2
1191 Words
"Uncle Oscar, how’s Mom doing? Have the doctors said anything? Is someone with her?"
Izzy bombarded her uncle with question after question as she found him standing outside the hospital room where her mother was being treated.
"The doctors haven’t given us any updates yet, Izzy. They're still in there working on her—"
Izzy didn’t let her uncle finish. She moved toward the door, desperate to get inside, but Uncle Oscar stepped in her way.
"You know we can’t go in, Izzy. It’s standard protocol. We have to wait outside."
His voice was soft but firm. Izzy sat down heavily on the cold tile floor, feeling helpless.
"She’s going to be okay, right, Uncle?" Izzy’s voice cracked as tears welled up in her eyes. Her uncle gave her a shaky smile.
"Of course, Izzy. I’m sure your mom’s going to pull through. Didn’t she promise she’d be there at your college graduation? She may be weak now, but soon she’ll be cracking jokes like she always does when we bring her here."
Despite the overwhelming fear in her chest, Izzy managed a small, shaky smile. She wasn’t ready to lose her mom, not now, not when it was just the two of them. Izzy was an only child. Her father had died when she was seven in a car accident, and now, her mom was sick.
"I hope so, Uncle… I really do..." she whispered, before burying her face in her hands and crying quietly.
They’d been waiting outside the ward for what felt like an eternity, anxiously waiting for news. Every minute dragged by, heavy with dread.
Please be okay, Mom… Please be okay…
Izzy prayed silently, her heart pounding in her chest. She could barely breathe with the fear that choked her.
After what felt like forever, she stood up, unable to sit still any longer. She tried to sneak a peek inside the room, but she couldn’t see or hear anything, which only made her more anxious.
Then the door suddenly opened, and a doctor stepped out.
Izzy froze when she saw the grim expression on his face.
"Izzy…" the doctor called softly. She recognized him immediately—Dr. Martin, who had been treating her mom for the past four years.
"D-Dr. Martin, how is she? Is she okay?" Izzy rushed toward him, her voice tight with worry.
Dr. Martin’s face was unreadable as he looked at her. Izzy’s stomach churned with the sense that something was wrong.
"Come with me to my office, Izzy. We need to talk," he said, his voice low.
Izzy nodded quickly, her nerves already in knots.
Inside his office, the doctor wasted no time.
"For nearly four years, we’ve managed to extend your mother’s life with aggressive treatments, but the situation has worsened, Izzy. You’ve known how severe her condition is."
Izzy nodded, barely able to breathe, as her heart sank.
"Her chemotherapy and the additional treatments we’ve given her aren’t working anymore. The cancer has spread. I’m afraid there’s nothing more we can do here."
Izzy’s blood ran cold as the doctor’s words sank in. Her vision blurred with tears, but she fought to keep her composure.
"What—what else can we do? Is there anything? Please, Doctor—" Izzy’s voice cracked.
Dr. Martin hesitated, then gave a quiet sigh.
"There’s one option left—surgery. But the problem is, we don’t have the equipment here to perform it. We would need to transfer your mother to a larger hospital. The cost, however, would be very high."
Izzy felt her knees weaken at the thought. She had barely been able to afford her mom’s medications. Surgery would be out of reach.
"How much will it cost, Doctor?"
Her Uncle Oscar spoke up from the corner, his voice filled with concern.
Izzy's heart sank even further when she heard the doctor’s response.
"At least $30,000," Dr. Martin said bluntly.
Izzy almost choked at the number. The thought of how she would ever raise that kind of money made her dizzy.
"How are we supposed to come up with that kind of money?" Uncle Oscar asked, his voice shaky. "$100 is already a stretch—how are we supposed to afford this?"
Izzy wiped her eyes and stared down at the floor.
"I… I don’t know, Uncle, but I’ll figure something out."
"Izzy, whatever you do, don’t put yourself in danger trying to raise money. Your mom needs you, but we don’t want to see you end up in the hospital too."
Uncle Oscar’s words hit home, but Izzy just nodded, determined not to give up.
"I’ll be careful, Uncle. I don’t have a plan yet… but I’ll figure it out. Right now, we just need to focus on Mom."
Izzy couldn’t think straight, but one person’s name came to mind: Carl Medina. If anyone could help her, it was Carl.
She pulled her old phone from her pocket, about to call him, when something caught her eye: a business card that had fallen from her pocket.
Seth Santiago – President
Santiago Industries
Phone number and email
"Who’s this?" Izzy mumbled, confused.
"What is it? Did you get a job there or something?" Uncle Oscar asked, looking at the card.
"No… I didn’t even know this company existed," Izzy replied, still puzzled.
"You’ve never heard of Santiago Industries? It’s huge, Izzy. Not many people get hired there because they’re so selective."
Her uncle’s words barely registered as Izzy turned the card over in her hands, wondering why it seemed so important now.
‘So the guy who bumped into me earlier… he’s the president of a big company?’ she thought, still trying to wrap her mind around it.
"Since you didn’t want treatment, you can call me anytime if you need anything," she recalled his words.
She picked up the card, staring at it, trying to decide whether she should reach out to him. Her fingers hovered over the phone, unsure.
"Should I call?" she muttered to herself. "But what do I even say? It’s not like I know him."
But then she remembered: This was for her mom. She couldn’t afford to be shy.
With a deep breath, she dialed the number.
When he picked up after one ring, Izzy nearly froze.
"Hello? Who is this?"
"H-Hello? Is this Mr. Seth Santiago? This is Isabel Vergara… the one you bumped into earlier."
There was a long pause before he responded.
"Yes, this is Seth Santiago. What do you need?"
His voice was sharp, as if he was questioning her audacity.
Izzy’s nerves nearly overwhelmed her, but she pushed on.
"C-can I ask you something important? I have a request…"
"Where are you?"
He cut her off abruptly. Izzy quickly told him her location.
"Stay there. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes."
And with that, the call ended.
Izzy blinked in surprise, still processing what had just happened.
Before she could gather her thoughts, her phone rang again. It was Seth.
"Actually, no. If you can travel, take a cab and meet me at my condo—it’s close to where you are. I’ll text you the address."
Toot-toot.
- Writer
