Haley's Adventure, Part Six
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
The very next morning, Haley woke up, got dressed, and helped Sadie get ready for school.
"Did you do your homework, last night?" Haley asked.
"Yes."
"Did you brush your teeth this morning?"
"Yes."
"Are you forgetting anything?"
"No."
Haley giggled, "You're going to school in your pjs?"
Sadie blushed, "Aunt Haley!" Then she ran to the guest room to get changed.
Haley stood there just thinking of how lucky she was to have Sadie in her life. She loved that little girl more than anything. Her thoughts were interrupted by Carl. He quickly, yet gentley, grabbed a hold of her waist attempting to show her his affection.
Haley backed off. She needed to tell him, but she didn't know how. How was he going to take it? How was he going to live with this? How was *she* going to live with this?
"Haley? What's wrong?" Carl asked quietly.
Haley turned around to face him. She looked into his eyes. So much love. She felt it. Every bit of it. She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream. She just wanted to run away. Run away from it all. No more problems. No more stress. She wanted everything to be perfect, but things were so far from being perfect, it wasn't funny.
"Haley?" Carl repeated.
"I'm sorry, Carl," Haley panicked, "I just....feel...a little sick."
Carl grabbed onto Haley's hands and began to rock her arms side to side, "You're beautiful."
She smiled and said, "You are too."
Carl continued to hold her delicate hands and gazed into her eyes. He loved her more than he loved anything else in the world. But he couldn't help but feel something was wrong. He acted on his instincts, "Hey?" he asked.
"Yeah?" Haley answered innocently, looking into his big brown eyes.
"Tell me what's up."
"What do you mean?" Haley swallowed hard.
"I know you, Haley. Better than I know myself. Something is wrong. You can talk to me."
"Oh, Carl," Haley said sadly, wanting nothing more than to go back in time, "I....I just....I don't..."
"It's ok, sweetie. Just tell me." He felt his stomach begin to turn. He wanted to know what she was hiding. He hated seeing her like this, but he was also deathly afraid of what she might tell him.
Haley looked at Carl once more, when suddenly, she realized that she really did feel sick. Her body began to get weak, and her stomach began to ache.
"Carl!" Haley said suddenly, "Take me to the hospital."
No questions asked, Carl gave Rayanne a call and asked her to take Sadie to school. Then he quickly drove Haley to the hospital. What was happening? What was going on? A million things were racing around in his head. What was she going to tell him? Well, it would have to wait. He couldn't let anything happen to her. She was too important to him. He would just die.........
About an hour later, Carl was told he could go in and see Haley in the emergency room. They didn't tell him anything. He asked about a thousand questions, but no one seemed to know a thing. He felt so confused, and so scared. He didn't know what was wrong.
As he stood there looking down on her sleeping so peacefully, he couldn't avoid the terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. Before he could define it, he heard Doctor Chase enter the room.
"Carl! It's nice to see you again," Dr. Chase welcomed him.
"Yes, you too," Carl said softly. He had known Dr. Chase for quite some time. They attended highschool together, but the two were never really close; just acquaintances.
Carl cut to the chase, "What's happening with my wife?"
"So I assume she didn't speak with you about our conversation on the phone yesterday?" Dr. Chase asked in a concerned voice.
"No," Carl paused, "She didn't. Could you please tell me what's happening?" Carl became impatient.
"Very well," Dr. Chase said calmly as he walked to the other side of the room with Carl following him.
"Carl," Dr. Chase began, "Haley has a rare case of Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia."
"Chronic what?" Carl's head became cloudy.
"CML is a common leukemia, but very rare. Usually genetic. CML patients have bone marrow that make too many white blood cells. Apparently she developed this disease over six years ago."
"What?" Carl asked shockingly, "Wh..Wh...What do you mean for the past SIX YEARS? And you never caught this?? How could this happen?"
"Unfortunately, it is an uncommon disease and impossible to track down unless we're looking for it," Dr. Chase explained.
"Well why weren't you looking for it??!??" Carl yelled obviously upset. He managed to calm himself down, "Ok.....well.....what can we do about this?"
Dr. Chase didn't say anything.
Carl looked directly at him, "What is it?"
"Well, there's always Gleevec. It's a standard first treatment which blocks the tyrosine kinase enzyme so that the body stops making too many white blood cells........." Dr. Chase stopped.
"Is it safe?" Carl asked.
"Yes, absolutely. But....Carl..." he stopped.
"What?" Carl asked.
"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid the Gleevec just won't do any good at this point. Like I said, Haley developed CML over six years ago, which means that it has been eating away at her insides for an extremely long period of time."
Carl felt his heart stop for a few seconds, "What are you saying, Doctor?"
Dr. Chase sighed as he looked at Carl, "I'm sorry, Carl......but, there's a 90% chance your wife will die."
Carl stood there emotionless. 'What did he just say?' he thought, 'My wife will what? This doesn't make any sense. She was just fine.' "SHE WAS JUST FINE!" Carl screamed realizing his thoughts were not in his head anymore.
Doctor Chase said nothing, but continued to stand there for support if needed.
"Doctor......" Carl said fighting back his tears, "What about........the baby?"
"So far Carl, the baby is fine. But Haley's body is very weak right now and concentrating just on fighting this deadly disease, that I'm not sure....." Dr. Chase tried to explain but was interrupted.
"Please.....don't say anymore!" Carl lost it. He felt every emotion wash over him in a split second. Everything was perfect. Why did this happen? Haley was pregnant. He had been promoted. He had received a bonus large enough to buy that dream house Haley had her eye on since she was a little girl. Everything was going to be perfect. And at that moment, Carl knew nothing would ever feel the same again.
"Carl......" Dr. Chase began but didn't know what to say except, "I'm sorry, Carl. I'm so sorry."
Carl continued to cry hysterically. He didn't care at that moment. Nothing mattered to him. He was losing everything he had ever wanted. Haley. A family. He didn't want anyone else. He wanted Haley. Damnit, he wanted Haley!
"I can't lose her, Doctor! I just....can't lose her!" Carl cried.
"Hey now," Dr. Chase comforted him. He didn't normally make a habit of consoling his patient's loved ones, but with Carl being an old friend, he felt it was appropriate, "Everything is going to be ok. There's still hope. Never lose that, or you'll go crazy."
"I can't lose her. I can't. I can't lose her. She means everything to me. I can't lose her, Doctor. I just can't. Oh God!"
Dr. Chase hugged him tighter, "You have my word that we will do everything in our power to try and help your wife, ok? I promise you that."
Carl continued to cry on his shoulder, not really being able to hear a word the doctor was saying to him, but he needed to be comforted.
Carl backed up thinking he felt enough strength to pull it together, but it was too much for him. He continued to sob.
"Carl, why don't you go home and get some rest. We'll give you call if we need you for anything, alright? I think that would be best."
Carl nodded, but didn't say a word. He just walked out the door and headed home.
The next few hours, Carl sat in his empty home torturing himself for not knowing about Haley's illness. He blamed the entire thing on himself. He felt he should have known. He was her husband. He recalled the words he vowed to her on their wedding day.
Entreat me not to leave you, or to return from following after you, For where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. And where you die, I will die and there I will be buried. May the Lord do with me and more if anything but death parts you from me. I love you Haley
Carl began to cry louder. He wanted nothing more than to curl up into a ball and cry the entire night away, but he was interrupted by the ring of his cellphone.
He answered. It was Doctor Chase.
"Carl. I'm afraid I have some bad news."
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
The very next morning, Haley woke up, got dressed, and helped Sadie get ready for school.
"Did you do your homework, last night?" Haley asked.
"Yes."
"Did you brush your teeth this morning?"
"Yes."
"Are you forgetting anything?"
"No."
Haley giggled, "You're going to school in your pjs?"
Sadie blushed, "Aunt Haley!" Then she ran to the guest room to get changed.
Haley stood there just thinking of how lucky she was to have Sadie in her life. She loved that little girl more than anything. Her thoughts were interrupted by Carl. He quickly, yet gentley, grabbed a hold of her waist attempting to show her his affection.
Haley backed off. She needed to tell him, but she didn't know how. How was he going to take it? How was he going to live with this? How was *she* going to live with this?
"Haley? What's wrong?" Carl asked quietly.
Haley turned around to face him. She looked into his eyes. So much love. She felt it. Every bit of it. She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream. She just wanted to run away. Run away from it all. No more problems. No more stress. She wanted everything to be perfect, but things were so far from being perfect, it wasn't funny.
"Haley?" Carl repeated.
"I'm sorry, Carl," Haley panicked, "I just....feel...a little sick."
Carl grabbed onto Haley's hands and began to rock her arms side to side, "You're beautiful."
She smiled and said, "You are too."
Carl continued to hold her delicate hands and gazed into her eyes. He loved her more than he loved anything else in the world. But he couldn't help but feel something was wrong. He acted on his instincts, "Hey?" he asked.
"Yeah?" Haley answered innocently, looking into his big brown eyes.
"Tell me what's up."
"What do you mean?" Haley swallowed hard.
"I know you, Haley. Better than I know myself. Something is wrong. You can talk to me."
"Oh, Carl," Haley said sadly, wanting nothing more than to go back in time, "I....I just....I don't..."
"It's ok, sweetie. Just tell me." He felt his stomach begin to turn. He wanted to know what she was hiding. He hated seeing her like this, but he was also deathly afraid of what she might tell him.
Haley looked at Carl once more, when suddenly, she realized that she really did feel sick. Her body began to get weak, and her stomach began to ache.
"Carl!" Haley said suddenly, "Take me to the hospital."
No questions asked, Carl gave Rayanne a call and asked her to take Sadie to school. Then he quickly drove Haley to the hospital. What was happening? What was going on? A million things were racing around in his head. What was she going to tell him? Well, it would have to wait. He couldn't let anything happen to her. She was too important to him. He would just die.........
About an hour later, Carl was told he could go in and see Haley in the emergency room. They didn't tell him anything. He asked about a thousand questions, but no one seemed to know a thing. He felt so confused, and so scared. He didn't know what was wrong.
As he stood there looking down on her sleeping so peacefully, he couldn't avoid the terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. Before he could define it, he heard Doctor Chase enter the room.
"Carl! It's nice to see you again," Dr. Chase welcomed him.
"Yes, you too," Carl said softly. He had known Dr. Chase for quite some time. They attended highschool together, but the two were never really close; just acquaintances.
Carl cut to the chase, "What's happening with my wife?"
"So I assume she didn't speak with you about our conversation on the phone yesterday?" Dr. Chase asked in a concerned voice.
"No," Carl paused, "She didn't. Could you please tell me what's happening?" Carl became impatient.
"Very well," Dr. Chase said calmly as he walked to the other side of the room with Carl following him.
"Carl," Dr. Chase began, "Haley has a rare case of Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia."
"Chronic what?" Carl's head became cloudy.
"CML is a common leukemia, but very rare. Usually genetic. CML patients have bone marrow that make too many white blood cells. Apparently she developed this disease over six years ago."
"What?" Carl asked shockingly, "Wh..Wh...What do you mean for the past SIX YEARS? And you never caught this?? How could this happen?"
"Unfortunately, it is an uncommon disease and impossible to track down unless we're looking for it," Dr. Chase explained.
"Well why weren't you looking for it??!??" Carl yelled obviously upset. He managed to calm himself down, "Ok.....well.....what can we do about this?"
Dr. Chase didn't say anything.
Carl looked directly at him, "What is it?"
"Well, there's always Gleevec. It's a standard first treatment which blocks the tyrosine kinase enzyme so that the body stops making too many white blood cells........." Dr. Chase stopped.
"Is it safe?" Carl asked.
"Yes, absolutely. But....Carl..." he stopped.
"What?" Carl asked.
"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid the Gleevec just won't do any good at this point. Like I said, Haley developed CML over six years ago, which means that it has been eating away at her insides for an extremely long period of time."
Carl felt his heart stop for a few seconds, "What are you saying, Doctor?"
Dr. Chase sighed as he looked at Carl, "I'm sorry, Carl......but, there's a 90% chance your wife will die."
Carl stood there emotionless. 'What did he just say?' he thought, 'My wife will what? This doesn't make any sense. She was just fine.' "SHE WAS JUST FINE!" Carl screamed realizing his thoughts were not in his head anymore.
Doctor Chase said nothing, but continued to stand there for support if needed.
"Doctor......" Carl said fighting back his tears, "What about........the baby?"
"So far Carl, the baby is fine. But Haley's body is very weak right now and concentrating just on fighting this deadly disease, that I'm not sure....." Dr. Chase tried to explain but was interrupted.
"Please.....don't say anymore!" Carl lost it. He felt every emotion wash over him in a split second. Everything was perfect. Why did this happen? Haley was pregnant. He had been promoted. He had received a bonus large enough to buy that dream house Haley had her eye on since she was a little girl. Everything was going to be perfect. And at that moment, Carl knew nothing would ever feel the same again.
"Carl......" Dr. Chase began but didn't know what to say except, "I'm sorry, Carl. I'm so sorry."
Carl continued to cry hysterically. He didn't care at that moment. Nothing mattered to him. He was losing everything he had ever wanted. Haley. A family. He didn't want anyone else. He wanted Haley. Damnit, he wanted Haley!
"I can't lose her, Doctor! I just....can't lose her!" Carl cried.
"Hey now," Dr. Chase comforted him. He didn't normally make a habit of consoling his patient's loved ones, but with Carl being an old friend, he felt it was appropriate, "Everything is going to be ok. There's still hope. Never lose that, or you'll go crazy."
"I can't lose her. I can't. I can't lose her. She means everything to me. I can't lose her, Doctor. I just can't. Oh God!"
Dr. Chase hugged him tighter, "You have my word that we will do everything in our power to try and help your wife, ok? I promise you that."
Carl continued to cry on his shoulder, not really being able to hear a word the doctor was saying to him, but he needed to be comforted.
Carl backed up thinking he felt enough strength to pull it together, but it was too much for him. He continued to sob.
"Carl, why don't you go home and get some rest. We'll give you call if we need you for anything, alright? I think that would be best."
Carl nodded, but didn't say a word. He just walked out the door and headed home.
The next few hours, Carl sat in his empty home torturing himself for not knowing about Haley's illness. He blamed the entire thing on himself. He felt he should have known. He was her husband. He recalled the words he vowed to her on their wedding day.
Entreat me not to leave you, or to return from following after you, For where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. And where you die, I will die and there I will be buried. May the Lord do with me and more if anything but death parts you from me. I love you Haley
Carl began to cry louder. He wanted nothing more than to curl up into a ball and cry the entire night away, but he was interrupted by the ring of his cellphone.
He answered. It was Doctor Chase.
"Carl. I'm afraid I have some bad news."