Chapter Three
After the procedure, Camille and Dr. Grant left the room and Wendy took her time getting dressed. She was always so afraid that she would get the dreaded headache afterward, so she took extra care to move slowly. Her back felt a little uncomfortable, but she had to admit that the worst part of having the procedure done was all of the worrying about it beforehand.
* * * * * * * * * *
"It's okay, Wendy. I'll be here waiting for you after you're finished. I promise it won't take very long. Dr. Grant is a genius, and he is very gentle," Evelyn reassured, hugging Wendy tightly. "I've had this done almost a million times, and I can promise you that it is not as bad as you're afraid it will be," she soothed, wiping the tears from Wendy's face.
"I can't do it! I'm not as strong as you are," Wendy sobbed to her friend.
"Yes you are. Don't you ever say that you aren't. If you let your fear know how vulnerable you feel, it will take over. You need to be in control and let it know who's boss. You need to believe that you are going to win!"
Evelyn held Wendy's face tightly in her hands, forcing her to look into her eyes. "You are a strong person and capable of beating this. I never want to hear you say you're not! Promise me right now that you will be strong, Wendy."
Wendy squeezed her eyes shut, letting the tears spill over. She still could not believe that this was happening to her. What had she ever done to deserve this kind of punishment?
Life had been so simple just a few short months ago. Everything was good and as it was supposed to be. Often times she found herself praying that this was all a dream, some horrible nightmare that she would wake up from. But she was forced to face her new reality every morning when she opened her eyes. She hated seeing the tortured looks on her family's faces. They were all hurting so badly, and she felt responsible. Of course, she knew in her heart that it wasn't really her fault, but during her weaker moments she always wondered why it was her that had gotten sick.
She couldn't help but remember all of the times that she had bullied her younger brothers, or argued with her best friend. Maybe it was the time that she cheated on her math test, or when she disobeyed her father when he said no electronics for a week and took away her phone and laptop? He had forgotten that Wendy owned a tablet that was safely tucked away in her room. Even though she knew it was wrong, she had spent the better part of that week hiding out with the forbidden electronic. But that was all normal teenage stuff, right? Not that it excused her bad behavior.
Wendy looked at Evelyn through blurry eyes. Now THAT girl was tough. Evelyn had overcome so much in her short life. Her father had walked out on her and her mother when Evelyn was just a baby, and her mom had a debilitating alcohol addiction. Evelyn had gotten sick and was a patient at the children's hospital for over two years now. She spent several weeks at a time receiving treatments there, hoping to go into remission. All of the other patients had families visit often, showing their undying love and support. All of the patients, that is, except for Evelyn.
Whenever Evelyn came to the hospital for treatment, her mother would get her checked in and then leave right away. She never stayed to hold Evelyn's hand during the scary moments, or to tuck her into bed at night. She was never there when the doctors came to check Evelyn's progress, or to reassure her on days when all felt hopeless. She would just drop off her only child and then wouldn't show up again until after the treatments were over, usually several weeks later. Wendy couldn't understand how a mother could do that to her own child.
Evelyn had learned to take care of herself early on and had developed a tough exterior, but Wendy knew that she had to be hurting. Somewhere inside of her was a lonely and sick little girl who desperately needed her mom. It was a mystery to Wendy how, after everything Evelyn had been through, she was capable of mothering Wendy the way she did. Who had shown Evelyn how to love and nurture? Wendy couldn't help but wish for better things for her friend. If there was one person that did not deserve all of this crap, it was Evelyn.
But for all of the love that Evelyn lacked at home, she made up for at the hospital. Everyone there adored Evelyn! From the doctors to the nurses, the patients, and even the patients families had all developed a very strong fondness for the brave blonde girl. She had won over their hearts a long time ago, and everyone treated her like family. There was nothing they wouldn't - and hadn't - done for her.
Wendy remembered the birthday party the nurses had thrown for Evelyn back when Wendy was first admitted. It was a very big deal! They had hung balloons everywhere and had made decorations and snacks. They'd wanted to dress up the fourth floor with flowers because everyone knew how much Evelyn loved tiger lilies, but some of the patients had compromised immune systems so flowers were prohibited. However, Evelyn didn't let that get her down. She loved the attention and all of the little gifts she'd received. Some of the kids had spent days making her presents in the arts and crafts room, while others managed to get their parents to let them pick out a little something in the gift shop. Evelyn especially loved the giant cookie cake one of the doctors had brought in. She later told Wendy it was the only birthday party she'd ever had, and she was floating on cloud nine for several days afterward.
It was good to see her friend so happy! She was always doing so much for everyone else; it was nice to be able to do something for her for a change. Evelyn was notorious for cracking jokes and lifting everyone's spirits. She'd always had a smile on her face and was ready to help anyone who needed it. Wendy truly felt blessed Evelyn considered her to be her best friend. In all the world, Wendy could not imagine a better friend than Evelyn.
"I promise, Evelyn. I'll be strong," Wendy sniffled.
"Good girl. Now, I want you to go see Dr. Grant and let him do what he needs to do to make you better. When you go into that procedure, you think about a place where you have been before that makes you feel happy. Some place where you have pleasant memories and you feel safe and free. The place where you do not have a care in the world. And you just keep imagining yourself in that place, and DO NOT leave it. You stay there until Dr. Grant is done doing what he needs to do, and only then can you leave that place. Do you understand, Wendy? Find your "happy place" and hang on tight to it. You are going to need to go there from time to time. Are you listening to me? You've got this!"
Wendy shook her head yes, but could not answer. She tried to compose herself because she knew that her parents would be there any minute and she did not want them to see her that way. As hard as it was, Wendy tried to stay strong for her family. She was afraid that if they knew how scared she was...
Oh, she just couldn't think about that! She had already hurt them so much. If they knew that she worried about dying, it would kill them. And she could not take seeing them in any more pain. The thought was unbearable.
Wendy took a shaky breath and straightened herself up.
"That's my girl," Evelyn murmured, hugging her friend tightly and then brushing her hair back behind her ears with her fingers.
"You're going to get through this, and you're going to come back here and tell me that it wasn't so bad after all. And then we are going to have a lunch date, and watch 'Clueless' in the lounge. And maybe we can get that nursing technician Linda to snag us some extra ice creams. Come on, it will be fun, you'll see," Evelyn smiled warmly. "Now, let's dry your eyes and wait for your parents," she said, handing Wendy a tissue.
* * * * * * * * * *
And Evelyn was right. The procedure was scary, but only because it was unknown. And the pain was not nearly as horrific as Wendy had feared. Not that she would ever volunteer to have it done, but she could certainly tolerate it every once in a while.
After Wendy finished dressing, she left the procedure area to find her parents. She had asked the doctor to have her mom and dad wait for her in the waiting room. Just as she was about to turn the corner, she overheard Dr. Grant talking and stopped in her tracks, listening quietly.
"Her lab work indicates her blood levels are not where we would like to see them."
"What does that mean, Doctor?" Wendy's mom asked.
"Well, it means we will continue with the treatment as is for a little while longer and not make any changes at this time. We will monitor her blood counts and then adjust medications as needed. I promise you Mrs. Darling, we will do everything we can to help Wendy go into remission," Dr. Grant said, putting his hand on her shoulder reassuringly.
"Is this bad news, then...?" Wendy's dad questioned.
"No, not bad news," he paused, "But not exactly what we were hoping for either at this point. Her counts have not changed for the worse - they just - haven't changed. I was hoping they would be leaning a little more in a positive direction by now, but sometimes blood cells can be stubborn. We are working on them, though, and they will get there," he smiled, attempting to raise their spirits. "The best thing we can do - and really the only thing we can do - is remain positive. I firmly believe a healthy attitude can make all the difference," he added. "We want Wendy to feel as positive and as strong as she can so she can fight this disease to the best of her ability."
"Of course, we'll do whatever we need to, Doctor," Mrs. Darling said, nodding in agreement.
Wendy took a deep breath and forced herself to turn the corner.
"There she is," her dad boomed with a big smile, attempting to cover up the fact that the news they'd just received wasn't exactly what they were hoping for.
They walked over to greet her and gave her a hug.
"She did amazing, as always," Dr. Grant praised. "She's a very brave girl, your daughter."
"That's what we always say," Mr. Darling smiled.
"She is amazing," her mom said, gently rubbing her upper back.
"I'm ready to go now, do you guys mind?" Wendy asked politely, not at all interested in exchanging pleasantries.
"Of course we can, honey," responded Wendy's dad. "Thank you again Doctor, for all you do," he said, shaking hands with Dr. Grant.
"My pleasure," he answered with a smile. "Wendy, you keep doing what your doing. Take care of yourself and don't overdo it," Dr. Grant suggested with a wink.
Wendy smiled slightly and said goodbye.
Wendy and her parents made their way through the special procedures area on the fourth floor and into the beautifully decorated lobby.
"Miss Baby Girl," Camille crooned. "You take good care and we will see you back here soon," she said, engulfing Wendy in a giant hug.
"Thanks Camille for everything," Wendy answered, allowing herself to be crushed in the nurse's tight embrace. "You're the best," she grinned.
"Aww, it's because I get to work with the most fabulous patients in all of the world! You help make my job so wonderful...and meaningful," she added with a wink.
Wendy smiled up at Camille, and couldn't help but notice once more that the nurse's smile did not reach her eyes.
Wendy was just about to ask Camille if she was alright, when suddenly Camille's expression turned to worry as she looked past Wendy into the lobby.
Wendy instinctively turned around to find Linda, one of the fourth floor nursing assistants, walking toward them.
"Wendy," she exclaimed, rushing up to her. "What are you doing here? Are you here because of Evelyn? Oh, it's just awful, isn't it?" she asked with a devastated expression on her face, her eyes red and puffy around the rims.
"What do you mean?" asked Wendy, confused. "Is Evelyn here? I thought she wasn't coming in for another couple of weeks," she turned toward her parents. "Can you wait a bit so I can go say 'hi'?"
"Oh, I'm sorry..." gasped Linda, her voice barely louder than a whisper. "I thought you knew. I figured that was why you were here. I'm so sorry..."
Wendy turned back toward Linda, examining the expression on her face. Then, she slowly turned to Camille.
"Camille, what's going on?" Wendy asked, a slow panic creeping into her voice.
"I am so very sorry, Baby Girl. We didn't want to tell you right away, we wanted you to be able to get through your treatment," Camille stumbled, tears welling up in her eyes.
"What is it?" Wendy begged, already knowing she did not want to hear the answer.
"Evelyn was admitted early...a few days ago. She had come down with pneumonia and the doctors wanted her to come in before her scheduled admit because she wasn't getting any better with treatment at home. But by the time that she got here, her case was already advanced...and she was having a really difficult time breathing," Camille choked. "The doctors did everything they could to save her...but they were not able to, honey. Evelyn passed away this morning," Camille whispered, tears trickling down her round cheeks.
What? No, this can't be true... She's lying!
Wendy heard someone screaming in the distance. Her knees went weak and her face felt like it was on fire.
No, no, no...
The screaming continued and seemed to be getting louder and louder in Wendy's ears. She covered them with her hands, trying to protect them from the deafening sound. Suddenly, it became clear to Wendy that the wailing was coming from...her.
Seconds later, everything went black.
Evelyn died?! What will happen to Wendy now? Will she be strong enough to fight her illness on her own?
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