Thanx for all the reviews I got fron chapter five. Here's chapter six, please read and review! I want at least ten reviews per chapter, but if you could manage more, it would be much appreciated. Well, here ya go!
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Cindy coughed. She covered her mouth and waited for the tickling sensation in the back of her throat to dissapear. When it didn't, she coughed once more, immediately followed by a line of wracking coughs. Cindy cleared her throat and glanced around the room at the people seated around her.
"Sorry, just a cold." she said.
Everyone around her just turned their heads back to the speaker and listened intently. Cindy sighed. She really disliked her therapy. The group support sessions hadn't been her idea, anyway. Her mother had suggested that she talk to a few other kids and teens in the area with cancer, and maybe it would help her. Boy, was her mother wrong.
Cindy felt that all of the people seated beside her in a half circle were from a different planet entirely. They were revealing information about themselves that she wouldn't have even told Libby. The person speaking was telling the group about her latest treatment of chemotherapy, and how it had felt. She described every detail, from going to the doctor's office to sleeping for hours on end she was so tired. Cindy didn't mind listening to it though. It made her feel like she could possible relate to them, but it also made her wonder when it would be her turn to speak.
"Cindy- why don't you speak?" asked Mrs. Granger, who was the guidance councelor, and head of the group therapy. Cindy had just realized that the girl- who she remembered was named Summer- had finished speaking.
Cindy really didn't want to speak, but she knew that even if she refused at the moment, she wold eventually have to talk anyway, so why not get it over with?
"Hi." said Cindy, standing up, as she was instructed to do. "My name is Cindy. I'm eleven years old, and I have cancer."
Everybody nodded and waited for her to continue.
"I'm not really sure what to say." she said, looking at Mrs. Granger for help.
"Anything. . . . you don't even have to talk about cancer. You can talk about school, friends, boys. . . "said Mrs. Granger, who was responded to by a fit of giggles around the room.
Oh, brother. . . thought Cindy. These kids are fighting for their lives and they still get embarrased when boys are mentioned. . .
"Okay, how about school?" asked Cindy. She opened her mouth to speak and realized that it would sound like she was bragging if she talked about her grades. She shook her head, and decided that friends would be her best bet, since there was no way she would be discussing boys with a room full of strangers.
"Friends, I guess I can talk about friends." she said.
"Go ahead, we're listening. Why don't you start off with your best friend?" urged Mrs. Granger.
"Her name's Libby. She's great, she's always there for me, especially lately." said Cindy, in one breath.
"She sounds wonderful." said Mrs. Granger. It was her job to ensure everyone that they were doing a good job at expressing themselves. "So, why don't you tell us about your other friends?"
"Why don't I give someone else a chance?" offered Cindy. She really didn't feel comfortable talking in front of those people.
"Allright. . . Denise, why don't you step up?" said Mrs. Granger.
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Cindy stepped out into the bright sunshine. She glanced around at her surroundings, and wondered which way would be the quickest to the doctor's office. Cindy really didn't like the fact that her parents couldn't drive her to her appointment. But, she knew they had other things to do. They had to work. So, instead she walked.
When she arrived at the doctor's office, she was immediately taken to the examining room, to her surprize.
"Hello, Cindy. . ." said Dr. Travis, the young doctor whom her case had been passed to, "How are you today?"
"Fine." she replied, sitting on the edge of the examination table. She knew the normal routine.
Cindy did everything the doctor told her, almost in a trance she was so used to the whole process. She wasn't due for chemo yet, so at least she could be grateful to that. Dr. Travis did take e-xrays, which he pulled up.
"Cindy, I have some good news, and bad news, which do you want first?" he asked, turning to her.
"Good, I guess." she replied.
"Well, the good news is, it seems that your cancer seems to be regressing. Honestly, it's not by much, but it has improved." he said, and smiled.
"That's great!" she exclaimed. She knew that any decrease in size was good. "Now what's the bad news?" she asked.
"Well, as you know, we exrayed your whole body, to make sure that the cancer hasn't spread." he said.
At the alarmed look on Cindy's face he continued, "Don't worry, it hasn't. It's just that I noticed some blockage in your lungs. Have you been couging lately? Experiencing any discomfort?" he asked.
Cindy remembered her coughing fit earlier that day. "Yes, actually." she admitted.
"Well, as you know, Leukemia weakens the immune system. It's a lot easier for you to get colds and things like that. But, I'm worried. From what I've studied, this doesn't just look like a cold."
"What is it?" she asked. Cindy felt like there was no worse news that she could recieve than the fac that she had cancer.
"I think you have pneumonia. Have you been outside lately, maybe at night, or without a coat?" he asked.
"Well, yeah, but it's not cold out." she protested.
"It doesn't matter. You're highly supseptible at the moment. I think it's best if you stay overnight, so we can monitor you and make sure you're alright." said Dr. Travis.
"But. . ." Cindy started to protest, but was interrupted.
"I'm sorry Cindy, it's for your own good." said Dr. Travis, who left the room to inform her parents that she would be staying the night.
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