The Deadline (The Friessens: A New Beginning) by Lorhainne Eckhart Read Free Book Online Page A

to his wrist. Laura just watched helplessly while Gabriel cried as he was stuck with a needle and an IV was threaded into the back of his hand, but Andy stepped in and talked him through it. Laura was still reeling, trying to wrap her head around the fact that her little boy didn’t just have the flu. They’d just moved to another state, they hadn’t even unpacked the boxes, and her son was now in a hospital bed—and Andy was the one trying to calm him down.
    Jeremy started fussing , and Laura stuck a soother in his mouth and lifted him from the carrier. Andy glanced over and must have seen her struggling, as he stepped closer and took Jeremy from her arms. As soon as he did so, Chelsea decided to fuss.
    “Can I speak with you two outside?” the doctor said, gesturing to the door. Laura and Andy stepped out into the hallway, each holding a baby. The hallway was busy with nurses and orderlies going back and forth, families waiting. “Andy, as I said to you on the phone, what I suspected was leukemia has actually come back as AML, acute myeloid leukemia, which is very aggressive.”
    Laura looked to Andy . She’d never heard of this before.
    “How aggressive are you talking ? You have treatment, right? I know leukemia is curable,” Andy said. He was using that all-business tone, and he expected answers. Laura was glad he was talking, as she didn’t understand, and her mind couldn’t formulate any rational questions, not like Andy. Treatment had come a long way over the years, that much she did know.
    “With the type your son has, we need to start an aggressive round of chemotherapy to kill all the cancer cells in the blood and marrow, which will put the cancer in remission. After the chemotherapy, we’ll need to perform a stem cell transplant. We don’t want the leukemia cells to spread to the brain or the spinal cord, and we still need to run more tests to make sure it hasn’t. Once we know the stage he’s at, we’ll begin treatment, possibly in rounds, but a lot depends on what these next tests show.”
    Laura could hear Gabriel crying behind her , and Chelsea, who was rubbing her eyes, was starting to fuss again. Her baby wanted a stress-free mama, but what she was getting was a mother wound so tightly she was barely holding it together. “So let me understand this: You’re going to start this treatment right now, and then what?” Laura asked. She knew she had to sound frantic.
    “ Yes, but first we have more tests to do, and his treatment team will assemble—the oncologist, the social worker. We need to find out how advanced the cancer is, and we’ll have a better idea of the outcome from there.”
    Laura was still stuck on the words “social worker.” What the fuck? She’d lived this nightmare once before, and maybe Andy was wondering the same thing, as he shook his head and added, “What exactly is the role of the social worker? Last I heard, they don’t have medical degrees and have no business getting into my son’s care.”
    “It’s nothing like that. I don’t know what you’re worried about, but a social worker is always provided for families to help with the emotional and physical aspects of treatment. They’re there to help you find services you may need,” Doctor Siegel said.
    Laura wasn’t sure she felt any better . The doctor still sounded like he was pushing some agenda. Maybe she was being unreasonable, but it still felt as if people were sticking their noses into her family’s business.
    “An y services we need, I’ll find them,” Andy snapped, and Laura was glad he had.
    “That’s your choice,” Siegel said. “The social worker is only there to make it easier for you and your family. Now, I wanted to talk to you about a donor. For the stem cell, there’s a donor bank, but a family match is ideal. Andy, you’re not the father, but you can still be tested, as we’re not looking to match blood type but rather six key antigens. The best match is always a family