Chapter 6: Star Light, Star Bright
The days came one after the other, as they always do, and Jamie continued to take her pills. The side effects were worse than the doctor had said they'd be. She was throwing up, dizzy, and had diarrhea. Finally, it was Wednesday the 22nd, the day of Jamie's doctor's appointment. Both Jamie and Landon woke up very early after a restless night.
In the car Landon tried to make conversation with Jamie, but it wasn't working.
"Jamie, you look very nice, baby."
"Thank you."
"What are you reading?"
"The book of Joshua."
"Are you nervous?"
"A little."
Eventually he just gave up. After about ten minutes Jamie had stopped reading her Bible and had switched to praying. Landon could hear her speaking softly but couldn't make out the words.
In another 5 minutes they had arrived at the hospital. It was almost time for Jamie's appointment so they signed in and sat in the waiting room. Almost immediately after they sat down Dr. Purdy came out. "Good after noon Mr. and Mrs. Carter. Jamie, how are you feeling today?"
"I feel pretty good. A little sick from the last pill I took this morning, but other than that, pretty good." Jamie replied.
"Well, come on then back to the examining room and we'll run those tests to see if the medication helped." The doctor suggested. Jamie and Landon quickly stood up and followed him.
The tests were very familiar to Jamie and didn't take very long. After about an hour the tests were sent down to the lab. Dr. Purdy invited Jamie and Landon to have lunch with him in the hospital's cafeteria while they waited for the results.
The food in the hospital was surprisingly good. Lunch lasted for about an hour. While they ate Landon and Dr. Purdy discussed medical schools and different branches of medicine.
Finally, two hours after the tests were finished the results came back. Dr. Purdy read over them twice to make sure he was reading them right and then smiled at Jamie and Landon. "Jamie, I have wonderful news for you! The tests came back positive, the medicine did what it was supposed to and we can try a round of chemo!"
Jamie was so happy she began to cry and Landon hugged her close to him. "Dr. Purdy, when does the chemo start?" Landon wanted to know.
"Well, we'll have to surgically insert a pump and we can do that tomorrow. Then after a day of recuperation we can have the first go. Jamie, you'll have to come back every Saturday for six weeks, and then we'll see what to do. If you go into remission, that's great. If you don't we'll have to find something else. After the chemo you'll have to go on another medication. As you know your immune system will be weak and the medicine will help it work." The doctor explained.
Jamie was so happy she couldn't speak. She knew the chemo would be horrible, even more so than the medicine she had been on, but it was worth it.
That night, back home and on the balcony again, Landon asked Jamie when they should tell their parents. "We can call them tomorrow morning before we go to the hospital. That way they can be there. Call them right before we leave and tell them to meet you at the hospital. While I'm in surgery tell them the whole story. Sound good?" Jamie said.
"Yeah, sounds like a good plan to me. It's too late to call them now. Say, why don't we go put our pajamas on and sleep out here on the swing like we did the first night here. To celebrate." Landon suggested.
"That sounds wonderful. I was wondering when we'd get to go that again. Too bad we don't be able to have French toast for breakfast again. The doctor said I can't eat anything from midnight until after my surgery. Let's go get changed and look at the stars before we fall asleep." Jamie answered.
"Whatever you want, baby. We can look for your star while we're at it." Landon agreed.
So Jamie and Landon changed into their pjs and looked for Jamie's star. It didn't take them long. It never did. Jamie's was the biggest and brightest. It was as though God was keeping a special watch on her through her star.
After about and hour of looking at the stars and talking about everything and nothing, the Carters fell asleep on the swing. It was one of those wonderful, peaceful nights. Jamie was hoping for another dream, but none came. Well, that's not true, she did have a dream, it just wasn't the one she wanted.
The days came one after the other, as they always do, and Jamie continued to take her pills. The side effects were worse than the doctor had said they'd be. She was throwing up, dizzy, and had diarrhea. Finally, it was Wednesday the 22nd, the day of Jamie's doctor's appointment. Both Jamie and Landon woke up very early after a restless night.
In the car Landon tried to make conversation with Jamie, but it wasn't working.
"Jamie, you look very nice, baby."
"Thank you."
"What are you reading?"
"The book of Joshua."
"Are you nervous?"
"A little."
Eventually he just gave up. After about ten minutes Jamie had stopped reading her Bible and had switched to praying. Landon could hear her speaking softly but couldn't make out the words.
In another 5 minutes they had arrived at the hospital. It was almost time for Jamie's appointment so they signed in and sat in the waiting room. Almost immediately after they sat down Dr. Purdy came out. "Good after noon Mr. and Mrs. Carter. Jamie, how are you feeling today?"
"I feel pretty good. A little sick from the last pill I took this morning, but other than that, pretty good." Jamie replied.
"Well, come on then back to the examining room and we'll run those tests to see if the medication helped." The doctor suggested. Jamie and Landon quickly stood up and followed him.
The tests were very familiar to Jamie and didn't take very long. After about an hour the tests were sent down to the lab. Dr. Purdy invited Jamie and Landon to have lunch with him in the hospital's cafeteria while they waited for the results.
The food in the hospital was surprisingly good. Lunch lasted for about an hour. While they ate Landon and Dr. Purdy discussed medical schools and different branches of medicine.
Finally, two hours after the tests were finished the results came back. Dr. Purdy read over them twice to make sure he was reading them right and then smiled at Jamie and Landon. "Jamie, I have wonderful news for you! The tests came back positive, the medicine did what it was supposed to and we can try a round of chemo!"
Jamie was so happy she began to cry and Landon hugged her close to him. "Dr. Purdy, when does the chemo start?" Landon wanted to know.
"Well, we'll have to surgically insert a pump and we can do that tomorrow. Then after a day of recuperation we can have the first go. Jamie, you'll have to come back every Saturday for six weeks, and then we'll see what to do. If you go into remission, that's great. If you don't we'll have to find something else. After the chemo you'll have to go on another medication. As you know your immune system will be weak and the medicine will help it work." The doctor explained.
Jamie was so happy she couldn't speak. She knew the chemo would be horrible, even more so than the medicine she had been on, but it was worth it.
That night, back home and on the balcony again, Landon asked Jamie when they should tell their parents. "We can call them tomorrow morning before we go to the hospital. That way they can be there. Call them right before we leave and tell them to meet you at the hospital. While I'm in surgery tell them the whole story. Sound good?" Jamie said.
"Yeah, sounds like a good plan to me. It's too late to call them now. Say, why don't we go put our pajamas on and sleep out here on the swing like we did the first night here. To celebrate." Landon suggested.
"That sounds wonderful. I was wondering when we'd get to go that again. Too bad we don't be able to have French toast for breakfast again. The doctor said I can't eat anything from midnight until after my surgery. Let's go get changed and look at the stars before we fall asleep." Jamie answered.
"Whatever you want, baby. We can look for your star while we're at it." Landon agreed.
So Jamie and Landon changed into their pjs and looked for Jamie's star. It didn't take them long. It never did. Jamie's was the biggest and brightest. It was as though God was keeping a special watch on her through her star.
After about and hour of looking at the stars and talking about everything and nothing, the Carters fell asleep on the swing. It was one of those wonderful, peaceful nights. Jamie was hoping for another dream, but none came. Well, that's not true, she did have a dream, it just wasn't the one she wanted.