Home is wherever i'm with you

Actions speak louder than words

The next few days were okay. Maya struggled with nausea and getting and keeping food down, but always managed to get enough in and let it stay down. She was very tired every day and it bothered her that she couldn't really be there for her kids. Meena and Louise still liked the afternoon. Louise wasn't so conviced, but on thursday they baked cookies in the afternoon, that had her hooked. Friday afternoon Nina came home. Carina was working and the tripplets were with Andy, so Nina picked up Maya from the hospital. Maya had been there until 3pm thursday and friday, because Carina was working. She didn't mind to much. The people were nice, she would mostly sleep or listen to music. They did a kind of relaxation exercise on friday before they left, which helped with Mayas anxiety a little. "Hey, Its nice that you are picking me up." "You payed for my licence." "I knew that was good for something." They smiled. Nina was well aware of how tired Maya looked and how slowly they were walking to the car, but she didn't say anything. "Is that Tucks car?" Maya asked. "Yes. He gave it to me, he didn't need it this weekend." "That is very nice of him." Maya smiled as Nina opened the door for her. "Hey, i did some parenting right." "Very funny, mom." Nina smiled and closed the door behind her. She moved over to the drivers side and started driving.

They enjoyed a calm family weekend, going on walks, playing in the playroom and the back yard and lots of cuddles on the couch and the bed. Maya was glad she had a entire chemo free week infront of her and hoped her stomach would calm a little. Meena and Louise were quite avid readers already. They loved to read stories to Maya and Maya enjoyed reading with her daughters. She couldn't believe that just in few weeks they would be 7 years old.

On sunday Nina drove back to Portland. Leaving her family was so hard. She was so worried and the only thing helping her go eventually, was knowing her mom was fine for now and she could be back anytime she wanted. She had therapy the next day, so she was also looking foreward to that. She drove, while listening to some podcasts. Half the way she stopped and got gas. She got herself a proteinbar and something to drink and drove on. She reached the campus parkinglot at 6 o'clock and took a deep breath. It was surreal. Her mom was fighting for her life and she was supposed to go to class like nothing tomorrow. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to do that. Her mind was racing and she was extremely anxious. She got up and went to her bedroom. She cuddled up in her bed and watched some videos on her phone. She did need to studdy, but she just couldn't move. She hadn't cryed for the entire weekend, but now the floodgates opened and she couldn't hold the tears anymore. Arms hugged her and it was her roommate Clara. The door opened and Ninas friends came in, they had wanted to ask Nina to go out, but after they saw the teen sobbing in her roommates embrace, Rylee, Nico, Tim and Ruby simply sat down on and infront of the bed, silently giving Nina space, but making sure she wasn't alone.

"Thank you." Nina said. She sat up and wiped her eyes. Rylee gave her a tissue and she blew her nose. "Wasn't a party at the sorority you wanted to go to?" "Yeah, but i we prefer to be here." Ruby said and rubbed Ninas arm. "I am sorry, i am such a mess." "Anyone would be. Its okay." Tim said and gave her a smile. "It was a nice weekend and she is doing okay, it is just hard to see her like that. She was an olympian, she would run marathons for fun and she would always be on the go. Now she is just laying around, sleeping or throwing up." Nina said sadly. Rylee and Clara hugged her tightly. "I am sure your mom is fighting really hard to get through this." "Yeah." Nina sighed. The group stayed silent. "Where is Tucker?" Nina asked. "Liberary. He has gotten a phonecall from his mom, saying if he fails this semester again, it'll have consequences." Tim said. "Oh. I'd be studding, too if i got that phonecalll from Miranda Bailey." Nina laughed. "I forgot you knew his mom." "I do. My mamma is her collegue and my Mom is his stepdads boss. Was. I don't know. She still has her title, but she isn't working anymore." "I am sorry, Nina." Ruby rubbed Ninas back as new tears spread down her cheaks and more sobs shoke her body.

 "They are typing for stemcelldonation on friday next week, in the Portland city hall." Nico said. "i thought i'd go. I mean it could save someones life." "That is a great idea." Ruby said. "What is it exactly?" "You spit in a tube and they process it and cross reference it with the person, who needs a donation and if you qualify they run more tests, if you then match they take some of your bonemarrow and transplant it into the cancerpatient." Nina recited. "How'd you know?" "I researched and i already checked if i could donate for my mom, it would have been very rare, if i'd have been a candidate, because my mom isn't biologically my mom, but i just had to know." "Wait, your mom isn't your mom?" Tim asked. "No, silly. I am adopted." Nina said and smiled. "My parents Maya and Carina adopted me when i was 14. I don't know my biomum or dad. I was given up at a firestation at 2 weeks old." "But you said your mom carried your sisters." "My mamma, Carina, carried my sisters, but they were my mom, Mayas, eggs." "Confusing." Tim said. "But really cool. Noone needs men." Rylee said and laughed. "Well don't you need a donor?" Nico added. "You just need sperm." Rylee said. "And you can get that from everyone, if you aren't picky." Nina laughed. Rylees raging homosexuality and feminism was very funny at times. "I'd say we all go." Tim suggested. "To get typed." Nina nodded. "If i can't donate for my mom, i might be able to donate for someone else. I'm in." "Same." Rylee and Ruby said. They nodded and Nico sent the flyer into their groupchat to ask the rest of their group. Everyone was in, exept Franny. She had a condition that prevented her from donating, but she wanted to go with the group for moral support.

"We should make more noise around the typing. I didn't even know it was happening, until Nico said it." Ruby said, while they were in the dininghall getting lunch. "Yes. Absolutly." Nina said. "I can announce it at the game." Tim suggested. Thursday was a big baskeball game and a lot of people would be there. Tim would be commentating. "Good idea, and we can print leaflets and give them out to the people at the game." "Yes. Thats cool. I can ask the team to come get typed, too." Nico said. He was new to the team, but he quite liked it. "Cool." "Yes. Lets do that." "We can make shirts." Ruby suggested. "I don't think we have enough time." Nina said. "Oh its easy. We just need a plain shirt and i can press a design on it with my t-shirt machine. I have it in my dorm. I only have red paint, but red should do." "Red is perfect." Tim said. "Lets get white shirts tomorrow, they have them at target for like five dollers." Nina was amazed, but how invested her friends were. "What do you want to print on it?" Ruby asked. "Fuck Cancer." Nico suggested. "I don't think we are allowed to wear that language at a schoolgame." Nina laughed. "How about. Get typed and kick cancers ass." They laughed. "Hm. how about. This is Dave. Dave got typed for stemcelldonation, be like Dave." "to long. But funny." "Cancer is not just a starsign-get typed now." Nina suggested. "Its a wonderful day to save lifes-get typed." The looked at Ruby confused. "What its a reference from a show. Greys anatomy, you haven't seen it? How dare you?" Rylee said sarcasticly offended. "I like Ninas idea for the back and a tiny fuck cancer in the front. To convey the message." Nico said. They agreed. To make some noise, they needed to be provocative.

They made a few more t-shirts, after for all of their group and printed out the flyer of the official website of the american bloodcancer society. They keep it updated with all the opportunitys to go get typed and donate blood in the entire country. A few other kids heard of their inititative and saw their shirts. Some of them asked, if they could get some aswell. Nina eventually decided to use some money to buy 100 T-shirts and foil to print. It cost her 200 dollers. Which sounds alot, but she got a good price and they worked long into the night to print them. On the game they set up a table and sold the t-shirts for 20 dollers each. Nina got her expensses back and the rest went into cancer research donation. They also set up boxes for people to just donate what ever and lots of people gave them a lot more for one shirt, then they charged. It went great. Nina felt like she was doing something. She called her parents the evening of the day and told them that they had earned 2048 dollers. They had sold every shirt and gave all the leaflets away and hoped that the people would go get typed. Nina had kept two t-shirts for her moms and made three little ones for her sisters, but she left the fuck cancer out for the kids. She was very excited to give it to them when she came back home the weekend after the next, after she and her friends and hopefully many many more people got typed.

An: Get typed. Seriously. It takes like 5 minutes and you often don't even have to go anywhere. You can get a test kit sent to your house. You spit in a tube, swap your cheeks and bam done. Send it in and atleast, if you are typed in germany you get a fancy pass. In Germany you have to be 18, 50 kg and free of the medical criteria that prevents it. Just do it. It doesn't mean you have to donate. It is actually very rare. My parents have been typed for years and never even got called for aditional tests.