Love Knows No Bounds

Chapter One

My eyes keep drifting to the clock on the wall. 9:34 AM. My appointment was scheduled for 9:15 but here we are still waiting in the doctor's office. Mom keeps glancing at her watch as if it would make the time pass faster. It won't but I can't tell her that. Instead, I try to think of anything but what the doctor was going to tell us.

This is the seventh doctor we've been to in three months. The pain started to creep up on me while I was practicing colorguard. I told myself I was pushing myself too hard. It's competition season after all. But, then it started to get worse. I started limping then I couldn't walk at all. The doctor told me I sprained my knee so he gave me crutches and orders not to use it for the next couple weeks. That didn't help anything.

We then went to the second doctor who said I was just growing. Mom believed him at first and made me start using my knee again. When I cried telling her the pain was unbearable, she told me it was all in my head.

Then my coach noticed a lump on the side of my knee when I was practicing. She told my mother who then started to worry about me. However, she didn't make an appointment until I started losing weight and had fevers at night. She scheduled another appointment and told me to use the crutches again because at this point I can barely walk without crying.

"Kailey Ryans." The nurse calls my name and I glance over at my mom trying to decode if she was as worried as I was. She seemed calm so I tried to feel the same.

The nurse takes my vitals and leaves us in the room as we wait for the doctor to come tell us what the MRI said. The doctor comes into the room and I fight the panic rising inside of me. He shakes my hand and my mother's before examining my knee.

"Despite the size of the mass, I cannot give you a diagnosis."

"But there's something wrong with my knee." I tell him and he nods sadly. I didn't understand because if there was something wrong with me, shouldn't there be a diagnosis and a way to fix it?

"What do you suggest we do next?" My mom asks as she glances at her watch again.

"I would suggest you go to St. Jude." He tells us and I felt fear grip my heart. St. Jude was known for their cancer research. We've all seen the commercials on the TV. I again, glance at my mother and she shows no signs of being worried. "They are your best hope." He hands us a business card and a manila envelope with my scans in it.

"When should we go?" My mom slips the envelope in her bag.

"I suggest you go to the ER today."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I slide into the passenger seat after putting my crutches in the back. Mom doesn't say anything as she starts the car. She had work in about an hour and I needed to go back to school. But what if the doctor was right, what if St. Jude was my only hope and we were waiting to go see them?

"Mom?" She glances over at me as we get on the highway. "Are we going to St. Jude?"

"We'll see how you're feeling tonight." In other words, her work is more important right now. "I'll drop you off at school, but come home afterwards. Don't go to practice."

"But we have a competition this weekend." I plead. Despite the fact that I can barely walk, I still keep performing. I was one of the only people who knew the solo part for our show this year. I needed to be there for the competition or we weren't going to go to nationals this year.