Thanks for sharing

chapter 7

Song for this chapter: Taylor Swift ft Ed Sheeran, everything has changed.

IG: Fawe_Ruth__

I'm numb. I can't feel. My eyes are red from crying. I look a mess but I don't care. Like the line from the song the Taylor Swift song,
"All I know since yesterday is everything has changed"
And that was all that could describe how I felt. It wasn't true. It wasn't possible. How did someone develop cancer overnight?.
It was surreal. I am seated in a chair next to the hospital bed were Mandy is lying. She looks normal. Her hair is scattered across the pillow. Like a normal teen, not someone who was diagnosed of leukemia.
Her mom had gone home to pack a bag. They were not sure when she would be discharged. She had what the doctors called acute lymphocytic leukemia. ALL for short.
The causes of her ALL were not clear but her oncologist had suggested that they had to begin chemo immediately so as to attack it early.
I had gone to dad's wing to tell him then I came back to spend time with Mandy. I had also called mom to update her. She had said she would come over with Kay to visit for a while.
Just then my phone vibrated.
The caller ID read "Will"
I had totally forgotten to call him.
"Hello"
"Hey Blondie, you forgot to call me back yesterday. How are you?"
How was I? Honestly? Dead.
Instead I answer "fine"
"How is Amanda?, did you get a chance to talk to her?"
Tears roll down my cheeks
"Hello, Lia are you there?"
I sob quietly "yeah, I'm here"
"Where are you?" he asks.
I tell him the hospital we're at.

20 minutes later I head towards a vending matching to get a bottle of water. As I bend to pick up the dispensed water, a hand grabs it. I look up to let all hell loose on the person but instead meet a pair of brown eyes. Will.
My countenance softens.
"Hey" I say
He doesn't answer immediately, he is regarding me carefully.
"Are you Ok?" He tenderly asks.
I instantly tear up. He engulfs my hand in his and pulls me to the nearest seats. He hands me my water and I gulp it down. He gives me a few moments to calm down.
Then he asks again"Are you ok?
No, I wasn't. I wasn't. I wanted to run. I wanted to throw up. But I don't say that. I quietly reply.
"Mandy has leukemia"
He says nothing. He just pulls me into his embrace. I close my eyes and breath in his sweet Cologne. Its musky and I feel calm.
Just then I hear my name.
Its Dad.
"Amanda just woke up. And Mom and Kayla just arrived"

I look at Will
"Wanna come with?"
"Yeah, sure."

When we get to Mandy's room she's seated upright and is listening to Kay talk about a new trick she taught Coco.

She looks up and smiles when she sees Will and I.
"Hey Lia, hey Will. What's up?"
"Hey Amanda" Will replies with a smile.
Mom regards me thoughtfully and I smile at her. There is so much tension in the room I could cut it. I look at my best friend and I suddenly remember when we became friends. Back in 1st grade we had a mutual hate for our teacher who gave us too mucb homework and so we caught a frog and slipped it in her bag. She had jumped out of her seat with a squeal when she had seen it.

Turns out someone had seen us put it and had anonymously reported to the teacher who had given us a time out and given us frowny stickers for the day. We hadnt really cared and we had bonded since then and became inseparable.

I didn't want to cry in front of everyone so I excused myself to go to the bathroom.

As I drowned in depths of dispair, I thought to myself.
"Its gonna be a long year".

When I get back mom and Kay are ready to go and since Mandy is asleep I decide to go with them. I hug Will and Mandy's mom goodbye.

When we pull into the driveway I quickly run upstairs to my room and go to my computer and search on acute lymphatic leukemia.

Acute lymphatic leukemia, ALL for short was a type of leukemia common to teens and kids along with bone sarcomas such as osteosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma and are treated by the best paediatric oncologists who have more experience with these sort of cancers.

On the other hand, kids and teens with adult cancers such as melanoma and thyroid cancer might benefit from doctors who specialize in treating older adults and see these types of cancer commonly.
Doctors tend to use more intense treatments for teens and kids with cancer than when dealing with adults. Children's bodies are generally better able to recover from higher doses of chemotherapy than adults bodies are. And in general, children's cancer respond better to chemo because they tend to be cancers that grow fast (most forms of chemo affect cells that are growing quickly). For some cancers, mostly childhood cancers like ALL and bone sarcomas, the most aggressive treatments used for children have been found to improve outcomes for teens and young adults, but for other cancers the results are not clear. Again, this can depend on the patients age and type of cancer.

I was getting very educated about cancer. I used to just think that cancer was just a disease which meant baldness, hopelessness and then death. I had no idea about the types of cancer and the forms of treatment.

I click on the link for types of treatment.

The main type of treatment for cancer in teens are the same as that of other groups. The choice of treatment depends solely on the type and stage(extent) of the cancer. Sometimes more than one type of treatment is used.
It is important to discuss the type of treatment and their goals and possible side effects with your doctor to make the decision that best fits your needs.
Common treatments include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and stem cell transplant.
As I read more and more about these treatment, I have hope for my best friends case. From what I had read, the best treatment for her was chemotherapy and the article I was reading has said it was easier to treat cancer in kids and teens.
"That doesn't mean kids and teens didn't die of cancer" a stupid voice in my head was telling me.
I refused to be discouraged and went on reading more helpful articles on how to treat cancer.

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So....sigh right?
Scratch that. Sad sigh right?😩
Well. Such is life, when you think you've got the hang of it....you get an unexpected twist.
For those of you who have friends, relatives, neighbors, and family members suffering from cancer...I first of all want to say, I'm sorry. But don't lose hope. Cancer can take your time, money, tears but don't lose hope. There are a lot of edge cutting cancer treatments and you have to hope one of them is for you. If in the end you lose your loved one, then one good might have come out of the death, the person is put out of his pain.
There are lots of helpful articles on the net concerning cancer. Reading a few can help you understand what you're up against.

Lastly, before I move on to the boring A/N, I want to tell you that I totally understand how you feel. About seven years ago I lost an aunt to cancer. Hers was breast cancer and even after amputating both her aureolas she still didn't make it. I was young at the time and didn't understand what had happened but I knew how devastated my Mom and her siblings were. My aunt's kids were heart broken. I know what its
Like to lose a loved one and so painfully too. There are many programs and organizations which support cancer patients and treatments and they bring so much hope to patients across the globe. You may not be able to support patients financially but raising cancer awareness on social media's is very helpful in its way.

Till next time guys.
Thanks for reading, voting and just being your awesome selves.
Please send observations, notes and corrections to me by DM or just commenting.
See you in the next chapter. Muah!!