Saline solution

Jason's Admission

"Mom, you have to tell me where we're going." Jason whined. He hated when his mom, Sarah, was quiet. It was unnatural. "Like I said, just to the doctor to run some tests. They said they have some concerns about the nausea you've been complaining about." Jason scoffed at that. "I got that bad case of Covid last month, it's probably just lingering." Sarah eyed him concernedly. "You fainted last week, Jase, and you can barely stand upright anymore without feeling sick. That's not normal. It's always good to check."  Jason couldn't argue with that. He'd felt exhausted for months. "Lucky I was never the sporty type," he thought to himself. How could he be, a quiet kid on the sports team? A trans kid on the sports team? At his school? Never. That place was a cesspool of bigotry. So, Jason pursued his other interests. Mathematics and chess, he laughed at what a stereotypical nerd he was, minus the glasses. He changes the subject. "Mom, How far are we?" Jason inquired.  "Still two more hours, hun. Maybe take a nap?" She suggested. Jason nodded. He closed his eyes, for once grateful for the constant fatigue as he dozed off instantly. 

Jason woke up in a small, white room. A hospital room. "Great..." he muttered. Jason hated hospitals. It was an irrational phobia to him, but a fear nonetheless. He'd of course never mentioned this to his mom. Jason didn't need to stress her any more than he suspected he already did. Jason had no friends at school and was frequently ostracized, which worried his mother, who seemed to just be a giant ball of anxiety, since his dad left. Jason stood up, examining the eerily quiet room. He cautiously walked out, peering out into a hallway of endless rooms. It seemed unreal. Jason wondered where his mother was. Stepping forward hesitantly, he began to wander the halls, he could hear faint music as 'don't dream it's over' played from a speaker further down the hallway. Suddenly, a woman in crimson red scrubs was speed walking towards him, "You need to get back to your room..." she croaked, though Jason didn't quite know how, because the woman didn't have a face.

Jason ran down the hallway, while the screeching nurse waved her now crooked and clawed hands in his direction as she pursued him. Jason bolted instinctively, cussing under his breath. He panted, hating his body in that moment as his heart banged around in his chest, and his lungs stung with pain. Jason then ran straight into something. He cough and wheezed, dazed but not injured. Jason gazed forward, Catching a single, cornflower blue eye. He spluttered. "R—" he collapsed, finally waking up.

Sarah shrieked "WHAT IS IT!" and almost swerved as Jason shot awake, gasping for air. "N—nothing mom... just a nightmare!" Jason soon composes himself, so he doesn't rattle his poor mother further. Sarah was used to Jason having nightmares, so she didn't think much of it. Jason yawned thought about how he inherited a lot of his anxious behaviors from his mom. He then remembered where they're going. "How long until we're there now?" Sarah smiles softly. "Just another 15 minutes, hun." Jason sighed, dreading the inevitable trip even more after the most recent scare. But he wouldn't complain, they'd already driven too far to go back, now. He knew his mother would fold if he asked, but he couldn't bear to keep her worrying about him. So he'd go do the tests, prove to his mom that there really was nothing wrong, and go home to his upcoming chess tournament. Jason's thoughts drifted to the person he'd met in his dreams, committing the bright blue eye to memory. He wondered who they were, and why they were the only one other than himself who actually possessed facial features. He shuddered, thing back to the gnarly nurse chasing him down the seemingly endless hallways and rooms. "Jase?" His moms voice snapped him out of his train of thought. "We're here, hon." Jason steeled himself, getting out of the car.

The hospital was different than his dream. light lavender walls, with a waiting room that had toys in the corner. Jason was happy to barely be young enough to still go into the paediatric side of the hospital, it calmed his nerves a little. But he was seventeen, so the feeling was going to fade soon, as he transitioned into the adult medical system. Jason took a seat next to his mom in the waiting room after she spoke to the receptionist, fidgeting with her hands nervously. he despised the fact that he worried her, she was so fragile. it got so much worse after his dad left. Jason knew why his father abandoned them, because he had heard them arguing so much when he was little, "She's not normal!" he'd shout about Jason, unaware that the walls were paper thin. things went from ten to a hundred when Jason came out at fourteen. That's when things got physical between Jason and his dad. and then, after two and a half more years of that, he just up and left in the middle of the night. the last six months, Jason had been furious with his father for tormenting them, just to leave. But he eventually realized it was probably for the better. No more late nights considering detransitioning just to appease the monster inside his house. but whatever he thought didn't matter, he was gone now. "Jason Beck?" a voice called out. "Yes, were here." Sarah smiled nervously. And so they went in.

The doctor's office smelt of hand sanitizer and saline. The doctor smiled at Jason and his mother. She was unusually relaxed, with shoulder length ash blonde hair, a longer version of his own, and looked to be in her mid forties. "Nice to see you again, Misses Beck. So, Jason I'm doctor Mills. You've been nauseous and had a fainting spell, all after catching covid, correct?" Jason nodded. "That's correct. and, sometimes i feel as if my heart is running a mile a minute, even from doing nothing all day." The doctor hummed, taking in the information. "I'd like to run a few tests." Jason's heart sunk, and so did his mothers expression. "Just a tilt table test and bloods." Jason paused, squeezing his mothers hand to reassure her. "Tilt table?" she questioned. "Yes, it's a table that tilts back and forward with Jason strapped in, and if his symptoms worsen, we'll be likely to know what it is. but first we'll do bloods." doing the blood test was easy, because Jason actually didn't mind needles. His tolerance for them was so high in fact, He had a tattoo of the sun on his shoulder. It was just hospitals he disliked. Dr mills collects the blood, then leads Jason and his mom to the room where they keep the tilt table. She straps Jason in, moving to the screens that monitor his vitals. "Alright Jason, starting now." The machine begins to tilt back and forth, slowly increasing pace. Jason groans, eventually becoming incredibly tired and dizzy. He goes to yell out, but before he can, he blacks out. Jason wakes up a moment later, still on the table, but it isn't moving anymore. He sits up slowly, looking at his mom, who is speaking frantically. Dr Mills taps his shoulder, snapping him back to reality. "Are you okay, Jason? You fainted." He nods. "I'm alright, doc." Jason hugged his mother, reassuring her that he really was okay. He stood up, walking back to the doctor's office. He seemed to be much more out of breath than usual. They all sat down, Dr Mills expression empathetic. "Jason, I'm afraid to tell you, you have severe POTS, or Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. It can cause symptoms like dizziness, rapid heart rate, fatigue, and fainting when standing up, due to insufficient blood flow back to the heart. It's often triggered by viral infections, like that strain of covid you had. Sarah sighed shakily. "Is there a cure?" Dr Mills smiled softly. "There isn't, but there are treatments, and it is not fatal. The recommendation for a case as severe as your sons, is a few months of inpatient care and therapy, to adjust fully to his condition and do some rehabilitation." Jason froze. "Inpatient? I um— I'd miss school!" Dr Mills smiles. "We have an excellent education program in our pediatric ward, you have no need to worry." Jason's mother had her own concerns. "Does medical insurance cover it?" Dr Mills nodded, and Sarah sighs. "Jase, this sounds like a good thing. I think you should do it." Jason looked at her worriedly. "Will you be alright?" He couldn't help but ask. "I'll be fine, now I'll go home and pack a suitcase for you, alright hun?" Jason sighed. "Alright." Dr Mills stood up. "Okay, Jason, shall we go and have a tour of the ward?" Jason nodded, despite his anxiety. His mother gave him a long hug goodbye and left, and they headed out towards the pediatric ward.

"This is the nurses station, and this is the dining and entertainment area." Dr Mills nodded towards the areas, introducing nurses and other staff to Jason. She rattles on, "during your stay, we are going to adjust your diet and do monthly saline treatments." Jason nods along as Mills speaks. "And this," she drawls out as they round a corner. "Is your room, with your own bathroom!" Jason sighs, glad to have that, at least. "It's getting late now, Jason, why don't you go settle in, and I'll bring your things to your door tonight when your mother arrives." Jason nodded, still feeling exhausted from the test. He heads into his room, easily settling down for the night.