My parents, Connor, Toby, Mr. McAllister, and I sit in the waiting room of the closest hospital. I sit with my head in my hands and feel Mr. McAllister place a hand on my shoulder and say, “It’s okay, kiddo. Ryland is a fighter. Plus Ryland’s mother is with her right now. Everything will be fine.” My mouth can’t form words and all I could do was smile. The hospital policy states that only one person can be in the ER with the patient at a time. So Mr. and Mrs. McAllister have been alternating every 30 minutes for the past 2 hours. Finally, a doctor in a long white coat comes out to talk to us.
The six of us stand up to hear what the doctor has to say. “In our files, Ryland stated that she has been having on and off headaches for a few months,” the doctor states. “But my daughter was prescribed Mirapex by her primary care doctor for her migraines,” Mr. McAllister states. “Yes, Mr. McAllister, but I believe there’s something more. If you don’t mind, I would like to get permission from you and your wife if we could take your daughter to the radiology unit to get a CAT scan. I know she is over the age of 18, but would like to have her parents’ permission,” the doctor says.
I see Mr. McAllister bring his hand up to his mouth in shock. The room is silent for a moment before I hear what seems to be raspiness right before someone is about to cry, from Mr. McAllister, “Thank you for telling us, doctor. And yes, you have my permission. Just do whatever you can to figure out what is wrong with my daughter.” I see his eyes about to swell and I know he is holding back tears.
Another two hours pass by and I see my parents about to fall asleep and Toby and Connor have the look of pity on their faces. Ryland and her parents have become a part of our family and I know my family is genuinely concerned for Ryland. The doctor comes back to our waiting room and she doesn’t look too happy. The doctor opens her mouth and says, “I am very sorry to tell you all, but the radiologist has just given us the results of Ryland’s CAT scan and we have found a tumor in the left hemisphere of her brain.” I see the doctor take in a big gulp and say, “We have moved Ryland to the ICU. She has slipped into a coma and cannot be awaken. We are carefully monitoring her.”
Every bone, tissue, organ in my body goes numb. I no longer hear anything besides ringing. Before I know it I am sitting on the ground. I look up to find Mr. McAllister with his forearm at his forehead, leaning against a wall. I turn to Connor who has his head in his arm and Toby is covering his mouth in shock. I find my parents holding each other and see my dad get up to go reassure Mr. McAllister. Everything is in slow motion. I can’t imagine what is happening with Mrs. McAllister.
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When She Was Mine
FanfictionRyland is about to start her freshman year of college. The summer leading up to her first semester was the worst thing she ever experienced. She had her first major panic attack since she was 12. Diagnosed as clinically depressed at the age of 13, R...
