Taking Chances (Remember to Forget Sequel)

Chapter 25

Luke's POV

"Mom, are you ready?" I ask, walking into her room. "You have everything?"

She nods and smiles. "All set."

"Okay, me too." I put my backpack on my shoulder and grab my mom's bags.

Today is the day she's starting her first chemo session. She'll stay in the hospital for at least a week and if she responds well to everything, she can go home. She'll go back to the hospital once a week for two months to get treatments to shrink her cancer. Then it will be removed.

Hopefully all goes as planned.

My dad is in the kitchen waiting for us, a nervous smile on his face. He puts his arm around my mom's shoulders gently.

"It'll be okay, Liz," he says quietly.

She nods quickly. "I know." She sighs. "I hope."

"Mom, don't worry," I reassure her. I don't even believe myself, I'm still worrying. This whole thing is unpredictable, no one really knows what's going to happen.

We all get into the car, none of us saying much the whole way to the hospital. I'm not really sure what to say right now, so I figure it's best to say nothing at all.

Once we're at the hospital, we check my mom in and sit in the waiting room while we wait for her doctor. After a few minutes, her doctor comes out and sits beside my mom.

"How are you feeling?" she asks, smiling widely.

"I'm alright. Nervous," my mom tells her.

"That's expected. And how are you two?" she asks, turning to my dad and I.

"I'm okay," I tell her.

My dad nods.

She tells us to follow her, and we head into her office. She explains everything in depth, including all of the side effects and how my mom will probably feel after. We've already been told most of this, but she's going through the whole process again.

"There's no way to predict exactly what you'll experience during or after chemo," she says. "Some people have it worse than others. It all depends on the person."

My mom nods as she listens. 

"Any last questions?" she asks once she's done, looking at all three of us.

I clear my throat. "Can I stay here the night with my mom?"

My mom looks over at me. "Luke, you don't need to."

"I want to."

I want to stay here with my mom. I know how terrible staying in a hospital can be, and I want to make sure she's okay. I'll worry worse at home not knowing what's happening.

Her doctor smiles. "Of course. You'll have to be extra careful though in making sure you don't bring any germs into the room. Like I said, your mom's white blood cell level will start dropping and she's prone to infection."

I nod. "I can do that."

"Alright. If there's no further questions, let's get started."

We're brought into another room that's on a different floor. This time, there's a few big, blue chairs. One other person is in here, she's getting chemo too, probably. She's a lot younger though, she looks like she could be around my age. She doesn't look up from her phone when we walk in. 

My mom's doctor leaves and a nurse is already here getting everything ready.

"Hello, I'm Rae! I'll be one of your nurses now! Here, you can sit right here," she says, patting one of the chairs for my mom. "Are you her son and husband? You can sit right over there for a little while I start."