Thanks for sticking with me. Remember, if you review I promise I'll try to review something for you. Anyway, this is a short chapter, but I needed to get a few things out there. Hope you enjoy.
Chapter 5
Jamie had been going through chemotherapy for four months. It had been a long several months for Jamie and her father. They tried hard to enjoy the Christmas season, but the usual merriness was vacant from their home. Jamie was too weak to decorate their home in her general holiday decorum. She was too nauseated to bake her festive holiday cookies. The season came and went. The treasured time had been lost during the hectic roadblock.
Life at the Sullivan house had changed. Jamie tried to hold onto her magical glow, but the chemo was taking over her frail body. Melanie had been a great aid to her. She had encouraged her through difficult times.
But Jamie's recent doctor's appointment had not been promising. Jamie was going to have to go through radiation. The chemotherapy was not doing the job. This came as unwanted news, but Jamie was determined to beat it. She was going to do whatever she had to.
Jamie began the radiation a week later. The effects were worse than those of the chemotherapy, and she was bed ridden for over a month. Her energy was nonexistent. She longed to sing in her church choir again, but her father refused to let her leave her bed. She was too weak. She could no longer fight off infections. She had to be shielded from all possible germ sources. When she went to the hospital, she had to wear a mask. Jamie hated being secluded from the outside world. Jamie was a social person. She needed her friends. She needed to help out at church. She wanted to go back to dance. She missed helping out with charity organizations. She didn't like people doing the same for her.
She went for a round of radiation every week. The remainder of the time she was at home in bed. That was if she wasn't in the hospital in the ICU.
Jamie tried desperately to keep up with her schoolwork. Her father found a tutor to work with her and a friend came from school every so often to help Jamie make a dent in her always growing pile of homework. Jamie was always a good student and became very depressed with her school situation. She would not allow herself to fall behind. She had to keep on top of things. She had to keep her perfect honors record. Reverend Sullivan tried to convince his daughter to lighten her load. She could pile it on later when she was better. But, Jamie refused. She would not let it slip.
Then, on Jamie's next appointment, she received an even worse blow. The radiation wasn't doing enough. It had made a slight improvement but not enough. She was going to need a bone marrow transplant. However, finding a perfect match was difficult. Who would be a perfect match? Would they be able to find someone? And if so, would it work?