Chapter 32
1039 Words
“So,” Emma said, trying to stay calm. “I haven’t responded to the chemo.”
Jenny reached out and took her one hand; Liv gripped the other. Kat stood up and moved behind her. She didn’t touch Emma, but Emma knew she was there.
“I’m sorry.” Doctor Hal Fife shook his head. “No. You haven’t.”
“Has the cancer spread?” Liv asked.
“I don’t know.” Hal looked down. “We need to do some tests, OK?”
Emma breathed out. “A lumbar puncture?”
“Yes,” he said.
“A what?” Jenny said.
“It’s also called a spinal tap,” Emma told her.
“Oh. What’s it test for?”
“To see if the cancer has spread to my central nervous system.”
“Right,” Hal said. “Specifically, to see if it’s in your spine.”
“Or brain,” Kat said quietly.
“Yes. That’s correct.”
A heavy silence descended on the small room.
Emma blinked back tears. “OK. So when do we do the puncture?”
“As soon as possible. Can you come in tomorrow?”
“Of course.” She wiped her eyes. “How long does it take?”
“Oh, the procedure itself takes about an hour…”
“Wait,” Liv said. “She’s going to have a needle jammed in her spine for an hour?”
“No. The needle is in for less than a minute, but we have to freeze the area and then check Emma’s recovery after. The whole thing takes an hour – including set-up, prep, and follow-up.”
The women relaxed.
“And I can go home after?” Emma said.
“Yes. It’s an outpatient procedure. You’ll be sore after, probably have some bruising, maybe experience a bad headache. But that’s it for side-effects. OK?”
She nodded. “OK.”
“So come to the clinic tomorrow at one o’clock. As soon as the results are in, I’ll call you to come back and see me.”
Emma stood up. “Thank you, Doctor Fife.”
“I’m sorry the news isn’t better, Emma.”
She shook her head. “Four rounds of chemo, eleven different drugs, over fifteen weeks… I guess we need to have a fifth cycle next week? Even more aggressive?”
“Honestly, Emma, I think the time has come to think about stem cell transplant.”
Jenny gasped.
Emma started. “What, already?”
“Your leukemia is very aggressive, Emma, far more than anybody anticipated. We’ll definitely do more chemo, of course, but I don’t think it’s the answer. Not for you.”
“So, I need bone marrow from a donor.”
“Yes.”
“How hard is it to get a match?” Liv asked.
Doctor Fife sighed. “It’s – challenging.”
“It’s difficult,” Emma said quietly. “The best chance is a sibling, but I’m an only child. The next best chance is someone in my family, but there’s about a thirty percent chance that I’ll find a match. My best shot is the national bone marrow program.”
“OK,” Kat said. “So… let’s get you in the program. Right?”
“Right.” Hal tried to look reassuring. “This is a long way from over, ladies. Let’s get you on that list, Emma, and we’ll take it from there.”
They all nodded, but for the first time since Emma’s diagnosis just over four months earlier, they were less than reassured. They were, in fact, completely terrified. They had all been so sure that the chemotherapy was the answer, and the fact that it was failing was a shock.
My God, Liv thought. s**t just got real. Really real.
She took Emma’s hand, wincing at how small and cold it was.
“Come, on, Em,” she said gently. “Let’s get you home, OK?”
“Yeah.” Emma was barely able to speak. It came to her that she wanted Dean there with her, whispering comforting things and holding her close. “Yeah. Home.”
****
Liv sat on the sofa, listening to Emma’s breathing in the master bedroom. It was slow and steady and Liv relaxed, knowing that Emma was finally out.
The spinal tap had gone well earlier that day, and besides some bruising, Emma had experienced no side-effects at all, not even a headache. But she was exhausted and teary and upset, and Liv had volunteered to stay overnight. Kat and Jenny had both protested, but Liv had been adamant: they both had to go to work in the morning, but she had asked Nigel to cancel her entire day. She was free and clear to be there for Emma, as long as she needed her.
She was just making up the bed in the guest room when her cell phone buzzed with a text. Sighing, she picked it up and blinked in surprise when she saw that the message said, f**k YOU w***e SLUT. Liv shook her head and tossed the phone onto the bedside table. In her years of modelling, she’d received numerous such charming text messages and e-mails. There were also literally thousands of obscene comments on her professional website and all over the damn internet about her.
Time to change my cell number again. I’ll have to ask Nigel to do that this week. Crap.
Liv had a shower and brushed her teeth and by the time she returned, she had another two text messages from the same number, both equally unoriginal and insulting. She turned her phone off and pushed all this bullshit out of her mind completely. She’d mention it to Greg, her security guy, but she wasn’t even a bit worried. What was really worrying her was sleeping in the next bedroom.
She went back to Emma and sat next to her bed for a few minutes, watching her sleep. Nothing else mattered right then; there was no world outside of Emma’s bedroom. Liv sat with her friend until she started to cry and then she left the room, not wanting to wake Emma up.
- Writer
