Handle With Clare

Chapter 33: I Didn't Need A Superman

Look for the <> to know when to listen to this song! 

I spent the next week in and out of consciousness as my body slowly recovered from whatever harsh treatment they gave me, but I was still in unbearable pain most days. During this time, I met with the new doctor that was overseeing me. I liked to call him doctor Cali mainly because that was where he was from. Though he told me his real name, it didn't stick with me since I wanted Doctor Patel to oversee me instead of him. This new doctor seemed to be a little cocky and unable to read my sarcasm, which I was full of.

During this week I found out that Peter was doctor Cali's nephew and that he was a successful Doctor on the west coast for cancer. Somehow Peter pulled strings from him to come here to treat me. What blew my mind was that he was also the same doctor that Doctor Patel wanted me to see in California. This was another reminder that the world was small, especially when it came to doctors.

Through Doctor Cali and Patel's teamwork, they found a new treatment that worked perfectly for me, something that I could handle with 'Clare' as Doctor Patel always reminded me. They explained the treatment in specifics to me a few days ago but I'm pretty sure I understood nothing they told me. What I remembered was that the first month was going to be hard, harder than anything I have ever experienced before. My body would try to reject the drug, but it would be important to push through.

They asked me if I was ready for it, and if I wanted to go through with it, I told them, yes, I wanted it as I remembered what Anna told me. I had to fight like Hell, that was the agreement, but I think I was more ready for it than ever before.

Because my body was compromised from the treatment, no visitors could see me. That being said, my parents sat right outside my room every day, faithfully writing messages that were taped to the windows or texts through the phone. The messages were positive and I'm pretty sure they found on Pinterest. Sometimes the messages were small stories that happened to them earlier that day, and if I had the energy, I would write them back on a whiteboard the nurses gave me or through my phone.

Without fail, right after school every day, Farrah would come to the hospital to join my parents and convince the nurses to let her stay after visiting hours. She would always greet me with a smile then proceed to send me paragraph messages about her drama and stories she picked up at school. I don't think I understood most of her written stories because they seemed to hop from unconnected events and ideas, but they still made me smile, mainly because I felt like she once again cared about me.

<>

During that week, however, I never saw Peter. When I tried to ask my parents about him, they would always change the topic. I wasn't sure if they even knew where he was at. He just seemed to disappear into thin air. I kept on expecting to see him, to smile through the windows of my room, but it never happened as the days ticked by.

Once again, he did not text me or send a message through his uncle. By now, I didn't need a message to know that we weren't getting back together, even as friends. It hurt to think that even when I got better, he would not be around, but I was trying to make peace with it. However, one thing I wanted to know was where he went off to, but I figured I just finally scared him off.

Today was day six in the hospital and finally, they let me bring in my laptop. I sat on my laptop surfing the web, knowing that my parents wouldn't be here for another hour. With my parents were nowhere to be seen, my entertainment fell to 0%.

I was hoping for some kind of celebration because today was a special. Finally, after almost a week of no personal contact, Doctor Cali told me that I could have contact with people tomorrow. He proceeded to raise my hopes by saying that if I was lucky, I could be out in three more days. Honestly, I just felt lucky that I was totally conscious today. It had been a rough week with the new treatment, and I could easily say I had been through hell. But it was all worth it because I was alive, I made it, the cancer was shrinking beyond all the odds. They did it. Doctor Patel and doctor Cali managed it.