UNEDITED
Not all storms come to disrupt your life, some come to clear your path.
Those are the words that Justin McCallister has been repeating in his mind since the day he was diagnosed with a non-cancerous brain tumour that's been causing partial...
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Adelaide
Two weeks later, I'm at Sophia's house for a sleepover with Jacey and Nadira. It's our first sleepover of the year and I'm supposed to be having fun and chatting with them, but I keep glancing at my phone that's resting on the coffee table. Justin's in Vancouver this weekend getting an MRI. The day after he told me everything, Helene managed to contact BC Children's Hospital and discuss Justin getting another MRI. And it worked out for them fairly well. This time around, he only had to miss yesterday's classes instead of a full week of school. I don't know why they needed him to come down to Vancouver – he could've gotten it done in Kelowna and the results could've been sent down there – but at least something's happening.
After our conversation, my mind was going a million kilometres an hour. While I feel terrible that he's had to go through all this, I can't stop myself from being exceedingly proud of him for getting through it. He could have turned to so many other options, but he didn't. He stayed strong.
Although I know he's strong enough to get through this appointment, that doesn't dilute my anxiousness. He called me as soon as yesterday's appointment was over, telling me how it went and well, let's just say his story differs greatly from my dad's about getting an MRI. Long story short, Justin is not allergic to the contrast like Dad is and the appointment went fine. He said his hearing is a little funny, but assured me that it will go away after a couple days. I totally understood. MRIs use magnets – I can't imagine what they do to your body.
Now, I'm waiting for another call from Justin. Today, they were supposed to get the results. The appointment wasn't until 3:30 p.m. It's now 6:00 p.m. and although I understand he might need some time to adapt to whatever results the doctors presented him with, I'm still anxious for him. This whole situation is an oxymoron – something that contradicts itself. On one hand, if the tumour is growing back then at least there's a reason behind why his seizures are getting worse. That said, the tumour growing back will lead to him needing another surgery. On the other hand, no tumour means no invasive surgery, but it does mean there's an unknown reason for the worsening seizures.
I'm snapped out of my thoughts when a ketchup chip hits me right in the face. "Earth to Addie!" Sophia says.
I blink rapidly. "What? Sorry?"
The three girls stare at me as my cousin says, "It's your turn."
"Oh," I reply, shaking my head. "Sorry." Picking up the dice, I roll all five of them, hoping I can get the right number of sixes I need in order to gain the bonus points. I feel a little guilty. I know for a fact that Sophia and Jacey hate playing Yahtzee, yet they're mucking their way through a game and I'm barely paying attention.
I roll three sixes, one three, and one two.
"Where's your head tonight?" Sophia asks me after I've carelessly flicked the three sixes to the side.
I glance up from remaining dice, pondering whether or not I should tell them about Justin. He said I could – the epilepsy part, at least. I can understand why he wouldn't want a word spoken about his dad. I wouldn't either. It's disgraceful and humiliating.
