I lay down on my bed wondering what was the matter with me. As I was thinking I was swinging my legs. Then my left ankle bone caught my nightstand's corner, I could barely feel it. Everyone teased me about being ADD and it didn't help that my enittials spelled ADD. It was true, I was ADD, so I constantly stayed busy. I was alway falling, or hitting something, and I NEVER stopped thinking. But, this was different. I had started feeling constantly, not sleepy, but physically tired. In basketball, which I was the star of, I had been getting bruised easier. I had no energy, and when I was shaving my legs I got cut, even with a cut-safe blade. I noticed that I had gotton a lot pailer latley.
I walked down the stairs to find my mom. Each step hurt my sore body. My 5' 8 frame felt so small. I found my mom in the kitchen cooking dinner, but right when I was about to tell her we need to go to the doctor I got tunnel vision and fell back against the counter. My mom emmedietly looked at me. Before she could reach me I was out on the floor.
The last thing I could remember was the ambulance crew asking me questions, but I couldn't open my eyes to answer them. I could hear my mom's sobbing and yelling my name, and my dad on the phone with someone. I was lifted on a gurney then taken to the ambulance.
I fluttered myeyes open. I was in a cheery yellow hospital room. I had no clue that I had been asleep for three weeks. I had on a hospital gown with little sunflowers on it. I loved sunflowers, they made me happy. I don't know why. I guess it was thier color. The yellow. I glanced around me. The room had regulated hospital furniture. A love seat, my hospital bed, a small bathroom, and a little oak night stand. I saw that someone had put my clothes in my closet and I wished I could go organize them. Instead I just laid there on the bed, useless. Needles poked me inside and out. There was a red button on my bed adjuster. On it it said "nurse call" I pushed it and within two minutes a perky, blonde college age student walked in.
"Hi, im Anne. I will be your daytime nurse and Colleen will be your nightime nurse. What can I get for you?" She asked. I wasn't hungry, but my liips felt awfully chapped.
"A glass of orange juice, maybe?" I asked, hardly even recognizing my own voice that came out in a small sqeak. " Where are my parents?" I asked, wanting to see thier familier faces against all the new.
" They are in he waiting room, when I go to get your juice I will get them and the doctor will be in after lunch. Around two." She pulled my blankets neatly around me. I smiled thanks and she left. About fifteen minutes later she returned with a large glass of juice, and my parents. They ran in, my mom crying and my dad's sturdy hands shaking like crazy. My mom wrapped her arms around me and din't let go until nurse Anne returned to fill up my fluid bag again. Then, her and dad sat on the love seat, my dad grasped my tiny, weak hand. I picked up my orange juice and sipped on it. The cool liquid ran down my throat.
That afternoon at 2:10 the doctor arrived. He sat in one of those rolly chairs that kids love to sit in. He pulled out a clip board and looked at me. He was a shorter man probably 5' 11 and had salt and pepper hair.
"So, I am Dr. Simms. I am specialize in leukimia. Which, I'm afraid, you have been diagnosed with." My world just stopped. I couldn't believe it. My life had just ended. I would become a little test rat and be stuck in a maze of tests, and tunnels that I don't know how to get out of. What about all of my friends, and Tucker. Oh, Tucker, how I missed him. We used to be best friends. We had spent hours upon hours together. We had become friends in pre-school. It was talent show day and right when I showed everyone my basketball pictures we had clicked. He had challenged me to a game during recess and it turned out our moms had been college room mates. A small world, huh? Tucker had Brown hair and milk chocolate eyes to match. Where as my red curls, and green eye swere intruiging his were inviting and sweet. When he got out of highshcool and left for college in Brazil it broke me. It was like losing another half of me. We had embraced each other for what seemed like hours. When he boarded that plane I became so seriosly depressed that I had to take medication for it. I missed him so much and now I might die before I saw him again.
"Miss Audrie, you will be having chemo therapy once a week until we clear out the leukimia. You will have bad side effects, like nausia, vomiting, hair loss, fatigue, and extreme weight loss. It will be painful, but hopefully you will be cleared up soon." Dr. Simms gave her a smile, and I hated him. He would never know how I felt yet he acted like he did. I just looked away. Tears welled up and started to stream down my face, but I was silent.
" Why did she sleep for so long? That's not a side effect is it?" My dad asked.
" When she passed out she hit her head on the counter, most likely, it just knocked her brain around and it had to repair itself." The doctor answered. Then he told us that if we had any questions to call the nurse and that I would start chemo next tuesday. He left, with kind farewells and I decided to take a nap. I told my parents to go home, and they gave thier kisses saying they would stop by in the morning before work. Once they left I took a long hot shower. I saton my bed and grabbed my laptop. I looked up Tucker's college on google. When I found it I looked up Tucker Cliff. I smiled when It was sucessfull. I found his laptop and free period. It was twenty minutes away so I went and got dressed. I put on mascara and lip balm. I did my hair in a high ponytail, wondering how long I would have it. At five thiry I sat on my bed and hooked up google hangouts. On the fith ring he answered and I smiled right when His gorgeous face showed up on the screen. His face showed utter shock.
" A- Audrie, Is that you!!!" He said almost sounding like a giddy school girl.
" Yup, I had to tell you this. Well, I'm in the hospital, with...... leukimia." His face showed a single tear roll down his face.
" How?" Was all he could manage to get out.
"I don't really know. I start chemo therapy next tuesday,Tuck, I'm scared." I said. Even after not seeing him for two years I could confide everything in him.
" I don't blame you. You know what I'm ahead in all mmy classes, I'll come up on monday and spend the week with you." He said. I started to cry. Most girls wanted to have girl friends and go shopping and gossip,where as I would just like to be dribbling down the court with Tucker trying to defend me, I would spin around him and go in for a layup then we would hug a laugh, and we would keep laughing.
'' I can't wait to see you." I said through tears of joy. I wished he wasbthere now but only a week. I had a week to wait. I could do it.
