The World Through Various Eyes

[24] Information Received (Christopher's POV)

A gentle booming of thunder rolled through outside. It was consistent and patterned, always showing up with relatively the same intervals of time between them. Bright, white light flashed, illuminating the whole space for a second.

The rest of the room's population however, did not pay any notice to this.

A short woman in her mid-thirties sat across from me. Her hands were folded on the wooden table but she unclasped them to slide a medical file in my direction. She gestured for me to pass it to Leslie's parents, and I obliged.

"If you take a look here, you can see that there has been a definite spike in her health over the course of the last couple weeks. Her vitals and the test we ran suggest a sudden recovery, but we don't know for sure. She certainly is not cured yet, but I'd reckon that Leslie is ready to begin radiation."

The nurse looked at me with a smile, but I could tell that she was trying her best not to be too happy. She obviously didn't want to give me false hopes. Management of expectations, you know?

"What does radiation treatment entail?" her dad inquired, eyeing his wife questionably.

"It is a follow up to chemo once we deem her to be in a phase where it will be most effective. When it is administered, the process itself is not invasive. I can recommend you a radiation oncologist if you would like. Our hospital has a strong panel of them."

Leslie's mom nodded slowly, processing all the information that had just been imparted to her.

"Yes, that's why we chose it. And moved towns for a faster commute."

Her husband raised an eyebrow signifying that he felt that she had shared too much.

"One question- do you have any theories as to how her health improved so significantly over such a short period of time?"

He coughed, his throat slightly hoarse.

"I mean, I'm not a nurse, but I know how atypical such an event is."

The nurse tucked a few crisp papers into Leslie's file and straightened their alignment in the folder on the desk.

"I'd love to say that I know, but I'm going to be honest- I don't. It's possible that her body responded particularly well to the chemotherapy, or maybe luck is on her side. Either way, please stay tuned in to the symptoms her body is displaying, as it could provide a direct indication as to whether this sudden change is temporary."

Collecting their things, her parents stood up and walked around to the other side of the desk to shake hands with the nurse.

We thanked the woman and filed orderly out of the room. Leslie's mom took a brochure from one of the stands on the process of radiation therapy. She was silent but it was apparent that she was satisfied with recent developments. If this was where things were headed, Leslie wasn't doing too bad, considering many other cancer victims were not quite as lucky.

Passing by me on my right were signs designating the specific areas within the hospital. It read "Cardiology Specialists", "Sleep Disorders", "Imaging Services" and "Oncology, among other categories, and had arrows next to each section title, pointing to where they could be found. The three of us had just come from the "Oncology" area, and proceeded to exit the hospital to the parking lot.

Droplets of rain fell from the sky continuously, drenching us while we searched for the Honda we had traveled in. Her mother took out an umbrella from her purse, pulling the wrap around strap off of the Velcro and pushing the umbrella open. She gestured for me to join her under it, as the rain was in the process of thoroughly soaking us. Her arm pulled me closer and hugged me tight, guiding me in the direction of the car.