Helpless | A Modern Hamliza Story

Chapter Eleven

Chemotherapy was the hardest thing Eliza had ever done. This next cycle seemed worse than the first, as she was more nauseous and fatigued than before.

Though she missed her students, Eliza was grateful that she wasn't working right now. She'd never be able to make it through the school week. This next round took an unexpected extra toll on her body, and it hurt Alexander to watch her.

More IV needles and tears filled the next eight weeks of treatment. Eliza would get the medication infused, vomit in the car on the way home, then sleep for the rest of the day. She'd be emotional and fatigued throughout the week, clinging to the time Alexander would return home so she could cuddle up next to him and listen to him share about his day.

Eliza returned to the hospital one week after the last treatment of the second cycle to officially test to see if her treatment was working. Both Eliza and Alexander were hoping for the best news, though they were preparing for the worst. All they could hope was that the treatment was working better than planned and that one or two more cycles would be sufficient to kill all of her cancerous cells.

"All right, Eliza," Nurse Amy said, slipping on her gloves. "I'm going to take a blood sample and then send you off to your MRI." She picked up the needle and stuck it in quickly, noticing how Eliza took it compared to the very first time she tried sticking the IV in. "You've become a rockstar at taking these," she complimented, trying to stay positive. She knew just how nervous the couple was about this appointment.

Eliza gave a nervous smile, unable to speak much today. She was too nervous about the result to carry a conversation. Instead she held Alexander's hand, keeping hold of it so tightly that her knuckles were turning white. It was a nervous habit of hers that she's done since he met her.

Finally, the draw was finished, and Amy was escorting Eliza and Alexander to another part of the hospital where she'd get her MRI completed.

"You'll get a call by Wednesday or Thursday with the results of both tests, and then if we need to change things up we'll go from there," Amy explained. "Good luck, Eliza. You've got a whole team of oncology nurses cheering for you on our floor."

She smiled before heading out, knowing it would be a few weeks before she saw Eliza.

The MRI went smoothly. Now was the waiting game.

...

Wednesday rolled around, and Eliza sat next to her phone all day. She kept the TV volume down and turned her ringer up to make sure that she couldn't miss it.

She was antsy all day. She tried taking a walk around the neighborhood now that it was June and warm, or going out to their backyard to tend to their garden, but nothing was working. She couldn't even read a book without getting distracted, which was odd considering she could read for hours on end without a care in the world. But today was the exception.

Eliza found her comfort in texting her husband at work. Most husbands would probably be annoyed at her for constantly texting them throughout work, but Alexander found it endearing. She trusted him completely during one of the scariest moments of her life—waiting to hear back if her chemotherapy was working.

To be fair, Alexander was just as distracted throughout the day. He couldn't stop worrying that the treatment was failing and that they'd be back at the beginning. His morning meetings were supposed to be informational, but he didn't retain a single thing from any of those meetings. Thankfully, he warned his boss, who seemed to mostly understand that his mind wouldn't fully be on his work today.

Still waiting... -E

Didn't they say it could be Thursday as well? Besides, it's probably lunch for them. -A