All Your Perfect Imperfections

Chapter Twelve

-Devin-

I stared at the posters on the wall in one of the clinic rooms and pulled on the hem of the cloth gown they'd told me to change into. I wasn't happy being here, but I told myself it'd be over soon.

There was a knock on the door and the doctor came in. He looked like he could be someone's grandfather with his salt and pepper curls and dark skin. His eyes were warm and that helped me relax a little. As soon as he settled on the stool, he held out his hand. "I'm Dr. Anderson. It's nice to meet you, Devin. I was told you're a new patient?"

I nodded and shook his hand. "I haven't been to see a doctor in years, but my boyfriend wanted me to come in."

"What's going on?"

"My boyfriend thinks something is wrong because I've had a lot of bruises lately and I was sweating a lot in my sleep a few nights ago. I think it's probably nothing, but he's worried."

"Has something happened to cause the bruises, or are they coming out of nowhere?"

"I feel like they've all had a cause. One was after a car accident where the airbag went off. My boyfriend was in the car too and didn't have a bruise like mine, but I assumed maybe the airbag didn't hit him as hard. And I think most of my other bruises were from running into a door frame or being rough in the bedroom. Stuff like that."

"Have you always bruised easily?"

I shook my head. "Not that I can remember."

"Tell me about sweating at night."

"We were on vacation. I ended up sweating enough to make the sheet damp on my side of the bed and my boyfriend woke me up and asked if I was okay. It's only happened that one time, so I think my boyfriend is overreacting."

"Any other symptoms that don't seem normal for you?"

"Um, I've been tired a lot recently, but I also started working more. The car accident was because I fell asleep while driving."

Dr. Anderson nodded and stood up. "I'm going to take your vitals and do a general exam. Is there anything I should know about in your family history?"

"My mom had cancer. She died when I was a kid."

"What type of cancer?"

"Leukemia." 

As soon as I said it, I understood why Avery was worried. I'd been too young to pick up on anything happening with my mom before she was suddenly sick and in and out of the hospital. Did she have symptoms like what I was having? What if something was wrong with me?

"Is that concerning?" I asked, glancing over at Dr. Anderson as he palpated my neck just under my jaw.

"It's something to note and we want to make sure we can rule it out. Fatigue, bruising, and night sweats can mean a few things. We'll do a complete blood count to tell us more, and then go from there when we get the results back. I'll put in an order so you can stop by the lab on your way out and have your blood drawn."

I sat patiently as Dr. Anderson finished his exam and asked me a few more questions about my family history and my lifestyle. Then I headed over to the lab and sat in a chair while they drew my blood. I had never been someone who worried, but I felt worried now. It's fine, I told myself. Dr. Anderson said these symptoms can be for all sorts of reasons. It's probably something minor. I decided not to think about it anymore as soon as I left the clinic.

-

The next day at work, I was staring at some blueprints when I got a call from the doctor's office. They already had the results from my blood work and Dr. Anderson wanted to speak to me about them in a follow-up appointment. That wasn't a good sign.