Disclaimer: Chapters 1-3. :)
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Chapter Thirteen
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Tess fidgeted nervously. Mark was beside her on one side, Chris on the other, and they were sitting in the waiting room of the local hospital. Tess glanced at her watch, noting that it was only about fifteen minutes until she had to go in for her first chemotherapy treatment. She took a deep breath and looked over at her father, who was now busy filling out a clipboard full of paperwork. She crossed her right leg over her left and continued to sit in silence, until a nurse with bleach-blonde hair called her name.
"Contessa Calloway," she said, standing in the large doorway leading into the main part of the hospital. Tess took another deep breath and stood up, Mark and Chris following her. Chris reached for her hand and she squeezed his out of nervousness. They followed the nurse through a long hallway and into a room lit up with bright lights. The nurse instructed Tess to take a seat on the bench, which was covered in a thin sheat of paper, until the doctor came in. Tess nodded and climbed onto the bench, feeling alone and scared. The doctor was in just a few minutes later.
"Hello again, Tess." he said. It was Dr. Williams, the same doctor who had seen her the previous week.
"Hello, Dr. Williams." she replied. He nodded and pulled her chart out.
"There is a possibility of us doing a chemo treatment today, but we may not." the doctor said. Tess quirked a brow.
"What do you mean? I thought that was what I came here for." she asked.
"It is, but first, we need to do a bone marrow aspiration, and possibly a spinal tap." he told her. "The bone marrow aspiration will come first, and we'll have the doctors at the pathology lab examine it and determine what type of leukemia you have. The type of the cancer will tell us whether or not we will need to do the spinal tap." Tess nodded.
"How many different types of leukemia are there?" she asked.
"Many, many types, but the four main types are acute lymphocytic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and chronic myeloid leukemia. We believe that you have either acute lymphocytic leukemia or acute myeloid leukemia." Tess nodded again.
"We will be giving you a light anesthesia for your bone marrow aspiration. The anesthesiologist will administer the anesthesia intravenously, and we will take the sample of your bone marrow through your hip. You will more than likely feel a slight amount of pain, because the anesthesia we are giving you isn't going to totally knock you out."
"Why not just go ahead and do that, so I can't feel it?" Tess asked, anxiety in her voice. She hated needles.
"Because we don't like to administer heavy anesthesia unless it is absolutely necessary, which, in your case it is not." the doctor marked something on her chart. "I'm going to get the anestheologist now, and we'll get started." Dr. Williams's voice was positive. "Oh, and put this on." he handed her a thin hospital gown.
"Alright." she said. She looked around the small room and noticed that there was no bathroom connected to this one, as there was in her previous one. She shrugged and pulled her jacket off.
"Tess, don't you need to go to a bathroom and change?" Mark asked her. She knew that he didn't want her changing in front of Chris.
"Daddy," she said, tugging her shirt over her head. "Chris is a grown man, he's seen women in their underwear before. It is not a big deal." she took her Birkenstocks off and stood up, sliding out of her jeans. She was now standing in the middle of a small hospital room with her father and Chris Irvine, in a matching set of a pink and white bra, and pink and white bikini cut panties. Mark sighed and shook his head as she attempted to tie the strings in the back by herself unsuccessfully. He reached over and tied them for her, just as he had the previous week. Tess pulled the black hair tie off of her wrist and pulled her brown hair into a ponytail, just as Dr. Williams and the anesthesiologist walked back through the door. Dr. Williams was holding a syringe with a very large needle in it, and the anesthesiologist was wheeling a cart.
"Tess, this is Dr. Rogers, she'll be administering your anesthesia." the woman smiled at Tess. She returned the smile and wrung her hands together nervously.
"Alright, Tess, I'll need you to lay down on your stomach for me." Dr. Rogers said. Her voice was warm and comforting, like a grandmothers, and it made Tess calm down considerably. She turned onto her stomach and rested her head on her folded arms. Dr. Rogers rolled over a stand that had a drip bag attached to it.
"Give me your left hand, please." she said, offering a small smile to Tess. She returned it and stuck her left hand out. Dr. Rogers took her hand and pulled her middle finger away from the rest. What looked like a finger cast was attached to a cord on the drip bag. In a quick motion, she clipped it to Tess's finger. She felt a prick and knew that that was her IV. She re-crossed her arms and rested her head on them again.
"It should only take a few minutes for the anesthesia to kick in. Tell us when you begin to feel lightheaded and drowsy." Dr. Williams said. Tess nodded and waited. He was right, because just a few minutes later, a wave of lightheadedness swept over her.
"Okay, it's working." she said. Dr. Williams nodded.
"I'm going to put a numbing agent on the spot of entry," Dr. Williams said, lifting up her gown to her waist. She felt him rub a cold, thick gel on her leg and shivered slightly. "Now, take a deep breath, and have Mark or your friend hold your hand. It may help the pain." he told her. She cringed and held her arms out. Both Mark and Chris came over to her, and she held one of their hands in each of her hands.
"Take a deep breath, Tess." he told her. She did as he told her to and squeezed her eyes shut. She felt the needle push past her skin and travel farther and farther.
'This isn't so bad,' she told herself. But that was before she felt the needle hit her bone. Dr. Williams had to forcefully push it, harder and harder as it penetrated her hip bone. A muffled cry escaped her lips and she squeezed the two hands in hers tightly. The thick needle dug through her bone painfully.
"We're almost done, Tess." Dr. Williams said. He had apparently reached the marrow and took a sample through the syringe. He then slowly extracted the needle.
"All done," he said, wiping her hip off with a damp towelette. He then placed a medium-sized bandage over it and Dr. Rogers unhooked her IV.
"Thank God..." Tess muttered, rubbing her hip as she sat up. She winced. She could tell that her hip would be sore for a day or so.
"Alright, we're going to take this down to the pathology lab. It will take them a few hours to determine which type of leukemia it is, so you can go and grab a bite to eat, or go back home for a while if you want. Be back by three p.m." Dr. Williams said.
"Thank you, doctor." Mark told him. He nodded, and both he and Dr. Rogers left the room. Tess took the hospital gown off and slipped back into her jeans and t-shirt. She slid her shoes back on and began to walk towards the door. She let out an audible gasp, noting the pain in her leg. After that, she immediately felt an arm go around her waist. She looked over to see Chris. She smiled softly at him and he returned the smile, helping her walk out.
"Tess, do you want to go get something to eat?" Mark asked her. She shook her head.
"I really would just like to go home and lay down. Maybe we can order something in?" she asked. Mark smiled and nodded.
"Anything for you, baby girl." he told her, leaning over and placing a kiss on her forehead.
"Thanks, Daddy." she said, returning his smile. He nodded and they walked out of the hospital doors to Mark's black SUV, that was parked near the front. Tess slowly climbed into the back, laying down and allowing herself to stretch her leg out. They pulled out of the hospital's parking lot and were back to Tess's house within fifteen minutes. Chris helped her limp back into the house, where they situated themselves on the couch in the living room. Tess was resting back against the arm of it, with her legs stretched out over Chris's. Mark ordered a pizza and they all sat around the living room, talking and eating, until it came time for them to return to the hospital.
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"We have your results back, Tess. You have acute myeloid leukemia. Acute forms of leukemia spread faster than chronic forms, which means that we need to start chemotherapy sooner. We would like to do the first treatment today." Dr. Williams told them. Tess was sitting in the same room as earlier that day, back in another hospital gown. "We'll take you to a larger room, and begin the treatment."
"Okay. How exactly do you do chemo?" Tess asked.
"We'll administer an IV through your arm, and the drugs will enter you that way. Now, you will probably feel very sick after these treatments," Dr. Williams said. "Nausea, mouth sores, possible loss of hair. You'll bruise and bleed easily, and you may lose weight. You may also lose your appetite, but it is very important that you keep your strength up by eating plenty of proteins. You'll also have to keep a watch on your calories, because you'll need to keep you weight up, too." the doctor said as they walked down the nearly empty hospital corridor. They arrived at a large door and the doctor opened it, revealing a large room with a bed, a television, a chest of drawers, and a connecting bathroom. Chris led Tess over to the bed and helped her lay down. The doctor had left to get her medication, and he came back in a few minutes later with a nurse in tow. They hooked up her IV and the drugs began pumping into her system. Tess closed her eyes and lay her head back against the pillows behind her, nausea already sweeping over her body. The treatment was over quicker than she expected, and the doctor told her she could leave. She sat up, and immediately rushed to the bathroom. Chris followed her into the bathroom, where she was leaning over the toilet. He looked at her sadly, hating that she had to feel this way. He heard her cough and knelt down beside her, holding her hair back and rubbing her back as she vomited. He kept doing this until she was finished, her nausea finally passing. He got a washcloth and wet it with cool water, gently wiping off her forehead. She looked up at him and smiled weakly. He returned the smile and reached down, lifting her up into his arms. She went limp, feeling bad from the treatment. He walked out of the bathroom and nodded at Mark. He returned the nod and they walked out of the room, out to the car, and back home. After arriving there, Chris carried her back inside and lay her down on the couch. He watched her as she came close to falling asleep, when her cell phone rang.
"Hello?" she said tiredly into the phone. When she heard the voice on the other side, she immediately perked up. "Rob, I'm so glad you finally called!" Chris froze - Rob was calling. He sat there in shock and listened to her end of the conversation, as she told Rob everything, from her having cancer to her first chemo treatment. She happened to leave out the fact that he was there. She was smiling widely as she hung up the phone fifteen minutes later.
"Chris, Rob called! I didn't think he was going to...I'm so happy." she smiled. Chris attempted to smile, but it only came out as a grimace. She looked at him with concern.
"What's wrong?" she asked. He sighed.
"It's Rob." Chris said. There seemed to be a strain on his voice. Tess looked at him with a confused expression on her face.
"What about Rob?"
"Right after you called me a few days ago..." he said. It sounded like he was having a tough time telling her whatever he was trying to. "I was walking down the hallway towards gorilla, and I saw Rob with Dawn Marie outside of the woman's dressing room. They were more than a bit friendly..." he told her, finally getting it all out. He didn't expect what came next.
"How could you tell me a thing like that?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "Rob wouldn't do that to me. I thought I could trust you, Chris. But now I see that I can't." her voice and turned icy. Chris looked at her, seemingly hurt.
"Tess, I wouldn't lie to you." he told her strongly.
"Bullshit! Rob just told me how much he missed me, and how he couldn't wait for me to come back. Maybe he was right about you, Chris." she spat. Chris shook his head and stood up. He walked to the guest room, gathered his suitcase, and called a cab from his cell phone. Tess was still sitting angrily on the couch when he walked back out.
"I'm sorry." he whispered, before walking outside, where his cab was waiting on him.
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Chapter Thirteen
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Tess fidgeted nervously. Mark was beside her on one side, Chris on the other, and they were sitting in the waiting room of the local hospital. Tess glanced at her watch, noting that it was only about fifteen minutes until she had to go in for her first chemotherapy treatment. She took a deep breath and looked over at her father, who was now busy filling out a clipboard full of paperwork. She crossed her right leg over her left and continued to sit in silence, until a nurse with bleach-blonde hair called her name.
"Contessa Calloway," she said, standing in the large doorway leading into the main part of the hospital. Tess took another deep breath and stood up, Mark and Chris following her. Chris reached for her hand and she squeezed his out of nervousness. They followed the nurse through a long hallway and into a room lit up with bright lights. The nurse instructed Tess to take a seat on the bench, which was covered in a thin sheat of paper, until the doctor came in. Tess nodded and climbed onto the bench, feeling alone and scared. The doctor was in just a few minutes later.
"Hello again, Tess." he said. It was Dr. Williams, the same doctor who had seen her the previous week.
"Hello, Dr. Williams." she replied. He nodded and pulled her chart out.
"There is a possibility of us doing a chemo treatment today, but we may not." the doctor said. Tess quirked a brow.
"What do you mean? I thought that was what I came here for." she asked.
"It is, but first, we need to do a bone marrow aspiration, and possibly a spinal tap." he told her. "The bone marrow aspiration will come first, and we'll have the doctors at the pathology lab examine it and determine what type of leukemia you have. The type of the cancer will tell us whether or not we will need to do the spinal tap." Tess nodded.
"How many different types of leukemia are there?" she asked.
"Many, many types, but the four main types are acute lymphocytic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and chronic myeloid leukemia. We believe that you have either acute lymphocytic leukemia or acute myeloid leukemia." Tess nodded again.
"We will be giving you a light anesthesia for your bone marrow aspiration. The anesthesiologist will administer the anesthesia intravenously, and we will take the sample of your bone marrow through your hip. You will more than likely feel a slight amount of pain, because the anesthesia we are giving you isn't going to totally knock you out."
"Why not just go ahead and do that, so I can't feel it?" Tess asked, anxiety in her voice. She hated needles.
"Because we don't like to administer heavy anesthesia unless it is absolutely necessary, which, in your case it is not." the doctor marked something on her chart. "I'm going to get the anestheologist now, and we'll get started." Dr. Williams's voice was positive. "Oh, and put this on." he handed her a thin hospital gown.
"Alright." she said. She looked around the small room and noticed that there was no bathroom connected to this one, as there was in her previous one. She shrugged and pulled her jacket off.
"Tess, don't you need to go to a bathroom and change?" Mark asked her. She knew that he didn't want her changing in front of Chris.
"Daddy," she said, tugging her shirt over her head. "Chris is a grown man, he's seen women in their underwear before. It is not a big deal." she took her Birkenstocks off and stood up, sliding out of her jeans. She was now standing in the middle of a small hospital room with her father and Chris Irvine, in a matching set of a pink and white bra, and pink and white bikini cut panties. Mark sighed and shook his head as she attempted to tie the strings in the back by herself unsuccessfully. He reached over and tied them for her, just as he had the previous week. Tess pulled the black hair tie off of her wrist and pulled her brown hair into a ponytail, just as Dr. Williams and the anesthesiologist walked back through the door. Dr. Williams was holding a syringe with a very large needle in it, and the anesthesiologist was wheeling a cart.
"Tess, this is Dr. Rogers, she'll be administering your anesthesia." the woman smiled at Tess. She returned the smile and wrung her hands together nervously.
"Alright, Tess, I'll need you to lay down on your stomach for me." Dr. Rogers said. Her voice was warm and comforting, like a grandmothers, and it made Tess calm down considerably. She turned onto her stomach and rested her head on her folded arms. Dr. Rogers rolled over a stand that had a drip bag attached to it.
"Give me your left hand, please." she said, offering a small smile to Tess. She returned it and stuck her left hand out. Dr. Rogers took her hand and pulled her middle finger away from the rest. What looked like a finger cast was attached to a cord on the drip bag. In a quick motion, she clipped it to Tess's finger. She felt a prick and knew that that was her IV. She re-crossed her arms and rested her head on them again.
"It should only take a few minutes for the anesthesia to kick in. Tell us when you begin to feel lightheaded and drowsy." Dr. Williams said. Tess nodded and waited. He was right, because just a few minutes later, a wave of lightheadedness swept over her.
"Okay, it's working." she said. Dr. Williams nodded.
"I'm going to put a numbing agent on the spot of entry," Dr. Williams said, lifting up her gown to her waist. She felt him rub a cold, thick gel on her leg and shivered slightly. "Now, take a deep breath, and have Mark or your friend hold your hand. It may help the pain." he told her. She cringed and held her arms out. Both Mark and Chris came over to her, and she held one of their hands in each of her hands.
"Take a deep breath, Tess." he told her. She did as he told her to and squeezed her eyes shut. She felt the needle push past her skin and travel farther and farther.
'This isn't so bad,' she told herself. But that was before she felt the needle hit her bone. Dr. Williams had to forcefully push it, harder and harder as it penetrated her hip bone. A muffled cry escaped her lips and she squeezed the two hands in hers tightly. The thick needle dug through her bone painfully.
"We're almost done, Tess." Dr. Williams said. He had apparently reached the marrow and took a sample through the syringe. He then slowly extracted the needle.
"All done," he said, wiping her hip off with a damp towelette. He then placed a medium-sized bandage over it and Dr. Rogers unhooked her IV.
"Thank God..." Tess muttered, rubbing her hip as she sat up. She winced. She could tell that her hip would be sore for a day or so.
"Alright, we're going to take this down to the pathology lab. It will take them a few hours to determine which type of leukemia it is, so you can go and grab a bite to eat, or go back home for a while if you want. Be back by three p.m." Dr. Williams said.
"Thank you, doctor." Mark told him. He nodded, and both he and Dr. Rogers left the room. Tess took the hospital gown off and slipped back into her jeans and t-shirt. She slid her shoes back on and began to walk towards the door. She let out an audible gasp, noting the pain in her leg. After that, she immediately felt an arm go around her waist. She looked over to see Chris. She smiled softly at him and he returned the smile, helping her walk out.
"Tess, do you want to go get something to eat?" Mark asked her. She shook her head.
"I really would just like to go home and lay down. Maybe we can order something in?" she asked. Mark smiled and nodded.
"Anything for you, baby girl." he told her, leaning over and placing a kiss on her forehead.
"Thanks, Daddy." she said, returning his smile. He nodded and they walked out of the hospital doors to Mark's black SUV, that was parked near the front. Tess slowly climbed into the back, laying down and allowing herself to stretch her leg out. They pulled out of the hospital's parking lot and were back to Tess's house within fifteen minutes. Chris helped her limp back into the house, where they situated themselves on the couch in the living room. Tess was resting back against the arm of it, with her legs stretched out over Chris's. Mark ordered a pizza and they all sat around the living room, talking and eating, until it came time for them to return to the hospital.
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"We have your results back, Tess. You have acute myeloid leukemia. Acute forms of leukemia spread faster than chronic forms, which means that we need to start chemotherapy sooner. We would like to do the first treatment today." Dr. Williams told them. Tess was sitting in the same room as earlier that day, back in another hospital gown. "We'll take you to a larger room, and begin the treatment."
"Okay. How exactly do you do chemo?" Tess asked.
"We'll administer an IV through your arm, and the drugs will enter you that way. Now, you will probably feel very sick after these treatments," Dr. Williams said. "Nausea, mouth sores, possible loss of hair. You'll bruise and bleed easily, and you may lose weight. You may also lose your appetite, but it is very important that you keep your strength up by eating plenty of proteins. You'll also have to keep a watch on your calories, because you'll need to keep you weight up, too." the doctor said as they walked down the nearly empty hospital corridor. They arrived at a large door and the doctor opened it, revealing a large room with a bed, a television, a chest of drawers, and a connecting bathroom. Chris led Tess over to the bed and helped her lay down. The doctor had left to get her medication, and he came back in a few minutes later with a nurse in tow. They hooked up her IV and the drugs began pumping into her system. Tess closed her eyes and lay her head back against the pillows behind her, nausea already sweeping over her body. The treatment was over quicker than she expected, and the doctor told her she could leave. She sat up, and immediately rushed to the bathroom. Chris followed her into the bathroom, where she was leaning over the toilet. He looked at her sadly, hating that she had to feel this way. He heard her cough and knelt down beside her, holding her hair back and rubbing her back as she vomited. He kept doing this until she was finished, her nausea finally passing. He got a washcloth and wet it with cool water, gently wiping off her forehead. She looked up at him and smiled weakly. He returned the smile and reached down, lifting her up into his arms. She went limp, feeling bad from the treatment. He walked out of the bathroom and nodded at Mark. He returned the nod and they walked out of the room, out to the car, and back home. After arriving there, Chris carried her back inside and lay her down on the couch. He watched her as she came close to falling asleep, when her cell phone rang.
"Hello?" she said tiredly into the phone. When she heard the voice on the other side, she immediately perked up. "Rob, I'm so glad you finally called!" Chris froze - Rob was calling. He sat there in shock and listened to her end of the conversation, as she told Rob everything, from her having cancer to her first chemo treatment. She happened to leave out the fact that he was there. She was smiling widely as she hung up the phone fifteen minutes later.
"Chris, Rob called! I didn't think he was going to...I'm so happy." she smiled. Chris attempted to smile, but it only came out as a grimace. She looked at him with concern.
"What's wrong?" she asked. He sighed.
"It's Rob." Chris said. There seemed to be a strain on his voice. Tess looked at him with a confused expression on her face.
"What about Rob?"
"Right after you called me a few days ago..." he said. It sounded like he was having a tough time telling her whatever he was trying to. "I was walking down the hallway towards gorilla, and I saw Rob with Dawn Marie outside of the woman's dressing room. They were more than a bit friendly..." he told her, finally getting it all out. He didn't expect what came next.
"How could you tell me a thing like that?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "Rob wouldn't do that to me. I thought I could trust you, Chris. But now I see that I can't." her voice and turned icy. Chris looked at her, seemingly hurt.
"Tess, I wouldn't lie to you." he told her strongly.
"Bullshit! Rob just told me how much he missed me, and how he couldn't wait for me to come back. Maybe he was right about you, Chris." she spat. Chris shook his head and stood up. He walked to the guest room, gathered his suitcase, and called a cab from his cell phone. Tess was still sitting angrily on the couch when he walked back out.
"I'm sorry." he whispered, before walking outside, where his cab was waiting on him.
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