"Diabetes?" Leni asked. "What is that?" Leni asked
"Is it bad?" Lana asked
"How did he get it?" Luna asked
"Is Lincoln going to die?" Lola asked
"For God's sake, no, he'll be fine," Lynn sr said.
"But why are you not home yet? You're coming home, right?"
"Well, we are, but not today..." Lynn sr said.
"Then when are you coming home?" Luan asked.
"I don't know, but Lincoln isn't allowed to return this night."
"What?" Lynn jr said. "Lori, grab the keys, were going to the…"
"He's also not allowed to receive visits, at least not this late at night" Lynn sr said. "
"Can we at least talk to him?" Leni asked.
"Right now he's speaking with the doctor, so maybe later," Lynn said. "Now, everyone, specifically Lori, Leni, Luna, Luan and Lynn. While our whole family can't come see him until tomorrow, one of you five is allowed to spend the night with him. For the rest, unfortunately you're too young to stay" Lynn said.
The younger ones, sans Lily, who didn't seem to understand very well what was going on, were a bit sad that they couldn't see him.
"So, which one of you is coming?"
"Me," all of the five sisters said at the exact time. "Me," they said again, a bit stronger and louder. They were almost getting in a fight, but fortunately, Lynn manage to be listened.
"Girls," he said, and they stopped fighting. "Don't fight over this, you'll all get the chance to see him tomorrow. But for now, maybe the best would be to choose at random," Lynn explained.
The girls looked at themselves, and they all nodded. While Luan wrote all of the five sisters names in small scraps of paper, Lana offered her hat, so they could be mixed. After being folded and placed inside, Luna took out one of the papers.
"So, who's the one," Lynn asked
Luna revealed the paper and it had Luan's name written in it.
"So, have you decided who's coming?" Lynn asked
"It's me dad," Luan said, with a mixture of a little sadness of her brother's condition, but a bit happy for being the chosen one.
"Okay, so it's you then Luan. Look, I need you to pack yours and Lincoln's things." Lynn said. "Now, can I talk back to mom?"
"Okay dad," they all said goodbye. see you in a bit," Luan said. The call ended, and Luan went upstairs to grab her stuff and Lincoln's. Nobody noticed, though, when Leni went to throw the rest of the papers away, that Luan's name was written in all of them.
"Hey, honey… so, how's he doing?"
"Well, he looks better than he was when he talked to me earlier. You'll have the chance to see him, but we can't both stay here tonight. Unless we change places…"
"I understand, and don't worry, I'll take care of the house." Rita said "I'm gonna drop Luan over there once she's ready."
"Okay honey. So I see you tomorrow?
"Of course. Any news, please let me know."
"Of course. Have a good night."
"What do you mean control it?" Lincoln asked
"You see, Lincoln, there are two main types of diabetes. Your case points towards what we call diabetes type 2. That means you've contracted the disease due to bad habits," Connor faces Lynn sr and points at him, looking serious. "By the way, you better change your house's meals. From what I've heard from this boy, diabetes is the last of your potential problem, for you and the rest of your family."
Lynn sr felt his mouth going dry. He simply stood there, silent.
"Anyways," Connor continued. "Unlike type 1, which is a genetic disorder, therefore there is no known cure, in your case, if we can change your habits, maybe you can be one of those cases where people reverse their condition, they don't need to take any medicine,"
"And how I do that, doctor," Lincoln said, excited. The quicker he could get rid of his condition, the better.
"The nutritionist will explain better how exactly it works, but basically, the best way of reversing your condition is through exercise, while eating food with less carbohydrates and, specially, less sugar," Connor said. "But for now, since we want to stabilize your sugar concentration in your blood, we used insulin to give some of that sugar to your cells, and we can't simply try to reverse it now."
"So that was what those nurses injected me with?" Lincoln asked
"Part of it was insulin, yes," Connor said. "However, due to going to the bathroom so much, normal for people with diabetes, we also had to replace some nutrients that were missing in your body," Connor explain. "The latter, however, won't be needed for much longer, just for a few days, at most, until we calibrate the doses of insulin."
"Speaking about that doctor, how much time do you think it will take for Lincoln to be discharged?" Lynn asked
"I can't say precisely Mr Loud, but he will be here until we can keep him stable. It will be a few days, a week at most," Connor looked at his watch. "Well, it getting kind of late. Is someone coming to spend the night with you two, Mr. Loud?"
"Actually…" Lynn sr began, when the door opened, and a nurse came in.
"Mr Loud, your daughter is here," she said calling him outside. He went out, leaving the boy with the doctor.
Connor approached the little boy and placed one hand over his shoulder. "Tomorrow we will teach you a little bit more about your condition, but don't worry, i'm pretty sure you'll be fine," he said
"Thanks, doctor," Lincoln said, with a smile, and his stomach suddenly began rumbling.
"Don't worry, dinner is served in a few minutes," the doctor said. "If you feel anything, press that button by the side of your bed, and a nurse will soon be with you," speaking of which, a nurse came with a device similar to Lingard's came inside the room.
"Excuse me, doctor, I have to measure his blood sugar level," the nurse said
"So this is what that thing does?" Lincoln asked
"Oh, yes, don't worry, you'll have your own," Connor said, like it was a toy or a videogame.
"Can I borrow your finger for a moment," the nurse said.
Lincoln offered his left hand, since his right arm still had the needle. After a quick sting and a small drop of blood being insert, apparently the results were in. Both the doctor and the nurse stared at the device's screen.
"How much, doctor?" the nurse asked
"Give him four units," Connor said
The nurse nodded, as she grabbed something similar to a pen. Removing the cover, it actually had some sort of liquid inside. It was like a vial. She spun one end, making four clicking noises, placed the other end of it in the needle, and Lincoln heard another four quick clicks, as she pressed the other end of the pen. He could slightly feel the thing entering his veins, but it wasn't painful, just a little annoying.
After that, the same nurse brought him a tray with food. She helped Lincoln get out of the bed and to the table in his room, and she placed it there. Nothing really out of ordinary in the tray. A salad, vegetables, a mysterious meat Lincoln couldn't identify if it was chicken or fish, and an apple, probably for desert. The only thing awkward was the rice. Lincoln have already eaten rice before, but something was different, instead of white, that rice had a beige tone.
"Uh, I think there's something wrong with the rice, it looks dirty," Lincoln said
The nurse came to check on Lincoln's meal. "Oh, there is nothing wrong with the food, it's just whole grain rice, instead of the usual rice," the nurse said
"But why whole grain food?" Lincoln asked
"It's healthier, and in your case specially, it helps control the blood sugar levels," the nurse said
Lincoln grabbed a fork. It was kind of hard to manage the item with his left arm, but he managed to control it and tried a bite from the rice. It had a weird consistency, even if the taste wasn't that different. He would pick the common rice if he had the choice. He tried the rest of the food. Nothing extraordinary, but it was somewhat tasty.
Lincoln didn't realised the nurse was gone. He continued eating, leaving part of the food untouched. It's not like he wasn't hungry, it's just that the food didn't exactly made his stomach want to eat.
Suddenly, he began hearing steps. Like someone was running. It was getting closer to her room, until he saw a familiar face popping from the bedroom's door.
"Luan?" Lincoln asked
"Lincoln," Luan said, rushing towards him. She was holding a black bag in one hand, and she also had a purple backpack. She dropped both of those on the floor next to the bed, and went towards the table. She gave him a hug, but quickly released him after he gave her some quiet shouts of pain.
"DId I hurt you?" Luan asked
"No, it's just this," Lincoln showed the needle in his right arm. "It hurts a bit, but they keep it there when they need to inject me,"
"Well, they say nine out of ten injections are in vein," Luan said, giving a laugh. "Get it?" she asked, and saw that her brother wasn't smiling.
"Not exactly the best time," Lincoln said. That face also made Luan sad.
"Sorry," Luan said. "So, how are you now?" Luan asked
"Well, at least I can stay awake more than a few hours a day," Lincoln said. "Honestly, I don't know much about diabetes, I just know I have it. The doctor said I'll learn more tomorrow," Lincoln face went up. "By the way, how are the others?" he asked
"Oh, i almost forgot," Luan said. She grabbed the handbag and brought it close to Lincoln. The first thing she pulled out was her cellphone. She grabbed it and unlocked it. She kept searching for a few seconds, until she pulled out a video. "Take a look," she said
On the screen was a video. He saw all of his siblings, except for Luan, on the couch or in the floor, plus their mother. Lori was the closest one, probably holding her cellphone, which was being used as a camera.
"Hey Lincoln, sorry we couldn't be there for you, we heard about your condition, so we just wanted to say…" Lori said
"Please get well soon," everybody said at the same time.
Then, the camera focused on each and everyone of their siblings,
"I didn't understand what you have Lincoln, but I know soon you'll be, like, totes okay," Leni said, with her usual huge smile
"Sorry bout your problem, little bro, we're here cheering for you," Luna said, holding her guitar, and giving it a swing.
"I'll make sure you'll be healthy when you're back," Lynn said, stretching herself
"The spirits told me they'll protect you from any danger," Lucy said, in her monotonous voice
"I'm already planning a huge tea party for when you come back," Lola said, with a smile
"Me and the pets are missing you, Linc, come on, they are waiting to play," Lana said, with a smile very similar to Lola
"Brother unit, while I think it would be best if I treated you, I'm sure your in good hands, and I know you'll came back healthy again," Lisa said
"Inky inky," was all that Lily could say
Then, the camera focused on Lori's face.
"We are missing you, Lincoln, and we will be here, praying that everything goes right for you," Lori said, and then the camera went back to revealing all of the family.
"See you tomorrow," they all said.
The screen freeze on everybody with their hands up, like they were saying goodbye. Lincoln couldn't help but let a lonely tear fall off his eye. "How can you guys be so nice?" Lincoln asked
"It's what we own for having such a sweet brother," Luan said, giving Lincoln a laugh, but this time he laughed together. They laughed for a few seconds, until Luan showed the rest of the bag. It had Lincoln's so beloved plushy, Bun Bun, his portable video game, and also a stack of clothes and his pajamas.
"It will be better if you get comfortable," Luan said, extending him the pair, which consisted of an orange shirt and pants. Lincoln grabbed the pajamas, and stared at them with a confused expression. "What's the matter?" Luan asked
"I can't fold my arm with this," Lincoln pointed at the needle.
"Do you want help?" Luan offered.
Lincoln blushed a little. "It's not necessary, I can just wait for dad to come back…" Luan noticed the little red marks that were forming in Lincoln's cheeks.
"Seriously Lincoln? You're embarrassed by having a woman helping you change clothes?" Luan laughed.
"I-It's kind of awkward," Lincoln said, trying to defend himself.
"Come on Lincoln, I'm your sister, and I'd changed you a lot when you were younger," Luan said. "Plus, "m already read comics in your undies in front of us. It's not like I'm seeing something new."
"Well, if you have no problem with it," Lincoln said
"As long as you have your underwear, it's fine by me," Luan said.
They went to the bathroom. Firstly, Lincoln raised his arms, and Luan pulled his T Shirt out, placing the pajamas shirt in its place. Then, she removed his jeans, and hold the pajamas pants wide open, so Lincoln could simply step inside, one foot after another, and she pulled them up. And Lincoln was dressed.
"Thanks Luan," Lincoln said, as they left the bathroom.
"No worries, Linc," Luan said, grabbing her backpack. "Now if you excuse me," she entered the bathroom and closed the door.
Lincoln simply waited a few moments. he heard the toilet being flushed. "It's so good not have to wait in line," Luan said, and Lincoln giggled a little, before his sister came out in her usual yellow nightdress. She grabbed both Lincoln's and her clothes and put them away.
"By the way, where is dad?" Lincoln asked
"He said he had some business to take care of, but I'm not sure what that means," Luan said. "probably paperwork or bills of the hospital, nothing to be too worried about,"
"So, want to watch something?" Lincoln asked, pointing at the tv. They both stared at the remote.
"Fighting one sibling for the remote is better than fighting ten," Lincoln said, and they both laughed. They turned the device on and began searching for a good channel. They ended up with a movie which was just beginning. Luan turned off the lights to give more of a cinema environment. Some popcorn would be nice, but they weren't really hungry. Lincoln gave some space for Luan in the bed, since it was the perfect angle to watch the Tv. The end of the bed was lifted, so they could just rest their heads on the back.
Nobody knew exactly what time was, when a nurse had to come in the room. She was ordered to ask for whoever was in that room to turn off the tv. When she entered, she found the lights off, and in the bed, there was a little boy resting in his older sister's arm, while she had one arm behind his body, holding him in a soft hug. She quietly turned of the device, and left the two kids to rest.