Don't Forget About the Roses

The Change

Present Day

I watched the girls run around the playground, immersed in another one of their games. They were always making up games.

By lunchtime, the girls were finally starting to get tired. Since Mrs. Rose had given me the afternoon off, I'd decided to move up my annual doctor's check up.

For the past few months, I'd been feeling more tired than usual and had experienced a couple of nose bleeds, something I really hadn't delt with since I was little. But I didn't, I just figured it was work.

So I dropped the girls off and drove to the doctor's office. My appointment was at 1:15, so I was trying to get there on time.

Rachel, the receptionist, smiled at me as I walked in the door. "Hi, Lauren, Dr. Graham will be ready for you in just a few minutes."

"Ok, thanks." The waiting room had been newly renovated since the last time I was here, so I was excited to see a coffee bar tucked into the corner where the water cooler used to be. And right now, a latte would be much appreciated.

With my cup in hand, I took my partially finished physical back to Rachel, along with her pen and clipboard.

"Oh, Lauren, your nose," Rachel exclaimed as I walked up to the desk.

I waved away her concern. "It's nothing. I used to get them all the time as a kid," I replied, but in the back of my mind, I wondered if it really was nothing.

But before she could say anything else, a nurse appeared at the door, kneeling to pick up the folder Rachel had dropped. "Lauren?"

I stifled the instinct to say "Here" and followed her through the door. After taking my height, weight, and blood pressure, the nurse left me to wait in the exam room for the doctor.

He didn't take long, knocking on the door before walking into the room. "Aw, Lauren, how are you doing today?"

"Pretty good, just ready to enjoy my afternoon off."

"Well, we'll get you out of here quick then. So, has anything been bothering you recently?"

"I've been a bit more tired than usual, but those girls can be kind of a handful sometimes, so that's probably what it is."

"How about nosebleeds?" I remembered the smear of blood I hadn't had a chance to wipe off.

"I've had a few, but I used to get them all the time."

"Ok, well if you don't mind, I think we should do a few tests." I nodded, always wanting to be on the safe side. Dr. Graham left the room for a little bit, and when he came back, the same nurse was in tow. "Ok, Lauren, we'll just take some blood and do those tests."

A few vials and a couple of hours later, and I was sitting in Dr. Graham's office to go over the test results.

He looked me in the eye and started off by saying, "Lauren, we've gotten back your test results and I'm a bit concerned with some of the numbers. Before, we go any further, I'd like to get a second opinion. I can have Rachel schedule you an appointment at the hospital for later today if you like, but I don't think you should wait to long if you decide not to have the appointment today.

I just nodded, not really sure what else I could say. "Ok then, I'll have Rachel schedule your appointment and give you all the information. With that, he walked back into his office, presumably to wait for his next appointment.

Rachel was waiting when I got to the front desk, handing me a card with the time and place of my appointment on it and another smile as I walked out the door.

. . .

Once I got to the hospital, it didn't take long for another nurse to come out to the waiting room to meet me, my hastily faxed over file in hand. "Alright, Lauren," she said as I was once again abandoned to sit in another sterile exam room. "The doctor will be with you shortly." And with that, she was gone.

I waited a total of ten minutes for the doctor to get there, and they were some of the longest ten minutes of my life.

When she finally knocked on the door, I thought I was going to have a heart attack. "Let's see, Lauren," she started, talking mostly to herself. "23, no major injuries or illness in the past five years. Presents with low red blood cell and platelet counts, but with a higher than normal count of white blood cells." She paused. "Ok, Lauren, how have you been feeling in the last few months, any fevers or infections?"

"No, but I have been feeling kind of tired lately. I'm a nanny though, so I figured that's just part of the job. I been having some nose bleeds thought, but I haven't had a lot of those since I was little. I used to get them all the time."

"Ok, have you experienced any shortness of breath or had any unexplained bruising in the last few weeks?"

"A little, but I had pretty bad asthma when I was a kid. As for bruising, some, but I figured it was just from playing with the girls." I smiled. Anyone who said girls weren't tough had never met the Roses.

"Hummm...well Lauren, I'd like to do what's called a peripheral blood smear to check on something. It shouldn't take long, but I will be able to make a firm diagnosis.

By the time the doctor came back, the look on her face had lost its cheerful expression.

"I'm so sorry, Lauren," she told me after she gave me the diagnosis. Acute Myeloid Leukemia.