Chapter 43: She made Sarah’s favorite soup. (@_@)
She made Sarah’s favorite soup, her body movements jerky and overly precise, as if she were afraid that dropping a spoon would shatter the fragile calmness they had managed to build...
Sarah’s father tried to make conversation. He asked Leo about his family, about his job, his voice unnaturally loud in the quiet house...
Leo gave short and polite answers, but his mind was elsewhere. He was replaying the conversation with Dr. Katana, the clinical terms...dilated cardiomyopathy, hemoptysis, transplant...circling in his head. He felt a desperate need to understand, to arm himself with the knowledge concerning her illness.
After the failed attempt at lunch, where everyone just pushed food around their plates, Leo retreated to the living room with his laptop...
Sarah sat on the couch beside him, her head resting on his shoulder, watching as he typed...
He started with the basics, looking up her condition, reading through medical websites and patient forums...
He read about symptoms, treatments, and prognosis. He read about the transplant process...the evaluation, the waiting list, the surgery, the recovery.
Each word added another layer to the fear and dread that had settled in his stomach, but it also fueled his resolve... He wasn’t going to walk into that doctor’s office unprepared. He started a new note on his phone, typing out a list of questions...
What are the stages of heart failure?
What does the evaluation for the transplant list involve?