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Chapter 27

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We went up to the floor. The door to that room was closed.

"It was there," Soda said, pointing to the door. I walked up to the nurse's station.

"Excuse me? Are we able to see the body in that room over there?" I asked. Wow that sounded awkward.

"What body?" the nurse asked.

"Well, just a little while ago, a friend of ours passed away in there."

"Oh, you mean that Steve Randle kid?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Oh, yes, he was legally dead for a little while, but he's alive now."

"Are you shitting me?" I said.

"I'm sorry, what?" she said.

"He died! I saw him right there! His heart slowed down and he stopped breathing! He's dead."

"He was for a couple minutes. A team of doctor sent his heart back into some kind of rhythm. They're going to put a pacemaker in to keep it steady."

"Why, why would they need to put that in?"

"Because his heart is not beating steadily. He's alive, I promise you. His heart just stopped for a couple minutes."

"Why?"

She sighed.

"The doctors don't know yet. They're going to see when they're in surgery."

"Ok... Thank you so much," I said.

"I can let you peak in and take a look at him, but the doctors don't want him talking or moving or interacting right now. He's very fragile right now."

"Thank you so much. I think we'll do that," I said. Soda was in a crying fit, crying into Darry's shoulder. I touched his shoulder.

"Hmm?" he said. Darry was hugging him back but let go and let Soda turn around.

"He's alive! He's alive, Soda, I swear. You'll get to see him. She's gonna let us take a look at him," I said. Darry raised one eyebrow.

"I swear Darry. She said he was legally dead because his heart stopped because there's an issue with it right now, but he's alive. Come on," I grabbed his wrist and pulled him to the door. The nurse came and opened the door. Sure enough, Steve was lying there, tubes sewn in and all, but his heart monitor was beeping and his chest was moving up and down. He was staring up at the ceiling and blinked.

"Oh my...god..." Soda backed out of the doorway. Two-Bit crowded behind us and looked in.

"Holy mother of god..."

"He's alive, he's really alive! He's living! He's breathing!" Two-Bit screamed and jumped up and down and hugged Johnny and Darry.

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing, Pony?" Soda whispered underneath all the chaos.

"Yeah, he's there," I said. Steve stiffly turned his neck and looked at us. He smiled and the nurse closed the door.

*********

He went into surgery later that night and his heart was forced to be pumped normally. The next couple days they did tests on him and they decided to call Soda, Darry, Two-Bit and I into his doctor's office.

"What is it, doc?" Soda asked. Ever since Steve died, Soda's been both elated and jumpy. He was very eager for anything now that his best friend was alive, but he was also scared of anything that came his way.

"Steve still has stage three lung cancer caused by a tumor on the lining of his right lung. And the reason his heart stopped momentarily is because the tumors have been growing and spreading throughout that general area," the doctor took some x-ray sheets out and placed them on the light wall.

"See this here," he pointed to a large clump on the edge of a lung.

"These are the tumors. They've been developing and moving around in his lung. Now that they're very powerful, they've moved to the heart. And that's extremely dangerous," he said.

"How dangerous?" Darry said.

"I'm saying if it keeps developing like this he's only got one to two months to live. Now here's what I propose to do: we go in, keep the pacemaker in, and remove the tumors, even from the lungs. Then treat with a much higher dose of chemotherapy and try to eliminate the cancer cells before it spreads to his liver or develops again."

"What if it doesn't work?"

"We removed them again and do radiation...This means he won't be going home for quite a while."

"As long as he's getting the care he needs..." Soda said.

"He can have his own room here, in the oncology section. He'll be able to relax in about two weeks... You can visit him as long as he wants."

"Okay. Thank you, doctor. Do you need our consent for anything?" Darry asked.

"No, he's been able to say yes to the procedures himself. I suggest leaving him be for a couple days more."

"Thank you," Darry stood up and shook his hand.

"Thank you," the doctor said.

"Thank you so much," Soda said.

"Take it easy."