DISCLAIMR: I own nothing related to California Dreams. This is an original writing and I own the character of Kelsey.
Jake and his parents walked behind the nurse to Kelsey's room in the ER. He wasn't prepared for the sight that greeted him. His cousin, once so full of life, was nearly as pale as the sheet the surrounded her body.
"The doctor wants to speak to you before you go in to see Ms. Bradford. He has some information for you," the nurse said before turning and heading back to the desk.
Jake was about to open his mouth when he noticed a doctor in a white coat coming down the hallway.
"Are you the family of Miss Bradford," the doctor asked."Yes. I'm her uncle, Edward Sommers. This is her aunt, Alison and her cousin, Jake," Jake's dad said."I'm Dr. Reilly. I'm sorry to meet you this way. I have some news regarding Kelsey's tests," he said, guiding the family to the nearby chairs.
Everyone sat down and Dr. Reilly continued.
"I'm a oncologist. I specialize in treating children with cancers. Most of my patients are adults, but I get a lot of patients Kelsey's age," he said.
Jake's mom gasped. "Kelsey has cancer," she said, fear in her voice.
"Kelsey has a condition called Aplastic Anemia. Her bone marrow isn't producing enough red blood cells, but she also lacks white blood cells and platelets. White blood cells help fight off infection and platelets allow blood to clot. The lack of all three of these can cause severe bleeding problems and make the patient susceptible to certain infections. Kelsey's overall appearance and the way she's felt for the last few weeks are symptoms of this disease," he said."So Kelsey needs chemo," Jake asked. The thought of his cousin having to go through that scared him. His father's mom had gone through chemo for breast cancer and she was miserable.
"Well, Kelsey is the perfect candidate for a bone marrow transplant. She's sick, but not too sick to tolerate the transplant. It's a radical form of treatment for someone at her stage of the disease. I think it's the best course of action. She's young and otherwise healthy," the doctor said."Well, what do we do," Jakes mom asked."I'll test anyone that wants to be a donor. We have to find someone with a near perfect match to her. Does she have any siblings," the doctor asked."No, her twin brother died during delivery and her parents are both deceased," Jake's dad said.
"Well, you are family so we'll test the three of you. There is a chance that you will match, at least partially. We'll also begin searching through our databases for registered donors that match on some of the points we'll be looking for in the donor," the doctor said."Can our friends be tested? I know they'll want to do something to help Kelsey," Jake asked.
"Of course. We'll draw blood from anyone that wants to be tested. If you would like, I can have the nurse come over right away and test you three," the doctor said."That's fine," Jake's mom said.
The doctor excused himself and went to get the nurse. The sooner the blood was tested, the better Kelsey's outcome.
Jake's mom sat in the chair, wringing her hands.
The family stayed quiet while waiting for the nurse. Five minutes later, she returned to collect the blood sample.
"As soon as I'm done, you can gown up and see Kelsey," the nurse said.
Jake nodded and went first. The whole thing took 90 seconds. He jumped out of the chair and grabbed a gown and gloves out of the cabinet that was beside Kelsey's door.
The silent whoosh to the door didn't disturb Kelsey. Jake approached her bed and sat on the stool next to the bed. He took her hand. He stared at the hand that was gently resting on his own. The color of Kelsey's skin had her looking like a life-sized porcelain doll, but Jake knew better. The fact that she was the same color as a fine porcelain doll scared him. Something was definitely wrong with Kelsey and he was going to fix it, no matter what.
Jake's parents entered the room and spent a few minutes with her before saying they were heading to the lobby and would tell the gang they could come up. Jake waved to his mom and noticed the fatigue on her face. He hoped as Kelsey's condition improved, his mom would improve also.
He turned back to his cousin and sat next to her in the chair and took her hand. He didn't know what to say, so he just sat there and let her know that he was there.
Sly listened to what the doctor was telling Kelsey's friends. He'd seen the Sommers' talking to the doctor prior to the gang going into a private conference room. Mark had been pulled aside and, Sly could only assume, told what was happening with Kelsey. He'd hugged Jake's parents and took off down the hall, presumably to see Kelsey.
Sly had listened to every word the doctor had said, but thought he'd heard wrong when he'd given Kelsey's actual diagnosis.
"Wait. Kels has cancer," Sly said, hoping he'd heard wrong, but seeing the looks on everyone's faces, knew he hadn't.
"Yes. She needs a bone marrow transplant. Anyone that wants to get tested will get their blood drawn. If there is a match, we'll perform a transplant," the doctor said.
"What if you can't find a match," Tiffani asked.
"Kelsey will have chemo. Both treatments offer excellent outcomes at this stage of the disease, however, the BMT is the best way to keep her cancer-free. Chemo has a success rate that is very high, however, there is a risk of recurrence of the anemia. Usually, those patients are too weak for the BMT by that point," the doctor said."Where do we get tested," Tony asked. He was willing to get over his fear of hospitals to help save one of his best friends."We can test you all right here. I don't think we have to get consent since you all are 17 or 18. The nurse will draw the samples and we'll get them tested right away," the doctor said."When can we see her," Sly asked.
"Not for a while. We're only allowing her family and her boyfriend in the room. Kelsey was very insistent about seeing her boyfriend and we are allowing him to be the only non-family member in the room. Kelsey's in isolation and will remain that way until she has the BMT or starts chemo.
The doctor answered a few more questions before leaving the room. The nurse set up to draw blood and began taking samples from everyone.
Ten minutes later, they had all given their blood and were making their way to the floor where Kelsey was staying. The nurse informed them that there was a waiting area in front of her room and they could wait there and see Kelsey. She could tell this group of friends wasn't going to leave until they knew Kelsey was going to be alright. She led them to the waiting area and went back to the lab.
Sly hung back from the group. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and went around the corner. He dialed a number and waited for the person to pick up.
"Hey. I just wanted to call and tell you that Kelsey is sick. No, I mean really sick. She has cancer and needs a bone marrow transplant. I thought you might want to know. I'll be at the hospital with everyone. Yeah, I'll still be here. Call me when you arrive," Sly said before ending the call. He went back to the group, no one noticing that he'd disappeared.
Tiffani was talking with Jake. For the first time they saw Jake crying. The strong biker image that Jake projected, was gone. In it's place was a man who's love and concern for a woman who was, not just his cousin, but also his best friend, was very evident.
"Mark's with her now. She woke up before I left. She was complaining about being tired. She knows what's going on and she's trying not to cry. I don't get how she can be so strong about this. I'm a wreck. I'm devastated," Jake said, wringing his hands.
"Kels is going to make it, Jake. They're going to find a donor and she'll be fine," Tiffani said, wrapping Jake in a hug.
Mark joined the group, having thrown his gown into the laundry. Jake jumped up."She went back to sleep. She wanted me to tell everyone that she's fine and she'll see everyone later," Mark said, sitting on the couch next to Tiffani and Jake.
"How are you," Tony asked, placing a hand on his shoulder."I don't know, man. Kelsey was asking me the same thing. She's wondering how all this is affecting me and if I'm going to leave her. She's worried I'll leave her like Matt did. I love her. I could never leave her like that," Mark said.
Jake's parents approached the group and Mark and Jake joined them on the other end of the room.
"What exactly happened with Matt and Kelsey, Sly," Sam knew that when Matt had moved, Kelsey had been torn apart. She had quit the band and ignored everyone, even Jake.
"Matt knew several weeks before he was moving that it was coming, but he never told Kelsey. They spent all that time together before they moved and he never said anything. They spent most of their time either with us as a group or at Kelsey's. He never got up the nerve to tell her he was leaving. They'd been friends since kindergarten and when they started dating, they had something special. Matt was afraid that telling her before he moved would ruin the time they had together. He was hoping he'd be able to come back here for college or something. The night before he left, something happened between them. I think I know what happened, but neither said anything. Matt took off the following morning and sent me to Kelsey's with a letter explaining what was happening. Kelsey was really mad at me for a while and never wanted to talk to or about Matt ever again. I wish I'd said something to her before he left, but Matt asked me not to and, being his friend, I agreed. That's why I'm so glad that Kelsey and Mark hooked up. They seem good together and a better match than she and Matt," Sly said."How could Matt do that to Kelsey," Sam asked.
"He didn't want to see her in pain. He felt that if he wasn't there when she found out, he'd be spared that. I can tell you, though, he's miserable," Sly said."No wonder she wanted to quit the band and was so withdrawn. Well, until she met Mark. He was just as shy and withdrawn as Kels. I thought Matt was a better guy than that," Tony said."Well, it's in the past. I think Matt tried to call Kelsey one time and Jake basically told him to go to hell. Jake and Matt used to be close but after what Matt did to Kelsey, Jake went into overprotective mode," Sly said.
The group sat back down on the couches and waited. There wasn't much they could do, but wait.
Sly's phone buzzed on his hip and he slipped away to answer the call. Jake and Mark were in Kelsey's room. The girls had gone to get something to eat and Tony was snoozing on the couch.
He made his way to the elevator and greeted his mystery friend with a handshake. He was about to explain the situation, when Jake exited Kelsey's room and headed toward the seeing the guest, Jake stopped. He clenhed his teeth and muttered, "You," before pushing past him and getting on the elevator. Sly looked at his friend. "That went better than I thought," he said before leading his friend to the nurses station to get his blood drawn.
***I guess everyone knows who this mystery person is, but I hope you like the cliffhanger. Is anyone going to be a match for Kelsey? Anyone want to guess what big secret is going to be revealed in the next chapter?***