Cameryn May - A Fresh Start

Chapter 7 - Flashback

FLASHBACK TO OCTOBER 2013

"Dad! Dad?" called out Cameryn, "where are you?"

"In here Cam," responded Luke in a weak and shaky voice.

The 9-year-old pranced into the living room in search of her father. "Dad, Dad, look!" She jumped through the doorway revealing the new shirt she was wearing. A red and white Arsenal jersey, 2 Scott, was displayed on the back.

"It looks great," said her dad as he sat perched on the sofa's edge. "Are you excited for the game in three weeks?"

"Best birthday present ever," she responded. "I'm going to be 10 in three weeks and I'm going to see my first women's Arsenal game." 

"Cameryn, can you help me please?" asked her mother as she stuck her head through the doorway. "Why don't you take these clothes up to your room?" her mother said as she handed her a basket of clean and folded clothes.

"Okay Mum," she responded as she danced out of the room still in the red and white jersey.

"Are you okay there hun?" asked Lianna to Luke who was bent over on his knees short of breath. 

"Yeah darling, just a bit out of breath. This round of chemo is really taking its toll on me," he replied hoping not to scare his wife. "I'm sure I'll be fine by her birthday."

Luke May, Cameryn's father, had stage IV leukemia, it was reaching a point where there would no longer be any treatment options for him, but none of the children knew that.

Lianna sat on the couch holding onto the short-of-breath man hoping he would begin to pick up his breath again. Yet, unlike usual, he didn't. His breathing began to get more and more shallow, not nearly enough to keep him alive.

"Luke," she said tapping his arm, she repeated his name over and over again getting louder and more frantic each time.

She grabbed her phone out of her pocket and dialled 999 before placing it on speaker and sitting it on the sofa. Lianna lifted Luke to the ground laying him on his back hoping that less pressure on his lungs would help him to breathe.

"We are coming now ma'am," the operator on the end of the line said, "only five minutes away". Lianna was frantic in her efforts to try and help her husband but nothing she did was worked. 

Suddenly, two children appeared at the doorway, it was the twins. "Dad look at this," Jayden spoke but not long after, Cameryn let out a shriek. She had finally sighted her father lying motionless on the ground.

"Dad! Dad!" she wailed running over to him. Jayden used all his might to pull his sister away and out of the room. At only 9 years old, he still knew that the best thing they could do was give their mother space, as well as the paramedics who had just run into the house.

Their father was loaded onto a gurney and wheeled out of the house past the four children sitting in the kitchen. A man was standing on the edge of the bed performing chest compressions rapidly in an attempt to save their dad's life. April, Cameryn and Wyatt were crying for what felt like forever while Jayden sat in the corner numb. He had just watched his dad be wheeled out of the house while a man pounded on his chest, he was going to be scarred for life.

"Mum!" April cried out as Lianna emerged into the kitchen, her face tear-stained. "Where are they taking him?" she asked.

"To the hospital," Lianna responded in a gentle tone, "they're going to help him. We can go and see him soon, I just need to grab a few things." She ran upstairs throwing some clothes and other things into a bag before rushing the kids out the door and into the car.