Chapter Eight

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Reed had googled Dr. Walter Edison before the appointment and he was every bit as good as Saint had said he was. Which Reed was grateful for. Theo deserved the best.

They both sat in the doctor's elegant dark paneled office which was located in Foggy Bottom near George Washington University Hospital.

Dr. Walter Edison was a small trim Black man , barely bigger than Theo. He wore an expensive dark suit and had stylish glasses perched on his upturned dark brown nose. His greying black hair was cut short to his head. On Google it said he was in his early fifties. Atop his polished neat desk were numerous pictures of himself with a beautiful Black woman and two children.

But Google hadn't told them everything about Dr. Edison. Dr. Edison did that for himself.

Walter said precisely," I like to get certain subjects out the way early. That way there are no misunderstandings. I am a transgender man. A pre op transgender man. I used to be Wendi and I was very unhappy. Now I am Walter and very satisfied with my life. My being satisfied with me makes me able to help my patients better. And help them I do. Please call me Walter or Walt or even Doc. Is this a problem? If so I can refer Mr. Walton to another equally qualified doctor. One just as good but not as good. I am the best at what I do. My patient survival rate is extremely high. "

Theo said," I'm the last person to make a fuss. I'm so gay I fart rainbows. "

Reed said," And I inhale those farts. Doc , we don't care. We just want you to cure Theo. Make him better. "

Then Walter nodded shrewdly and leaned back in his leather chair. " Well now that the bullshit is out the way let's get down to business. You were referred by Saint. I know him well. Good man. I see from the paperwork he forwarded to me that he diagnosed you with chronic leukemia. I assume Saint gave you an idea of what you will be facing. I'm going to give you a bigger picture. What you will both experience. I say both because cancer is a family affair. It can make or break the strongest relationship. Mr. Walton, you will go through hell and back again. Literal hell. You think cancer is bad. No. Your treatment will be worse but it's necessary. It will start tomorrow morning at GWU Hospital. You will have three hours of chemotherapy Monday to Friday on an outpatient basis. For this particular cancer the chemo should last at least a year. If the cancer doesn't respond to treatment it will be stopped and we'll look for other more viable options. Such as a bone marrow transplant. Family is a good option there but not always viable. There's always the general population as well. You will lose your hair. I'm sorry but that's reality. You will be sick. Very sick. So sick the cancer will look like a friend. You will be depressed. I think by looking at you you're already depressed. I can refer you to a number of good therapists to talk to through this process. Most are LGBTQA friendly. But that's up to you. "

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