The Quiet Voice | Complete

Chapter 2

Chelsea's heart was pure and she shared friendship and love so easily as a young child. She always saw the best in people and never judged anyone for where they lived, what vehicle their parents drove or what clothes they wore. She waved to strangers on the street and spoke to everyone in the supermarket. Her mother often joked with her, saying that she's convinced that Chelsea smiled even when she slept at night.

Chelsea loved school from the very first day and her mother never needed to beg her to get ready for school. And she never ever had to tell her to stop faking illness so that she didn't need to attend. She was loved by teachers and fellow students alike, always first to offer help or be a friend to the new student in class. She excelled at all activities at school and loved to draw pictures of flowers and gardens, never forgetting to add a butterfly, a tree or a bird here and there. Her drawings were happy ones, filled with bursting bright colours, love and beautiful images of peace and happy places.

It so happened that the new neighbour's little daughter, Angela Holmes, attended the same school. Chelsea took an immediate liking to her and adopted her as her little sister. Chelsea secretly always wanted a little sister, but never actually voiced it to her parents.

These two little peas in a pod were inseparable. They did everything together and both sets of parents knew that where the one was, so was the other one. They ate dinner together, took naptime together, bathed together. And even worked out a routine so that they slept one night in the one's bedroom and the next in the other's. Their parents had given up trying to separate them after the first few months. And actually took comfort that they had found each other, for a friendship like theirs was so rare, especially at their young age.

While snuggling close to her in bed one night, Angela asked "Chelsea?"

"Yes" replied Chelsea, only a few blinks away from sleep and loving being so near to Angela.

"Will you promise to be my big sister forever?" came Angela's little voice, sounding way younger than her actual age, followed by a stifled yawn.

"On one condition" giggled Chelsea.

Willing to pay any price asked, Angela replied "Oh anything!"

"Only if you promise to be my little sister forever." Chelsea hugged Angela extra tight and kissed the top of her head. They always laid the same way in bed, Chelsea behind Angela, because she was the big spoon and Angela the little spoon.

"Goodnight, Big Sis, I love you," whispered Angela, her eyes already closed and sleep creeping in fast.

With a little tear rolling down her cheek, Chelsea answered "Goodnight Little Sis, I love you too... foreverness". Her heart was swelling with pride and ready to burst with all the love that it held for this little sister she now eventually had. And even though they weren't from the same parents, they still couldn't have been closer or loved each other more.

These two little souls grew closer together and never left each other's side. It was now a given that they were not to be separated, unless it was at school during class time.

They were both extremely healthy little girls, rarely ever having a cold or sniffle. And because they were always together, if the one got sick, so did the other.

After school one day, Chelsea told her mother that she wasn't feeling too well. Her head ached and so did her eyes. Angela's mother also noticed that she too didn't look too well, so both mothers took the girls to the doctor to find out what could be troubling the two of them.

The doctor performed a routine exam and was very concerned with the symptoms present in both girls, so he immediately ordered further testing be done on them both. The tests were painful and scary and both girls needed to be admitted to hospital to have them done.

Both families prayed that the results would be good news for they couldn't bear to witness these two little angels going through trauma and suffering. They were so young, Angela now 5 and Chelsea only 8.

One of the tests ordered was blood work and another was a lumbar puncture. The girls were so brave when having their tests done, the only thing getting them through the ordeal was knowing that they were together and needed to be strong for each other.

The doctor and nurses were informed by the parents of the amazing bond between these two girls and they arranged for them to be able to share a room. This made it so much easier on the families as they were all equally worried about the girls.

The lumbar puncture took 30 to 45 minutes to complete, but they would all need to be patient though, as the results would only be available in two days' time.

The girls were in pain, but they were so brave and barely complained. The nursing staff were very caring. They made sure that the girls' pain levels were well monitored and that they were comfortable and content.

Two days passed and the results arrived. As this was such a special case, with such a close bond between these two families, both sets of parents were called into the doctor's office to discuss the findings.

"Thank you so much for coming to meet with me in my office instead of the hospital ward," said Dr. Granger.

"No problem." Replied all four parents at once.

Dr. Granger opened both folders on his desk and arranged the test result sheets next to each other.

"As you all know, we ran extensive tests on both girls, the most important one being the lumbar puncture. All the results are back and I'm afraid to tell you that we have two very sick little girls on our hands." Dr. Granger's heart broke when his suspicions were confirmed by the two sheets in front of him.

He drew in a deep breath, while saying a little prayer, before delivering news that he knew could change all their lives forever.

"Chelsea and Angela both have meningitis," he said.

"What's that? I've heard of meningitis, but don't really know what it is," said Angela's mother. Chelsea's mother broke down crying for she already knew what it was and that it wasn't good news at all.

"Well, there are two kinds of meningitis" continued Dr. Granger, "one is caused by a virus and the other by bacteria. It is an inflammation or swelling of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord known as the meninges. This inflammation is usually caused by an infection of the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord."

"What does this mean for our little girls?" asked Angela's mother, needing to make sense of all the information. "Angela seems so much sicker than Chelsea, is it because she is younger?"

"One strain is more serious than the other and therefore treatment would depend on which strain was present," explained Dr. Granger, wishing that he didn't have to share the next bit of news.

"Angela has the bacterial one and Chelsea the viral. Angela's one is life threatening and needs urgent attention, that is why she is so weak and ill. Chelsea's can be treated with antibiotics, which is usually fast acting, so you should see an improvement within the next few days." Dr. Granger saw the initial shock of his information hit the parents like a freight train. How would these two families make it through the next few months, he wondered.

"What does that mean? Is my Angela going to die? Am I going to lose my baby?!" sobbed Angela's mother.

"I'm so sorry to have to tell you this, but only time will tell. I pray that we detected it soon enough, but we just can't be sure. All that we can do is hope and pray. The girls have both been given their first dose of medication, we will monitor them and wait." It absolutely killed him to say it, but Dr. Granger was just as much in the dark about whether the treatment will work or not, as the parents. It was now in God's hands.

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*A lumbar puncture is a medical procedure where a needle is inserted into the lower part of the spine to test for conditions affecting the brain, spinal cord or other parts of the nervous system. During the procedure, pressure is measured and samples of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) are taken from inside the spine.