Stay With You (Anthony Rizzo)

11

Anthony

On this fine May afternoon I find myself in the hospital like I do most days. At least when I'm here in Chicago. I just got back from a four day trip in Milwaukee and I was happy to be back in Chicago. This place was quickly becoming home to me and I love getting back here.

In my time in the hospital I walk around the 14th floor waiting for Maliyah to wake up. The doctors were insistent they can help her with everything that's going on and I sure hope that they were right. It helps that she's a little bit older and can tell them everything she's feeling, but leukemia is hard because the cancer is in the blood and can't be pinpointed and it can spread so easily.

"Good morning Anthony" one of my favorite little kids says and I bend down and talk to him. He isn't usually on the 14th floor but the older kids always invite the younger kids up to hang out.

"Good morning Oliver. How are you feeling today" I wonder.

"I feel great" he cheers and I smile.

"That's awesome buddy. Did you catch the game last night" I wonder and he nods his head.

"My mom let me stay up to see the whole entire thing" he claims.

"Good. I needed my little good luck charm" I insist. I pinch his cheek as he smiles up to me and it just makes my heart flutter.

A moment later I hear a scream that gives me chills down my spine. There's a large crash that follows and both Oliver and I freeze. I feel my blood run cold as the scream echoes throughout the hospital. I look down the end of the hall and fear that sound came from Maliyah's room. Another scream follows shortly after the crash and my fears were confirmed. Something terrible was happening and I don't even want to know what it is at this point.

"Olly, quickly go get nurse Tamara and any doctor you can find and send them to Maliyahs room, okay" I ask and he nods his head. He takes off into the main area of the hospital and I rush into Maliyah's room.

When I get there I see her table knocked over and her laying beside it on the ground. She was scrunched up in a ball screaming as she held her side. I could hear her gasping for air as she tried so hard to keep breathing.

"Baby what's wrong" I ask as I rush over to be by her side. Her eyes still closed shut as she sobs. I didn't want to touch her and hurt her, but I also didn't want to just leave her like this.

"I can't breathe" she whimpers as a tear drops to the floor.

"Alright. I'm going to pick you up and take you to the emergency department. It's going to hurt but you gotta keep breathing okay" I ask.

"Okay" she whispers.

I softly pick her up from the ground and carry her in my arms. She starts to groan again and I feel my heart break into a million pieces. She wraps her arms around my neck and I hold her tight. She was so freakishly light it was terrifying.

I quickly start to head to the emergency section of the hospital before I run into Tamara. I fill her in what I know and she helps us get to the emergency wing. Once we get there I lay her down on one of the the emergency room tables. I try to walk away and let her get attended to but she grabs my hand.

"Please... don't leave me. I'm so scared" she whispers.

"I won't baby, I promise. I'm right here, I'll stay with you" I assure her as I return to her side.

I hold her hand as they get her hooked up to a oxygen machine and a iv. Eventually they get her asleep so she isn't in pain anymore and they can figure out their next move. They take her for a MRI and I stay in her room the whole time. Eventually they come back and I hold her hand again. I look at her as she laid there, my hands still shaking from earlier. That was by far the scariest moment of my entire life. I've never heard someone scream like that. I've never seen someone in so much pain either. I hated that this was happening to her, she's done no wrong. She didn't deserve this at all and I wish I could just fix it.

"Anthony" a soft voice says and I look up from her. I see Tamara standing there and I get this knot in my chest.

"Yeah" I say softly. She sits down next to me as she looks over to Maliyah and I look back too.

"Her MRI results show that she has lung cancer. The Leukemia is shutting them down and she has to have a transplant. They're looking for a donor and as soon as we have one she will be on the operation table" she explains.

A warm tear hits my cheek before it's followed by another one and another one. I look at the hand I was holding and prayed that it would hold me back. That she'll wake up and everything would be okay. But I know that isn't possible.

"Is she... is she gonna make it" I ask.

"That's entirely up to her" she says.

"Do you think she wants to stay" I wonder.

"I really do, and a lot of it has to do with you. She lost everything, her sport, her education, her friends. But then you came along and suddenly she wanted to get better. She wanted so bad the other day to go watch you play. She wanted to go to Wrigley and wear your jersey and be in the crowd. There's so many things she wants to do, and she wants to do them with you. I don't think she's going anywhere until she does them" she explains.

"Why did this happen to her. She doesn't deserve this" I sniffle.

"I don't know. She's the sweetest and most thoughtful person I've ever met. Bad things just seem to happen to good people" she shrugs.

"I want this to be over" I cry. Finally breaking down from the events of this morning.

"Oh Anthony, come here" she says as she pulls me into a hug. I cry into her chest but make sure I still keep Maliyahs hand in mine. I let it out as I try to figure out where to go from here.