Chapter 2
I know it's been forever since I updated, but the point is that I updated right?
Lizzie sighs heavily flipping through a machine as the dialysis machine beside her whirled as it cleaned her body of the waste that threatened to kill her. She hadn't realized her deep sigh had attracted anyone's attention until her favorite nurse Allison came over, "how are you and Fred today?" Allison had taken to Lizzie immediately, it was probably the fact that Lizzie had nicknamed her dialysis machine Fred and that she was usually cheerful and upbeat despite how sick she was after every treatment.
"Fred and I are kind of sick of each other." Lizzie sighs setting her magazine aside and focusing her attention on Allison.
"I'm sorry Lizzie, I think your kind of stuck with him, like a sibling, I suppose." Allison suggests.
Lizzie offers a weak smile, "my brother and I used to get sick of each other all the time now we hardly see each other enough to get sick of each other. Between my appointments here with Fred and then how sick I get after. I really don't get to see much of my family ever. Or my friends or Gordo."
"How is Gordo do anyway?" Allison asks hoping the change of subject will cheer Lizzie up.
"He's great, I mean he brings me to and picks me up from all my appointments. He offers to stay with me, but I don't want him to so he usually goes to the library around the corner and studies or does homework or whatever. But I hate that he has put his entire life on hold for me. He got accepted to just about every college on the face of the planet, Yale, Harvard, Cambridge, and Oxford plus a zillion others. But when I asked him if he any idea which one he thought he wanted to go to he just shrugged and said he was probably considering the UCLA so that he could stick close to me."
"He really loves you." Allison smiles.
Lizzie nods, "I know...but I just don't want him to pick his whole life around me and my dialysis treatments."
Allison squeezes Lizzie's hand reassuringly, "you can't make his choices for him, maybe he wants to go to UCLA."
Lizzie shrugs, "I guess but he is so much better than that."
"So how are you feeling after dialysis?" Allison asks changing the question to Lizzie's health.
Lizzie shakes her head, "I still get so sick after all of my appointments. I thought this was going to make me well enough to go back to school but they've put me in this distance learning. Basically it's so I will graduate with my class but I get a tutor that my parents pay for that come from the school and help me keep caught up in my classes."
"Well that's good at least." Allison offers.
"Yes, but I want to go back to school." Lizzie sighs.
"You will, you just have to adjust to the different combinations Dr. Grace is putting you on." Allison promises.
Lizzie's just as Gordo walks in, "I guess."
"All right well let's get you cleaned up so you can go off with your gorgeous boyfriend." Allison states carefully pulling the needle out of her arm.
Once Allison is finished Gordo helps Lizzie to stand and the two walk out of the dialysis office with Gordo's arm around Lizzie's waist supporting her on her walk to the car. "How are you feeling?" Gordo asks once Lizzie is situated in the car and he has pulled out of the parking lot.
"Terrible, I just want to go home and sleep. I hope you don't mind." Lizzie sighs, Gordo had said something about hanging out at her house and watching a movie if she felt up to it.
"Of course not." Gordo shakes his head, "but I am holding you to the promise of that movie."
Lizzie smiles weakly at Gordo and nods, "ok."
By the time they actually reach the McGuire household Lizzie is asleep and Jo is waiting in the doorway for them, hurrying to her side of the car Gordo scoops Lizzie up and carries her into her bedroom where Jo sets about making Lizzie comfortable.
15-minutes later Gordo is waiting in the living room when Jo finally comes downstairs, "I think she's going to stay asleep for the rest of the night."
"Mrs. McGuire can I talk to you?" Gordo asks.
By the look on the face Gordo knows that Jo know what he is going to ask her, but she nods anyway and the two take seats in the living room.
"Mrs. McGuire she's not getting any better. I thought Dr. Grace said that after two to three weeks the medications would balance themselves out, well it's been a month. What's going on?"
Jo sighs and runs a hand through her hair, "the dialysis isn't working."
"Then why do they keep her on it?" Gordo explodes.
"That's what I mean, what I mean is it's working but not enough. What I mean is it keeps her more healthy than she would be if she wasn't on it at all but Dr. Grace doesn't like the degree to which it is helping her."
"So what a new mix of drugs?" Gordo asks.
Jo shakes her head, "there's another type of dialysis but Dr. Grace isn't even considering her for it. Dr. Grace thinks that Lizzie's best bet is a kidney transplant."
Gordo licks his lips, nodding, "I understand."
"I know you do, that's why I am telling you this. We are going to need you to help Lizzie through this, she doesn't know yet."
"What's the problem though? Someone doesn't have to die to donate. Family members can donate a kidney." Gordo asks, "have you and Mr. McGuire been tested?"
Jo nods, "we aren't high enough matches."
Gordo's head drops, "and because of Matt's leukemia he can't donate his kidney."
Jo nods again, wiping away her tears, "that's right."
"So what now?" Gordo asks.
"Now they put her on the list for donors and we wait, and until then Lizzie suffers through dialysis." Jo responds.
"But there are thousands of people on that list." Gordo exclaims, "it could take Lizzie years to even get close enough for them to seriously consider her."
Jo nods, "I know, but there's no other choice. Until she gets close enough I have to watch my baby suffer 3 days a week."
I know it's been forever since I updated, but the point is that I updated right?
Lizzie sighs heavily flipping through a machine as the dialysis machine beside her whirled as it cleaned her body of the waste that threatened to kill her. She hadn't realized her deep sigh had attracted anyone's attention until her favorite nurse Allison came over, "how are you and Fred today?" Allison had taken to Lizzie immediately, it was probably the fact that Lizzie had nicknamed her dialysis machine Fred and that she was usually cheerful and upbeat despite how sick she was after every treatment.
"Fred and I are kind of sick of each other." Lizzie sighs setting her magazine aside and focusing her attention on Allison.
"I'm sorry Lizzie, I think your kind of stuck with him, like a sibling, I suppose." Allison suggests.
Lizzie offers a weak smile, "my brother and I used to get sick of each other all the time now we hardly see each other enough to get sick of each other. Between my appointments here with Fred and then how sick I get after. I really don't get to see much of my family ever. Or my friends or Gordo."
"How is Gordo do anyway?" Allison asks hoping the change of subject will cheer Lizzie up.
"He's great, I mean he brings me to and picks me up from all my appointments. He offers to stay with me, but I don't want him to so he usually goes to the library around the corner and studies or does homework or whatever. But I hate that he has put his entire life on hold for me. He got accepted to just about every college on the face of the planet, Yale, Harvard, Cambridge, and Oxford plus a zillion others. But when I asked him if he any idea which one he thought he wanted to go to he just shrugged and said he was probably considering the UCLA so that he could stick close to me."
"He really loves you." Allison smiles.
Lizzie nods, "I know...but I just don't want him to pick his whole life around me and my dialysis treatments."
Allison squeezes Lizzie's hand reassuringly, "you can't make his choices for him, maybe he wants to go to UCLA."
Lizzie shrugs, "I guess but he is so much better than that."
"So how are you feeling after dialysis?" Allison asks changing the question to Lizzie's health.
Lizzie shakes her head, "I still get so sick after all of my appointments. I thought this was going to make me well enough to go back to school but they've put me in this distance learning. Basically it's so I will graduate with my class but I get a tutor that my parents pay for that come from the school and help me keep caught up in my classes."
"Well that's good at least." Allison offers.
"Yes, but I want to go back to school." Lizzie sighs.
"You will, you just have to adjust to the different combinations Dr. Grace is putting you on." Allison promises.
Lizzie's just as Gordo walks in, "I guess."
"All right well let's get you cleaned up so you can go off with your gorgeous boyfriend." Allison states carefully pulling the needle out of her arm.
Once Allison is finished Gordo helps Lizzie to stand and the two walk out of the dialysis office with Gordo's arm around Lizzie's waist supporting her on her walk to the car. "How are you feeling?" Gordo asks once Lizzie is situated in the car and he has pulled out of the parking lot.
"Terrible, I just want to go home and sleep. I hope you don't mind." Lizzie sighs, Gordo had said something about hanging out at her house and watching a movie if she felt up to it.
"Of course not." Gordo shakes his head, "but I am holding you to the promise of that movie."
Lizzie smiles weakly at Gordo and nods, "ok."
By the time they actually reach the McGuire household Lizzie is asleep and Jo is waiting in the doorway for them, hurrying to her side of the car Gordo scoops Lizzie up and carries her into her bedroom where Jo sets about making Lizzie comfortable.
15-minutes later Gordo is waiting in the living room when Jo finally comes downstairs, "I think she's going to stay asleep for the rest of the night."
"Mrs. McGuire can I talk to you?" Gordo asks.
By the look on the face Gordo knows that Jo know what he is going to ask her, but she nods anyway and the two take seats in the living room.
"Mrs. McGuire she's not getting any better. I thought Dr. Grace said that after two to three weeks the medications would balance themselves out, well it's been a month. What's going on?"
Jo sighs and runs a hand through her hair, "the dialysis isn't working."
"Then why do they keep her on it?" Gordo explodes.
"That's what I mean, what I mean is it's working but not enough. What I mean is it keeps her more healthy than she would be if she wasn't on it at all but Dr. Grace doesn't like the degree to which it is helping her."
"So what a new mix of drugs?" Gordo asks.
Jo shakes her head, "there's another type of dialysis but Dr. Grace isn't even considering her for it. Dr. Grace thinks that Lizzie's best bet is a kidney transplant."
Gordo licks his lips, nodding, "I understand."
"I know you do, that's why I am telling you this. We are going to need you to help Lizzie through this, she doesn't know yet."
"What's the problem though? Someone doesn't have to die to donate. Family members can donate a kidney." Gordo asks, "have you and Mr. McGuire been tested?"
Jo nods, "we aren't high enough matches."
Gordo's head drops, "and because of Matt's leukemia he can't donate his kidney."
Jo nods again, wiping away her tears, "that's right."
"So what now?" Gordo asks.
"Now they put her on the list for donors and we wait, and until then Lizzie suffers through dialysis." Jo responds.
"But there are thousands of people on that list." Gordo exclaims, "it could take Lizzie years to even get close enough for them to seriously consider her."
Jo nods, "I know, but there's no other choice. Until she gets close enough I have to watch my baby suffer 3 days a week."