Soooooooo sorry for the months of no activity. My schedule wasn't as free as I would like it to have been...so here is another chapter. Enjoy and please review with any recommendations you can throw my way!
I had been in the hospital for a week, and my condition was quickly getting worse. I threw up at least three times a day, and had coughing fits at least twice an hour. Not to mention the horrible hallucinations. Every once in awhile, they would just be random, but for the most part they were scary. That creepy guy continued making an appearance. I was terrified. And weak. Very weak. I could barely drink water. My throat hurt and when I talked I sounded like I had been gargling nails all my life. My recovery was looking slim.
The rest of my family had lost their positivity as well. What we thought was a virus that would simply run its course turned into something that was threatening my life. What was worse was the heartbreak Thor was going through. We all had assured him countless times that it wasn't his fault, and that we weren't mad at him in the slightest, but he wouldn't believe us. He was afraid to come near me now, in fear that he could somehow hurt me more.
Right now I was watching an orange tabby cat crawl across the edge of my bed. "Hey, there isn't a cat walking across my bed, is there..." I state, more that really question.
Steve sighs. "Nope."
The others had just been sitting around, flipping through outdated magazines or scrolling through the tv's ten channels for a few hours while I had been cycling between sleep, hallucinations, coughing, and vomiting.
Dr. Tanner rushed in the room. "I have good news. We might have a cure." he said.
Thor stood up. "What is it, healer?"
"Sir, if we could perform a blood transplant of sorts, your antibodies might transfer to Beth's blood and begin destroying the virus." Dr. Tanner replied.
"That is wonderful news! When can we perform this transfusion?" Thor eagerly asked.
Dr. Tanner sighed. "I'm not saying this procedure doesn't propose any risks. The greatest risk for Beth is a condition you can develop called transfusion-related acute lung injury, or TRALI. It usually presents itself a few hours after the transfusion. People as sick as Beth can also die. It's also possible that the procedure might not work at all, since Beth's circulatory system could simply reject the foreign blood." he explained.
Natasha spoke up. "I feel that I am speaking for the family when I say that we are willing to try anything, but it's up to Beth." she said.
I painfully cleared my throat as everyone's eyes turned to me. "I'm fine with this transfusion idea. Let's face it, I'm probably not going to get any better..." I begin, and bitterly laugh. "Might as well die trying to cure myself than waste away."
Thor was in the process of having his blood drawn. Usually a person is only supposed to give one pint, but since Thor is a god he could give three. It was funny how fascinated he was with the transfusion process. Thor would just watch the blood fill the tubes as the nurse worked on his arm.
"You having fun there, buddy?" I ask, my voice all scratchy.
Thor gave a low chuckle. "Midgardian healing techniques are quite interesting. There is no such thing as a transfusion on Asgard." he replied.
Dr. Tanner walked back in the room. "Looks like Thor here is almost done. This is the last tube." he replied. The nurse sealed the final tube and took out Thor's needle.
"Alright Beth. You ready?" Dr. Tanner asked.
"As I'll ever be..." I reply with a small smile.
The nurse removed my regular IV and attached it to the pump while Dr. Tanner hung the giant bag of Thor's blood on the hook and attached to the pump. The nurse hooked up my tube and the transfusion began. Nothing happened for half an hour or so.
But then my blood felt like it was on fire.