Things Change
Chapter 3
by Mariye
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Disclaimer: I don't own FF8. And the 'Bring the body closer' part was from an old George Carlin skit. (I don't know if I spelled his last name right. He was great in Dogma too.)
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~I don't want to go there now.~
But despite what Zell wanted, his feet still continued to carry him toward Dr. Kadowaki's office. He walked through the deserted halls, only sometimes seeing a stray student trying to ditch their next class or someone going somewhere with a pass. No one he knew though.
~So why am I? No one's forcing me.~
Edea had trusted him when he said he'd visit the doctor and had gone to do some application processing on the third floor. And Irvine and Selphie had each gone off to there classes when they were fed the lie about 'everything being okay.' He was alone now, and free to do whatever he wanted. He didn't have to keep his promises to Edea or his friends.
And yet still he found himself walking down the hall to the infirmary.
~Its still so busy...~ He noticed as he stopped before the automatic doors. All the students came here for advice, help, or even a friendly card game. And despite all the people there, they still only really needed Dr. Kadowaki. She had some younger doctors there too, who would help out with small things. And there were always student volunteers. Aids who wanted to do some good and volunteer, either for fun or to make themselves feel good.
~I should come back later. She has enough people bothering her.~ He watched as a group of five SeeDs came up to Dr. Kadowaki and started talking to her all at once.
He started to turn around when he saw out of the side of his eye the doctor waving to him.
~Damn.~ He turned back around and nodded his head to her, and slowly walked in.
"Zell. I was hoping you would be coming by."
"Dr. Kadowaki, I was wondering if you could help me with something..."
"Dr. Kadowaki, is there anything else you need..."
"Yes, but you're busy. I'll come back later." Zell watched as the students all clamored around her.
"Nonsense. You're my number one priority right now." He saw the doctor turn to all the students and SeeDs there.
"I'm sorry, but I have some important business to attend to. Class is dismissed early today."
Zell watched as almost all the students filed out of the room. Only there SeeDs remained in there. He could tell that they were medical students.
"Nephen, you can go too. Aeron and Sionna please stay." Zell watched as one of the male SeeDs exited without a word. The remaining man and woman stayed.
"I think what we have to talk about is private." Zell said, looking at both students harshly.
"Sionna and Aeron are the most advanced medical division SeeDs we have. No matter what course of action you choose to take, they will be assisting." Zell crossed his arms over his chest and shot daggers at the two of them.
"Fine."
"Come, we'll all talk in my side office. Excuse me while I lock the doors. I don't want all of us to be disturbed." Zell still continued looking at the two other SeeDs.
~Just what I need, an audience to watch me while I suffer.~
The four of them walked into a small side office attached to the infirmary. Dr. Kadowaki motioned for the three of them to sit down while she took off her white overcoat.
"Zell, I have already discussed all of this with your mother and the headmasters. They know the choices of treatment you have open to you and have agreed to support you in anyway possible. They also all agree that everything is up to you. Every aspect of the treatments will be your decision."
"Treatment?" The blond SeeD asked.
"Yes... I forgot. You two don't know. Zell?"
~What? What does she want from me?~
"What do you want? Permission? If it were up to me they wouldn't even be here. I don't care. Tell them whatever you want." He folded his arms over his chest and stared at the diplomas that covered the walls. Dr. Kadowaki sighed.
"Zell has adult acute myeloid leukemia. It is a type of leukemia that progresses quickly. It is found in bone marrow and blood. In this type of leukemia, the blasts that mature into white blood cells, granulocytes, do not mature. The immature blasts become too numerous and then are found in the blood and bone marrow, and there aren't enough white blood cells."
"So it keeps cells that fight infections from growing." Sionna stated.
"Exactly."
Zell looked over at Sionna and Aeron.
~Great. Pity. Just what I needed. Hyne, I shouldn't have come here.~
"So? Big whoop. If I were afraid of dying I wouldn't have become a SeeD. Any idea what caused it?" Zell looked away from the two assistants.
~I can't deal with two cling-ons like that. Look at them. Like gawkers at an accident. I can just imagine them if I'd die. 'Oh Dr. Kadowaki? Can you bring the body closer? Thanks!' Yeah, they're real helpful.~
"Well, there can be many causes for this kind of leukemia, and we still aren't positive about all of them. One cause is exposure to electromagnetic fields. There isn't enough research to completely verify that though..."
"Could those fields... could they be given off by machinery? Like, for example, in the Desert Prison in Galbadia they had this mechanical arm, that had older control panels..." Zell's heart stopped momentarily.
"I suppose that is a good example of what could cause this..."
~Damn Quistis and Selphie... volunteering me to operate the arm.~ Zell sank back in his chair.
"Especially if it was old equipment. Why?"
"No reason..." Zell stole a glance at the Aeron and Sionna. Aeron was still staring at him, but Sionna was now focusing her attention on the doctor.
~Yeah, stare all you want now, cause I might not be around much longer.~ Zell shot him an evil glance. Aeron looked surprised and quickly looked forward. ~Ha. Chicken-Wuss.~
"Now Zell, about your treatment options. I would normally recommend chemotherapy. That is usually the most successful. You also could have radiation therapy if you wished."
"What about a bone marrow transplant?" Sionna asked.
"That is still experimental with this type. Plus it is usually done with close family members."
"So? We can test his mother, right?" Aeron asked.
"No, that isn't possible. Zell is adopted."
Zell looked at the two again. Sionna still looked forward, but Aeron was giving Zell yet another pity glance.
~Ass...~ He thought as he sent an obscene gesture in Aeron's direction.
"So Zell, you have a choice between chemo and radiation." Dr. Kadowaki said. It was obvious she had witnessed the exchange between him and Aeron, but she chose to ignore it.
"What's the difference?"
"Chemo involves using drugs to treat the cancer. We could arrange it so you could take them
orally or by using needles. Radiation therapy would use x-rays to kill the cancer cells. This can only done by a machine though."
Zell nodded and considered what he had heard.
"Would I have to leave Garden for either of them?"
"No. I have some friends at a clinic in Deiling. If you chose radiation, they'd send us the machine we need. If you choose chemo, then we can just handle everything here."
"Would I lose my hair?"
"... Yes, in both cases that would happen. And both treatments have similar side effects. With chemo, you would most likely lose your hair. You would also have nausea and possible flu-like symptoms. However, chemo works in cycles. You'd have a cycle of chemo, then a recovery period, and so on. We could give the treatments here, or even in your room. With radiation therapy it is given in a similar way. However, in addition to losing your hair, he nausea, and flu-like symptoms, you woud also be exhausted most of the time, and you would have very little appetite."
~So basically either way I'm stuck.~
"What happens if I wait a while?"
"I strongly advise against that. Acute cases have to be treated immediately. Our goal would be to bring remission on as quickly as possible. And then, even when you are in remission, for a few months, maybe even a year, we would have continuation therapy. That would be to kill any remaining cancerous cells. You have a very good chance of going into remission though. We caught this fairly quickly and many people with acute leukemia are cured."
"So I basically have to decide now. Right away."
~So... do I want to have a machine bombarding me with strong, possibly harmful, rays? Or would I rather be doped up on drugs?~
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Find out next chapter what treatment Zell decides on....
Chapter 3
by Mariye
======
Disclaimer: I don't own FF8. And the 'Bring the body closer' part was from an old George Carlin skit. (I don't know if I spelled his last name right. He was great in Dogma too.)
======
~I don't want to go there now.~
But despite what Zell wanted, his feet still continued to carry him toward Dr. Kadowaki's office. He walked through the deserted halls, only sometimes seeing a stray student trying to ditch their next class or someone going somewhere with a pass. No one he knew though.
~So why am I? No one's forcing me.~
Edea had trusted him when he said he'd visit the doctor and had gone to do some application processing on the third floor. And Irvine and Selphie had each gone off to there classes when they were fed the lie about 'everything being okay.' He was alone now, and free to do whatever he wanted. He didn't have to keep his promises to Edea or his friends.
And yet still he found himself walking down the hall to the infirmary.
~Its still so busy...~ He noticed as he stopped before the automatic doors. All the students came here for advice, help, or even a friendly card game. And despite all the people there, they still only really needed Dr. Kadowaki. She had some younger doctors there too, who would help out with small things. And there were always student volunteers. Aids who wanted to do some good and volunteer, either for fun or to make themselves feel good.
~I should come back later. She has enough people bothering her.~ He watched as a group of five SeeDs came up to Dr. Kadowaki and started talking to her all at once.
He started to turn around when he saw out of the side of his eye the doctor waving to him.
~Damn.~ He turned back around and nodded his head to her, and slowly walked in.
"Zell. I was hoping you would be coming by."
"Dr. Kadowaki, I was wondering if you could help me with something..."
"Dr. Kadowaki, is there anything else you need..."
"Yes, but you're busy. I'll come back later." Zell watched as the students all clamored around her.
"Nonsense. You're my number one priority right now." He saw the doctor turn to all the students and SeeDs there.
"I'm sorry, but I have some important business to attend to. Class is dismissed early today."
Zell watched as almost all the students filed out of the room. Only there SeeDs remained in there. He could tell that they were medical students.
"Nephen, you can go too. Aeron and Sionna please stay." Zell watched as one of the male SeeDs exited without a word. The remaining man and woman stayed.
"I think what we have to talk about is private." Zell said, looking at both students harshly.
"Sionna and Aeron are the most advanced medical division SeeDs we have. No matter what course of action you choose to take, they will be assisting." Zell crossed his arms over his chest and shot daggers at the two of them.
"Fine."
"Come, we'll all talk in my side office. Excuse me while I lock the doors. I don't want all of us to be disturbed." Zell still continued looking at the two other SeeDs.
~Just what I need, an audience to watch me while I suffer.~
The four of them walked into a small side office attached to the infirmary. Dr. Kadowaki motioned for the three of them to sit down while she took off her white overcoat.
"Zell, I have already discussed all of this with your mother and the headmasters. They know the choices of treatment you have open to you and have agreed to support you in anyway possible. They also all agree that everything is up to you. Every aspect of the treatments will be your decision."
"Treatment?" The blond SeeD asked.
"Yes... I forgot. You two don't know. Zell?"
~What? What does she want from me?~
"What do you want? Permission? If it were up to me they wouldn't even be here. I don't care. Tell them whatever you want." He folded his arms over his chest and stared at the diplomas that covered the walls. Dr. Kadowaki sighed.
"Zell has adult acute myeloid leukemia. It is a type of leukemia that progresses quickly. It is found in bone marrow and blood. In this type of leukemia, the blasts that mature into white blood cells, granulocytes, do not mature. The immature blasts become too numerous and then are found in the blood and bone marrow, and there aren't enough white blood cells."
"So it keeps cells that fight infections from growing." Sionna stated.
"Exactly."
Zell looked over at Sionna and Aeron.
~Great. Pity. Just what I needed. Hyne, I shouldn't have come here.~
"So? Big whoop. If I were afraid of dying I wouldn't have become a SeeD. Any idea what caused it?" Zell looked away from the two assistants.
~I can't deal with two cling-ons like that. Look at them. Like gawkers at an accident. I can just imagine them if I'd die. 'Oh Dr. Kadowaki? Can you bring the body closer? Thanks!' Yeah, they're real helpful.~
"Well, there can be many causes for this kind of leukemia, and we still aren't positive about all of them. One cause is exposure to electromagnetic fields. There isn't enough research to completely verify that though..."
"Could those fields... could they be given off by machinery? Like, for example, in the Desert Prison in Galbadia they had this mechanical arm, that had older control panels..." Zell's heart stopped momentarily.
"I suppose that is a good example of what could cause this..."
~Damn Quistis and Selphie... volunteering me to operate the arm.~ Zell sank back in his chair.
"Especially if it was old equipment. Why?"
"No reason..." Zell stole a glance at the Aeron and Sionna. Aeron was still staring at him, but Sionna was now focusing her attention on the doctor.
~Yeah, stare all you want now, cause I might not be around much longer.~ Zell shot him an evil glance. Aeron looked surprised and quickly looked forward. ~Ha. Chicken-Wuss.~
"Now Zell, about your treatment options. I would normally recommend chemotherapy. That is usually the most successful. You also could have radiation therapy if you wished."
"What about a bone marrow transplant?" Sionna asked.
"That is still experimental with this type. Plus it is usually done with close family members."
"So? We can test his mother, right?" Aeron asked.
"No, that isn't possible. Zell is adopted."
Zell looked at the two again. Sionna still looked forward, but Aeron was giving Zell yet another pity glance.
~Ass...~ He thought as he sent an obscene gesture in Aeron's direction.
"So Zell, you have a choice between chemo and radiation." Dr. Kadowaki said. It was obvious she had witnessed the exchange between him and Aeron, but she chose to ignore it.
"What's the difference?"
"Chemo involves using drugs to treat the cancer. We could arrange it so you could take them
orally or by using needles. Radiation therapy would use x-rays to kill the cancer cells. This can only done by a machine though."
Zell nodded and considered what he had heard.
"Would I have to leave Garden for either of them?"
"No. I have some friends at a clinic in Deiling. If you chose radiation, they'd send us the machine we need. If you choose chemo, then we can just handle everything here."
"Would I lose my hair?"
"... Yes, in both cases that would happen. And both treatments have similar side effects. With chemo, you would most likely lose your hair. You would also have nausea and possible flu-like symptoms. However, chemo works in cycles. You'd have a cycle of chemo, then a recovery period, and so on. We could give the treatments here, or even in your room. With radiation therapy it is given in a similar way. However, in addition to losing your hair, he nausea, and flu-like symptoms, you woud also be exhausted most of the time, and you would have very little appetite."
~So basically either way I'm stuck.~
"What happens if I wait a while?"
"I strongly advise against that. Acute cases have to be treated immediately. Our goal would be to bring remission on as quickly as possible. And then, even when you are in remission, for a few months, maybe even a year, we would have continuation therapy. That would be to kill any remaining cancerous cells. You have a very good chance of going into remission though. We caught this fairly quickly and many people with acute leukemia are cured."
"So I basically have to decide now. Right away."
~So... do I want to have a machine bombarding me with strong, possibly harmful, rays? Or would I rather be doped up on drugs?~
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Find out next chapter what treatment Zell decides on....