Make a Wish || Rhett and Link

Chapter Five - lollipop

Chemo. Chemotherapy. Gosh, there is nothing I hate more than chemotherapy.

It happens every two weeks. The nurses load me into a wheelchair and roll me down the hall to the area I call "The Chemo Room." I get a big needle in the neck, which is connected to a huge drip. I then get to sit in a big comfy chair for about 6 hours and watch TV. Oh, and I get a lollipop. Sometimes two if I'm lucky.

The way I'm explaining it, it sounds wonderful. Chemotherapy is the opposite of wonderful. I'm just going to list you some of the side effects to give you a sense of what it's like.

Side effects may include: Vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, nausea, fatigue (tiredness), mouth sores or ulcers, hair loss, muscle weakness, skin sensitivity to sunlight, dry or tired eyes and loss of appetite. And even with all that, you have an increased chance of infection and bruising.

See what I'm getting at? Chemo sucks. And I have to deal with it every two weeks.

When I first started chemo, I thought it would be fine. My mother mentioned that it would make me sick. I had no idea how sick it would really make me. I honestly thought it would just be like a cold or something. Yep, I seriously underestimated how sick I would get. In my Mom's words, "They make you sick to make you better."

"Are you ready to go Coop?" Nurse Genella asked.

"Sure, I guess so." I said, inching over a little to the side of the bed.

Nurse Genella helped me into the wheelchair and we started heading out of the room. I peered in the doors of the other doors on the ward. I didn't speak to the other kids in the ward very much. Every week there was supposed to be some kind of meeting of us so we could all socialise, but I was never well enough to go. A few of the kids waved, and I waved back. A few gave me evil glares. The rest just didn't even notice me.

We reached the large room. This was shared between both the adults and the kids, so there were doctors and nurses everywhere. I didn't mind. It was relieving to be out of the hospital room.

Nurse Genella rolled me into one of the bays and pulled the curtains around. She didn't do the actual chemotherapy bit. Another nurse from this department did that.

"So, GMM?" she asked.

"Sounds great!" I said, leaning back into the leather recliner. It was very comfortable. This was the best part.

Nurse Genella went onto YouTube (It was a smart TV), and put it on a playlist. Time for a season 8 marathon. I couldn't help but smile as the intro played.

Nurse Genella had to leave, so I sat for a good 10 minutes waiting for the other nurse.

"Hey Cooper. You ready?" The other nurse said. I didn't know her name.

"Sure, I guess." I said, shrugging. It's not like I had a choice.

The nurse grabbed the needle. It was massive. I did wince as it was inserted into a vein in my neck. It always hurts a lot. The nurse put some tape on it, undid the clip on the tube and the liquid began flowing.

"Where's your Mom today?" the nurse asked.

"Oh, I, um..." I said, tearing up a little.

The nurse's eyes went wide. "Oh, right, sorry." she said. Her eyes darted around the floor as she tried to figure out what to say next. "Uh...would you like a lollipop?"

I nodded silently. I did want a lollipop.

The nurse took off the wrapper, knowing that I wouldn't be able to do it myself. She held it out and I put it straight in my mouth. I happen to quite like lollipops.

"Uh, I'll be back in an hour to check on you." she said, before heading out of the room.

I sniffled back my tears and looked back up at the TV. Rhett and Link looked so happy together, making jokes about anything and everything. It made me laugh through my tears.

I ended up watching 6 hours of GMM straight. And I got 3 lollipops. A new record! I guess the nurse felt bad about her previous comment.

"How'd you go sweetie?" Nurse Genella asked, walking in.

"It was good. I'm dreading waking up tomorrow though." I said.

"You ready to head back to the room?"

"I guess so." I said. I was loaded back into the wheelchair and taken back up to my room, where the sheets had been changed. That was nice.

I climbed back into bed and curled up. I was pretty tired. Chemo did that to you.

"Can you close the blinds?" I asked. I didn't want to leave them open. I did that the first time I had chemo, and well, that my friends is how I got sunburnt in a hospital room.

"Sure honey" Nurse Genella said, blocking the sunlight out.

"Oh yeah, I figured out what I'm going to do with my wish."

"What's that sweetheart?"

I yawned. "I'll tell you in the morning."

Nurse Genella chuckled. "Okay. I'll see you then. Sleep well."

The door was closed and I fell asleep.