Take on Me

29

¤ Shadow Wind
Dotan ↲

Lost in distance
Fighting this war
Your heart is a weapon
Catching the glow
The sirens keep calling out
Hunting around for stories

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Taehyung spent the next several days trying to piece together a plan - he was desperate to find a way to help the Jeon family in any way possible.

Following the news of Juyeon's illness, he learned more about her medical history from Jungkook. When she was first diagnosed, the doctors were hopeful that a modified and nutritious diet would help. However, after her symptoms worsened, the only options were dialysis or a transplant. The waiting list for transplants was long, so they started Juyeon on dialysis instead.

Her treatment was ongoing, and all the medical diagnoses, tests, and procedures began to add up. The family's insurance certainly helped, though it didn't cover everything completely. Multiple bills began to accumulate, which was on top of the family's other normal expenses.

Jungkook explained how much he hated seeing his family struggle, especially when he was contributing to the costs with his education. So, after his first year of college, he dropped his courses, moved home, and found a full-time job.

Taehyung was in awe of Jungkook's selflessness - where he came from, such an act was rare. But for Jungkook, whose family meant the world to him, he'd do anything. Even if it meant donating his kidney.

Taehyung learned that Juyeon had dialysis multiple days per week, sitting for hours on end to receive the treatment. Over time, however, the rambunctious, vivid little girl changed before her family's eyes. She had no energy and was sad all of the time. Dialysis was saving her life, but at the same time, it was sucking the life out of her.

The Jeon family couldn't stand seeing her like that, so they went back to considering a transplant. The doctors explained how a family member could potentially be a match, so Jungkook and his parents got tested. Both Jungkook and his mother were matches, however, Jiho had a preexisting condition that rendered her ineligible to donate.

So without any hesitation, Jungkook volunteered.

The surgery went well and both Jungkook and Juyeon recovered as expected. In the beginning months, it appeared that Juyeon was better than ever. The new kidney functioned properly and her energy came back tenfold. The entire Jeon family was overjoyed.

But, just a couple months ago, Juyeon's body showed signs of rejecting the transplant. Her system was refusing to accept the new kidney as her immune system recognized the organ as foreign tissue. Juyeon took medication to reduce her immune system's response, though it wasn't helping as anticipated.

The transplant was failing.

Jungkook explained that when he ran out of the art class all those weeks ago, Juyeon was admitted into the hospital with a severe infection. Luckily she pulled through, but the doctors explained that unless a higher dosage of medicine helped, they'd have to reconsider their options. But for now, the new dosage of medication was working. There were still risks, of course, but the doctors were pleased with Juyeon's progress.

Somehow they had gotten lucky.

But even though Juyeon's health was seemingly stable, the Jeon family still had other worries - paying down mountains of debt. With the amount of medical bills and late payments the family had, it would be years before they were in a more comfortable place. Taehyung offered to help in any way he could, though Jungkook didn't want to accept any more money from him. He wanted to do this on his own.