Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 94119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 471(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 471(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
There was a sudden pause in the air as those words left his mouth—for most of you, we hope will have great success.
Most of you…
Some of us would not see that success. I cast my gaze around the room and caught eyes with the other patients; it was clear they were thinking what I was—out of the eight of us, some of us still might not make it. It was a sobering thought.
“I apologize if that sounds too blunt,” Dr. Duncan said. A white-hot shiver ran down my spine. Fear, I realized. As if sensing it, Jesse leaned closer, his arm touching mine, offering me comfort. The warmth immediately took the brunt of that fear away. I didn’t look at him. I wouldn’t because I knew I would break if I did, and I had to keep positive. I was determined to.
“I have autism spectrum disorder,” Dr. Duncan said, pulling focus back to him. “I have a high IQ, and I have dedicated my life to saving people. But I’m afraid I’m better with facts than pleasantries. Science is my language and my strength. People skills are not.”
I smiled as he said that. He seemed like a nice man, and I appreciated him opening himself up to us a little. After all, the entire staff here knew everything about us; it was nice to be told something personal about them too.
Dr. Duncan waited for us all to stop shifting or whispering to one another. I felt a hand take mine and looked down to see it was Emma’s. I glanced up at her and saw the same frisson of fear I was feeling reflected in her blue eyes. I squeezed her hand back. We had laughed and joked yesterday when we had all been together. But the reality was, there was nothing humorous about our situation.
We were all here because we were dying. That realization was always close by to remind us why we’d been given a spot at the ranch. The past couple days of fun had been amazing and had helped us form some friendships. But playtime was over, and we were faced with reality.
“The treatment is invasive, and the medicine is strong, stronger than you will have had before. Being young helps you tolerate this treatment better than people who are older, but the side effects can potentially be many and difficult. It will be uncomfortable for most, if not all of you.” Dr. Duncan pointed at the back of the room. I hadn’t seen the nursing staff and Neenee enter, but they were standing back there. My parents had come in too, along with what seemed to be everyone else’s—except Jesse’s.
My heart fell at that.
Jesse was the only one here alone. We were being told the side effects would be awful, and he had no one here to help him through it.
“The medical staff will administer a round of chemotherapy on days one to four in your rooms which are sterile, and FDA approved. You will have four days rest after that. Then you will receive a new form of monoclonal antibodies through infusion for four days. This will be administered in your room too for about an hour each morning. After that you will be free to move about the ranch. After the first immunotherapy cycle, you will have a few days’ rest, then we will repeat the antibody treatment until phase one ends. We will review your results to see how you are responding, then phase two will begin. Adjustments to the treatment’s strength may need to be made at this point, but we will assess this on an individual basis.
“You will all be under twenty-four-hour surveillance in case you have any side effects or need urgent help. Frequent blood tests and scans will be done along the way to monitor how you are responding to treatment. Questionnaires will be given to you to fill out.” Dr. Duncan pointed down the hall. “Everything we need is on-site, and the nearest large hospital is on standby should we need it for emergencies, though we are equipped for them here too.” He gave us a tight smile. “I’ll go and set up with the nurses for the pretreatment checks and the fitting of your chemo ports. Neenee will speak to you now about what else you can expect from your time here.” He gave us a sharp nod and left the room.
Neenee took Dr. Duncan’s spot at the front of the room, and I took a deep breath. It suddenly felt like too much. Emma squeezed my hand, and I let that connection and the touch of Jesse’s arm on my own soothe my frayed nerves.
“Before we start pretreatment today, I just want to talk to you about a few things. First, alongside your treatment, you have access to Michelle.” Neenee pointed to a lady with long, blond hair and a kind smile standing on the side of the room. She waved. “Michelle is our resident therapist. She will hold some group sessions and meet with you all individually on a regular basis. Your mental health is just as important to us as your physical health.”