Moments In Time

Chapter 1

Devin Monroe was not what you'd call normal. She came from wealth but her parents taught her not to flaunt what they had and that working with charity groups that she believed in was some of the best use of her resources and time. Her parents had started out below the poverty level and worked their asses to the bone to get to the point they had. She still felt the loss of her parents, especially since she was an only child. She continued on with the charity work they had gotten in to and tried to make the world a better place.

She had a wild side, too, although her parents generally tried to look the other way. They did their best to accept her as she went through various phases while growing up and even after she hit 18. She was a chameleon, though, and knew how to dress to fit in with just about everyone. She liked wearing holy jeans, tanks, band t-shirts, and bondage pants. She felt just as at home with the goth kids as she did high-flying executives. Devin never had what she would call "close" friends but she was quite the social butterfly and loved helping people.

She was trying to continue on with her life but family was a huge part of all she knew. Even though it was her parents and her, they instilled the importance of family. They did alot of things together. Stuff she never thought her parents would do. They took her sky-diving, scuba diving, surfing, snow boarding, mountain climbing. Of course they also watched movies, played board and card games together, went mountain biking, and other fun activities together as a family. It was first thing in the morning and after she came home from "work" that she really missed her parents the most.

One warm March day she began to feel sick. She took an extra dose of her normal vitamins, drank more water & orange juice, and washed her hands more frequently in an attempt to fight off whatever was bugging her. A few weeks had passed and her symptoms were getting worse. She made an appointment with her doctor but he blew off her symptoms stating that she was just being paranoid, especially after losing both her parents when they were so young. Having faith in her medical team, she did everything he suggested but she still saw no relief.

She noticed she began to bruise very easily. She got small infections like sinus infections a whole lot too and it bothered her greatly. Her lymph nodes seemed to be larger than usual so she started taking notes on her symptoms to show the next doctor she saw. The frequent urination, night sweats, nose bleeds for no reason, the fatigue, fever then chills, and unexplained nausea were bad enough but then she noticed she was loosing weight. She saw her doctor again and showed him her list of symptoms and when she had them. Once more he just blew her off citing she was simply fatigued from work. She scowled at him knowing there was much more going on. He told her to take a little time off, or cut down her duties at work. Leaving his office she was very angry!

By the beginning of June she knew something was seriously wrong. She made an appointment with another doctor to have several tests run. Before she made her appointment, her nose began bleeding and wouldn't stop. She became weak and nearly passed out. She started having chest pains, some shortness of her breath, and her heart began racing. Grabbing her phone she dialed 911. A few short minutes later she heard the sirens pulling up to her house. She was barely responsive but she finally told them her current symptoms. They put her on the stretcher and rushed her to Baylor Medical Center.

She briefly lost consciousness on the 45 minute ride to the hospital. She gained her consciousness back before they arrived, however. As much as she wanted to know what was going on with her body, having all the blood tests, MRI, CaT scan, x-rays, and other tests done was very scary. She wished now more than ever that she had someone here with her while she went through all the testing. She was thankful that this doctor did a thorough physical examination as well as actually listening to her as she described her symptoms.

It would be a few weeks before the blood tests would be back but he promised to call her as soon as they were in. He prescribed a strong anti-biotic for the infection she had, as well as a few others for her other symptoms. He instructed her to stay at home and get some rest until the rest of her tests came back. She hated it but agreed knowing that at the very least he was actually listening to her instead of just blowing her off like a common hypochondriac. She didn't know her whole world was about to be turned upside down.

What her doctor told her was the last thing she expected. It was like God had a grudge against her family. First he took her father, then 4 years he took her mother, then 5 years later he's going to take her. She spent a full 2 weeks in her house, which was technically her parents house, crying, being angry, and trying to make deals with God.

"Now Miss Monroe, we can aggressively treat it but the odds are against you. We just didn't catch it in time." He told her

"So a few treatments of radiation then pain pills to keep me comfortable?" She questioned

"That's about it, I'm sorry. I want you in here tomorrow for the first round of radiation. We'll do one round every week for the following 3 weeks. After that, we'll you'll either see symptom relief or it'll stall it for a while." The doctor told her

"I'll see you around 9am, then." She stated solemnly

"I'll see you then Miss Monroe." He replied before hanging up

She cried most of the night until she fell asleep. This was not a curveball she was expecting. She was quite certain by now that God hated her family. Well, being alone made her unhappy. Now she won't have that problem for much longer. Still, she wasn't quite ready to die. There was so much to see, so much to do, to experience! There was so much she still wanted to do. Would she get to do them all? Would she try to do them all? Sighing as a fresh wave of tears over took her, she abandoned these thoughts and just let the tears flow.

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