"I'm sorry ma'am, but you only have uh, five years left to live."

'Five years?" I gasped.

"I'm so sorry miss. May I suggest that you spend these last years living them to the fullest? I wouldn't want you to waste the last bit of your life."

"Thank you doctor. I'll try." I sniffed.

When I got to the car, I called my best friend and told her to grab her passport, we were going to Europe.

One y...

“You’re probably anemic.”

“You think so?”

“It fits the symptoms: Lightheadedness; Increased thirst; Fatigue; Shortness of breath.”

Larry sat on the exam bed, tissue paper crinkling under his weight. He felt cold, exposed. That was likely do to the draft from his hospital gown. Why did they always make you take off your clothes? he wondered.

“So what should I do?”

“Iron. And rest. We’ll admit ...

When I heard the doctor’s “news”, my body relaxed as a deep breath of relief escaped me. I was ready to thank him and hop out of the office, ready to continue my life.

I went on life as normal. Spending time with families and friends, writing scripts for a Hollywood big studio, and taking every chance to go out. Well, guess the pains became normal.

Every few hours, my pelvis and organs around m...

"Everything looks normal," Dr. Jameson had said, "Nothing out of the ordinary and nothing to be concerned about."

"Are you sure?" I asked, feeling like she was hiding something.

"Absolutely," she said quickly closing my folder making sure I didn't see anything.

I gently nodded allowing her to exit the exam room. After she'd gone, I took off the hospital gown and put my own clothes back on. I wa...

I can’t believe I have this horrible condition. I don’t even know the name but it sounds bad. Now I can’t go to college because I only have a few weeks to live. Frick. What am I going to do? I just got a call from the doctor. He made a mistake, I can live. It’s just a minor cold....

04/18

“It’s not good… but it’s not bad either… I think if we continued a set of treatments we could possibly beat this. If not, at least prolong your life expectancy.”

He looked so hopeful, his perfect teeth on display in their most dazzling smile. As always I noticed it never reached his eyes. I looked at the purple veins running under my ash colored skin. Another round of experimental treatment...

Two fingers slid to his pulse, his heart shaking as the nurses watched the doctor. Last chance, they had told him, to get a confirmation of what was happening inside of him. He could nearly taste it. Freedom seemed so strange, even while he was seconds away from it.

He clutched his satchel, trying his best to hold still. This was the final check, the last little step and then he was finally done.

...

I drove to my family doctor to hear the news.

“Hi Alan, I’ve got great news! The tumor isn’t malignant.” he said excitedly.

“Yay! May I have a copy of the X-ray ?” Alan said as he jumped up and down.

A few days later Alan’s x-ray copy came in the mail. His uncle came over.

“Hey Uncle Jay. Here’s my x-ray I told you about. I’m cancer free !” said Alan sitting at the counter.

“Who told you...

He said I was better. He said I would be fine. He lied.

There I was, finally taking the vacation I have always dreamt. The one I promised myself after I got better. Of course fate would turn out to hate me. Almost as soon as I got here, my head started to pound and my body felt like it weighed as much as the sky. And then everything went black.

I woke up in another hospital and was told that I...

I thought I was healthy,

I thought I was fine,

I thought I still had plenty of time.

One day I felt a little bit off,

For a while I had suffered a terrible cough,

But now I felt worse, in other ways,

So much so it was affecting my days.

I went to the doctor to hear what he said,

He thought it was nothing and advised rest in bed,

So I took myself home, and went straight to sleep,

I slept ever so...