Here We Go Again

9. Cancer

Peter waited with Maisy in the small waiting room. It was all white with a cabinet, a few chairs, an examination table, and two sad souls.

Maisy clutched Peter's waist tighter and ignored the stabbing of the wooden arm in-between them. Peter drew circles on her back and rested his chin on her scarlet hair. She had been through test after test, but the doctors still couldn't figure out what was wrong.

Peter remembered driving her to the hospital only to have her wake up the second they pulled into the parking lot. He remembered her insisting she was okay and trying to 'summon her eagle powers' to prove it as he drug her inside. He smiled and pressed a soft kiss to her temple.

"We're going to find out what happened baby, I promise." He whispered, receiving a nod from Maisy. She felt so weak, they had taken a large amount of blood and so many different scans.

Just then there was a soft knock on the door. A tall man with grey and black hair came in. "Mr. Parker, Ms. Jackson." He cheered, bringing a small ray of sunshine into the dull room.

They both smiled and Maisy sent a wave as the door closed. The man studied the clipboard in his hand and took a seat on the examination table across from them. He looked up and smiled at them both. "I'm Dr. Strange, neurosurgeon I think I know what's been going on with you." He explained, extending a hand that Maisy lightly shook.

"I understand you've been having irregular head aches, abnormal fatigue, muscle spasms, and trouble thinking when it comes to everyday tasks. This has been going on for about a month now right?" He asked softly, Maisy nodded.

Peter un-wrapped his arms and they braced themselves for the news. "How bad is it??" She asked, pursing her lips. Peter shot her a worried glance when the doctor didn't respond right away.

"Ms. Jackson, it seems like you have a rare form of brain cancer." Maisy's mouth fell open and her heart shattered there and then. Peter covered his mouth and tried to hold back a sob.

Maisy wrapped her arms around herself and tried to blink away the tears. This hit her like a ton of bricks out of nowhere. "Um- Is it treatable?" She squeaked.

Dr. Strange paused and collected his words. "The kind of cancer it appears you have is nothing any doctor has ever seen before. We almost didn't pick it up on any of our scans because it is new and very hard to detect. It's a-hybrid- if you will. So as you may imagine it is going to be very hard to treat." He said, pausing for any reaction.

"Just so you are educated, it acts much like a Pineal Tumor which is located in the Pineal gland of your brain. Although unlike a Pineal Tumor it is traveling up your brain stem and into your Cerebellum which controls coordination. That explains your muscle spasms. From there it spread to your Occipital Lobe which controls vision. Though, one thing we can't quite figure out is that it's also on your Frontal Lobe. That lobe controls your ability to think and problem solve. Which explains you brain fogs but it is only attacking a very specific part of your lobe."

Peter felt like his heart was being crushed before his eyes. Maisy was his everything, what was he going to do if she left. The boy gazed over to his shaking girlfriend with tear clouded eyes.

"Treatment is a possibility. We can attempt radiation therapy, chemo therapy, and surgery but..." He trialed off, listening the options on his long fingers. "But?" Maisy croaked.

The doctor sighed. "None of them guarantee that you will get better. Because it is located in so vital and sensitive areas in your brain we need to be careful with the actions we take. Side effects could be blindness, extreme head aches, paralyzation, muteness, and the list goes on." He informed the couple.