Louise started treatment two days before Thanksgiving. She would endure daily chemo and radiation for at least twelve weeks. With two weeks on, followed by one week off. They cycle would repeat three times. Then they would run more tests to see how the disease had responded. Follow up would go from there. In the meantime, they would be in the hospital through Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and Gene's birthday. Louise had a port installed Monday night and a special mask was made to protect her from the radiation. It was hell forcing her to remove her bunny ears. The poor kid was anxious enough without them on a good day but facing what she was facing now. It was too much, and Louise actually cried in front of her doctors. That was a total gut punch to see.
Radiation would be Louise's first treatment. That was hard because Bob and Linda could not go in the room with her. Although having the treatment described to him. Bob wasn't sure he could have stomached seeing her bolted to a table. They wheeled her back at exactly eight thirty in the morning. She gave Bob and Linda, a nervous smile, and thumbs up. Before being wheeled away. Linda spent most of the time Louise was in radiation, in the bathroom hanging over the toilet. Bob raised his eyebrows and wondered why she had come to oncology sick. Except he wasn't feeling sick, and Tina and Gene weren't sick. He shuddered at the thought of Linda having cancer as well. Of course, he knew there were other things besides cancer that could be causing Linda's symptoms, but after Louise. His old fears began to resurface.
At Bob's suggestion Linda went back to the Ronald McDonald House to get some rest. She noticed she felt better after leaving the hospital. Maybe it was the smell of the chemicals getting to her. She thought back to the past few weeks. She found any excuse not to be in the restaurant because everything Bobby cooked made her sick to her stomach. It wasn't that it smelled particularly bad. Scents suddenly started really affecting her. Not just scents. She suddenly could not eat foods she enjoyed, and she became exhausted at the drop of a hat. She had just chalked it up to stress about Louise's illness, but this happened before they suspected that Louise might have more than a simple cold. She felt like this for almost a month now. The last time she had symptoms anything like this was when she was pregnant with Louise, but she couldn't be. Could she? She drugs herself out of bed and headed back to the car. She drove to the pharmacy a few blocks away. She parked the car and walked the center aisle until she noticed where the tests were located. She bought four tests ranging from the cheap basic test to one of the fancy digital ones. She approached the checkout line hoping her fear was not obvious.
"Will this be it for your today?" The clerk asked.
"Yes mam." Linda replied.
"Good luck. Not sure what you are wanting but I hope you get the result you are hoping for." The clerk replied.
"I am not sure what that is." Linda sighed as she took her receipt.
Linda returned to the Ronald McDonald House clutching her bag tightly at her side. She rode the elevator up to her room and locked herself in the bathroom. For the clearest result she was supposed to wait for her first pee of the day. No way she could wait that long. She gulped down two bottles of water hoping that would help. it helped a little too much. She got to the bathroom and realized the tests were on the bed. She started back to the room but no way she could wait even a few more seconds. She used the bathroom and drank another bottle of water. Before long she had to go again. She returned to the bathroom. She didn't want to pee on every stick. She grabbed a disposable cup, filled it, then set the sticks in the cup. She waited ten minutes even though she only needed to wait between one and five minutes. She was just too nervous. All four tests were positive. After all that water she was sure she was cleaned out, but still wanted to be sure. She once again left. This time heading for the nearby urgent care for a blood test.
Back at the hospital Louise was currently having chemo. Technically Bob was allowed to go back to the chemo room with Louise, but she insisted on going alone. He knew she was going through a lot. He knew she was just putting on a brave face and he needed to respect her wishes, but it killed him to send her back there alone. He looked at her empty bed. Kuchi Kopi was tangled up in the sheets. A cruel reminder that no matter how mature and tough Louise acted she was still just a child. There was a knock on the door, Bob looked up to see Dr. Rivera standing in the doorway.
"Dr. Rivera? Is Louise, OK?" Bob asked fearing the absolute worst.
"Louise is fine. I just wanted to talk to you." Dr. Rivera assured.
"About what?" Bob questioned.
"Well, the cancer Louise has is hereditary. Sometimes there will be a glitch in the DNA and a patient with no family history will be diagnosed but that is rare." Dr. Rivera explained.
"Are you saying my other children could get this?" Bob asked.
"Given their ages that is extremely unlikely. Even if you were to hypothetically have other children. It would not be a huge concern and they could have genomic screening that would allow a fast diagnosis." Dr. Rivera explained.
"OK then why did you want to talk to be about it?" Bob questioned.
"Well, I looked back at your family's history and discovered that a Tina Ruth Belcher died from lung cancer at the age of two years old in nineteen forty-eight." Dr. Rivera explained.
"She was my dad's youngest sister. She was always sickly, but she got really ill just before her second birthday. I knew it was something lung related but didn't know it was cancer. She died a week after her birthday. It was my dad's birthday. She died in his arms. She shares a birthday with my oldest daughter. We named her after her." Bob explained voice cracking as he recalled the story Big Bob only told once. Long before Lily got sick, Bob asked why his dad hated his birthday so much. That was the first time Bob saw his dad cry.
"The report said it was cysts, but this type of cancer can be cysts. I also wanted to talk to you. Because when I was going through the history. I discovered that your mother died of ovarian cancer when you were thirteen." Dr. Rivera commented.
"Did she have it too?" Bob questioned.
"Well, this cancer can be found in the ovaries but no it is not the type of cancer that killed your mother. I want to talk to you because I know how traumatic cancer is and to face it twice. Once with your mother and again with your daughter. That would have to be horrible. I personally have only dealt with cancer professionally and with my grandmother, but she was eighty-five. However, I have seen other families be hit twice. It is always a huge stressor and if you have any PTSD from losing your mom. This would be a huge trigger. For that reason, I have decided to refer you to a colleague of mine who specializes in families affected by serious and terminal illnesses." Dr. Rivera explained handing Bob a business card.
"A shrink? You think I need a shrink?" Bob gasped.
"Yes, I do, Mr. Belcher. Before you hit the wall. You need to get professional help." Dr. Rivera insisted.
In Seymour's Bay, Wagstaff had just been dismissed for the day. Gene Belcher waded through the sea of classmates cheering that there was only one more day until Thanksgiving break, and a half day at that. Gene remained uncharacteristically quiet as he collected his back backpack and books from his locker. He closed the door and exited the school. It was gray and cold out. Tina was going to work on a project with Susmita and Louise was in the hospital. Meaning he would have to walk home alone. Even though his anxiety was fading, Gene still hated being alone. He passed Alex, Courtney, and Peter on the stairs. They were talking amongst themselves about something dumb that happened in history class. An event Gene barely recalled even though it had just happened two hours ago.
"Hey guys." Gene greeted solemnly.
"Oh, look who suddenly cares about us." Courtney scoffed.
"Come on Courtney. Maybe he has a good excuse." Peter commented.
"Yeah" Alex agreed.
"To blow all three of us off?" Courtney demanded before walking down the steps.
"What?" Gene asked.
"Yeah, maybe Courtney is right." Peter sighed following Courtney.
"What is going on with you guys?" Gene demanded.
"What is going on with you? First you don't show up to the lock in at my church on Friday. Even though you swore you would come. I had to be paired with Malachi Jones! Who thinks I am gay because my hair is long. Then you skip Peter's birthday on Saturday. Then you completely blow of Courtney's recital yesterday. You didn't even ask how it went. Not to mention you haven't wanted to hang out with us for over a week. It kind of feels like you don't like us anymore." Alex explained.
"I still like you guys. It's just. I have stuff going on. Stuff that's more important than lock ins, parties, or recitals. Even more important than Robowizard Quest." Gene sighed.
"What?" Alex questioned.
"Louise has cancer." Gene whispered letting the horrible word cross his lips for the first time since he got the news.
"Oh My God, Gene I had no idea. I knew she has been sick for a while, but I thought it was just the flu." Alex gasped.
"We just found out yesterday. It's lung cancer. It's supposed to be treatable, but it spread." Gene explained through tears.
"Oh, Gene I am so sorry." Alex apologized, pulling his friend into a tight hug.
Zeke tapped his fingers on the table of the youth room. Trying to ease the confusion about the group meeting on Tuesday instead of the usual Wednesday. Of course, he knew they would not meet the day before Thanksgiving, but they were doing some sort of outreach project. Pastor Eric entered the room followed by members of the Senior Youth Group. Eric carried a basket of small plush turkeys, the older kids carried baskets of candy, cards, envelopes, and another basket of wrapped toiletries.
"Good afternoon, Minions of Christ!" Pastor Eric called; Zeke chuckled at the dated pop-culture reference that had started as an inside joke among members but quickly became the unofficial name of the middle school youth group.
"Good afternoon, Pastor Eric!" The group called back.
"I am proud to announce this year's THanksoutreach Project! Is making care baskets for children who are spending Thanksgiving in the hospital!" Pastor Eric announced.
"We already purchased stuffed turkey's candy, and a toiletry bags for family members. You guys will be filling the baskets and we are all going to make cards for the children!" Dana the president of the senior group announced.
"We will also need volunteers to give up their afternoon tomorrow and deliver the packages to Bog Harbor Children's Hospital." Patrick who was vice president added.
Within seconds the kids were stuffing baskets and passing around a list with the names of the hospitalized children. Zeke was just tying a bow around a turkey's neck. When the list made its way to him. He studied the names mainly interested in the older boys who were largely ignored by the group who wanted to help little kids or impress the teenage girls who were hospitalized. That was per Frankie Roswell and Chester Barbash. One name sent his thoughts to a crashing halt. "Louise Belcher, 9, Room 312, Cancer."
"NO!" Zeke cried throwing the paper down and nearly kicking over the table.
"Is everything OK, Zeke?" Pastor Eric questioned.
"This has to be a mistake." Zeke replied pointing to Louise's name.
"Oh, that's right you are in the same grade as her sister. Unfortunately, it is true. This list is straight from the hospital database. I am sorry." Pastor Eric apologized.
Linda returned to her room. She knew she should get back to the hospital, now that it was confirmed she was not contagious, but she was still processing everything. She was pregnant at forty-three years old. Just a few days ago this would have been welcome news, but now that her current youngest child was fighting possibly terminal cancer. It just felt cruel. She wanted this baby more than anything, but what if it was a replacement for Louise?
Louise was returned to her room. She had been told that in most cases chemo did not hit right away. You might instead feel sick in the days after a session. Especially if it was the first session. Unfortunately, she did not get that lucky. It hit her like a ton of bricks almost immediately. She had only been in her room for twenty minutes and she had thrown up seven times already. The room was freezing, and her chest burned from the radiation. She wished they could have just removed the lobe like they did in most cases, but the tumor was too large. She was dizzy and tired. She just wanted to sleep but this nausea was hell. Out of nowhere she got hit with another wave. She reached for her pan, but it was too late. She ended up puking a lake of vomit all over herself and poor Kuchi Kopi.
"Louise! It's OK. I'll get a nurse." Bob cried.
"Make it stop!" Louise sobbed before getting sick again.
"I can't Louise. I wish I could, but I can't." Bob apologized before breaking down again.