Disclaimer: I do not own anything!
The song in this chapter is "Hello" by Evanescence and I do NOT own it!
This story is based on the song "Changes" by 3 Doors Down.
Bosco knew Faith was right about the doctor, but for some reason he really didn't want to go. He wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because he was afraid what the doctor would tell him. Maybe he didn't want to be put on a desk at work, or maybe he just didn't want to. He had been living with these symptoms for over a week so he knew it wasn't just some flu or something.
He washed his face in his bathroom sink the next morning, feeling tired and drained. He looked up and stared at the mirror in front of him. His face looked tired and thin. He'd see how today went. If he didn't get any better he'd set up an appointment, just to get some medicine and get over this quickly.
~~
"So, you set up an appointment for the doctor yet?" Faith took a long sip of her coffee as they sat in the parked car and watched some people in a local park.
"No, not yet." He shook his head.
"What? Why not?"
"I'm waiting to see how today goes. If I don't feel any better at the end of the shift I'll set one up tomorrow morning."
"Okay. But what makes you think you'll get better, you've only been getting worse." She stared out the window.
"I could use some encouragement. You are just making my confidence shoot up aren't you?" His sarcasm was obvious as he stepped out of the car and walked to a park bench. He couldn't handle the pain he was going through. The sunlight even hurt his eyes.
He stared back at the car. Even the big, blue NYPD letters were blurry to him. He rubbed his eyes with his fists and looked back up. No change was made. Tears formed in his eyes. He was so damn confused. He just felt like screaming out but he held it in.
"Boz?" Faith noticed the tears forming in his eyes.
She surprised him. "What?!" He glared at her. Her face was even blurry to him and she was right in front of him. He blinked again and her face became clearer.
"Are you okay, why are you crying?"
"I'm not crying! Geez Faith, mind your own Goddamn business! FUCK!" He stood up, his anger overtaking him.
She noticed a sudden change in his personality. She decided to walk slowly behind him but not say a word to him. He was taking everything to personal. She noticed his shoulders slouch and his legs give out. He fell towards the ground, shaking violently.
"Bosco!!" He kneeled down beside him and looked into his face. His eyes were rolled back and his shaking moved faster. "5-5David, we need a bus at Foster Park at the entrance, we have an officer down." He tried to hold his head steady but he shook her away.
Carlos and Doc arrived about 5 minutes later, gurneys in hand and their medical bags draped over their shoulders.
"What's going on Faith?" Doc kneeled down and pulled a small flashlight out of his pants pocket.
"We were talking, he got up to walk and he just fell to the ground." She watched as Doc inserted a small IV needle into his left arm, causing the shaking to calm down almost instantly. "Is it a seizure Doc?"
"From what I can see, yes." He held up the IV bag as Carlos checked Bosco's pupils. Bosco was unconscious as they worked on his now lifeless body.
"So could this be epilepsy?"
Doc checked his pulse and looked up at Faith. "Well, it is hard to tell. Has he been complaining about anything to you, health wise?"
"Well, yeah. He's been having headaches, blurred vision, lots of sleep but he still feels tired. Doc, he's even had serious mood swings. Worse than he ever had before."
Doc nodded as they pulled Bosco onto the gurney. "That could mean anything, but we'll keep epilepsy a possibility. We'll meet you at Mercy ok?"
Faith nodded and wiped a tear away.
"Faith, look. I'm sure he's okay. Sometimes this happens." Carlos spoke as he shut the ambulance doors.
"Thanks Carlos." Faith walked towards the RMP.
~~
Doc's words echoed in Faith's head as she drove to Mercy hospital.
Epilepsy? That would be okay, he could take medicine and control that. But what if it was a stroke? What if he could have avoided having a stroke if he went to the doctor when he first had those symptoms? Sometimes his hard head got him into too much trouble.
She watched from the car as they pulled him out of the ambulance, the doctor's rushing to his side as they wheeled him in. She quickly got out of the car and ran in, her heart beating fast as she approached Sully and Davis.
"What's going on Faith?" Sully took her to the side and tried to draw her attention off of Bosco and the doctors.
"What are you guys doing here?"
"We heard the call on the radio. We thought we'd come check it out." Davis held up the radio and stared into the room where Bosco was being worked on.
Faith sat down in a chair and put her head in her hands. "I don't know what happened. You guys saw how he as been acting right?"
They both nodded.
"Well, we were at the park and I asked him a question and he blew up at me. Cursed, said the 'f' word. He NEVER did that before. Well, he took off walking and just collapsed. Doc said it was more than likely a seizure. I thought it might be epilepsy but he said it could be many things."
"Yeah, that's right." Sully stretched his legs out.
Doctor Miller approached them. They all three stood up and stared back at him, his brow creased.
"How is he doc?"
"What he experienced was definitely a seizure. But, what caused this seizure we aren't sure yet. It could be a stroke, a blockage of some sort, or maybe heat stroke. It could be anything. Doc told me what his symptoms have been lately, and we cannot rule out a brain tumor. But that is a shot in the dark. We are waiting on a CT machine and we'll get him up there as soon as possible. He is awake, so you can go talk to him if you want to. Just don't crowd the room too much."
"Thank you, doctor." Faith gave a small smile and walked into the exam room. "Hey Bosco." She sat beside him on the bed.
He didn't say anything and stared up at the ceiling.
"Talk to me Boz. How are you feeling?"
"Worse than before. Something is really wrong with me Faith."
Faith knew that it took a lot for Bosco to say something like that. Usually he had to be half dead before he would admit he wasn't feeling good. "You'll be okay. The doctor is being optimistic about it."
~~
Bosco was taken into the CT machine room about two hours after his seizure. He felt nervous as they slid him into the long, dark tunnel. He was always claustrophobic and this wasn't helping any.
After 30 minutes of testing they took him out. He felt nervous as he stared at the radiologists that ran the tests.
"Okay, we will have your results ready in about 30 minutes. We'll send them to Dr. Miller and he can tell you." The young girl smiled. All Bosco wanted to do was hit her. How could she be so peppy with a job like that?
~~
Bosco sat up in bed as he watched an infomercial on the TV. Faith read a magazine and sipped on a bottle of water as the impatiently waited for the results.
"Faith, what if I have cancer or something?" He kept his eyes on the TV as he waited for her response.
"We can sit here all day thinking about 'ifs' and 'buts' but that'll just make you go crazy."
He took his eyes off of the TV. "I feel like I'm going crazy. I'm sure I look crazy to all of you."
"No, you don't."
They were interrupted by Dr. Miller who entered the room with a manila folder and a solemn look on his face. He opened the folder up and stared down at the papers, causing Bosco's heart to beat quickly.
"Doctor, are you gonna tell us or just scare the shit outta us?" Bosco turned the TV off and waited.
He closed the folder. "Do you want her in here?"
Bosco looked at Faith and back at Doctor Miller. "Um, Faith? Sorry, but I'll tell you. I just don't feel comfortable with you in here right now."
"I understand." Faith closed her magazine and placed it on the small table beside her. "I'll be outside." She smiled and exited, wondering why he didn't want her there but she didn't want to push it.
Bosco stared at the doctor. "So, what is the verdict?"
The doctor sighed. "Officer, you have a brain tumor. The results are positive that you have one the size of an orange growing on the surface of your brain. The medical term for it is malignant meningioma. It is in fact cancerous and it is continuing to grow. The roots of the tumor are making there way down into your brain. This explains all of the symptoms you have been experiencing lately."
Bosco felt like the roof had just caved in on him. "Will you be able to remove it?"
"We aren't sure yet. It might be too big to remove. If we cannot in fact, remove it, it will slowly take over your brain until it kills you. You will need to come in for extensive treatments and within the next few weeks we can determine if it is removable or not."
Bosco felt a tear run down his face. "What are the chances of it being too big?"
"75 to 80%." Dr. Miller didn't want to sugar coat it. He needed to be honest about this.
Evanescence
Hello
Playground school bell rings again
Rain clouds come to play again
Has no one told you she's not breathing?
Hello I'm your mind giving you
Someone to talk to
Hello
If I smile and don't believe
Soon I know I'll wake from this dream
Don't try to fix me I'm not broken
Hello I'm the lie living for you so you can hide
Don't cry
Suddenly I know I'm not sleeping
Hello I'm still here
All that's left of yesterday
The song in this chapter is "Hello" by Evanescence and I do NOT own it!
This story is based on the song "Changes" by 3 Doors Down.
Bosco knew Faith was right about the doctor, but for some reason he really didn't want to go. He wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because he was afraid what the doctor would tell him. Maybe he didn't want to be put on a desk at work, or maybe he just didn't want to. He had been living with these symptoms for over a week so he knew it wasn't just some flu or something.
He washed his face in his bathroom sink the next morning, feeling tired and drained. He looked up and stared at the mirror in front of him. His face looked tired and thin. He'd see how today went. If he didn't get any better he'd set up an appointment, just to get some medicine and get over this quickly.
~~
"So, you set up an appointment for the doctor yet?" Faith took a long sip of her coffee as they sat in the parked car and watched some people in a local park.
"No, not yet." He shook his head.
"What? Why not?"
"I'm waiting to see how today goes. If I don't feel any better at the end of the shift I'll set one up tomorrow morning."
"Okay. But what makes you think you'll get better, you've only been getting worse." She stared out the window.
"I could use some encouragement. You are just making my confidence shoot up aren't you?" His sarcasm was obvious as he stepped out of the car and walked to a park bench. He couldn't handle the pain he was going through. The sunlight even hurt his eyes.
He stared back at the car. Even the big, blue NYPD letters were blurry to him. He rubbed his eyes with his fists and looked back up. No change was made. Tears formed in his eyes. He was so damn confused. He just felt like screaming out but he held it in.
"Boz?" Faith noticed the tears forming in his eyes.
She surprised him. "What?!" He glared at her. Her face was even blurry to him and she was right in front of him. He blinked again and her face became clearer.
"Are you okay, why are you crying?"
"I'm not crying! Geez Faith, mind your own Goddamn business! FUCK!" He stood up, his anger overtaking him.
She noticed a sudden change in his personality. She decided to walk slowly behind him but not say a word to him. He was taking everything to personal. She noticed his shoulders slouch and his legs give out. He fell towards the ground, shaking violently.
"Bosco!!" He kneeled down beside him and looked into his face. His eyes were rolled back and his shaking moved faster. "5-5David, we need a bus at Foster Park at the entrance, we have an officer down." He tried to hold his head steady but he shook her away.
Carlos and Doc arrived about 5 minutes later, gurneys in hand and their medical bags draped over their shoulders.
"What's going on Faith?" Doc kneeled down and pulled a small flashlight out of his pants pocket.
"We were talking, he got up to walk and he just fell to the ground." She watched as Doc inserted a small IV needle into his left arm, causing the shaking to calm down almost instantly. "Is it a seizure Doc?"
"From what I can see, yes." He held up the IV bag as Carlos checked Bosco's pupils. Bosco was unconscious as they worked on his now lifeless body.
"So could this be epilepsy?"
Doc checked his pulse and looked up at Faith. "Well, it is hard to tell. Has he been complaining about anything to you, health wise?"
"Well, yeah. He's been having headaches, blurred vision, lots of sleep but he still feels tired. Doc, he's even had serious mood swings. Worse than he ever had before."
Doc nodded as they pulled Bosco onto the gurney. "That could mean anything, but we'll keep epilepsy a possibility. We'll meet you at Mercy ok?"
Faith nodded and wiped a tear away.
"Faith, look. I'm sure he's okay. Sometimes this happens." Carlos spoke as he shut the ambulance doors.
"Thanks Carlos." Faith walked towards the RMP.
~~
Doc's words echoed in Faith's head as she drove to Mercy hospital.
Epilepsy? That would be okay, he could take medicine and control that. But what if it was a stroke? What if he could have avoided having a stroke if he went to the doctor when he first had those symptoms? Sometimes his hard head got him into too much trouble.
She watched from the car as they pulled him out of the ambulance, the doctor's rushing to his side as they wheeled him in. She quickly got out of the car and ran in, her heart beating fast as she approached Sully and Davis.
"What's going on Faith?" Sully took her to the side and tried to draw her attention off of Bosco and the doctors.
"What are you guys doing here?"
"We heard the call on the radio. We thought we'd come check it out." Davis held up the radio and stared into the room where Bosco was being worked on.
Faith sat down in a chair and put her head in her hands. "I don't know what happened. You guys saw how he as been acting right?"
They both nodded.
"Well, we were at the park and I asked him a question and he blew up at me. Cursed, said the 'f' word. He NEVER did that before. Well, he took off walking and just collapsed. Doc said it was more than likely a seizure. I thought it might be epilepsy but he said it could be many things."
"Yeah, that's right." Sully stretched his legs out.
Doctor Miller approached them. They all three stood up and stared back at him, his brow creased.
"How is he doc?"
"What he experienced was definitely a seizure. But, what caused this seizure we aren't sure yet. It could be a stroke, a blockage of some sort, or maybe heat stroke. It could be anything. Doc told me what his symptoms have been lately, and we cannot rule out a brain tumor. But that is a shot in the dark. We are waiting on a CT machine and we'll get him up there as soon as possible. He is awake, so you can go talk to him if you want to. Just don't crowd the room too much."
"Thank you, doctor." Faith gave a small smile and walked into the exam room. "Hey Bosco." She sat beside him on the bed.
He didn't say anything and stared up at the ceiling.
"Talk to me Boz. How are you feeling?"
"Worse than before. Something is really wrong with me Faith."
Faith knew that it took a lot for Bosco to say something like that. Usually he had to be half dead before he would admit he wasn't feeling good. "You'll be okay. The doctor is being optimistic about it."
~~
Bosco was taken into the CT machine room about two hours after his seizure. He felt nervous as they slid him into the long, dark tunnel. He was always claustrophobic and this wasn't helping any.
After 30 minutes of testing they took him out. He felt nervous as he stared at the radiologists that ran the tests.
"Okay, we will have your results ready in about 30 minutes. We'll send them to Dr. Miller and he can tell you." The young girl smiled. All Bosco wanted to do was hit her. How could she be so peppy with a job like that?
~~
Bosco sat up in bed as he watched an infomercial on the TV. Faith read a magazine and sipped on a bottle of water as the impatiently waited for the results.
"Faith, what if I have cancer or something?" He kept his eyes on the TV as he waited for her response.
"We can sit here all day thinking about 'ifs' and 'buts' but that'll just make you go crazy."
He took his eyes off of the TV. "I feel like I'm going crazy. I'm sure I look crazy to all of you."
"No, you don't."
They were interrupted by Dr. Miller who entered the room with a manila folder and a solemn look on his face. He opened the folder up and stared down at the papers, causing Bosco's heart to beat quickly.
"Doctor, are you gonna tell us or just scare the shit outta us?" Bosco turned the TV off and waited.
He closed the folder. "Do you want her in here?"
Bosco looked at Faith and back at Doctor Miller. "Um, Faith? Sorry, but I'll tell you. I just don't feel comfortable with you in here right now."
"I understand." Faith closed her magazine and placed it on the small table beside her. "I'll be outside." She smiled and exited, wondering why he didn't want her there but she didn't want to push it.
Bosco stared at the doctor. "So, what is the verdict?"
The doctor sighed. "Officer, you have a brain tumor. The results are positive that you have one the size of an orange growing on the surface of your brain. The medical term for it is malignant meningioma. It is in fact cancerous and it is continuing to grow. The roots of the tumor are making there way down into your brain. This explains all of the symptoms you have been experiencing lately."
Bosco felt like the roof had just caved in on him. "Will you be able to remove it?"
"We aren't sure yet. It might be too big to remove. If we cannot in fact, remove it, it will slowly take over your brain until it kills you. You will need to come in for extensive treatments and within the next few weeks we can determine if it is removable or not."
Bosco felt a tear run down his face. "What are the chances of it being too big?"
"75 to 80%." Dr. Miller didn't want to sugar coat it. He needed to be honest about this.
Evanescence
Hello
Playground school bell rings again
Rain clouds come to play again
Has no one told you she's not breathing?
Hello I'm your mind giving you
Someone to talk to
Hello
If I smile and don't believe
Soon I know I'll wake from this dream
Don't try to fix me I'm not broken
Hello I'm the lie living for you so you can hide
Don't cry
Suddenly I know I'm not sleeping
Hello I'm still here
All that's left of yesterday