Every year in grade school, I
participated in my district’s Young Authors writing contest. A winning story was chosen from every class,
Grades 2-8, and an overall top three were selected for the district. I won for my class every year from 4th
grade onward, and in 8th grade, my story won first place for the
whole district. I had discovered from
reading previous winners’ stories that if you wrote about a serious topic, you
had a better chance of winning, so I went for the drama! This was the year before I started writing
fanfic, and you can sure see my fanfic roots in this story. Sound like any fanfics (or Lurlene McDaniel
books) you know? =P
A Season of Miracles
Josh
Crandall was 16 years old. He was a star
basketball player and was good at many other sports, such as baseball, track,
and swimming. He was active in numerous
activities at Riverton High, where he was a sophomore. He was very cute, tall, and thin, with big
blue eyes, light brown hair, and a dazzling smile. He was admired by a majority of the girls at
Riverton. He was a top student and all
the teachers liked him. Mainly, Josh was
an all around great guy, and he had all the qualities that any guy would
want: athletic ability, good looks,
intelligence, and popularity.
It
was true that almost all the girls adored him.
However, there was only one girl that Josh wanted, and that was
Christine Lewis. Christine was a
beautiful girl, with long blonde hair that cascaded down her back in soft
golden waves. She had extraordinary
emerald green eyes, and a beautiful smile.
She was 16, like Josh, and was a sophomore cheerleader for the
basketball team. She was smart,
athletic, and popular, which was very much like Josh. Maybe that was why he yearned for her so
much.
Josh
had had a crush on Christine since seventh grade. However, she had never noticed how much he
loved her. When Josh became a hot
property in high school, she realized what a great guy he was. Finally, she fell for him, and they started
going out. They had been dating steadily
for over a year, and were deeply in love.
Now
it was late fall. The colorful leaves
had fallen off of the trees, leaving them barren and empty. Winter would soon be arriving in the small
town of Riverton, Michigan. Basketball
season had just started, and it was the first home game of the year against the
Greenville Giants, who were rivals of the Riverton Raiders. Everyone had been looking forward to the game
for weeks. The bleachers filled up
quickly, as more and more excited fans arrived.
As the game started, Christine watched josh, who was part of the
starting line-up. He looked tired. Christine knew that he hadn’t felt well for
the past few days. “He’s probably got the flue already,” she thought, sympathetically.
Towards
the end of the first quarter, Coach Thomas pulled Josh out. Josh sat on the bench, looking
exhausted. Christine left the
cheerleaders momentarily and went over to him.
“Are
you all right?” she asked in a concerned voice.
“I’m
fine!” he snapped. Christine stepped
back, surprised. “Sorry,” he said
sheepishly. “I didn’t mean to snap at
you like that.”
“That’s
okay,” she said, studying him intently.
He looked pale to her. She
glanced down at his long legs and noticed several large bruises. “Josh,” she said, “where did you get all
these big bruises? Did you hurt yourself
at basketball practice or something?”
“I
don’t know,” he mumbled, looking down at his legs. “Don’t you think you’d better go cheer?” he
said self-consciously. He pointed to the
other cheerleaders.
“Yeah,
I guess I should,” she said, walking away slowly. She still felt worried about him.
Josh
sat out for most of the game, looking worn out and feverish, and cheered his
team on half-heartedly. It was a close
game, but the Raiders pulled ahead in the last minute to achieve a victory
against the Giants. After the game, Josh
left right away, not staying around to celebrate with his excited
teammates. Christine didn’t even get a
chance to tell him good-bye.
The
next day was a Friday. Usually,
Christine and Josh went out on Friday nights.
However, Christine knew that Josh wouldn’t feel up to going out that
night, so she invited him over to her house to hang out and watch movies for
the evening.
When
Josh arrived, he put his arms around Christine and kissed her lovingly. She returned his kiss with a burst of passion,
and looked at him fondly. He still
looked pale to her, and she noticed dark circles under his eyes.
“Do
you feel okay?” Christine asked, knowing that he didn’t.
“Not
really,” Josh admitted.
“Maybe
you should go to a doctor,” she suggested.
Josh made a face.
“I
don’t want to go to a doctor!” he said stubbornly. “It’s just the stupid flu. Why waste tons of money to have a doctor tell
you what you already know?”
Christine
didn’t have an answer. She decided to
change the subject. “Well, what movie
should we watch?” she asked. They
decided on Titanic, and sat back on the couch to watch the passionate
love story. Josh draped his arm around
Christine’s shoulder, and she snuggled close to him.
After
the three hours and twenty minutes of the movie, Josh could barely hold his
head up, he was so tired. Christine
suggested he go home and get a good night’s sleep. Josh wearily kissed her goodnight and left.
The
next day, when Christine called Josh, there was no answer. She tried to call him all day, but he still
was not at home.
Later
that evening, the phone rang. Christine’s
mother answered it.
“It’s
for you, honey!” she called to Christine.
Christine was sprawled across her bed.
“Hello?”
she said, grabbing the phone in her pale blue and yellow bedroom.
“Hi,
Chris,” Josh said.
“Where
have you been all day?” asked Christine.
“My
mom finally made me go see Dr. Benson,” he replied flatly.
“Oh,”
said Christine. “What did she say?”
Josh
took a deep breath. “He said he wasn’t
sure if it was just the flu or not. He
made me go to the hospital for tests.”
“What!”
Christine gasped. “Oh, Josh, honey, are
you all right? How long do you have to
stay?”
“Calm
down, Christine. It’s all right. I’m fine.
I won’t be here that long, just a few days or so,” he said.
“Can
I come and see you?” Christine asked, her voice trembling.
“Sure
you can, tomorrow,” he replied.
“Okay,”
said Christine. “I’ll be there bright
and early.”
“I
have to go now,” Josh said. “My room
number is 409. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Sure,”
said Christine. “I love you.” Josh blew a kiss over the phone and hung
up. Christine hung up the receiver and
flopped back onto her pillows, feeling empty and alone. Being very sensitive, she began to cry
softly.
That
night, Christine tossed and turned, unable to sleep while her beloved Josh was
alone in the hospital.
The
next morning, she awoke much earlier than usual. Luckily, there was no school that day due to
conferences. Christine quickly took a
shower and got dressed. Her mother
offered her breakfast. Christine tried
to eat the food, but it seemed tasteless and bland, very unappealing to her. She pushed the plate aside. She tried to keep herself busy for awhile,
since it was too early to go to the hospital.
Finally, at 8:45, she headed for the hospital. It took 15 minutes to get to Riverton Memorial
Hospital, so she arrived right at nine.
She found Josh’s room and knocked timidly.
“Come
in,” said Josh. Christine entered the
room hesitantly. She saw Josh sitting in
bed in the hospital room, which was hideously decorated with mint green and
white tile and ugly tan walls. Josh was
wearing a pale blue hospital gown and a hospital bracelet. Christine felt uncomfortable, for she had
hated hospitals ever since her grandfather had died in one when she was seven.
“Oh
Chris, you came!” Josh said brightly, interrupting her thoughts.
“Of
course I did,” she said, managing a smile.
She went to his bed and hugged him tightly. “Have they done anything to you yet?” she
asked.
“Not
yet,” he replied. “They start testing
later on today.” They visited a little
longer, until a nurse came into the room, pushing an empty wheelchair.
“Hi,”
she said cheerfully. “You must be
Josh. My name is Terri. I’m going to take you down for a couple of
tests now, okay?”
“Sure,”
Josh said, sounding rather unsure. Terri
settled him into the wheelchair.
“I’d
better go now, Josh,” Christine said, not wanting to hang around the hospital
by herself. “I’ll call you later.”
“Okay,”
Josh said, as the nurse started to push him down the hall.
Later
that afternoon, she called him.
“Hello?”
he said, picking up the phone in his hospital room.
“Hi,
Josh. It’s me,” Christine said brightly.
“Oh,
hey Chris!” he said.
“Are
you finished with your tests?” she asked.
“For
today, I am,” he said.
“Did
the doctors tell you anything?” asked Christine.
“Nope,”
he replied.
“I’ve
got school tomorrow, so I’ll come see you right after, okay?”
“Sure,
sounds good.” They talked a few more
minutes, then blew kisses and said good-bye.
The
next day was a Tuesday. Christine drove
home after school just long enough to drop off her books. Then she went to the hospital.
When
she arrived, Josh was propped up against some pillows, hooked to an IV. She hugged him tightly, and he hugged her
back.
“What’s
that for?” she asked, pointing to the IV.
“It’s
a blood transfusion,” he answered. “Dr.
Benson said my blood count was a little low.
It’s supposed to make me feel better.”
“Oh,”
said Christine. “Have you had anymore tests
today?”
“Yes,”
he said. “One was awful. They stuck this giant needle into my hip.” He grimaced.
“It
sounds horrible!” she cried, embracing him once again, and kissing him.
Christine
stayed until dinnertime. Then Josh’s
mother, Maggie Crandall, and his five-year-old sister, Jessica, arrived. They greeted Christine warmly. Christine had always liked Josh’s family, and
they liked her. Christine thought
Jessica was especially adorable, with her soft brown hair, big blue eyes, and
sweet smile.
The
next afternoon, when she got there, Josh told her that his doctor would be
coming after dinner to discuss the results of his tests with Josh and his
family. Christine stayed and ate dinner
with the Crandalls. Just after they finished,
the doctor came. Dr. Leonard Benson was
young. He was tall and had blonde hair and
blue eyes. Christine decided that she
should let him talk to Josh and his family alone, so she went out into the
hall. Mrs. Crandall sent Jessica out
with her.
Feeling
uneasy, Christine settled Jessica and herself into the hard plastic chairs in
the waiting room.
After
what seemed like hours, the door opened, and Dr. Benson walked out. Jessica ran into the room, and Christine
followed slowly. She peered into the
room. Josh was sitting on the edge of
the bed, holding tightly onto his mother’s hand. His mother was crying softly, her other hand
covering her face. She glanced up when
Jessica and Christine came in. Her face
was full of grief. She brushed her tears
away and let go of her son’s hand. Then
she stood up and took Jessica’s hand.
“Come
on, honey,” she said, tearfully. “Josh
and Christine have to talk.” She led
Jessica out of the room, shutting the door behind her.
Christine
was ice cold inside. She knew that
something was terribly wrong.
“I
have leukemia,” Josh said, his voice trembling.
“Cancer.” Christine gasped and
burst into tears.
“No!”
she cried, burying her face in his shoulder and sobbing. He wrapped his arms around her and held her
so tight she could barely breathe.
“I
have to stay here and start chemo,” he said softly. Christine looked up at him. She knew about chemotherapy and what it did
to a person. She cried even harder. “Please don’t cry,” he begged, trying to
comfort her. “I’ll be all right.” They held onto each other for a long while,
and eventually, the tears slowed.
“I
love you, Josh,” said Christine softly.
“I
love you too,” Josh said, stroking her hair.
Later, his mother and Jessica came back.
Christine saw the frightened look in little Jessica’s face and knew that
her mother explained what was wrong with Josh.
The
next day, Josh started chemo. It made
him very nauseous and he threw up constantly.
Christine still visited everyday after school. During school, she could not concentrate on
her classes. All she thought of was her
darling Josh.
After
about a week, Josh got used to the chemo.
It still made him sick, but not quite as bad as before. However, there were other side effects. His hair had started to fall out. As the days passed, it fell out until he was
completely bald. Christine bought him a
new Nike baseball cap to cover his head.
Josh wore the cap almost constantly.
He great weak and was sick and tired all the time. Sometimes, he couldn’t even stay awake to
talk to Christine.
He
stayed in the hospital for many weeks.
Finally, his cancer went into remission, and he was aloud to go home
from the hospital.
It
was very near Christmas. Christine knew that
money was going to be tight for Josh’s family this Christmas, especially
because of all Josh’s hospital bills.
Christine’s family was very generous, buying nice gifts for Josh,
Jessica, and their mother. They even
invited the Crandalls over for Christmas dinner.
Josh
didn’t go back to school for several weeks.
He rested at home. He took many
pills, and was still weak, for all the side effects of the chemo had not worn
off.
By
mid-January, Josh was aloud to go back to school. It was hard for him. He had missed lots of school and had to have
a tutor to help him get caught up.
People stared at him and whispered.
He didn’t have the energy or strength to resume playing basketball, but
he still went to every game and sat with the team, cheering them on.
One day, Christine was sitting at her desk doing
homework. Suddenly, the picture on her
desk caught her eye. It was a picture of
her and Josh when they were freshmen at the Homecoming Dance. They both looked so happy and carefree. Christine looked at Josh’s smiling face and
wished things were back to normal. Josh
was not at all like his old self. He had
lost tons of weight and was unbelievably thin and gaunt. He was pale and sickly looking, and he was
still bald.
By March, Josh was back to normal. He had gained back some weight, and his hair
was growing back quickly. He had much more
energy, and didn’t look so pale and tired.
He had started working out to get back his strength.
When track season started, Josh got onto the
team. He was not nearly as fast and as
good as before, but he worked hard, and increased his speed and strength every
day, never giving up.
By the time school got out for the summer, Josh’s
hair had grown back to it’s normal length.
He had regained all his weight and muscle, so he looked just like his
old self. He still went to see Dr.
Benson every three months, but his last check-up in May went great.
Over the summer, Josh and Christine both got jobs
working as lifeguards at the community pool.
They liked their work, and they loved being together every day. Everything seemed perfect in the world.
The summer passed, and school started again. Josh had another check-up in August, and once
again, everything looked perfect.
Christine was confident that Josh was over leukemia.
Fall came around again, and Josh made the
basketball team. Now that he was a
junior, he played on the varsity team.
Christine got on the varsity cheerleading squad. Things seemed perfect still. They knew they were deeply in love, and
nothing could change that.
Josh had another doctor’s appointment in the
middle of November. It was on a Friday,
so he missed school for it. Christine
wanted to go with him, but her parents wouldn’t let her miss school. She sat in school all day, trying to
concentrate, but she couldn’t. She was
glad when the day was over, and she could go home.
As soon as she got home, Christine went to her
room to call Josh. However, as she
approached the phone, it rang, startling her.
“Hello?” she said, answering the call.
“Christine?” a voice said.
“This is she,” Christine replied.
“Oh, Chris!
It’s Mrs. Crandall.”
“Hi, Mrs. Crandall! How are you?
How’s Josh?” Christine felt
nervous, feeling like something was wrong.
“Christine, I have bad news,” Mrs. Crandall
said. “Josh has relapsed.” For a moment, Christine couldn’t
breathe. She could not believe it. “Are you there, dear?” Mrs. Crandall asked.
“I’m here,” Christine said, choking back
tears. “How could this have
happened? He looked so good and healthy.”
“I don’t know,” said Mrs. Crandall. “Dr. Benson said the cancer has spread into
his bone marrow.”
“That’s awful, isn’t it?” Christine asked softly.
“Yes,” Mrs. Crandall said gravely.
“Does he have to go through chemo again?” asked
Christine.
“For now, he will start it again,” she said. “His only real hope though, is a bone marrow
transplant.”
Now Christine was even more ready to break down
and cry. She knew that it could be hard
to get donor bone marrow for a transplant.
To be a good donor, a person would have to have the same blood type. Even then, Josh could face rejecting the
marrow.
The next day was a Saturday, so Christine could
spend the whole day at the hospital with Josh.
She went as early as possible.
She found Josh’s room once again, and knocked.
“Come in,” came his voice. Christine walked in. Josh lay in the bed, looking pale and tired
once again. When he saw her though, he
perked up. Christine ran to him and
flung herself into his open arms. She buried
her face against his chest, as he cradled her lovingly.
“I’m so glad you came,” he said. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too,” she cried, snuggling
closer. “Where’s your mom and Jessica?”
“They are being tested to see if they would be
compatible donors.”
“Do you think they will be?” asked Christine.
“I sure hope so,” he said.
A few minutes later, Mrs. Crandall and Jessica
came back. Jessica was crying.
“She’s afraid of needles,” Mrs. Crandall
explained. She went to her son and
hugged him.
“Do
they have the results yet?” be asked, hopefully.
“Not
yet,” his mother answered. “The doctor
is going to come talk about it with us later.”
Dr.
Benson arrived after lunch. Christine
stayed in the room this time. She
clutched Josh’s hand as the young doctor cleared his throat. “I’m sorry to tell you,” he started, “but
neither of you would make a good enough match.
It would be much too risky to use either of you. We need to look for a better match.” Christine’s heart sank. Then, all of a sudden, she had an idea.
“Wait!”
she cried. “You could test me. I would do anything to be a donor.” The doctor thought about it.
“You
could be tested, if you have parental consent,” he said.
Christine’s
parents weren’t thrilled, but they consented to have her be tested. She went in the next day to have the tests
run. After the tests, the doctor told
her that he would see her in Josh’s room after lunch to reveal the results.
Dr.
Benson was right on schedule. When he
arrived, Christine’s heart lodged in her throat. She gripped Josh’s hand again. His hand was ice cold. She prepared herself for the worst as the
doctor began to talk.
“I
believe that Christine would actually be a good match,” he said, a smile on his
face. Christine could hardly believe
it. Josh threw his arms around her
joyfully.
“I
love you so much!” he whispered into
her ear.
“I
love you too!” she said, with tears of joy streaming down her face. Josh’s mother was crying too.
Dr.
Benson explained the transplant process.
Christine would be put to sleep while some of her bone marrow was
removed. Then, Josh would receive it
through an IV.
Christine
called her parents right away. They
couldn’t believe it. Her mother was very
worried about her going through with it, but her father was glad. They agreed to let her be a donor.
Over
the next few days, the doctors ran tests on both Josh and Christine. One week later, when the testing was finished,
Josh was moved into an isolated room where everything was sterile and
clean. He was then started on immune
suppressant drugs, which would knock out his immune system so he would be less likely
to reject the new bone marrow. This also
meant he would not be able to fight germs.
No one could go in without dressing in special gowns, masks, and
hats. This was to protect him from
germs.
Josh
took the immune suppressant drugs for a little over a week before he could have
the transplant. Some of the drugs made
him sick like the chemo had done. They also
made his hair fall out again.
The
night before the transplant, Christine was checked into the hospital. She spent most of the evening in Josh’s room
and then went to bed early.
The
next morning, she woke up early. She
wanted to see Josh before was given the anesthesia, but the nurse said that
there wasn’t time. Christine felt
panicked without Josh, but after the medicine started working, she felt relaxed. She went through the short operation fine,
and slept most of the day. When she
awoke, it was the next morning. She was
stiff and sore from the operation, but all she wanted was to see Josh. The nurse let her walk down the hall to his
room.
When
she got there, Josh was lying in bed. He
looked less pale than when she had last seen him, which was a good sign. He was tired, but glad to see her. She went to his bed and wrapped her arms
around him gently.
“How
are you?” she asked.
“I’m
fine. I’m tired though,” he
replied. “How are you doing?”
“I’m
pretty sore, but it was worth it,” she said.
They talked with each other a little longer until a nurse came and told
Christine to go back to her room, so Josh could get his rest. On her way out of the room, she saw Mrs.
Crandall.
“Hi
Christine! How are you doing, dear?” she
asked.
“I’m
all right,” Christine told her.
“I
have good news,” Mrs. Crandall said. “I
just saw Dr. Benson, and he said that the marrow is working!”
“That’s
wonderful!” Christine cried. She was
overjoyed.
A
few days later though, Josh developed an infection. This was bad because of the immune suppressant
drugs he was on. He was not able to
fight off the infection. As the days
passed, his condition grew worse. He
went into a coma, and it seemed as if he was barely alive. The doctors pumped him full of antibiotics to
fight the infection, but they didn’t seem to be helping. Christine sat by his bed as long as she
could. She talked to him, begging him to
get well, not knowing if he could even hear her. She cried until she thought her heart would
break and prayed for a miracle.
One
day, Christine’s prayers were answered.
She was sitting in the waiting room outside Josh’s room, sipping a soda
absent-mindedly and waiting for her turn to go see him. Josh’s mother was in the room with him. Suddenly, she burst out.
“Christine! Christine!” she cried. “He’s awake!
My baby’s awake!” Christine leapt
up from her chair and bolted into the room as fast as the wind. Josh was lying on the bed hooked up to many
pieces of equipment, but his eyes were open.
“Josh?”
she cried.
“Chris? Is that you?” he asked groggily.
“It’s
me,” she said, blinking back joyful tears.
She went to him, and put her arms around him tenderly. She felt his arms wrap around her back, and
she cuddled up beside him. That’s when
she began to cry, full of relief.
The
next day, Josh was feeling better. The
infection was gone, and although he was weak and fatigued, he was alive. Dr. Benson took a sample of Josh’s new bone
marrow and told them that it was working fine.
Josh recovered steadily over the next few days, and he was discharged
from the hospital a week and a half later, just before Christmas. By the next year, all traces of Josh’s cancer
were gone, and he and Christine were living in perfect harmony with everything
in the world. As Christine looked back on
their experience, she realized that Christmas was truly a special time for them
all that year. She would always call it
the season of miracles.
Epilogue
Josh’s
leukemia never returned. He and
Christine dated all through he rest of high school and college. Christine became a teacher, and Josh became a
pediatric oncologist. They were married
after college and had a son, who they named after his father. They ,lived happily ever after for the rest
of their lives.
The End
***