Jocelyn couldn't sleep. Her eyes remained glued to her phone, a case study of a GBM patient who'd been a successful clinical trial of immunotherapy captured her attention.
It'd now been nearly four weeks since she'd moved in with Miles and she'd noticed things he didn't. When they held hands sometimes his fingers would go limp and he'd be unable to curl them again. He'd often slur his speech or mishear things. He'd often sleep for hours and hours at a time.
The most jarring were the mood changes. She'd noticed he'd get snappy or irritated easily, often saying things she knew he didn't mean. Jocelyn knew things would only get worse.
Each time she mentioned experimental treatment they'd always end up arguing. They'd never screamed at each other before but now that's all they seemed to do when she brought it up.
A groaning beside her made her close her screen and turn over. Her body flew upwards as she noticed Miles' body begin to shake. A seizure.
"Okay. It's alright." She cooed as she moved the pillows and blankets to roll him on his side.
A harrowing series of groans fell from him as his body jerked violently. Jocelyn grabbed her phone to keep track of the time while allowing him space. Minutes passed as he continued to seize and Jocelyn knew if it continued for more than 5 minutes she'd have to call 911.
The sight filled her with a sense of helplessness. His snore like sounds and rolling eyes scared her that at any moment he could pass. Deciding enough time had passed, she called 911 as she'd been instructed.
Jocelyn made sure to keep an eye on him while she calmly spoke to the operator to inform them of Miles' situation and his medical history. She was given an estimate of 10 minutes before an ambulance would arrive then hung up the phone.
His body finally stilled before rolling on to his back. Jocelyn moved to put her hands under his arms so that she could sit him up.
"Miles, you with me?" She called as she used the edge of the cover to wipe the spit from his face.
His eyes rolled for another second before he slowly came to. Confusion was clear on his face before he rubbed at his eyes. "What happened?"
"You had a seizure, honey. Just relax. An ambulance is on the way so we can make sure everything's alright." Jocelyn's crisis training kicked in as she managed the situation.
"Can you tell me what day it is?"
"Uh, Saturday." He mumbled as he rolled his shoulders. Jocelyn noticed his left side remained still despite his right side moving.
"Okay, good. Can you grab my hands?" Holding her hands out, she watched as only his right moved.
"I-I can't...I can't move my left arm." Panic filled his tone as he moved his right hand to begin grabbing at his left.
"Hey, hey," she grabbed his hand, "it's okay. I know it's scary but this is normal. You're gonna be okay."
The reassurance seemed to soothe him enough to keep him from attempting to pull from her grasp. Jocelyn had no clue whether it was normal, but she knew she couldn't allow him to panic.
Twenty minutes later, she watched as Miles was loaded into an ambulance. "We'll take him to North Mercy."
"Okay, thank you." She nodded to one of the paramedics before heading back into the building to grab her purse and the binder filled with Miles' medical information.
She made it her mission to assure everything would go smoothly so she gathered all his paperwork in one central place. The binder was a common recommendation she gave to all her clients.
Speeding to the hospital, she was asked to wait in the lobby and fill out a bunch of insurance information. Nearly five hours later she was finally allowed to see him.
The room was cold and empty aside from the bed, a chair, table, and the tv. Miles laid on the bed, an iv giving him something to calm him surely by the way his head lulled against the pillow and his lips remained slack.
"Are you Ms. Major?" A man in a white coat asked as he entered the room with a clipboard in his hands.
"Yes, how is he?" She shook his hand before moving to the left side of Miles' bed. The man's badge told her his name was Dr. Singh.
"He's gonna be fine for now. We've got him on an anticonvulsant and we're monitoring the progression of his glioblastoma multiforme." The man spoke as he stepped closer to look at something on the monitor next to Miles.
"Do you know what a durable power of attorney for health care is?" He asked as he flipped a sheet on his clipboard.
"Yes, it's...uh document where you name someone to make end of life decisions." Jocelyn felt her stomach turn as she realized Miles had thought of it all already.
"Are you aware Mr. Ellis has named you as his agent?"
"I was not, but it was expected." She nodded as she turned to him. The sight was almost peaceful to see him laying there as if he were simply sleeping.
"I don't mean to be blunt, Ms. Major, but he doesn't have much longer at this rate. Extraneural and extracranial metastases of glioblastoma are extremely rare. We performed a cervical CT and MRI scan which showed a mass lesion infiltrating the fifth and sixth vertebra with infiltration of the spinal canal and large paravertebral tumor masses."
The words seemed like a foreign language as he showed a number of scans, pointing to the black and white photos as if she knew what they meant.
"Further metastases were detected in the thoracal and lumbal spine. As well as in the lung and pulmonary lymphnodes. We theorize, without surgery or chemotherapy, he may only survive another 2, maybe, 3 months." Dr. Singh pointed to yet another scan.
"He doesn't want it." Jocelyn shook her head as she began stroking his hair for comfort. "We're focusing on comfort care. I just want it to be as painless as possible."
"Ms. Major, we are in an era with astounding medical advancements. We could offer a clinical trial with-"
"Dr. Singh," she cut him off with a sad smile as tears blurred her vision, "I really appreciate your efforts and I thank you beyond words for caring, but it's not what he wants."
——
I want to write my ending as well as the ending you all want, so this will be a bit of a choose your own adventure lol.
I will progress the storyline as I had originally written it before uploading an alternate ending for those why may not like my ending.
YOU ARE READING
Understanding You *Completed*
Romance[Please read tags!!] "From every wound there is a scar, and every scar tells a story. A story that says, I survived." - Craig Scott --- The cold floor contrasted the warm body laid against her own. Her le...
