Page 33 of Great Pretender
“May I call you Piper?” Dr. Cormackasks.
“Yes, of course.”
“Thank you. Your father has been a patient of mine for some time.”
“What?” I gasp. “Some time?”
“Close to a year. Today, he had a seizure, but it’s not the first time he’s had one.This one was just the worst. It left him unconscious.”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing.“Is he still unconscious?”
“He’s awake now, but we’re running some tests.He was out for a long time. We’re not sure how long he was unconscious for when his neighbor found him.”
“What caused the seizure?”
When his browscrease, it becomes evident he’s about to deliverthe worst of the news.I can’t help but recall the way the doctors looked when they first told us about Mom.
“Your father was referred to me after his stay in rehab,” he begins.“While there, he complained of headaches, so he was sent to me, and we discovered he had a small cancerous tumor in the left side of his brain.”
My legs give, and the floor feels like it’s slipping away from me.It’s Elodie who takes hold of me to stop me from falling over whileDr. Cormack reaches for the chair.Between the two, they sit me down and steady me from fading away.
Brain tumor?
Dad?
Brain tumor...
Dad has a brain tumor.
The other day when he said he had a headache,I foolishly thought he was grieving when it was so much more.
He knew about it over a year ago and never told me anything.
Why would he do that?
As soon as the thought pierces my mind, the answer stabs at me.
A year ago, we were at the height of his problems.I’d just paid out forty thousand dollars for rehab, and I’d started repaying his debt.Dad wouldn’t have wanted to add to the terrible situation we were already in.What he didn’t know, and should have known, was, I love him so much I would do anything for him.
I wouldn’t have seen it as a burden.
“A brain tumor…” I choke out, shaking my head.“I didn’t know.”
“Your father didn’t want you to worry.Today was the first time he’s given permission to speak to you.I recommended surgery from the start, but his insurance wouldn’t cover it.Since he couldn’t find the funds, we tried an alternative treatment plan where we hoped to shrink the tumor.Unfortunately, it’s continued to grow and affect him in ways expected with patients who suffer from brain tumors.”
“What’s going to happen?” That’s the dreaded question I've heard so many timesasa doctor.Now the tables have turned. I’m the one who’s asking and holding on to hope.
“He needs to have the surgery.That’s the only treatment I can recommend.I hate to say this, but without it, he’ll continue to experience more seizures.The cancer will most likely spread, or the growth will increase, and the end result will be life-threatening.The only good news I can tell you is, the tumor is operable, and I should be able to remove it without causing too much damage.Of course, there are risks like with any other surgery.But it can be removed.”
“That’s good news, right,” Elodie offers.
“It is good news, and with the correct aftercare, he’d have a good survival rate as well.The problem is the finances.”
I bring my hands to my cheeks.“We don’t have any money.”
“That’s why I’m concerned. The surgery needs to be done right away.It’s quite an invasive and lengthy procedure, so it would be at the higher end of the scale and would cost about sixty grand.Then he’d need to stay with us for at least three weeks after for recovery.Due to the nature of the surgery and the effect it may have on his body, I wouldn’t be happy with any less time.The treatment plan we’re looking at will basically be around eighty thousand dollars.
“Eighty thousand dollars?” I stutter.
