The smell of lilacs filled the air, complementing the rose colored walls. Soothing sounds seeped through the ceiling comforting my mind. The creaking sound of the door opening broke my mediating state. “Good morning and thank you for waiting”, said a baritone voice. As I slightly glanced at the gentleman standing before me, my father abruptly stole my hand from my lap onto his. “So, what is going on Doc? Why are we here this morning?” questioned my father. My father has always had a sarcastic way about him, looking at his bright blue fisherman's hat beaming a watery blue reflection against the side of his face; I could not help but to chuckle.
“Yes! I hope this is the news we have been waiting for, I can't keep seeing him going through all these treatments!” my mother stated with her voiced filled with annoyance, her hair seemed just as messy as her emotional state.
Calmly I just sat there fidgeting with my father's wedding band as he held my hand tighter and tighter. Hearing the flipping sounds of my father's medical chart sent a sudden urge of impatience through me. “Hey Doc… you mind saying something before my father breaks my hand over here!”
The creaking sound of the door caught my attention once again, a swift draft came in which made me cringe. “Hello, sorry I am late. How's my favorite family today?” nervously says my father's neurologist. “So, Mr. Colon… we have finished looking over your scans from the tests of your brain. We regret…” my stomach became a knot and my chest felt closed in, the grip of my father's hand just became as tight as my air way passage. “We regret to inform you that none of our treatments were successful. You have approximately six months left of good health. I am very sorry”.
And to think it all started with a painful urine sample, and a year later it is ending with a painful good-bye.
