~ Breathe ~

{Chapter 12}

Maggie had taken Christella and Heath to a small hospital not far from where the Wilone's lived. Of course, as soon as Maggie mentioned her being a former nurse who worked at a nationally renowned hospital, they were willing to do anything that she wanted them to. When she explained the situation, the nurses seemed disgusted by the fact that the girl had been neglected by her own family for so long.

"Mrs Wilone, we're worried about any other abnormalities that might've occurred due to lack of proper medical treatment in Miss Pryce's body, particularly her kidneys. Anderson's is never the same in two people, but the kidneys are always at risk until something is done. We will need to take Christella in for a few tests just to be sure."

The doctor must've seen the look of terror on Christella's face when she mentioned the tests.

"Don't worry sweets, it won't hurt a bit. Your brother and aunt can come in too."

Christella found it funny that people had already assumed Christella was Maggie's niece just from the similar red hair.

The doctor led the three into a room with a bed and patted the surface of it. "Hop up here for me sweets."

It didn't take long before the tests were finished and the results were sent off for further analysis.

"We would give her the medication now, but depending on what results come back to me, she might need more or less." The doctor told Maggie. The woman nodded.

"If you don't mind, you can seat yourselves back in the waiting room and I'll come fetch you in a jiffy."

"How are you feeling at the moment Christella?" Maggie asked her while she was seated beside Heath, curled up into his side.

"A little dizzy still, hot, and my hands and feet are still hurting, just not as badly as before."  Christella replied.

"Trust me, you're definitely hot to the touch. You're sweating up a storm here, so much that my shirt is drenched! You owe me a new shirt!" Heath exclaimed, attempting to lighten the mood. It was always so dull and depressing in a waiting room.

Christella chuckled. "Consider us even after the time you spilled all of your useless hair gel all over my uniform!"

"Useless? How is my gel useless?"

"Well first — I think you look better without it. And second — have you even looked in the mirror lately? Your hair is constantly a mess! It's sticking up in every direction!"

"Are you kidding me? My hair always looks good. But if you say it looks even better without gel, I'll stop wearing it."

"Thank you."

"After I finish my current tin."

"Ugh."

Maggie chucked. "You two remind me of your parents."

Christella smiled at her feet with pride.

"Wanna see a morph of both Mum and Dad?" Heath asked me.

"Sure?"

He handed me his glasses and I put them on.

"Now look at your reflection."

Maggie gasped. "Christella, I never realised but you most definitely have your father's nose — and eyes for that matter. Not the colour, but the shape. It's strange how the glasses made me realise that."

Christella chuckled, handing Heath's glasses back to him.

Just before the group had been called back to hear the results, Christella had fallen asleep due to pure exhaustion, forcing Heath to be the one to carry her around.

"Poor girl. It's about time she had a good sleep." Maggie said.

The door opened to see the woman who they had spoken to previously with a clipboard in hand.

"Well — results came back and it's good news. Nothing seriously wrong with the kidneys, although, there are minor abnormalities that concerned me. Without treatment, the problem could get bigger and cause kidney failure by the time Miss Pryce is 17. We're putting her on medication that'll cancel it out and help with the Anderson's in general. The episodes she's currently experiencing at random will stop, although they could be induced by stress."

"I'm glad everything can be taken care of. What about the side effects of the medication?"

"She's quite lucky really, the medication has only minor side effects. She might feel a little tired when she first starts taking it, but after that there won't be any other side effects. She'll need to take it in the morning with food."

The news couldn't have been better for Christella, and Heath couldn't wait until Christella woke up so he could tell her the news.

Things were shaping out to become a lot better.