Forever and Always

Chapter 25 -Beautiful Tragic

The ambulance reached the hospital within five minutes. I hastily parked my car and grabbed Owen from the back seat. 

"Are you this girl's mother?" One doctor in a white coat asked me. How could he be so calm? I asked myself. 

"Yes, her name is Kayla. Is she alright?" I wanted answers now.

"We are going to run some scans to make sure there is no internal bleeding or cracked bones, but we need you to authorize these procedures before we can start." The doctor handed me a clipboard with many forms attached. I signed each paper so quickly I barely got to read what it was for. All I wanted was for Kayla to get treatment as quickly as possible. 

"Thank you, Ms. Swift. You and your son will have to wait here while the tests are performed. We will notify you as soon as they are finished and she is in stable condition." I shook the doctor's hand. He hurried off with my daughter into the testing room. We waited, and waited, and waited. Owen fell asleep on my lap. I was about to fall asleep myself when a doctor came out to get me. I followed her down the long, bright white hallway. 

"You can stay in here with your daughter while you wait for the full test results." I nodded as the woman slowly opened the door. Kayla lay in the bed and had an insane amount of machines hooked up to her. 

"Can you tell me anything?" I pleaded before the nurse left.

"I am supposed to wait until we have the full results in. I am truly sorry. I wish I could tell you something. If you have any concerns or questions don't hesitate to give us a ring." I was silent for quite some time. How could I not be concerned? I have so many questions I want answered. I sat next to Kayla's bed and held her hand. I couldn't even tell if she was sleeping or unconscious. Owen was confused and sleepy. It was way past his bed time. I decided now was time to call my parents. 

"Taylor, are you all right? Why are you calling at this ungodly hour?" I felt bad for waking my mom and tried to apologize. Instead I broke down crying. 

"Taylor, are you there?" 

"I'm here mom." I sniffled trying to regain control over myself. "We are at the hospital."

"Are you guys okay? Do I need to come down there?" My mom was asking rapid fire questions. 

"Kayla had a terrible fall off the beam tonight and was knocked unconscious. The doctor's are running all sorts of tests and we are waiting for the results." I heard my mom gasp on the other end of the line. 

"I'll be down there as soon as I can. Do you need me to bring anything?" It's amazing how I don't even have to ask my mom to come, she just does. 

"Could you please bring some blankets and sweatshirts. The hospital is a bit cold. Some snacks would be nice too."

"Whatever you need, I hope Kayla will be alright."

"Me too."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"May I enter?" A woman called from the hallway. 

"Yeah." I was still asleep on the couch cuddled up with my son. My mom was sleeping in a chair across the room. I sat up and checked my phone as the nurse entered. The screen read six a.m. Dang these nurses come early. 

"I'm sorry to wake you, I just need to check on Kayla." I watched as the nurse checked the screens and re-filled the IV. "How did she do last night?" The nurse asked. 

"I'm not sure. I think she was okay. She didn't wake up or anything." I explained. As soon as I said that Kayla woke up. 

"How are you feeling today Kayla?" The nurse asked her. She barely had time to reply before she started vomiting. The nurse took great care of her. When Kayla calmed down she finished answering the nurses questions and fell back asleep. I observed the nurse writing a few notes on Kayla's chart before she left. 

"Ms. Swift, the doctor will be in within the hour to discuss Kayla's test results. I should think that she will be fully awake by then." With that, she left us alone again.

Half an hour later the doctor and his assistant walked in. "Good morning Taylor, Owen and Mrs. Swift. Have you had anything to eat this morning.?" I nodded. "I know you are eager to hear the results of Kayla's test. I think it would be important if she was awake now." I went over to Kayla's bed and gently shook her awake. She had a difficult time sitting up. "So," the doctor began with his hands folded across his lap. He glanced down at his notes before continuing. "Kayla the good news is that the scans reveal no internal bleeding." He paused again. "You have suffered a minor concussion so you won't be able to do gymnastics for a few months." I let out a huge sigh of relief. "Unfortunately this is not our biggest problem. The MRI scan we took to look for internal bleeding found something else. We weren't looking for this but we are glad we found. Do you know what a tumor is Kayla?" The doctor paused to check her comprehension. She shook her head no. "It's when your cells grow super fast and form something that isn't supposed to be in your body. You have one in your brain. It is called diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, DIPG for short. This type of tumor is high grade and cancerous. " I felt as if all of the air in my lungs had just been sucked out. My daughter has cancer. I could see Kayla was lost. Her eyes were wide and frightened. I grabbed her hand and squeezed it for reassurance.The doctor continued to talk, mostly for me and my mom. "The treatment options are slim, which we can talk about later. The survival rate is not high. I am so sorry. I will give you guys some time to process. I understand that this is a lot of information to take in. I brought a few pamphlets for you to look at if you would like." He handed them to me. I could barely look up. As soon as the door closed the tears came flowing down. I hugged my mom and my son and my beautiful little girl. I couldn't believe this was happening to us, to her. How do I explain to my sweet six year old daughter that she has a deadly disease growing in her  brain and that she may not live much longer? It is heart breaking. 

"Mom, how could this happen to her?" I practically screamed. "This isn't fair!"

"Let's take a walk. Kayla needs some rest." I picked Owen up and carried him out into the courtyard. The three of us sat on a bench and watched the world go by. The cool December air helped clear my head. Everything that had seemed so important before suddenly disappeared from my mind. I remember my visits to hospitals to see children with terminal cancer. I never imagined my daughter would become one of those kids.