Find Me a Cure

Chapter 2

Well you made it to chapter 2 so I must be doing something right.

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Elizabeth Liberty Johnson was not your normal ten year old. She got average grades, had a few good friends with whom she'd have slumber parties. She'd play and laugh just like every other ten year old. What made her different was that she would often suffer anemic bouts and low blood pressure. Occasionally these would get so bad that she would pass out. Often as a baby or toddler her parents would have to rush her to the ER as she had stopped breathing all together. Only to come out of it and be none the worse for wear. Being a sickly child didn't make her any less though, in fact she tried harder to keep up with her peers when playing.

Elizabeth was in class on the morning of September 11, 2001 taking a spelling test when the first plane slammed into the World Trade Center. Now she didn't know that's what had happened. She just knew she didn't feel well and quickly went up to her teacher. She was about to tell her teacher she didn't feel well after getting her attention, but found she sudden;y couldn't breath. It was like she was choking on something but she hadn't been eating anything. Coughing she clutches her chest as it contracts in pain. She feels something dribble from her mouth and her teacher is quickly moving to hold her up as the world suddenly tilts. She thinks she hears the teacher call for one of her classmates to go get the nurse but all she can think about is how much her chest hurts.

They get her to a hospital in time for the second plane to hit and she nearly flatlines.

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Miles away in Washington DC, Alfred F. Jones is playing video games in his office at the White House. He should be doing paperwork or preparing for the upcoming world meeting but these zombies need smashed, like now. He is broken from his zombie smashing zone by the ringing of his phone. Letting out a groan he goes to answer it, after pausing his game.

"Alfred, are you alright?"

"Um, hey boss. Yeah I'm fine. Why is something wrong?" His boss seemed a bit panicked, he wondered what had happened.

"A plane just struck the World Trade Center. Are you sure, you're alright?"

"I," Alfred's mouth felt suddenly dry, "Surprisingly yes. I'm fine."

Alfred turned off his game after hanging up with his boss and turned to the live news coverage of the crash. He watched as a second plane flew into the other tower. He sat in shock, expecting to feel something, but he felt nothing. It wasn't until the third plane struck the Pentagon that he felt any amount of pain. Something was really wrong here and he had no idea what.

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Elizabeth didn't find out about the World Trade Center attacks until several days later. No one thought to make the connection between them. Just another strange attack. After that attack though Elizabeth's parents began going to doctor after doctor searching for an answer. No one was able to give them an answer. Her symptoms never got that bad again. Though she did get a few bad colds and her blood pressure continued to drop dangerously low at times she never had such a violent episode again. It continued to bother her though.

When she was nineteen and attending college she finally had enough of it all. Grabbing up the copies of her life of medical records she made her way to Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. She'd get her answers one way or another.

"Yes, I'd like to see Dr. House."

She quickly explained herself to the nurse who checked her in and took her file to the hospital director, who she was assured would look over her case and ask Dr. House to take it on.