my disclaimer: I don't own Lizzie McGuire or any other LM characters. I don't own any of the schools, websites, books, etc. that may be mentioned in this story. I don't even really own the idea for this story…got that from a paragraph in a Madeleine L'Engle book…I only own Brenna and Dr. Hensen.
Ok, as I warned everybody in the first chapter, updates are going to start being very few and far between, for a couple reasons. Mainly, classes are starting again, so I've got to spend a lot of time studying to do well this semester (I hate O-chem!). I am going to try to spend a little time every night working on one of my stories, but I've got five in progress now, so it may take some time. But don't worry, I haven't forgotten about this story, and I'm always thrilled to hear what you think about it! So, go on, hit the little review button at the bottom of the page… And, I've got a new computer now, so it'll make things much easier now…thank God.
And thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far…keep reviewing!!!…if you like it, even if you hate it! And if you don't care either way, tell me your favorite cookie…mine's butterscotch chip…mmm…
Ok, enough notes. Without further adieu…on to Chapter Five!
Lizzie's family was soon told by the head nurse they had to leave the hospital; mostly because visiting hours were over and partly, Lizzie felt, because of her outburst.
"We can come back tomorrow." Lizzie's father told his kids quietly as they left the hospital.
The ride home was as silent as the one to the hospital; Sam and Matt both saying nothing. Lizzie spent the ride leaning her head against the window, staring out at nothing in particular, but the image of her mother in the hospital bed replaying over and over in her mind.
Once they reached the house, Lizzie grabbed her suitcase and bag and carried them to her room. Matt appeared in her doorway briefly but seemed at a loss for words. Without bothering to change out of her clothes, Lizzie collapsed onto her bed, exhausted and stressed and anxious and upset. Sleep found her quickly.
Lizzie awoke to sun streaming through her window. She glanced at the unfamiliar clock. Disoriented, her first thought was, It's Saturday, I have be at volunteering in an hour. Slowly, she realized where she was.
The phone ringing jerked her completely awake. She heard her father answer it downstairs and pulled herself out of bed. She met Matt in the hall and the two walked downstairs to the kitchen together, anxiously wondering about the phone call.
Lizzie's dad was hanging up the phone when Lizzie and Matt appeared in the kitchen. "I made you guys some breakfast." He said pointing to the counter. "That was the hospital. They have the results of you mom's tests available and you mom wants us all down there to hear them."
Matt nodded. Lizzie's stomach churned, she wasn't sure she could stomach anymore time in that little room in the hospital, seeing her mother so pale and helpless. Matt sat down and helped himself to a biscuit. Lizzie knew she couldn't eat right now; her stomach wouldn't take it. She turned back towards the stairs.
"Lizzie?" Her father's voice was tentative, worried.
"I'm not very hungry." Lizzie turned and answered, forcing a smile on her face. "I'm just gonna go get changed."
Her father nodded and Lizzie slowly climbed the stairs to her room. She rummaged through her suitcase for some unwrinkled clothes and changed. She grabbed her toothbrush, made her way to the bathroom, brushed her teeth and washed her face. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She looked like she hadn't slept in days, which matched how she felt. She had dark circles under her eyes, her eyelids felt heavy. But she knew this was nothing compared to what her mother was going through.
"Thank you for coming in today. I know it means a lot to Jo to have you all here." A woman in her early thirties entered the room holding a clipboard and everyone looked at her expectantly. She turned to Lizzie's mother.
"How are you feeling today, Jo? Alright, so far?" Lizzie's mother smiled and nodded from her hospital bed. The woman then turned to Lizzie, Matt and Sam, who were seated in chairs at the foot of the bed.
"I'm Dr. Kerry Hensen." She introduced herself, smiling. "You must be Sam, Matt and Lizzie. Pleased to meet all of you." She shook each of their hands.
"Now," She said, turning to her clipboard, "we've got your test results back, Jo. I'll go through them all and explain them for you." She turned to Lizzie, Matt and Sam, "I like my patients to have at least a basic understanding of what's happening with their illness. It's easier to face it and fight it if you understand what it is." They all nodded.
"Okay. Jo, as you know, we reran an ANA test, and had you go through a chest X-ray, an ECG, a CBC, and a BUN assessment. ANA's are antinuclear antibodies, or the parts of your immune system that are reacting with proteins on the nuclei of your cells. Now, your ANA level is elevated, but it hasn't changed from the last time we tested it, so that's usually normal for lupus patients. I ordered the chest X-ray and the ECG, an electrocardiogram, because those would be able to indicate inflammation either in the chest or near the heart, which can lead to complications. However, both of those came back normal, so we don't need to worry about heart or chest problems. The CBC is what we call a complete blood count, which would determine if you have a deficiency of any of your blood cells. You do have a slight deficit of both red blood cells and platelets, however, those were the causes of the symptoms that your diagnosis was based on, so, again, that's not what we're looking for. But we'll keep an eye on your levels, just in case." Jo nodded. Sam and Matt each had a blank look on their faces; they were obviously lost. But Lizzie was absorbing everything Dr. Hensen had to say.
"We also checked your level of blood borne oxygen derived from urea, using a BUN, or blood urea nitrogen, assessment. And the levels were higher than they should be. A high level of nitrogen can suggest kidney dysfunction. But we can't determine anything from this one test, so we're going to run two different tests, which will be able to tell us for certain. Do you have any questions?"
Lizzie sat still; trying to process what had just been said. Sam and Matt shook their heads, but Jo spoke up.
"What other tests will you run?"
"The first is a test that checks the creatinine levels in your blood. A high creatinine level will indicate that your kidneys are malfunctioning. And I would like to perform a kidney biopsy. That would involve removal of a small amount of kidney tissue, which would undergo microscopic examination in the lab. However, the procedure is not without risks. It is considered a surgical procedure and we treat it as such. We won't perform the procedure unless you feel it would be considered valuable." Dr. Hensen told Jo honestly.
"The creatinine test, that will be able to indicate if my kidney is malfunctioning, right?" Dr. Hensen nodded. "So why is the biopsy necessary?"
"The kidney biopsy isn't necessary. The creatinine assessment will indicate whether your kidneys are functioning correctly or not. The biopsy will allow us to possibly determine exactly why they may be malfunctioning. But it isn't necessary at all and is completely up to you."
"I think…" Jo trailed off, still deciding, "I think we should just do the creatinine test for now."
"All right." Dr. Hensen agreed. "I will warn you though; if the results of the creatinine assessment come back inconclusive, we will have to perform the biopsy. However, that rarely happens. But you should be aware of that chance." Jo nodded.
"What happens after the test?" Lizzie asked, her own voice startling her. Her nausea had returned the moment she entered the hospital room and was surprised she could talk without being sick.
"Well, Lizzie, it could tell us two different things. One, your mother's kidneys are functioning normally. In which case we'll have to run a few more tests and continue to try to find out why your mom collapsed. Two, her kidneys are malfunctioning. In this case, there are several reasons for kidney dysfunction, but the most common one seen in lupus is chronic kidney failure, which happens over time. There is no cure for this, but we can do things to alleviate the symptoms and to slow the progression." Dr. Hensen paused and looked at Lizzie for a moment.
"But sometimes in cases of lupus, chronic kidney failure most often ends in what we call end-stage kidney disease, which means the complete failure of the kidneys. There are only two treatments for this. The first one is called dialysis. There are two different forms, but they both act in place of the kidneys by removing extra fluid, chemicals and wastes from the blood. This treatment is highly effective, however, it requires a great deal of time to work; a minimum of 6 to 12 hours of dialysis sessions per week. The second option is a kidney transplant. We replace your mother's failing kidney with a functional one from a donor. While this procedure also has some risks, kidney transplants are highly successful and is the option with the largest possibility for continuing to lead a normal life."
Matt's eyes had grown huge at the idea and Sam looked pale.
"What if it's not chronic kidney failure?" Lizzie countered.
"Well, there are several, less serious, kidney diseases that can be treated or cured with medication and other therapies."
Lizzie nodded, her mind racing and her stomach still churning.
"Do you have any other questions right now?" Dr. Hensen asked. No one said anything.
"Okay, then I'll have an nurse come and draw some blood for the creatinine test and we'll have the results for you by tomorrow."
Lizzie was still deep in thought when they returned home from the hospital. She settled herself in her room and tried to take her mind off things with one of her favorite books. But she was having a hard time concentrating on it. Eventually she wandered down the hall to Matt's room and knocked on the door.
"Yeah?" Matt was back to sounding like his usual self, except he was less talkative than usual.
"Can I come in?"
"Sure."
Lizzie opened the door and found Matt sitting on the floor, leaning against the bed and playing a video game.
"Can I ask you something?"
He raised an eyebrow at her, which Lizzie took as a sign to continue.
"What happened?"
Matt paused his game and looked at her. She could tell she knew exactly what she was talking about; he didn't have to ask. She sat down cross-legged on his floor.
"It was normal at first, I guess. I don't really remember. I had just gotten home from work and was tired and not paying attention to much. I heard Mom say she was going to skip dinner; that she'd been feeling a bit sick all day and I looked up and she just fainted." Matt paused.
"It's not like they made it look on TV." He added in a funny voice. "She didn't just fall over backward like that. She swayed for a moment and looked really disoriented and then she just crumbled." Matt's voice cracked on the last word and he shut his eyes for a second to regain composure.
"I'm sorry Matt." Lizzie said. "I shouldn't have asked."
"It's alright." He replied, his voice back to normal. "It's hard for all of us. Sometimes I wish I just understood what exactly was going on; why it's all happening. I think it would make it easier.
Lizzie attempted a smile at her brother and he returned it.
It's not, Lizzie thought to herself.