Settling in Seattle

Chapter 45- Doctor Fringe

"What?" Mike's eyes widened.

"He wants us to come in and talk to him about what the results were in her routine blood test." Rachel's eyes began to secrete water, much to her frustration. Rosalie was also stirring; her face was still rested on Mike's back.

"Please tell me it's not anything serious."

"Mike, I don't know. But Doctor Fringe wouldn't tell me anything, which means it's pretty serious. Mike please just call to set an appointment. I'll take Rosalie." Rachel unclipped the seat and lifted the toddler out. Mike then took his phone from his trouser back pocket, as his wife sat herself in the car with Rosalie in her lap.

Her lips wobbled and eyes glimmered with tears, mirroring her mother. Rachel shook her head in an attempt to stop it, but there was no halting this. Rosalie began to whimper, and then cry, then sob, then scream. Rachel let tears slip a little too soon, pulling her baby closer to her chest in an attempt to calm her.

"Hey baby, it's going to be alright. I promise you, everything will be okay." Rachel swallowed the lump in her throat, rocking back and forth in the big leather seat. Rosalie had stopped screaming, but was still whining, with tears still streaming.

"All booked. The appointment is in an hour. They were expecting the call," Mike leant in through the window that Rachel opened. He was trying his utmost to keep a brave face for his girls, but it rapidly failed seeing then curled up together. Mike frowned at Rosalie's droopy eyes, and hands on her head, wondering how long they'd been like that, and why they hadn't noticed before, "Come on babe, let's go home before the slot."

"Okay, good afternoon."

"Good afternoon Doctor Fringe." Mike and Rachel sat, Rosalie drowsily sat on her dad's lap.

"Right, I don't exactly know what is going on, that's why I have called you in this urgently."

"Okay?"

"The hormone testing in her blood test is all kinds of wrong. She doesn't have the right count of any of them. I don't know what could've caused this, but now you've brought her in I think I can guess a couple of things. Her eyes look very languid, she's as pale as a ghost."

"She wasn't this morning. It's come on quite quickly. She's been sleeping a concerning amount, but we just chalked it up to exhaustion." Mike elaborated.

"Hmm, has she had any other changes, in character or personality, maybe complaining of some headaches?"

"She's been very quiet, and that's not like her. The only other thing I can think of is that she was holding her head in the car today."

"Yes, that sounds about right. Okay, I'm going to need to do a CT on little Rosalie's head, stat."

"What's wrong?"

"It could be one of many things wrong with her brain, but all symptoms are indicative of a brain tumor. Now, this means it could be any of the different types of brain tumor. You saying it's come on quickly leans it towards a cancerous growth, however the fact that she hasn't had any seizures, or been vomiting, it could be benign. If there is a tumor, we will need to immediately perform a biopsy to see what type of one it is. I can get the CT scan right away however, okay? All you need to do is go to the department, I'll send an email now, they'll see her right away given that she's an infant."

All the information hit them like a ferocious slap in the face. Mike looked over at Rachel who had tears streaming down her face, he placed his hand over hers and squeezed it, telling her it was going to be okay. They thanked the doctor and headed for the CT scan.

"Thank you for being understanding, the results are just loading, do you want to place Rosalie in this chair?" Doctor Fringe gestured to a small armchair as Mike sat her in it. Both parents weren't particularly talkative, who would be?

"What do you think the results will be?" Rachel piped up, knowing she trusted his judgement.

"Truth, I think it'll be a tumor of some sort."

"Do you know what type?"

"No, and that can be determined about what we are about to see, or a biopsy." Rachel nodded gravely, looking down at a grim faced Rosalie with tear-stained cheeks. The poor little girl didn't kick a fuss for the scan, but she began to cry because of the obvious pain she was now in.

"Let's see then..." Mike tried to force a smile.

"Right, so here's Rosalie's brain," The doctor pulled up the pictures. It displayed a normal picture, however at second glance... "I was correct. There is a small tumor in Rosalie's brain. Do you see that?" He pointed carefully at the abnormality in the picture, a small white blob,"Right, and you said she's been fatigued for weeks now?" They both nodded, "Okay, that indicates this is non-cancerous. The fact that it is small but has been there for a while means it's not ferocious. I think Rosalie has Meningioma. It is a benign brain tumor, and it doesn't seem too much trouble. They can still be dangerous, and we will need to take action because she's in pain and only two years of age."

"How is it treated?" Mike asked expectantly.

"By this scan, the meningioma doesn't look to be in a bad position to be removed, and it won't affect the spinal cords if taken away. I will have to do an MRI to check, but reasonably soon we will remove it by craniotomy, which is a four to six-hour surgery but generally the patient is awake during procedures."

"What?"

"It sounds horrifying I know, but it's all numb, and it's safer. It makes sure complications are reduced by the responsiveness. Trust me, I can get the MRI and surgery scheduled and complete within the week. I can do it all, and I'll email you the timings. It should all go smoothly. Now take Rosalie home, but on your way purchase some painkillers. The worst you can do is worry, she's in good hands."

"Thank you, Doctor Fringe." Mike stood and shook his hand, Rachel following him. She picked up Rosalie, who immediately rested her head on her mother's shoulder.

"Come on you, let's get you home and in some pyjamas." Rachel was doing her best to ignore everything that was just learnt. Pushing the nasty thoughts about brain surgery away, she took a big breath. Mike wanted to help he just didn't know how. So, grabbing her cold hand and not letting go, he spoke softly and quietly, "Mommy told you, it's going to be okay. Rosy it will." At this point, neither of them knew who he was trying to convince.