Chapter 3

"A.L.L. is fairly rare in adults," Dr. Meurth was saying as he prepped Charlie's hip for the bone marrow aspiration. "But it's not unheard of, and there is a fairly high remission rate; 80, last time I checked. We don't have to get into all of that yet. All right Charlie, here comes the local anesthetic — you should feel a slight sting."

Charlie involuntarily lurched as the needle penetrated his hip. Grimacing, he tried to look over his shoulder at the doctor. "Dr. Meurth," he spat out. "Did you realize your last name is an anagram for 'hurt me'?"

The doctor chuckled. "Actually, yes," he answered. "But believe it or not, you're the first patient to notice. Usually I save that bit of information to use as a tension-relieving joke somewhere down the line." He grinned at Charlie's back while he picked up a thin needle. "Here we go, Charlie!"

The doctor inserted the needle deep into Charlie's pelvic bone, then drew back on the syringe, obtaining a sample of bone marrow. He withdrew the needle, placed it on the tray beside him, and began to clean the insertion site again. "That wasn't all that bad, was it?" he asked rhetorically. "This will probably ache for a few days," he continued, slapping a bandage on Charlie's hip. The doctor stood, and walked around to the front of the examination table. Offering Charlie an assisting hand, he continued, "Just take some ibuprofen."

Charlie sat still for a moment until the blood flow caught up with his head again. "It doesn't hurt at all," he said. "I mean, there was a weird pressure, and it kind-of felt like a vampire bat latched onto my hip for a second…"

The doctor smiled, and clapped him on the shoulder. "Yes, well, don't forget, the local is still active. Skinny little guy like you? It'll hurt later." He turned toward the door, then looked back at Charlie. "Do you need some help getting dressed? I could send the nurse in."

"Doc," Charlie said, climbing off the table, "hurt me."