This isn't like my other stories, so if you shed a tear you have been forewarned.
*****
At the age of nine Abel Carter was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma. He had no idea how he could have coped with all the pain of the chemotherapy, the bone morrow transfusions, if it wasn't for his very loving parents. It was because of them he could endure all the treatments the doctors put him on, and what do you know after three long hard years Abel beat those pesky little tumors. And so, for six long peaceful years he enjoyed life to its fullest knowing how lucky he was to be alive. Yet he knew how narrow his margin of survival was. So he had come to terms with his death at an early age that no child should ever have to experience. Then again, life is never known to be fair, or caring to those that live within this world of man. So Abel's mother Carol took him every month to ensure herself and him that his cancer was truly gone for the first year then every six months after that. However, we all know how fate can be the cruelest to those of us that has let to truly live. A day before his eighteenth birthday Abel knew it had come back, although this time worse than before.
"Abel!" Carol cried out as she walked in through the back door that led to the kitchen to find her son on the floor having a seizure. Quickly moving objects out of the way so he wouldn't harm himself. Dialing her husband's cell as she paced the kitchen waiting for her son to come out of his seizure.
"
What's wrong sweetheart
?!" Dan asked as he heard his wife's whimpering over the phone.
"It's Abel..."
"
What's wrong, what happened
?!" Dan asked fear creeping into his voice.
"He's had a seizure," Carol said breaking down. Crying her heart out as she watched her son's body jerk.
"
Call 911, I'll meet you at the hospital
."
"M-mom," Abel said weakly as he came out of his seizure. Confused as to where he was.
"I'm here baby," Carol said tossing the cordless phone aside once the ambulance was on its way. That hard piece of plastic bounced, skidded, and crashed into the wall before breaking apart. "I'm here, I got you," she cooed softly as she gently brushed his hair, "don't get up, the ambulance is on its way," Carol said her eyes red and puffy as she looked down at her son.
"O-okay," Abel said groggily. "What happened?"
"You had a seizure baby," Carol said her lip trembling.
"It's back isn't it?" Abel asked his heart raced in fear of the truth.
"I don't know, let's wait until Dr. Mott has a look at you, alright?" Carol said praying that his cancer hadn't came back.
Seven minutes later the paramedics arrived, Carol moved quickly out of the way as they looked over her son before they helped him onto the stretcher. Her hands wrapped around his as she rode beside him as the paramedics went about their tasks. Squeezing his hand reassuringly as they raced towards the hospital.
"Where's Abel?!" Dan asked as he came rushing into hospital room they had set his son up in.
"Oh Dan!" Carol cried throwing her arms around her husband. "They just took him to run some test."
"Shh, we got through this before we can do it again," Dan said softly as he held onto his wife for support.
An hour turned into two as they waited for their son to return from the MRI. Waiting on Abel's doctor to come in to inform them what was happening to their only child. Dan was growing restless as the minutes wore on. Stopping in his tracks as the door to Abel's room opened. His heart swelled as his son smiled weakly at him, and it broke at the same time when he saw the pain in his son's eyes.
"Hey bubby, how you feeling?" Dan asked as the nurse finally left after she hooked her son to the machines. His hand slipped into his son's who gave it a weak squeeze.
"Oh you know, woman undressing me, dudes poking me in dark places," Abel said jokingly.
"We'll get through this Abel," Dan said into his son's hair as he placed a kiss on his head. "You just have to be strong like before."
"Yeah," Abel said weakly. He was tired of fighting. Tired of always being sick, tired of doctors poking at him. Tired of all the test they ran, so, so very tired of the hand life dealt him. Most of all he was tired of seeing the worry, the fear, the helplessness in his parents eyes because they were given a faulty son.
"Hello Abel," Dr. Mott said as he entered the room carrying the folder of the MRI scans underneath his arm.
"Hi," Abel said messing with the heart monitor clip on his left index finger. The room was silent as his doctor looked over the scans. Abel knew it was bad given the dark spots on the film. He could tell his cancer had spread from his brain to the rest of his body. The look on his doctor's face told him such as Dr. Mott turned towards him.
"What is it doctor?!" Carol asked gripping her son's hand hard.
"I think it be best if we..."
"No," Abel said speaking up, "tell me I want to know."
"You're cancer has returned Abel... and it's inoperable," Dr. Mott said somberly.
"What?!" Dan roared rising from his seat.
"Are you sure?" Carol asked not believing a word.
"I'm afraid so," Dr. Mott said. He hated telling love ones that there was nothing they could do. Even after twenty years it still broke his heart. "Abel has advanced to stage IV descending," he said gesturing to the film that his cancer had spread passed Abel's lungs.
"Is there nothing we can do?!" Carol asked trying not to tear up.
"Sadly no, all we can do is make Abel as comfortable as we can. See here," Dr. Mott said pointing to Abel's brain scan. Pointing to the tumor that was sitting in-between the right and left hemispheres of Abel's brain. "Even if we were able to rid your body of these tumors," he said pointing to the ones below Abel's neck, "we can't operate or eradiate this one, to do so would either kill you on the table and destroy your brain cells trying to reach it with radiation."
"How long?" Dan asked his hand trembling in his son's hand.
"A month, maybe three."
"Then I want to go home," Abel said finally speaking up.
"Baby..."
"Mom, I don't want to die in a hospital. If I'm to go, I want it to be in my bed," Abel said his thumb brushing along her hand.
"Abel think about this..."
"I have Dad," Abel said looking over at his father, "thought a lot about this the last time we were here, and I want to go home. I want to be with you two as much as I can," he said his lip trembling.