Finding Balance by Kati Gardner

Author:Kati Gardner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Young Adult Fiction / Social Themes / Disabilities & Special Needs / Health & Daily Living / Diseases, Illnesses & Injuries / Romance / Contemporary
Publisher: North Star Editions
Published: 2020-05-05T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Being home was nice. Granted, all Jase had gotten out of was that afternoon’s conditioning. After putting his head between his knees and drinking some Gatorade, it was determined that he’d had a panic attack. Jase didn’t know if that was the case or not, but it meant he got to leave school twenty minutes early and go home.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Olivia Ellison doted on him, giving him more Gatorade, some snacks, and whatever else she thought he might need. “You’re doing too much.” She sat down on the couch with him, pushing his hair off of his forehead. “Maybe you need to see Dr. Johnson, have some blood work done or something.”

“Mom, I’m fine. Probably just tired.” Or having a breakdown.

“Well, I’m going to cancel my appointment this afternoon and just make sure.”

“Don’t do that.” Dear God, do not do that, his brain pleaded. He wanted to spend some time by himself, maybe thinking or doing his absolute best not to think.

“Are you sure?”

“I am very sure.” He smiled, hoping to reassure his mother. She didn’t worry often, but when something like this happened, she did. And if he wasn’t careful, he would end up in the doctor’s office for blood work before the day was done. “I just got dizzy, and the nurse at school overreacted.”

“With your medical history, it’s bound to happen.”

Jase had heard of the phrase about blood turning cold, but he’d never experienced it until this very second. His blood froze in his veins, a little sluggish, allowing him to feel every pulse and pump of it through his body. “Why would the nurse know my medical history?”

“Don’t be silly, sweetie. We have to disclose important information to the school. It might not be something you think about, but your treatment could impact you down the line, so it’s something your school has always known about.”

“Huh.” He let that rattle around in his head with the facts and knowledge that were being revealed each and every day. “You don’t, like, tell strangers on the street about me, do you?” He tried to make it sound like a joke, but his heart was still thrumming with frozen blood.

“Of course not.” She smiled at him, brushing at his hair once again. “It’s your story to tell, not mine. That was something the old Child Life Specialist and the hospital’s psychologist went over a lot with us when you were transitioning to the cancer survivor program. I have a very different story as a mom of a cancer survivor, but I can never understand what it’s like to be a cancer survivor. I can never speak for you.

“It’s been years since I’ve been to the hospital support groups or anything. Other than when you go to the clinic or camp, our lives are blissfully untouched by cancer.” His mom finished her speech, still looking at him like he’d done something amazing.

“Truthfully, I don’t even remember it.” He shrugged. “Like, it’s not something I think about at all.

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