Storymania - Life And Death by Andrea Nicole Newell

Life And Death
Andrea Nicole Newell

Isiah, confused and afraid, stumbled out of his car and onto the sidewalk.
“How did I miss that light? What’s wrong with me?” The thoughts flooded his mind.
Thirty-five year old Isiah Thomas had just ran through a red light, avoided two head on collisions, and ended up going through a row of bushes in front of the local bank. Luckily neither he nor anyone else was hurt.
For the past month and a half Isiah had been experiencing vision and memory problems. On top of that he constantly had migraines and his speech would slur on occasion. He was afraid as was the rest of his family.
Angela Thomas had noticed the changes in her husband’s behavior growing worse each day.
“Just last week he forgot about Michael’s baseball game which I had reminded him of everyday that week. He never forgets about our son’s games, never!” Angela explained to a co-worker.
That evening she arrived home to her two children both afraid and confused.
“Mommy is daddy gunna be okay? He acts funny and forgets to tell me my bedtime story. Bubby had to do it two nights in a row.” Seven year old Angel exclaimed.
“We’re not sure honey. Daddy is going to Dr. Alan on Monday and they’re going to run some tests. He should be alright, but we’re not sure yet” Angela explained.
At that moment Michael came charging into the hallway.
“Haven’t you figured it out yet Angel? Dad is crazy! He’s losing his mind and we’re going to lose him forever. Soon he’ll be as bad as grandpa and won’t even remember his own name!” Michael screamed.
“Michael Jay Thomas, what is your problem? Your father is not crazy and you have no right to say that! He has done his best to be normal with you children since he got sick and you say thinks like that about him! You march right back into your room and don’t come out until I call you for dinner! Do you understand me!”
“Whatever mom!”
Michael slammed the door to his room and Angela took he daughter downstairs to finish dinner before he husband got home.
That evening dinner was eerily quite. No one was sure what to say and the naļve Angel didn’t understand why everyone was being so quite. She just did like everyone else and ate her dinner quietly.
Monday rolled around and it was time for Isiah to go see Dr. Alan. Little did he know Angela had an appointment of her own with her gynecologist, Dr. Martin. She was once again pregnant and had set up an appointment to find out how far along she was and get a prescription of pre-natal pills. The children left for school and Angela and Isiah went to their separate appointments.
After checking in at the front counter Angela sat in the waiting room. She then realized she was nervous.
“What is there to be nervous about? I’ve done this twice already!” Angela thought to herself.
“Mrs. Angela Thomas,” a nurse called from across the room.
She then got out of her chair and slowly walked to the open door awaiting her. The nurse weighted her and run a few tests before leaving the exam room. A few minutes later Dr. Martin knocked on the door and entered.
“Good morning Angela, how are you feeling today?” Dr. Martin asked.
“Not to bad considering I’m pregnant. So what’s the verdict Doc?”
“Well I’ve analyzed your test from last week when you came in and it looks as though you are two months into the pregnancy. I’m going to prescribe you some pre-natal pills, of course you already knew that, and we’ll set up an appointment to see you next month.” Dr. Martin answered.
Angela finished at the doctor and made her way to work. Little did she know that her husband wasn’t having great luck on the other side of town.
“Isiah, I’m sorry to tell you this, but we believe you may have a tumor. We aren’t finding many results in your blood work except that your white blood cell count is extremely high. From the symptoms you have described we believe you may have a tumor in the frontal lobe of your brain.” Dr. Alan explained.
At that moment Isiah’s life changed forever. His heart dropped to the floor and the faces of his beautiful wife and children flashed into his mind.
“I know this is hard for you,” Dr. Alan began, “and I’m sorry to have to drop this kind of news on you.”
“Hard, hard? Hard doesn’t even begin to cover it! You think that you know how I feel, but you don’t! Have you ever been told that you have a tumor? No, I don’t think so, so don’t try to analyze how I feel!” Isiah screamed.
After the doctor was able to calm Isiah down he set up another appointment for that Thursday. They would be performing a MRI to verify their diagnosis and determine the size and exact location of the tumor. The results would be in the Monday following the appointment and the doctors would proceed from there.
Isiah drove home that evening, mind filled with thoughts and eyes filled with tears.
“How am I ever going to tell this to my family?” he wondered.
At home Angela cooked dinner and awaited he husbands arrival. She couldn’t wait to hear the news that he was going to be okay, so she thought. She was so excited about the pregnancy and anticipated the reaction she would receive from her family.
As soon as Isiah walked in the door, Angela knew something was horribly wrong. At that moment she forgot about being pregnant and concentrated only on her husband.
“Is everything okay baby?” she asked with confusion in her voice.
“Where are the children? I need to talk to all of you and I don’t want to have to repeat what I am about to tell you.” he replied gravely.
“They are upstairs, I’ll go get them and meet you in the kitchen.”
Angela arrived back downstairs with her children close behind. Everyone sat down and Isiah repeated what the doctor had told them him. At first know one said a word; Angel was the first one to make a sound.
“Does this mean you are going to, going to… die daddy?” she asked.
“I’m not sure honey. We won’t know that until after we go to the doctor next Monday. I have arranged for us all to go.” Isiah replied.
That evening everyone sat around the table and discussed what was to come next. Everyone was afraid and confused, Angela especially. That evening while she lay awake in bed Angela thought of the child growing inside of her.
“What am I supposed to do? I don’t think I can handle another child without my husband! He is everything I have and if I lose him how am I going to take care of a newborn baby? Should I have an abortion and not tell him, should I keep the baby?” thoughts raced through her mind all night.
The next week went by in a slow daze. Everyone expected the worst and hoped for the best. The signs all pointed to Isiah having a tumor.
That next Monday the Thomas family sat in a waiting room by themselves. When Dr. Alan walked in, it was apparent that the news was bad.
“I’m sorry to inform all of you that our diagnosis was correct. Isiah has a tumor covering the frontal lobe of his brain. We are unsure or its growth speed and it is imperative we set him up for surgery in the next week or two.”
Dr. Alan then paused for any questions from the family. When no one said anything he continued.
“The earliest available time we can arrange is Wednesday. I know this is short notice, but the earlier we get in there the better chance we have of a full recovery. I’m not making any promises, but I’m going to try my hardest to do what I can.” Dr. Alan finished.
Michael looked up at the doctor with tears streaming down his face.
“Is my dad going to die? I mean he can’t die from this can he?”
The question was always a hard one for Dr. Alan to answer, but it was a realistic one. He cleared his throat and began.
“First, the surgery is very high risk because we are unsure of how large the tumor actually is. It can also grow quite a bit in the next two days. Tumors can cause death, yes. At this stage we are unsure, but after we perform this surgery I will be able to give you an exact answer to your question.”
After discussing radiation and chemo therapy Isiah was scheduled to go into surgery first thing Wednesday morning. The ride home from the hospital was long and quiet.
Again, that evening Angela thought about her unborn child. Still unsure of what to do and how to approach her husband she kept it a secret. The thought of an abortion began to sound more reasonable than anything that night and the thought frightened her.
Tuesday came and Tuesday went. Wednesday the Thomas family drove in silence to the hospital and Isiah signed in at the front desk. Twenty minutes later Angela, Michael, and Angel were sitting in the waiting room alone. The time ticked passed slowly and the three of them grew impatient. Finally, after three hours Dr. Alan walked in.
“I’m sorry. The tumor has grown rapidly and is beginning to spread to other areas of his brain. If we attempt to remove it, it may be fatal.” Dr. Alan said. “We can begin him on radiation immediately which will slow the growth of his tumor, but not stop it. I say he has from nine to twelve months left to live if he goes through with the radiation; if not six at the most.”
Angela fell to the floor and her two children curled up into her arms. The three sat on the floor for half an hour and cried. Isiah finally woke up and they were able to go in and see him. As soon as his family walked in Isiah knew the news wasn’t too good.
“So how long are they giving me?” he asked so calmly he surprised himself.
“That’s not funny dad!” Michael screeched, “ but if you really want to know a year at the most. That gives you just enough time to see the baby born.”
Angela stared at her son in disbelief and Isiah gave her the same look in return. Angel just lay in her fathers arms, oblivious to what was going on.
“You’re… you’re pregnant?” Isiah stuttered.
“Yes, honey. I went to see Dr. Martin the same day they told you they believed you had a tumor. And Michael, how the hell did you know about that?” Angela asked.
“Well when I wake up to use the bathroom at three in the morning and I have to wait half an hour for you to finish getting sick, I think I know what is going on. Honestly I don’t see how dad didn’t know!” Michael replied.
It was all out and there was no turning back. Isiah was dying and Angela was two and a half months pregnant. Angela and the children had to stay strong for both the baby to come and Isiah. It was up to them to help him stay alive in order to see his last child be brought into the world.
The next six months were the tough, extremely tough the say the least. Isiah was going through radiation twice a week and Angela had hit the hardest stages in her pregnancy.
“Michael!” Angela screamed, “call the hospital and tell them we are on our way! Angel go wake up you dad and tell him it is time.”
The time had come and Angela was having the baby. Soon a new baby boy would be brought into the world.
Sixteen hours in labor and Christopher Isiah Thomas was born. He weighed a healthy nine pounds, five ounces and measured 18 inches. He looked just like his father and came out crying. Isiah held his son for the first time and began to cry.
His health had begun to deteriorate rapidly and he could feel his time coming to a close. He wasn’t afraid of death, he was afraid of leaving his family behind.
The next two months his life were amazing. Isiah watched his children grow around him and helped care for them as much as possible. Chris had just reached three months old when Isiah was finally admitted into the hospital.
“It looks as though this is it. We will soon have to put Isiah on a respirator to keep him breathing. It is amazing how well he has done. Most people in his situation would have forgotten who their family is let alone who they are in this stage.” Dr. Alan explained.
“We would like to donate his organs.” Angela began, “If he can no longer live then I would like someone else to be able to live with the help of his organs.”
She had been expecting this day for a long time and was surprisingly calm. She had cried countless nights and was ready. It was his time to go and she finally understood that and so did Michael. Angel was a different story. She was confused and afraid. She didn’t understand why her daddy had to be taken from her.
“I don’t want him to go! I need my daddy!” Angel would cry.
Two weeks later Isiah was taken off of his respirator and died three hours later. The funeral was held that following Sunday.
“My husband was a wonderful man. He is greatly missed by many people, but his memory will stay with us forever. He blessed me with three beautiful children who I love and care for very much. His spirit lives forever in them. He may not be here physically, but he will always be with us; in the sun, grass, trees, clouds, and mostly our hearts.”