Present Perfect

by Alison Bailey

  Today, the answer is yes.

  Chemo was going to start right after the New Year. I had to go through ten cycles, alternating chemo weeks and off weeks. This would be a part of my life for at least four months, longer if needed. With everything associated with my cancer, I was most afraid of having chemo. I didn’t know if I would lose my hair, be throwing up all the time, or have ulcers all in my mouth. Chemo doesn’t only attack the cancer cells, it also hinders your body from making good cells so infection was a high probability. I had to be extremely careful around other people. A common cold could put me in the hospital for weeks or kill me.

  Mom and I pulled into the parking lot of the hospital. I was confused because I was supposed to have the chemo at the clinic. Mom parked the car. Before getting out to get my wheelchair she turned to me, guilt written across her face.

  “Amanda, you’re not having chemo today. You’re having a portacath put in today.”

  “I don’t understand. What is that?”

  “It’s a catheter that they’re going to put right here in your chest.” She pointed to the area just below her shoulder. “You’ll be asleep while they put it in. It’s so when you do get chemo or they need to draw blood, they won’t have to stick you. They’ll just put the medicine through the catheter,” she explained.

  “So I’m going to have this thing sticking out of my chest all the time?” I felt the tears prick my eyes. God, I was so done with crying.

  “For a little while.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Sweetheart, I didn’t want you to worry about it over the holidays and have it ruin your Christmas.”

  “Cause the cancer and amputation made Christmas just a little more special and fun.”

  Mom looked away from me and out the windshield. Her chin started to quiver and a tear trickled down her face. “I’m sorry, Amanda. I just thought it would be one less thing you needed to deal with over the holidays.”

  “I know. I’m sorry I was being a smartass.”

  “I would do anything to take this away from you.”

  Mom grabbed my hand and brought it to her cheek. I felt her warm tears fall on to it. We sat there crying for as long as possible before heading inside for the procedure.

  The first chemo was a few days after they placed the catheter in me. I hated having something sticking out of me. I couldn’t look at it.

  Mom and I entered a room with recliners lining the walls. Each had its own IV pole. There were only a couple of chairs open. This cancer was trying to mow down everybody. I picked one of the two recliners available and sat. Once the nurse came in she wiped the end of my catheter with an alcohol swab before she drew my blood from it. She wiped it again with another alcohol swab, hung a couple of bags filled with saline and steroids, and told me they were waiting for the chemo drugs to come from the pharmacy.

  Mom read a magazine while I snuck glances at the faces surrounding me. There were two grandmother age ladies, a granddaddy age man, a guy that looked to be my age, who was pretty cute, and a young girl, who couldn’t have been more than 10 years old.

  My nurse returned carrying bright green baggies that I soon found out contained the chemo drugs. I put in my ear buds, closed my eyes and turned Lifehouse up as high as I could without disturbing the other people, while the toxic concoction was pumped into my bloodstream.

  Forty-five minutes into chemo, I still felt okay. Maybe it wouldn’t be as bad as I thought. I opened my eyes and removed my ear buds when Mom tapped me on the shoulder. “Sweetheart, will you be okay if I go get a cup of coffee?”

  “Sure.”

  “Do you want anything?” she asked.

  “No thanks.”

  As she walked out the room, I noticed that most of the chairs were empty. The patients who had been there when Mom and I arrived had all gone, except for the cute guy. I placed the ear buds back in and closed my eyes.

  Soon after, I felt a tap on my arm. I turned my head and opened my eyes thinking Mom had forgotten something. I was met by the deepest dark blue eyes I had ever seen. It was the cute guy from across the room, only up close he was more than just cute. His hair was light brown, cut short and looked like he had just gotten out of bed. His chiseled jawline was speckled with a light beard and I would kill for his cheekbones and nose. Both were perfect. He was leaning over the arm of the chair slightly, staring and smiling at me. He was a hottie.

  “Can I help you?” I asked removing my ear buds.

  “Nah, I’m good.” He stayed like that for a few more seconds. Oddly enough, it didn’t bother me to have a cute sexy stranger this close.

  Then he grabbed my iPod, sat back in his chair, and started flipping through it. “Let’s see what we have here. Lifehouse,” he said, nodding his approval. “Snow Patrol, nice. Green Day, awesome. Tracey Chapman, cool. Coldplay and Linkin Park, excellent taste. Oh, oh, oh…wait a sec…what’s this?” Shaking his head he said, “I thought for a minute, you were the love of my life.”

  “Really? What changed your mind?”

  “N’Sync. Breaks my heart.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with them. They gave us JT.”

  Arching one eyebrow, he said, “True. They also gave us Joey Fatone.” I returned the smile he flashed at me. “Dalton Connor.” We shook hands.

  “Amanda Kelly.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Amanda Kelly. I wish we could have worked something out.”

  “It was fun while it lasted,” I said, as he handed my iPod back.

  I noticed he had picked his up. I snatched it from him and started flipping through songs.

  “Let’s see what we have here. The Police…hmmm. The Stones, Eric Clapton, You’re an old schooler.” I flipped through a few more songs. “Now what do we have here? The Bodyguard soundtrack, Whitney Houston-The Ultimate Collection, Just Whitney, and of course, no collection would be complete without I’m Your Baby Tonight.” Smirking with satisfaction, I glanced over at him. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

  “I’m a romantic.” I tossed his iPod back to him.

  “So, what’s a hot girl with one leg doing in a place like this?”

  “Um…I have the cancer.”

  “That’s pretty obvious, smartass. What kind?” he asked.

  “Osteosarcoma.”

  “Stage?” I looked at him in obvious confusion. “What stage is your cancer? One through four, four being the worst or the best depending on your perspective.”

  “I have no idea.”

  “You’re such a newb. I have stage four brain cancer. It’s full throttle for me, baby.” I didn’t know what to say to that, so I just stared at him. “Don’t worry, though. I will guide you through the treacherous waters of the cancer ocean and teach you my ways, young grasshopper.”

  “I appreciate that Mr. Miyagi.”

  He shook his head. “Not only are you mixing TV with movie characters, but Kung Fu and The Karate Kid are like a decade apart.”

  “Your point?”

  Slowly the corners of his mouth curled up into a mischevious grin. He leaned in close to me like he had a secret. “Amanda Kelly, are you legal?”

  “What?”

  “Are you legal age?”

  “Why?”

  “Because when you finally give into your desires, rip my clothes off, and have your way with me, I don’t want to be arrested, and end up the girlfriend of inmate 25043.”

  “I thought you didn’t want me to be your girl because of my poor choice in music.”

  “True, but you’re hot and I’d still fuck you.”

  If anyone else, on our first meeting, had said that to me, I would have been completely offended, but coming from this boy I just met, it made me smile.

  “You’re disgusting,” I teased.

  “I’m also adorable as hell. All the girls think so,” he said, winking at me.

  “Apparently, they’re not the only ones who think that.”

  “I like you, Amanda Kelly, and I wa
nt you to be my friend.”

  “I like you too, Dalton Connor, and I’d be proud to be your friend.” We shook hands sealing our new found friendship.

  “So, the lady with you is your mom?”

  “Yeah. Who’s here with you?” I asked.

  “I’m ridin’ solo.”

  “Where’s your mom?”

  “Let’s see, today is Wednesday…she’s probably on her third margarita while she sits with my dad on the cruise ship.”

  “They’re on a trip while you’re sick?”

  “I’ve been sick for so long I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t. Other people can’t stop living their lives just because yours is coming to an end.”

  I felt my heart completely break for this guy, who I’d only met fifteen minutes ago.

  He interrupted my train of thought, saying, “Don’t look at me like that.”

  “Like what?”

  “With pity.”

  “I’m sorry. It’s just…you shouldn’t have to go through this alone.”

  “I won’t now that I have you.”

  Dalton sat with me for the rest of my chemo that day, even though his was done an hour before mine. He met Mom and charmed her, just as much as he had me. He had been diagnosed when he was fifteen and just turned twenty in December. He told me his doctors were shocked that he had survived this long. He had one brother who lived in New York, but other than his parents, he didn’t have any other family here.

  There was something about this boy that I immediately connected with, besides the common denominator of cancer. I had only had that feeling with Noah. Dalton was sweet, funny, smart, brave, and alone. I wanted him to come home with us, so I could take care of him. I had only known him for one afternoon and I felt like I had a new best friend.

  Today is the first time I haven’t felt like writing since I learned how to write. There have been days when I didn’t know what to write about, but the desire to write was always there.

  Writing is such a part of who I am. My identity. Cancer is not only eating away at my body, it’s eating away at who I am and what I love. I don’t consider myself a very strong person. I don’t know how much I can take before I break. I just know I feel the crack becoming longer and wider each time the cancer devours another part of me.

  The effects of chemo are worse than having cancer. A person could live for years with cancer growing inside them and never know it until a doctor examines them and tests tell them so. I used to wonder how a person could have cancer all over their body, only have a few months to live, and not feel the effects of it. It’s because cancer is a quiet bastard, that sneaks in and consumes you before you realize what’s happened.

  Chemo, on the other hand, is loud and proud. It won’t let you forget that it is a constant presence in your life. Not only does it let you know while it’s invading your body at the clinic, it follows you home and moves in. I started feeling the effects shortly after I had gotten home from treatment number one.

  At first, I thought it was all the stress and anxiety I had during the day, that was crashing in on me. As the day went on, I felt progressively worse. The first visible sign of the cancer killing chemicals flowing through my body was the first time I went to pee. It was red and freaked me out. I really should have read all the info Dr. Lang gave me about chemotherapy.

  The second side effect was the sensation of heat building up inside. It started in my chest and then radiated throughout my entire body. That, coupled with the phantom pain I was still experiencing, made me want to blow my brains out.

  The next day I woke up, after only an hour’s worth of sleep, flushed red all over my body and my face was hot and puffy. Later that day, I started getting very intense indigestion and some hiccups. The hiccups were not your normal type. They were so forceful that they shook my body and they lasted for an hour or so at a time.

  The nausea started settling in, a couple of hours after the indigestion started. This was not your normal nausea in which you would feel a wave that would crest and fall through you. Chemo nausea was a sharp pain that continuously stabbed at my stomach. It reminded me of the phantom pain I had. The pain shocks you because it’s as if it comes out of nowhere. Each time I threw up, my throat burned a little more until it was completely raw. The nausea was relentless. I had thrown up all the contents of my stomach after three episodes. From then on, I had dry heaves that left my stomach and back in unbearable pain.

  I always thought chemo took your appetite away. Maybe for some but for me, my appetite skyrocketed. I was starving. I wanted to eat and I tried to, but I had developed a couple of ulcers in my mouth and the pain I felt when any food or drink washed over them wasn’t worth it to me.

  By day three post first chemo I was completely exhausted. I don’t mean a little tired. I mean I could barely lift my head up off the pillow exhausted. I had lived on milkshakes and apple juice for three days before the diarrhea started and it burned as if someone had taken a hot poker and shoved it up my ass and left it there.

  I felt depression setting in. I was still mourning the loss of my leg and the effects of the chemo were causing me to fall deeper into a feeling of despair. I couldn’t do this. I wasn’t strong enough. I considered calling Dr. Lang and telling him I wanted to stop the chemo and would just take my chances.

  Noah called me several times a day wanting to come over, but I just couldn’t let him see me this way. Maybe I could see him on my off weeks. Besides, his second semester had started and there was Brooke. He didn’t need to spend time watching me throw up. I also had decided that I needed to pull away from him some. After the way I felt watching him walk out the door Christmas day, I knew I was becoming more dependent on him and at some point, wouldn’t be able to let him go. I made a promise to myself that I was not going to burden Noah with any of this. I wanted him to have a happy normal life, not one being a nurse to me.

  My second round of chemo was even worse, if that was possible. I was in the bathroom puking my guts out when I heard voices in the hallway. It was Noah. He and Emily were arguing. “Noah, she’s having a bad day.”

  “I need to see her, Emily.”

  “Now is not a good time. She’s very sick today. The chemo hit her harder this week.”

  “I want to take care of her.”

  “Noah, please go…”

  “No. She’s pushed me away since Christmas and I don’t understand why. I promised her we’d get through this together. I haven’t seen her in two weeks. I need to see her. Please, Emily.”

  I heard a soft knock on the door and Emily asked, “Manda, are you okay? Can I come in?”

  I sat back on the tile floor, my back resting against the tub. “Yes.” My voice sound so weak. The exhaustion had set in earlier this week than before. I was barely able to sit up.

  The door slowly opened and Emily stepped in, closing it behind her. She got a rag, ran warm water over it, and pressed it against my forehead. “Noah’s here and he wants to see you.”

  “Emily…”

  “I told him you were sick, but…Manda, if you could see the look on his face. It broke my heart. He looks so sad and lost. He wants to be here for you.”

  “He doesn’t need to spend his life taking care of me,” I whispered.

  “But I think he wants to.”

  “I want to go back to bed now.”

  Emily started helping me up. I was still getting use to my new leg. The leg guy said eventually it would feel like an extension of me. Right now, it felt like it weighed a ton and was awkward as hell to maneuver.

  Once I was up on my feet, my knees felt weak and collapsed underneath me. My knee caps hit the tile floor hard and sent a piercing pain up my legs. I started to cry uncontrollably. Then I felt the warm protective arms of Noah scoop me up and carry me into my bedroom, all the while he whispered into my hair, “I’ve got you, Tweet. I’ll take care of you.”

  I couldn’t stop crying. I felt so physically and mentally defeated, I couldn’t pull myself tog
ether. Emily was standing in the doorway with tears running down her face. Sitting in front of me on the bed, Noah brought his hands up to my face, and wiped my tears away with this thumbs.

  I looked at him through blurred vision and said, “I’m so ashamed.”

  “Why?” he asked.

  “Because I can’t do anything for myself anymore. Every part of my body feels sick. I just want to die.” I looked up at him with pleading eyes. “Noah, tell them to let me go.” My sobs became so heavy, I was having a hard time catching my breath. I heard Emily crying louder.

  Noah shifted to sit behind me and enveloped me in his arms, my back pressed securely to his chest. He buried his face in my neck. I felt it get wet with his tears as he whispered, “I can’t do that. I need you too much. Don’t leave me.”

  I fell asleep and slept soundly the entire night for the first time in over a week. When I woke up the next morning, the reason why I slept so well still had his arms around me.

  Dalton got me through my bad days as much as possible. He called every day to check on me and had come over to hang out when he was having a good day. He even went to the hospital with me when they removed my portacath. It got infected. Since all these chemo drugs were in me, my immune system was shot to hell, so the catheter needed to be removed immediately. I told Dr. Lang I didn’t want another one placed. I hated the idea and look of something under my skin sticking out of my body. I would just suck it up and deal with the IV sticks for chemo.

  I don’t know how I would have gotten through everything without Dalton. My family and Noah were a tremendous help, but they could only empathize. Dalton knew what my body was feeling and how my mind was trying to process it all. I didn’t have to explain anything to him. He read me just as well as Noah.

  I had become very attached to Dalton, in a relatively short period of time. I could tell my parents and Emily were concerned that I was becoming too attached by the looks on their faces whenever they saw us together or I talked about him. I didn’t know what my feelings were toward him. I just knew I needed him in my life. I always thought there was one soul mate out there for each person. Dalton made me think twice about that. Maybe some people are lucky enough to have two soul mates in their lifetime.