This Little Light of Mine

12: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝗺𝐞𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐖𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐝, 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐏𝐡𝗼𝐭𝗼𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡

November 14th, 2030

Bennett's initial MRI set for early October ended up being pushed to the middle of November. That was due to scheduling, and the fact that the surgeon in New York wanted to give the chemo a little extra time before they did their first check. Tim and Lucy had to remind themselves constantly that this MRI would not tell them the full results of the procedure and chemotherapy that Bennett had endured during the trial in New York, but would simply make sure that everything reached the correct area in her brain.

The parents headed out with their five year old to the hospital around 2:30 that afternoon. This time, Bennett's appointment was later in the day, since they had no openings for early in the morning, which was okay. The later appointment gave Bennett a little more time to wake up and prepare herself for the day, instead of getting her up, dressed, and out the door in about twenty or thirty minutes.

Bennett's appointment was set for 3:30, and she was called back right on schedule. Tim and Lucy walked with her back to the room, before they helped get her prepped for her scan. Once she, and the team, were ready, Tim and Lucy stepped out for them to perform the scan on the little girl. It didn't take as long as it felt like, but Tim and Lucy were able to be with her shortly after. Once Bennett's MRI was finished, the nurse sent the family back out to the waiting room, where they would wait to be called back to the office for the doctor to discuss the MRI results with them. That could take ten minutes, but it could also take an hour or two before they end up getting called back.

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It took almost forty five minutes before Bennett's name was called once more. "Come on, Bennie. It's time for us to go talk to your doctor." Lucy said, as the three of them stood up, and as Bennett took her parents hands. They followed the kind nurse back to the office, where the three of them sat down, and Tim handed Bennett his cell phone while they waited, and she would have it while they spoke with her doctor, as well. The doctor entered the room two or so minutes after they had settled, entering with a soft knock on the door.

"Good afternoon, you guys. Sorry for the delay, we've been packed over the last few weeks." The doctor said, shaking both Tim and Lucy's hands, before taking his seat at the desk, directly across from where Bennett's parents were seated. "So, I assume New York went well? How was she?" The doctor asked, as Lucy proceeded to speak up. "She did really well, honestly. She had her ups and downs, but she handled it like the champ she is." Lucy said, with a smile. "I'm so glad to hear that, that's always a positive outlook from such a tough experience, especially since she's still relatively young." The doctor told the couple.

"Now, remember, these results won't be able to tell us the successfulness of the trial just yet, as everything needs a bit more time to do its job. We will go ahead and schedule her next MRI for early to the middle of January, though. That will be the scan to show us how much the trial worked for Bennett." He said, before opening up the folder on his desk. "As for today, I'm relatively impressed with this scan. Everything looks great, and as of right now, I don't see anything too concerning. I want to leave her on the steroids to continue with her recovery and everything, but we will wean her off of those within the next couple of weeks, hopefully," the doctor said. A few more minutes passed, and the family had scheduled Bennett's next MRI, and left the hospital to head home.

While they were waiting for her next scan appointment, they had scheduled a photoshoot for Bennett, and to get some updated family pictures. Sure, they had the wedding pictures, but they also wanted some solely of Bennett, and other family pictures to keep nearby.

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December 3rd, 2030

December 3rd was the date for the photoshoot. Tim got himself ready and the bag packed, while Lucy tackled getting herself and Bennett ready to leave. The photoshoot would take around two or so hours, and Tim and Lucy hoped Bennett would be okay.

While Bennett was still doing relatively okay, her parents were easily noticing changes. Her face was a lot "chunkier", simply due to the steroids she was on. Bennett didn't seem to care, and Tim and Lucy were ever so grateful for that. They didn't mention it to her, in order to not upset her more than they had to. With the steroids, also came more moodiness. Bennett had been going through a "sassy" phase, also likely due to the steroids. It wasn't all the time, but sometimes she would get grumpy, and was liable to cause a scene or throw a tantrum. It had been a few months since the procedure, but Bennett was still working on her walking, it wasn't as good as it used to be, but she was still able to walk, and that was all that mattered to Lucy and Tim for the time being.

That day, Bennett had put up quite a fight when it came to putting her dress on. "Do I have to?" Bennett asked, as Lucy shook her head. "I can take you out of it and you don't have to take pictures, but then you won't be able to be in any of the pictures, baby doll." Lucy told her daughter, as Bennett sighed. "But I wanna be in them, Mama! I'll wear the dress!" Bennett protested, as Lucy nodded. "Well, let's go then, we don't want to be late, we told Mrs. Sarah that we would be there on time." Lucy told her, as Bennett stood up and walked out of her bedroom.

Tim, Lucy, and Bennett made it to the location of the photoshoot only five minutes late, which recently, had been a record for them. Sarah greeted them as they exited the vehicle and made their way to them.

The photoshoot went off extremely well. Bennett had a few moments of issues, but she was relatively great for the pictures. They got some really good shots of Bennett alone, her with each parent, and family pictures altogether. Tim and Lucy couldn't wait to get the photos back, as they would cherish these more than most of the other pictures they had. They had realized and noted that this photoshoot could very well be the last one that Bennett would be able to be a part of physically.