|
A Secret to Hold Close Chapter Four Mylie gave Dr. Blake a happy smile. �You mean it? The last stem cell transplant worked? That means I�ve gone into remission right?� The 20 year old young lady seemed to glow with naturally tan skin, russet brown hair that was pulled back into a loose ponytail and extraordinary gold eyes that seemed to have a light of their own which was a big difference from the bleached out look she had just a month earlier. The doctor returned Mylie�s smile and chuckled at burst of questions. �Yes Mylie, it worked.� His smile faded and he continued, �But Mylie I have to remind you that this might not be a total remission. I�m afraid that JMML patients have a low chance of total remission.� Mylie sighed, �I know but I will be happy with however long I have left on this world. With my family,� she smiled at her parents and two sisters who had come with her to the consultation with Dr. Blake, �and all the other people I care for.� This fight with leukemia had changed Mylie in more then one way, and in many ways for the good. Before her battle with the rare form of leukemia, Mylie was very much a loner but she found that her family was a major part of her healing as much as the medical aspects were. They had been there through the tears and the pain of the many treatments and doctor�s visits and she knew that even if she couldn�t beat this that she had her family�s support. Her opinion of her doctor had changed drastically as well. Before she thought that Dr. Blake would never understand what she was going through and that he only thought of her has a unique medical case but her year long fight had show that the usually quiet and reserved specialist could cry both tears of happiness and grief. Like now, Mylie thought she could see a glint in the doctor�s eyes behind his glasses. He had become part of her family over the past year of her treatment since she had found out that he was a widower with no other family. He had come to all their family functions like Thanksgiving and Christmas as well as the surprise party her family had thrown her when she turned 20. The rest of the appointment went really well as they went over the things that Mylie would have to do for the rest of her life because of her disease. She would have to go to her normal physician once ever three months for a checkup and she would come to Dr. Blake twice a year for the same reason. She knew that her chance of totally remission was small and she understood the need for the close monitoring that Dr. Blake wanted her to have. As she and her family stood up to leave, Mylie nodded for them to go on ahead. �I�ll catch up ok?� Her mother nodded, guessing what Mylie wanted to do. Once her family left, she turned to her doctor. �Dr. Blake I just wanted to thank you by myself. I don�t think I would have been able to get though this with out all of your effort.� By now both of them were near tears. Mylie sniffed and with a weak laugh continued, �And my mom and I agreed that you are just as much a part of our family as anybody. That means you have to come to all the required family get-togethers like Christmas, Thanksgiving, so-on-and-so-forth.� He chuckled weakly and wiped at his grey eyes. �I wouldn�t have it any other way.� Mylie smiled and gave him a hug, one that he returned, before leaving his office with a wave and heading down to the lobby where her family were waiting. When the elevator door swung open with a ding she gasped in surprise. Crowded into the lobby of the cancer ward of the hospital was every person that had anything to do with Mylie�s hospital stay. She had become a favorite with the hospital staff and other patients because no matter how hard her own treatments got she was always there for the other patients with a smile and an optimistic word. She had become a beacon of hope that the other patients needed to get through their own treatments. And everyone believed that if anyone deserved the chance at remission it would be Mylie. She circled the room getting plenty of hugs and kisses on the cheek. Tears of happiness filled her eyes as well as many of the eyes in the room. When she reached her family she grinned at them, knowing that they had everything to do with this. Before she could say something to them two people caught her eye. �Paul! Emily! How are you?� Mylie exclaimed at the two people from the Make-A-Wish Foundation stepped forward, both saying they were fine, as she gave them both a hug. They had also stopped by every once in a while to see how she was doing. They hadn�t brought up Mylie�s Wish though had she really hadn�t thought about it since that morning that they had come to see her but now they seemed to have something to share. The whole room hushed expectantly and Mylie gave a laugh, �OK guys what do you know that I don�t?� The whole room chuckled and Emily held out a rather large package. �Take a look Mylie.� Mylie glanced to her parents as she popped open the seal. Inside was a stack of papers and sitting on top was a card that read �I hope you have fun in England�� She squealed with happiness and nearly dropped the box. The crowd laughed at her reaction. Mylie turned to the two Wish Granters and asked, �But how�?� Paul smiled, �You know that we can�t reveal our sources! Let�s just say that we had an anonymous donation specifically for your Wish that covered everything.� Mylie smiled and then shuffled through the rest of the stuff in the box. �But what is the rest of this?� Emily grinned, �That is all the information on your trip. The donor specifically asked that you and a friend get to stay, on their dime, in England for a whole summer. In the box are also tickets for just about anything that you would want to do.� Mylie gasped, guessing at the amount that the person must have given. �Who are you going to take?� asked her father, already guessing at her answer. �Jess of course! I wouldn�t be here if it wasn�t for her!� No one seemed surprised or mad about her decision. Paul reached into the box and pulled out a specific envelop with a logo that she knew by heart. �I think that you will find this the most interesting.� She froze, her eyes on the envelope, and asked quietly, not quiet believing what she was seeing, �It that what I think that is?� �Why don�t you open it and see?� was his response and she heard the grin in his voice. She took the envelope from his hand and slowly opened it. Inside were two tickets for the best seats in the house for the one show she would give anything to see, a McFly concert. �That�s not all.� Paul said. She looked back in and pulled out two back stage passes. �You get to meet the band in person.� He explained as Mylie�s brain tried to process what she was holding. She looked at the two Make-A-Wish workers with tears in her eyes and asked, �What can I do to thank you!?� Emily looked surprised, �You don�t need to thank anybody, dear. This is to try and give you some happiness after the painful time that you had to go through.� Mylie realized that the room was still quiet and that all eyes were on her. She turned to the crowd and smiled, two tears escaped from her golden eyes and she dashed them away, �You�re right, this might have been a painful time but I was surrounded by people that I care about and that care for me and that made it better. It wasn�t as painful as it could have been. All of you,� she gestured to the crowd, �helped me get through it and I couldn�t thank you enough.� A spattering of clapping soon led to the whole room being filled with applause and Mylie stood blushing in front of the crowd. The party continued and Mylie excused herself to go to the restroom really quickly but instead she found herself headed outside. She paused and took a deep breath. �Hello Mylie� said a quiet voice. Mylie jumped, having thought she was alone, but when she turned and saw who it was she smiled� Back |