Heartache

Chapter 28 - Break Down

Chapter 28 - Break Down 

"Mrs. Peterson?" a nurse said coming into the waiting room. Instantly she stood up with her eyes yearning for her son. "Dr. Diggle would like to see you in his office"

"Libby?" Mrs. Peterson asked looking at me as Mr.Perterson wasn't with us, I turned around to Mag who nodded allowing me to go. After a few minutes of following the nurse around, we reached the office and were permitted to go in with the nurse disappearing.

"Doctor... How's Jason" Mr.Perterson asked as soon as we were in the room.
"Please take a seat" Dr. Diggle said. My heart was racing, increasing by the second. We took a seat as ordered and Mrs. Peterson cupped my hand between hers. "There's no need to worry Jason is okay. He's asleep" He said, I looked at Mrs. Peterson, her eyes lighter than before.
"But...?" I asked knowing we wouldn't have been called in a doctor's office if the matter wasn't serious. He hesitated then spoke, proving my suspicion to be correct.
"Jason's case is very rare" He began, using his words very carefully. "The frontal lobe, positioned at the front of the brain, is a very important part of the brain as it controls emotional expression, problem solving, memory, language, judgment, and sexual behaviour. It is, in essence, the control panel of our personality and our ability to communicate" He paused allowing us to take in the information. "Jason's frontal lobe is damaged. His tumour has begun to spread and will eventually affect the left side of his brain. We are still trying to understand his condition as his previous treatments only temporally stopped the tumour growth" he stopped again.

"Okay" Mrs. Peterson said on the edge of a break down.
"There is something else you should know" He hesitated as silence filled the room, my breathing stopped. I gulped ready to hear the news he wanted to expose to us. "Because his frontal lobe is damaged; you may see changes in his personality, he could suffer from short- term memory loss and because his left side is getting affected, he will find it difficult to speak" he paused again. "The frontal lobe also controls movement... I'm sorry to say this but... Jason has lost the ability of movement from hip down." I couldn't find my voice, it was like he threw a nuclear bomb at us and we were just burning slowly, the pain overwhelming that we went into a deep shock.
"What do you mean, he's lost the ability?" I asked finding strength to speak.
"Because of his tumour spreading and affecting areas of his brain, he is now paralysed from hip down. He may never be able to walk again" I didn't say anything. I couldn't. I felt Mrs. Peterson let go of my hand and the room without saying a word.
"Thank you" I whispered not bothered if he heard me or not. I got up and walked slowly of the room.
"Miss" he said stopping me, I turned around and waited. "Jason may not be able to walk again. Miss his condition may worsen over time... Some personal advice; you will need to be VERY strong" his tone was serious and he accentuated the word 'very' making his point extremely clear. I smiled and nodded, leaving the room and closing the door behind me.

I walked back to the waiting room and was bombarded with questions from Mag, Dave and now Mr. Peterson. Mr. Peterson had his arms tightly wrapped around Mrs. Peterson's who was crying.
"Tell me everything. From the beginning" Mr. Peterson ordered me, using a tone I never heard; like he was threating me. I told them everything the doctor said, leaving out the last bit.
"Mag, Dave you should go home and take Mrs. Peterson with you" I said facing them.
"No! I'm not going anywhere" Mrs. Peterson's voice was fierce despite her mental break down.
"Hunny, Libby's right. You should go home. Don't worry, I and Libby are here. We'll keep you updated" Mr. Peterson said softly, she made a face but nodded helplessly in agreement. "Dave please... take care of her" He said his eyes somewhat wet. Dave put his hand on Mr. Peterson's shoulder and squeezed it, letting him know he was there for him. Mag and Dave kissed me and left with Mrs. Peterson clinging onto Mag's arm.