Guardian Angel (A Sample)

Cancer!

Taylor knew her symptoms, she had to live with them each and every day for the last few years. She did not need a run-down of them again. The tumour at the base of her head was in a very close relationship with her brain and her spinal cord. The only thing keeping her going was her schedule seven pain medication and her mother's will to keep her alive, which Taylor feared might not be enough.

Daimhin moved around the desk and stood behind Dr. Dunne's chair. He peered over her shoulder and read the file opened up in front of her. He scanned her hasty scribbles and he studied the black and white X-rays. Taylor's brain was presented in little black and white slides to build a three-dimensional picture of the inside of her head. There were CAT scans and MRI scans. No wonder she was so fragile and pale and that is why her name appeared on his list yesterday. This time the system corrected itself in such a way that Daimhin no longer had the option of not touching her and ushering her away.

He moved away from Dr. Dunne's chair to stand behind Taylor.

Dr. Dunne smiled encouragingly while pushing her chair back from the desk. "Go ahead and get changed, Taylor."

Her mother rose from her chair to follow Taylor, but the doctor put a hand on her arm to stop her. She waited for Taylor to close the examination room door behind her, and then she insisted softly, "It's time for Taylor to go into hospital, Michelle. She won't be able to manage her pain for much longer. Soon she will need medication which I cannot prescribe for self-medication."

" Can you give us another few days?"

" It's Wednesday today. Spend the weekend together, but I am going to make all the arrangements for her to be booked into hospital by Monday, and I am sorry, Michelle, I am not sure she will last that long without stronger pain medication. I just want to make sure you understand the odds of keeping her at home."

" We've been through this before, doctor. And I have read the statistics, it is not as if we have an alternative, do we?" Michelle's voice got caught in her throat as she said, "I just want her to feel as normal as possible for as long as possible."

" Then we'll hope for the best." The doctor walked toward the examination room. She knocked at the door, waiting for Taylor's soft, "Come in," before she entered the room.

Taylor lay on the thin metal bed in a hospital gown. She looked incredibly fragile.