Mary #39

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39

When the alarm went off, Mary could feel the chill in the house immediately.  She got off the sofa and turned the thermostat up.  She wanted it to be warm in the house before her and Elizabeth came back.

She went in the kitchen, fed Lula and said “No going on the porch this morning”.  She started making the coffee and when it was done, she sat at the kitchen table and drank it. 

She went upstairs and put jeans on.  She put on a t-shirt and then decided to put a brown pullover sweater on.  If she got too warm she could always take it off.  She pulled her hair up in a ponytail and then put on a pair of brown slip on shoes. 

It was about time to leave so she grabbed her purse and a fall-like jacket and got in her car and drove to pick up Elizabeth.  When she got to her house, she noticed she had a notebook in the car and put it in her purse. She got out of the car and saw two suitcases sitting outside the door.  She knocked and Elizabeth walked right out.

“Hi, I guess you’re ready.”

“As ready as I’m going to be.” 

Each one picked up a suitcase and took them to the trunk and put them in.  They got in the car and Mary asked “Where is this place?”

“It’s in part of the hospital."

Neither said much on the way.  They mostly talked about how chilly it was.  When they got there Elizabeth directed Mary on which parking lot to go to.  They got out of the car and Mary followed her inside. 

Elizabeth signed in and after a few minutes someone called her name.  Mary started to get up to go with her and the person said “She’s going for a blood test then she’ll be right back” so she sat back down. 

For the first time, Mary looked around at all the people sitting there.  It was hard sometimes telling who was a patient and who wasn’t.  Although sometimes it was easy, there was the man who was so painfully thin looking ill, and the woman with the scarf on her head.  

Elizabeth came out and sat down.  “Now we have to wait to see the doctor.”

“Are you thirsty?  I see they have some coffee over there.  I could get you some.”

“Thanks, I’ll wait until after I see Dr. Rogers.”

They looked at some magazines and a half hour went by and they heard “Elizabeth” and they got up and followed the nurse.  Elizabeth got on a scale and was weighed and then they were ushered into a room.

They made small talk with the nurse while she took Elizabeth’s temperature and did a blood pressure check.  She then took a hospital gown out of a drawer and handed it to Elizabeth and told her to get undressed from the waist up and she left the room.

Elizabeth put the gown on and sat on the table.  Shortly, after the doctor came in. “Hi Elizabeth, how are you doing?” 

“Okay but I’m a little nervous.”

“Most people are there first time” and she turned to Mary and said “Hi, I’m Stephanie Rogers” and she shook her hand.

“I’m Mary Jenkins, I’m her friend.”

“I’m glad to meet you and that you came.  It will make Elizabeth’s time go faster if she has someone with her” and she turned to Elizabeth. “Elizabeth you can lay down so I can examine you.”

Mary looked away while the doctor examined Elizabeth’s breasts.  When she was done she said

“Everything feels fine, no more lumps.  Do you want to go over everything again?”

“No, I remember from yesterday.”

“Okay, just remember eventually we might have to put a port in depending on how long you have treatments.  It’s not unusual for the veins to get bad.  If we do, we would do it between treatments and it won’t disrupt anything.”

“Okay” Elizabeth said.

“You can get dressed now and go back to the waiting area.  They’ll call you soon in for treatments.  When you’re done, they’ll give you some prescriptions you’ll need to get filled.  Be diligent about taking them correctly especially the anti-nauseous drugs.  Tomorrow you’ll want to come and get your shot to boost your immune system as well.  You can come in any time before 3:00.  If you have any problems don’t hesitate to call.  If nothing happens, I’ll see you for the next treatment.”

“Okay doctor” Elizabeth said.

“Nice meeting you Mary.  I hope I’ll see you again” and she walked out the door.

Elizabeth got her clothes on and they went to the waiting room.

“She seemed nice.  You want that coffee now” Mary said.

“That would be great.”

They sat drinking coffee until they heard “Elizabeth Connell?”

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