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"Mom is he right? This is only 30 percent curable." Marc asked nervously.
"At Rittenhouse it is but at St. Jude's it's 80 to 85 percent curable." Lu said to him tiring to keep him as calm as possible.
"Okay but all this is still blowing my mind. What are we going to do though you can't just leave your job to go to that other Hospital and" Marc said frustrated over all this as Lu cut him off.
"Marc honey don't worry about it I'll figurer something out. I'll go talk to Dr. Jackson before we leave today and see what he will let me do ,but for now I think we will be going to St. Jude's especially if it's your best chance there." Lu told him trying reinsure him.
"Okay ,but I don't want you to lose your job over me." Marc said not caring about himself at the moment.
"Sweetheart your a lot more important than any job to me let me worry about that you've got enough to worry about okay." Lu said as she gave marc a hug.
"Okay" marc said.
"So what is that thing there about to do?" Marc asked her
"You know when you gave your bone marrow to Isabella last year." She said tiring to think how to explain it to him.
"Yeah" Marc said.
"Okay well this is almost the same thing. Dr. Parker will make a small incision on your hip and take a needle and stick it into your hip bone and remove a small amount of marrow to see if it's not working right and what it is doing." She said to him trying to explain in it in a way he could understand it.
"Okay but will it hurt?" Marc asked worried
"I'm not going to lie to you yes it's going to hurt a little ,but it's the only way they can conform the diagnosis. Dr. Parker will numb the area where he's going to do the procedure and I'll be there with you the whole time if you want me to be." Lu told him as she rubbed his back.
"I… I want you to be with me I don't want to be by myself" marc said nervously knowing he didn't want to be alone during this.
"I'll be right there with you the whole time don't worry your going to be fine." Lu said as the nurse walked in.
"Marc are you ready?" the nurse asked him
"yeah I guess." Marc said getting off the exam table
"Okay come with me then Dr. Delgado you can wait in the waiting room this should" the nurse started until marc cut her off.
"I want my mom with me please." marc said grabbing Lu's hand starting to worry they wouldn't let her come with him.
"Okay no problem so if you will both follow me will get this started." The nurse said.
"Don't be scared I'm right here with you." Lu said as she put her arm around marc and they left the exam room. Lu and Marc followed the nurse down the hallway into another room that looked different from the exam room he was just in it was bigger with cartoons and a TV on the wall it was really kid friendly room plus the exam table was bigger and lower.
"Okay Marc I need you to change into this gown and then get on the table and lay on your side or your stomach which ever is more comfortable to you and Dr. Parker will be in a few minutes to start." The nurse said handing Lu the gown .
"Okay" Marc said as the Nurse left the room. "I really don't want to do this" Marc said nervously taking the gown from Lu and started putting it on.
"I know you don't and I hate I'm having to put you through this honey ,but we might as well get this over with there's no way around it." Lu said taking his clothes from him then tying the back of his gown for him.
"Okay I guess." marc said getting on the table. "Mom would you think I was a big baby if I said I am really scared." Marc asked laying down on his stomach looking up at her .
"No absolutely not. This would be scary for anyone. It's completely understandable for you to be scared don't worry sweetie. Remember what I said I'm right here with you and I'm not going any where" Lu said holding his hand.
"Okay" Marc said as Dr. Parker and the nurse walked back in.
"So are you ready Marc" Dr. Parker asked him.
"Ye…yeah I guess lets just get this over with please." Marc said nervously
"Okay it want take long. Lu I'm going to do a bone marrow aspiration to while we have him here. Do you want us to give him a sedative to put him to sleep through it?" Dr. Parker asked Lu.
"Honey do you want them to give you some medicine to make you sleep through it?" Lu asked him
"No I want to be awake I want to know what's going on." Marc said looking at her.
"Okay that's fine we just want you to be as comfortable as possible" Lu said as she ruffled his hair.
"Lu can you hold his hand and try to keep him as clam and as still as possible." Dr. Parker said as he was cleansing the area where the pedicure would be done and putting numbing cream on the area.
"Okay" Lu said as she sat down in the chair beside the table and held marcs hand.
"Are you ready Marc" Dr. Parker asked him.
Marc nodded his head yes.
"I've got you don't worry" Lu said seeing the worry in his eyes and gave marc a kiss on the forehead.
"Lets do this then. I'll tell you if I'm going to do something that may hurt. I'm going to numb the area up where I'm going to do the procedures." Dr. Parker said as he numbed he numbed the area. "Ok marc I'm going to make a small incision you may feel some pressure." He said as he made the incision.
"Ok now I'm going to take a needle and get a sample this is going to hurt a little. Can you count backswords from 100 for me. Dr. Parker asked as he got ready to do the biopsy.
"yeah 100.….99.…98.….97.…96...owe owe! owe!!" marc hollered as he started crying.
"It's ok baby I'm right here I've got you okay come on count with me 95..." Lu said to marc trying to calm him down and hold him still.
"94.…93...92.…91.…90...89.…88.…87..." both of them said counting .
"Okay the biopsy is done now were going to do the aspiration. Are you ready?" Dr. parker asked getting the other needle ready.
"Yeah just do it" Marc said in tears holding his moms hand with her stroking his head with the other.
"Okay it may sting a little" Dr. Parker said inserting the needle.
Marc flinched as he inserted the needle.
"Okay that's it all done that wasn't to bad now was it." He said collecting his stuff.
"Yeah right" Marc said sarcastically still crying a little.
"Let me bandage this up for you and you will be mostly done for today." Dr. Parker said banding it up for him.
"Thank goodness." Marc said weakly.
"You did great baby" Lu said giving him a kiss on his cheek.
"Now let me go take a look at this. You can get dressed and go wait in the waiting room and will call you to my office for the results in a few minutes. You did really well." Dr. Parker said getting up and heading out the door.
"Here let me help you" Lu said picking up his clothes. Okay Marc said sitting up as his mom helped him get dressed. She helped him up and Marc had to hold on to her to walk out to the waiting room since his hip was really sore.
Lu and Marc got to the waiting room and Lu helped Marc sit down on the couch and she sat down beside him.
"Are you okay?" Lu asked him .
"Yeah but my hip hurts really bad." Marc said complaining
"Here lay your head in my lap so you can take some of the pressure off of it." Lu said as she moved over a little and Marc laid his head in his mom's lap.
"better?" She asked as she ran her fingers through his hair.
"Yeah a little." Marc said
"Good" said Lu stroking his head. After a few minutes marc had fallen asleep. Lu Looked at her son and wondered why all this was happing to him with a tear in her eye she just sat their thinking as his whole childhood came rushing back to her.
Andy walked in and saw Lu sitting with marc and went over and touched Lu on the shoulder. Lu jumped and looked around behind her and noticed it was Andy. "Oh Hi Andy you startled me what are you doing here?" Lu asked trying not to wake marc.
"Sorry I was just wondering how are you and Marc doing?" Andy asked as she came around and sat on the arm of the sofa.
"Well it could be a lot better. They did a bone marrow biopsy on him and Jeff is back there looking at right now. He wants to send him to St. Jude Children's research Hospital." Lu said to her.
"Really…. I hadn't even thought about that place in a long time. Are you going to do it? You know there really a lot more advanced than we are at treating pediatric cancers and have a greater survival rate." Andy said.
"Yeah that's what he said to I don't know probably though I have no clue how I would be able to do it with all my patients here but if it's best for marc I'll do anything. I just have to see what I can do but we probably will." Lu said rambling not knowing what to do.
"I've been there before but it's been years" Andy said.
"Really?" Lu asked.
"Yeah it's a advanced hospital for children and the staff and doctors are very nice they treat you like your part of the family." Andy said
"Marc Delgado" the nurse called.
"I'll tell you what I've decide after we get out. Marc honey wake up." Lu said tiring to wake up her son.
"Hun…Oh ok" marc said sitting up rubbing his eyes.
"Hi Dr. Campbell" Marc said as Lu helped him up
"Hi Marc" Andy said as she smiled at him
"I'll talk to you later Andy." Lu said
"Ok Delgado good luck" Andy said as Lu and Marc walked through the door.