This Little Light of Mine

11: 𝐈 𝐖𝗼𝐧'𝐭 𝐆𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐔𝐩 𝐎𝐧 𝐔𝐬

September 1st, 2030

    Lucy, Tim, and Bennett were heading out extremely early the morning of September 1st. Their flight was at 8:30 that morning, and they knew to get to the airport at least a couple of hours before boarding time, to ensure they would make it on time. That meant getting themselves and their five year old up around 3:30 that morning.

    Bennett, specifically, was not much of a morning person at all. That being said, Tim went in to wake her up not too long before they were set to leave the house.

    "No Daddy, I don't wanna get up!" Bennett fussed, as Tim tried to coax her out of the bed. "You don't even have to walk, baby, I'll carry you." He told her. It took about five minutes before the little girl finally caved, and Tim picked her up out of her bed. Her parents had decided to just leave her pajamas on, since it was an early flight and they hoped she would sleep on the plane, but with Bennett, that wasn't a guarantee.

    Lucy and Tim headed out the door with Bennett and their bags, loading everything and everyone up inside the car, before driving off to the airport. Once they had gotten to the airport, they checked themselves in at the desk, and they checked their luggage in there too, minus each of their carry-on bags. After checking in and dropping off their luggage, the Bradfords made their way up the escalator, before getting through security. Being so early, security was basically a breeze to get through, which Tim and Lucy both enjoyed.

    After making it through the security checkpoint, they headed to the area where the gate was. "I'm hungry," Bennett said, as they got closer. "Well, since we've got tons of time before we have to get on the plane, let's stop and fill your belly up, okay?" Lucy said, as the family of three made it to one of the small establishments in the terminal.

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    The flight began boarding about forty-five minutes before the scheduled take-off time, and the family was one of the first groups to board, as they made it onto the plane, and found their seats. Bennett was seated in between both of her parents, Tim at the aisle and Lucy at the window.

    The flight took off from the runway only a few minutes behind schedule, and about five hours later, they had landed in New York. Once they disembarked from the plane, they grabbed their luggage and headed out to their rental car, before going to their hotel to spend the rest of their day.

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September 2nd, 2030

    At 9 the following morning, Tim, Lucy, and Bennett were in the hospital, waiting for their daughter to go back for surgery. Everyone was apprehensive, but they knew in their hearts that they were making the right decision for their daughter.

    At 10:15, the nurses came back to take Bennett for surgery. The parents said their goodbyes to their little girl, as she was taken back to the operating room. Once they had taken her from them, Tim and Lucy were sent to the waiting room, before they would find her in recovery later.

    A few hours later, the parents were reunited with their daughter. The surgery was successful, and the doctor came in to discuss what the next steps were, while Bennett was still waking up from the anesthesia.

    "So, we got the catheter placed perfectly. We will keep her head wrapped, so she doesn't mess with the incision. The pump is also placed where it needs to be, in her stomach. This one will be a little more challenging to keep her away from, but I believe it'll be just fine. She shouldn't be able to feel the tube that connects the two, so there should be no problems there." The doctor informed the parents, as they listened and looked at the areas he had described to them. "We went ahead and activated the pump, so the chemo is already slowly flowing up to the catheter, and it will continue to do so for twenty hours. Once the time is up, we will take her for an MRI, which should show us where the medicine was able to reach. The next step will be repeating the twenty hour chemo flow, before we take her back for surgery to remove both the pump and catheter." He told them. "Once everything's been removed, we will keep her for a few more days to run the standard tests, get her standing and walking, and make sure everything checks out properly."

    "So, once all that's done, we can take her home?" Tim asked, as the doctor gave them a nod. "Ideally, yes. It all depends on how she handles the chemo and how she is able to function afterwards, but realistically, I believe it won't be more than a couple extra days." He told them. "Are there any other questions you have for me right now? I'll be by periodically to check in and make sure everything is going properly." The doctor said, as Lucy began to speak up. "What are the successful odds of this whole thing? How well does it work for the kids?" She asked him. "Usually, we have great results, since it goes through the blood brain barrier, and that barrier is what makes DIPG so tough to treat. I am very optimistic for Bennett with this trial, so we'll see what happens over the next few days." He told them, and talked with them for a few more minutes, before exiting.

    Bennett woke up a little while later, slightly irritable, but that was a side effect from the anesthesia she had been under.

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    Twenty hours later, the pump finished the first round of chemo, and Bennett was taken for an MRI. The MRI showed the doctor exactly what he wanted to see, and the pump was then refilled and set to run for twenty more hours.

    The following day, Bennett was taken back in for surgery, and the pump and catheter were removed from her body. Before she was discharged, she had to stand and take steps, and be able to do a few other things. It took five days before she was able to accomplish this, but they were then sent home. Bennett had been placed on steroids to help medicate her after surgery and for other issues, but it was finally time for them to go home. Home, where they truly wished to be.

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    The family arrived home on September 17th, where their next waiting game would begin. Bennett was scheduled for another MRI at the local children's hospital within the next week or two, but her parents were informed that this MRI would not tell them how successful the trial was, but one in the upcoming months would give them the news.

    Until then, Bennett was then faced with a new problem. She had begun seeing double, and she did not like it one bit.