Never Give Up
He didn't fall in love with her hair. But they'll get through it all because they're survivors.
Chapter Three: The Game Plan
"Do you have any questions?"
Reba and Brock just sat in place, their eyes as wide as saucers. The amount of information her doctor had just spilled out was overwhelming and quite frankly, terrifying. Reba thought it would just be a short appointment to follow up on her last one. However, she was very wrong. She hadn't expected them to want to do chemotherapy so soon.
Brock turned to his right and placed a reassuring hand on her knee. They had just been bombarded with life-changing information and he, too, didn't know where to begin.
"Ms. Hart?" The older man repeated and leaned forward in his chair. "I know this is a lot of information to digest, but if you have any questions, now is the time to ask them. We need to kick-start this before the cancer spreads any further. You're only stage three, but there is nothing stopping it from spreading to your organs. Time is everything right now."
Reba closed her eyes at the word cancer as if she were just stung by a bee. Her life had completely flipped upside down in such a short time. Never in her worst nightmares, did she ever think she would be sitting in this lifeless, white room having this conversation with a doctor whose face showed every difficult case he'd ever had. What if she was another?
"Tell us again how it works, but in layman terms this time." Brock spoke up and Reba placed her hand on his, squeezing and silently thanking him for stepping up. She needed a minute to compose herself.
"We will be giving you four cycles of chemotherapy which means you will have one week of therapy and then three weeks of rest, giving your body time to adjust to the treatment and recoup for the next round. Your therapy will be held here at the hospital in the chemo wing. We will be doing yours through an IV which means we will put a port into a vein close to your heart, probably on the inside of your left arm. It's the least disruptive place, we find. This will stay in your arm permanently for the entire duration of your treatment. This way we don't have to put an IV into you every time you come in."
Dr. Richardson paused and watched Reba as she took in this information. She had yet to speak and he needed to know whether or not she understood everything that he was saying.
"How long will I be here during the day?"
Brock felt relief wash over his entire body, she was asking questions which was a good sign.
"You'll be here for a few hours as we administer your dosage over the course of four days. As you can imagine, this may seem a little tedious so you'll want to consider bringing a friend or a family member to accompany you, maybe some books or your iPod – that kind of thing."
"Will I lose my hair?" She blurted out before the doctor could say anything further. Her voice was quiet and Brock watched her tap her fingers nervously against her thigh. He never even thought about the fact that she could very well lose all of her hair, but clearly she had.
Reba waited for the doctor's response. As silly as it sounds, this was one of her biggest concerns. Not the cancer itself, she was strong and she could fight this. She's always been a fighter with everything life has thrown her way and this time would be no different, but the idea of losing her hair? It felt like she'd be losing a part of herself. She was more than her hair, she knew that, but it was a major part of who she was. What if she lost that?
"Most likely. See, the chemotherapy targets the cancer cells that are growing and dividing very quickly and because our bodies are made up of many cells, the chemo can't distinguish between normal cells and cancer cells. The normal cells in your hair follicles and digestive system grow and divide quicker than other cells in your body which means they'll be targeted by the therapy. This is why you'll most likely lose your hair and become nauseous after your treatment."
Suddenly, it felt as if she were falling down a never ending hole. All of the information she had just been giving was flying through her mind and she could feel her nerves clawing at her chest. She wanted to yell, to scream at the top of her lungs, scare this thing inside of her away. The idea of sitting in a room for hours on end, having chemicals pumped into her veins that would not only fight the cancer, but herself as well was daunting. For Christ sake, she couldn't even ask for help when she got her laser eye surgery done, how was she supposed to for this?
Brock looked at Reba when silence engulfed the room around them. She looked down into her lap and her chest was rising and falling rapidly. She was on the verge of a panic attack with good reason. If he were alone, he would be, too, but he had to be strong, for her and their family.
"When do you want to start?" Brock asked the question he knew Reba wanted the answer to. He wrapped his strong arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. He could feel a slight tremble moving throughout her body and gently rubbed her shoulder in soothing circles.
"I want to put the port in on Friday at ten and start the first round of chemo on Monday. Like I said, time is everything right now."
"Okay, we'll be here." Reba lifted her gaze from her lap and looked to Brock, who had spoken before she had a chance to respond, and then to Dr. Richardson.
"Do you have any more questions, Ms. Hart?"
"No, but I do have a request." He nodded his head, encouraging her to continue. "If we're goin' to be doin' this thing, you need to start callin' me Reba. Every time you say Ms. Hart, I think of Brock's mom and lord knows that woman drives me crazy."
Dr. Richardson immediately broke out in a smile and so did Brock. There was the woman he had known and loved for the majority of his life, even if she was bad-mouthing his mother.
"You got it, Reba. I'll see you on Friday." He stood from his seat and so did Brock. The two men shook hands before Dr. Richardson left the room.
"That's my girl." Brock said as he held his hand out to her, pulling her from her seat and into an embrace.
She rested her cheek against his chest and allowed his strong arms to encircle her body. He rested his chin on her head and held her close for a moment. Reba had to admit, it felt good to have his support. Honestly, when she first found out the news, she thought she'd have to go through it alone. She should've known better. No matter where life took them, Brock always had her back. Even if he had cheated on her, there wasn't a day since that he wasn't around.
"Now let's get you home. The kids'll be there waitin' for news."
Reba nodded and pulled away from the warmth of his body. She followed Brock to the door, but paused before they could walk out and into the bustling hallways of the hospital.
"Thanks, Brock."
He turned around and gave her a soft smile, taking the hand that fell at her side and squeezing it one last time. "You don't have to thank me, sweetheart. I broke one vow, but I sure as heck am not goin' to break any others. You're my best friend, Red."
Reba looked down at her boots. If she looked into his eyes and the soft look she knew was on his face, she would surely break down and she'd done enough crying lately.
Instead, she wrapped an arm around his middle and he wrapped one around her shoulders. The two walked out of the hospital just like that and headed home. The kids would be waiting eagerly to hear the news.
"Monday? They want to start so soon?" Barbara Jean questioned as she paced the floor behind the couch. Reba laughed nervously and rubbed her palms against her jeans. Good lord, was this day over yet?
"Time is everything, apparently." She echoed the doctor's words and watched her children who seemed to be digesting the information well.
"I'm off Monday, so I can come with you and once my mat leave starts, I can come whenever you need me to." Cheyenne stood from her seat on the chair and placed a gentle hand on her mother's shoulder.
"I don't have any classes on Tuesday and I can skip band practice. The boys'll understand." Kyra's voice was soft; she had never seen this side of her feisty daughter before. She was growing up into an amazing young woman right before her eyes.
"Honey, you don't have to do that. I don't want to take you away from your life."
"Mom, I want to. You know how many times you've been there for me? Now it's my turn." Reba cooed and stood to hug both of her daughters.
"What did I do to deserve such wonderful girls?"
"I'll come Wednesday, Mrs. H. I don't have any appointments, just paperwork and I'll do anything to get outta that."
She pulled away from her daughters and sat back down next to Brock.
"Gee, thanks, Van."
"No, wait, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant…"
She reached over to the chair that sat at the end of the coffee table and patted his knee. "I'm just messin' with you, honey." Van blew air out of his mouth, relieved that she was the same old Mrs. H who could overlook his stupid comments.
"And I'll come Thursday." Barbara Jean piped up from behind the sofa. "I'll bring knitting stuff. Oh, I can read to you again like I did when you got your eye surgery. Hey, and with all of the free time we'll have together, maybe we can finally start up that shirt business we wanted to years ago!" The more the woman talked, the more excited she became.
Reba looked to Brock, her eyes wide signalling she was looking for help. He only smirked and continued to stay silent.
"Sounds like a plan, Barbara Jean, but you don't have to read to me. I won't be blind this time."
"Right. You're so smart, Reba." She hit her forehead and rolled her eyes at herself.
Reba shot a look at Brock who was rubbing the space just below his nose in an attempt to hold his laughter in.
"And I'll be here afterwards. Every night, until your treatment is through." He finally said, resting a hand on her knee once again. Barbara Jean placed a hand on his shoulder from behind, taking a united front against the stubborn redhead who was sure to try and tell them she didn't need taking care of.
"We still have to talk about that, Brock."
"No, we don't. Barbara Jean was right to suggest it. You will need someone to help you out around here when you can't get out of bed. You heard what the doctor said, you'll be exhausted and weak."
"But…" She raised her hand trying desperately to interject, but Cheyenne beat her to it.
"Dad's right, mom, just let him help out."
"Yeah, mom, plus it'll be nice to have dad around, like old times." Jake finally spoke after staying quiet the entire time. A sad smile formed on Reba's lips, Jake hadn't had Brock around as much as the girls did growing up. Maybe this would be good for everyone.
"The practice is doin' well right now, so I'll be able to reduce my hours."
"And it'll give me a break from the ol' ball and chain."
Everyone went silent and turned their gazes towards Barbara Jean, who immediately stopped giggling to herself when she realized all eyes were on her.
"It was a joke!" Reba just rolled her eyes and turned back around. She was her friend now, but that didn't make her any less crazy.
"Okay, fine. But I don't want y'all babying me."
"We know, we know – grrr, I'm Reba. We get it, Mrs. H and we won't forget it."
Van smiled and she returned the gesture. Her family was stepping up more than she could ever have imagined. She could do this. She could kick cancer's ass and let it know that it picked the wrong family to mess with. They were Hart's, after all.