Still

Chapter 6

"I don't know... I just... I found him and I thought he was just sleeping and then like 20 minutes later I checked on him and he hadn't moved or woken up." I told the nurse.

"Did he seem okay the night before? Any complaining of chest pains, headaches, drowsiness?" The petite brunette nurse asked, clipboard in hand.

"He was complaint of a headache but he gets migraines so I didn't think much of it."

"Ok... I'm sorry, I didn't catch it, how are you related to him?" The nurse smiled.

"I'm his fiancée, our wedding is in 9 days."

"Well, congratulations on the engagement. We have him in getting an MRI now to see if he has a fluctuation in brain activity. As of now, he doesn't show signs of a coma, but what we call 'a deep out,' which just means he passed out and his heart rate dropped dramatically. His heart rate has been stabilized, but he is still in a state of sleep."

"But his heart is fine?"

"For now, yes. Certain people naturally have a much slower heart rate in their sleep, slower than average, which is completely normal, however, passing out from something, whatever the cause may be, is extremely dangerous for these people as it can cause their heart rate to slow down tremendously, possibly leading to complete heart failure."

"So why's he getting an MRI?"

"We can't guarantee what caused him to pass out, in fact we can't guarantee he isn't in a coma until we look at his brain activity. He should be done within the next hour." The nurse handed me a clipboard. "I'll have you fill out some paperwork while you're waiting. Once the scans are available, I'll bring you up, the Doctor Mallen will explain the scans."

I nodded.

It was only about ten minutes later when the nurse came back.

"The scans are ready, would you like to come up and see?"

"Did they find anything?" I asked.

"I haven't heard, the scans just became available."

I was taken into a large room with two entrances. One door led to a room with a giant machine, the MRI. A glass wall separated the two rooms. I was taken to the room behind the glass wall where two doctors pointed at a computer screen.

"Avia Butler?" A tall bald man stuck out his hand. "Doctor Mallen." He shook my hand.

"Is he ok?" I asked, ignoring his introduction.

Doctor Mallen looked at the other doctor  next to the computer. "He is not in a coma. His brain activity is normal."

"Then why did he pass out?"

Dr. Mallen led me to the screen and pointed at an image of what I assumed was Cesar's brain.

"This right here is his cerebellum." He moved the computer cursor and hovered it over the cerebellum.

"Ok..."

"This right here..." He proceeded to point to a small area just next to the cerebellum. "This is a cerebellar astrocytoma."

"And..." I said, wanting him to get the point faster.

"A cerebellar astrocytoma is a type of brain tumor. They cause extreme headaches and severe lethargy, or exhaustion, among other symptoms. I'm afraid Cesar hasn't been suffering from migraines, but has been experiencing the symptoms of this tumor. It is slow growing, there is a possibility it started developing when he was as young as four. Now, I know this seems like the worst news to you, but there is some good news that goes along. A cerebellar astrocytoma is the least aggressive of all brain tumors. They grow extremely slowly, they rarely move to other parts of the body other than the brain. Brain tumors are classified by grades. Grade 4 being a most aggressive and fatal tumor, grade 1 being a slow growing tumor, made of cells that closely mimic normal brain cells. Cesar's tumor appears to be a grade 2."

I stared at the small mass. I didn't talk. I didn't move. I didn't blink. Just stared.

"I'm so sorry, Miss Butler. I'll give you a minute alone." He and the other neurologist began to exit.

"Wait." I finally spoke. "What does a grade 2 tumor mean?"

"Well, as I'm sure you're aware, tumors are composed of fast growing cells that multiply and clump together, forming a tumor. The cells that compose a grade two tumor grow relatively slowly, but show signs of progression, meaning they appear to be multiplying a bit faster than stage one. At this point, we see the cancer cells begin to inhabit the healthy tissue of neighboring areas of the brain. Believe it or not, we have caught the tumor in its early phases. While it has been growing over the course of years, it is practically invisible to see or detect at stage one. A cerebellar astrocytoma can be surgically removed, but there becomes a higher risk of the tumor returning at a higher grade in the future. Or, the tumor can be minimized and destroyed through chemotherapy, which has a long list of symptoms that can stay with the patient for life."

"Can you..." I looked through the glass window at my fiancé in a small tube, the MRI. "Can you get him out of there now?" I asked as a tear slid down my face.

"We still have to do some remaining scans-"

"Get him out!" I started to sob. "Just... Just get him out." I fell to my knees, my hands pressed on my face as tears spilled out.

"Avia I'm so sorry that this is the news given to you. I'm going to save these scans into the computer, and then we'll take Cesar to the cancer ward."

Hearing them say the word cancer made my heart drop even more.

"That is, if you choose to admit him to the hospital." Dr. Mallen bent down next to me.

"Yes, admit him. Do everything and anything. I don't care as long as he's being cared for."

"We will do everything we can to help you and him get through this." Dr. Mallen helped me to my feet. "We aren't going to let this tumor progress."

"Thank you." I whispered.

My mind was flooded with millions of thoughts as Cesar was wheeled through the halls.

I heard millions of words. I heard millions of sentences and stories. I saw millions of images in my mind. But the only word I seemed to focus on:

Cancer.