion calls for it."
"And gloat about it every single day for the rest of our lives," Joy quipped.
"Mr. Jefferson, there ain't no doubt about it," said Florence. She then pointed at Will and said, "This is definitely your son."
Everybody had a good laugh in that moment, and then George told Will, "Actually, son, Dr. Everett says that even though you're both a great match for Joy, out of the two of you, Hannah is the better match."
"Take that, Mr. Man!" Hannah teased Will. "Girl power all the way, right Joy?" she said as she held out her hand to her little sister.
"Absolutely right! Girl power forever!" Joy said aloud as she gave Hannah five. "And I won't lie. I'm so relieved it's you who's going to be giving me bone marrow, Hannah, and not you, Will, because we all know that if you were the one saving my life, you would never let me hear the end of it!"
"Ain't that the Lord's truth!" Florence agreed, and again, everyone laughed. Even Will laughed at his family's teasing because he knew they were right.
"Okay, okay. I know I like to joke around a lot. But the truth is, I really wanted it to be me who was the bone marrow donor because I didn't want Hannah to have to go through it. It's bad enough I've already got one sister sick in the hospital. I didn't want both of my sisters to have to be hospitalized and be going through a scary procedure. I couldn't do anything to protect you from being sick and stuck in the hospital, Joy, and I feel awful about that. Since I couldn't protect Joy from being in the hospital, I wanted to at least be able to protect Hannah."
"Aw Will, that's really sweet," said Joy.
"Yeah, Will. Underneath all your guff, you're actually very sweet and sensitive," Hannah told him.
"Just like his father," Louise teased while flicking her son's chin her index finger.
Everyone chuckled, and then George slapped Will on the back and said, "I'm proud of you, son. I'm proud of you for wantin' to protect your sisters like that. But you ain't gotta feel bad because Hannah's a better match."
"Dad's right, Will," said Hannah. "It's sweet of you to want to protect me, but you don't have anything to worry about. Dr. Everett explained the procedure to us and it's not all that scary. My hip may be sore for a while, but I'll be fine. And besides, Jefferson girls are pretty tough. You shouldn't underestimate us."
"Right on, baby girl," Louise told Hannah with a big smile, and then she held out her hand and Hannah gave her five. "Jefferson girls are tough. The toughest."
"That's right, Mama," Joy heartily agreed.
"You're right, Joy. The Jefferson girls are the toughest, and I couldn't be prouder of you and Hannah, and of your mama," said George, and then he gave Louise a big kiss. And it was true. George couldn't possibly have been any prouder of his wife and daughters, and of his son as well. And above all else, he and Louise were grateful, so, so grateful, to Almighty God, that one of the twins was such a good match for Joy. They weren't out of the woods yet, of course, but they knew that Jesus hadn't brought them this far just to suddenly abandon them now, and they trusted Him now more than ever.