Five Feet Apart (unofficial sequel)

Chapter 1:

Stella
I flew home from Rome with Mya and Camilla, coming down from the high of our trip. I hadn't talked to Will since we saw each other in the airport. In the time before I saw him, we didn't call or text. It hurt but I knew he was trying to protect me, and I'll always be grateful. Before I saw him, and even now, I've occasionally corresponded with Will's mother. I knew he was traveling, but he's still doing his treatments. Will wants to live. My updates from her tended to be more on Will's health, than on he himself, but that's just Will's mom. It's part of how she copes, she loves him. She loves him so much she needs to be an expert on his disease. They continue to look for new treatments for the B. Cepacia, but Will gets to choose whether he wants to start any new treatments. From what she has told me, he actually considers many of them. But he's not wasting time if failure is practically imminent, and I can't blame him. I've also continued researching B. Cepacia. If I find anything I let Will's mom know, although usually they've already tried or eliminated it. But when I got back from Rome, after seeing Will. Those blue eyes and lopsided smile, I had a newfound determination to find something. Something to increase his time and maybe, just maybe, make us steal that foot back again.
I caught a little something on the plane from Rome. Minor bronchitis, but for me that means another stay at Saint Grace. Without Poe and Will it's been hard to go back there. Julie has been on maternity leave, I wonder if she's back yet. Either way, I'll always have Barb. I got to my room where Barb has already put my med cart. After unpacking my large duffel bag, and hanging up my usual wallpaper of Abby's drawings, I organize my med cart. As I stand in front of the pill bottles and cups, I wish I could organize his too. It's kinda funny now, knowing that's how our romance got started. And now he has a piece of me, I'll always love him. After I'm settled in, I decide to do a quick albuterol treatment. I load the medicine into the nebulizer and breathe deeply as I log onto my laptop. I scroll through my email. Most of them are YouTube notifications, but one email sticks out to me. It's an actual email for me from an actual email address. I click on the email from OutwardSorrow12467@gmail.com it reads:

Dear Stella,
     Hi, my name is Hannah. I've been watching your channel for awhile now. 7 months ago, I contracted B. Cepacia. Recently though, I got to take part in the first phase of an experimental treatment at Canton Bay Memorial Hospital and Research Center. There is a doctor there named Adler Hayden. He came up with a cocktail of antibiotics and a new trial medication targeting B. Cepacia. It did well and they are doing another trial group, I though you may like to know. For me, after I contracted it, my lung function decreased by 8% in 2 months. I got into the trial 2 weeks later, and within a month the B. Cepacia stopped replicating and my lung function stopped declining. I just figured you'd like to know. Here's Dr. Hayden's email: AHaydenMD@CBMemHospital.org
                                                  Best Wishes,
                                         Hannah Thornwich
    
A successful treatment for B. Cepacia? I've been researching these trial treatments for MONTHS and have never come across this. I wonder if Will's mom has found this, or if Will would even try it. I know he wants to live his life, but the chances he has here. They seem pretty reasonable, not good I'd say, but reasonable. I know he left to protect me, and it's silly for me to hope, but maybe... just maybe, if his treatment works he'll let me be in his life. I have so many questions now. But this email, it has given me the drive I needed, a newfound determination to help Will. To try and save the boy I love, the way he saved me. And spend any time we have left together. Even if it means not touching, I just want him there again, more than anything. I send Hannah a quick reply, thanking her for the information. Then I open up google. I look up Canton Bay Hospital. They are a pretty well versed hospital in the CF community. They have one of the highest success rates for lung transplants in the country. I couldn't find much on the website about Dr. Hayden's trial. So, I searched his name. I find an article on his B. Cepacia trial. The target drug he is testing is called Amibactrista. It's supposed to weaken to bacteria in any immunocompromised patients, including those with CF. I log back into my email and draft an email to Dr. Hayden:
Dear Dr. Hayden,
My name is Stella, and I have Cystic Fibrosis. One of your patients, Hannah Thornwich, reached out to me. She told me about your trial and suggested I talk to you. I'm not here for myself, but a friend. His name is Will, and Will has B. Cepacia. If you have a spot left in the second round of your trial, please save it. Will has all but given up on trying to fight the B. Cepacia. Please give us a chance. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Stella Grant

Sent. Now I need to call Will's mom.