After taking Aunt Sienna to the hospital, Bella Acker went to register at the oncology departnt.
As they waited for the doctor’s appointnt, her palms were icy cold, coated with layer upon layer of cold sweat.
Soon, it was their turn. Bella Acker and Judy Zimrman helped Aunt Sienna into the doctor’s office.
The doctor glanced at Aunt Sienna, pulled out a form, and started asking questions while writing. Finally, he handed the form to Bella Acker and said, "Go do these tests, and co back to see with the reports."
"Thank you, doctor." Bella Acker expressed her gratitude, then helped Aunt Sienna to the waiting area outside with Judy Zimrman. She said, "Piggy, could you help look after Aunt Sienna and Ethan? I’ll go pay the fees first."
"Okay." Judy Zimrman nodded, hesitated for a mont, then said, "Bella, if the money isn’t enough, I have more here."
"Alright, thank you." Bella Acker said, reaching out to ruffle Ethan’s hair. "Ethan, Bella will go pay the fees now, okay? Can you wait here a little while?"
Throughout the journey, Ethan had been well-behaved, neither crying nor fussing, but now he shook his head vigorously, tears welling up in his eyes, lips pressed tight, refusing to let go of her clothes.
Such a young child didn’t really understand what true life and death parting ant, but at this mont, he felt afraid and instinctively wanted to stay by his family.
Seeing him like this, Bella Acker felt a twinge of heartache and almost burst into tears herself.
She took a deep breath and said softly, "Be good, then follow Bella closely."
Bella Acker took the child to pay the fees. The cost for cancer examinations wasn’t low, but fortunately, she hadn’t spent much of the paynt she had previously received.
After paying, Bella Acker returned with the paynt slip and, with Judy Zimrman, helped Aunt Sienna through various examinations.
It was a long and grueling process. By the ti the reports were handed to the doctor, it was already past six in the afternoon. The oncology doctor would have ended his shift if it weren’t for waiting for them.
After reviewing all the test reports, the doctor finally said, "Late-stage stomach cancer."
Even though she was ntally prepared, Bella Acker’s heart still sank when she heard the result. She controlled her emotions and asked fairly calmly, "Is chemotherapy an option?"
The doctor shook his head, "Her body is already in total decline. Chemotherapy would only make her suffer more but wouldn’t be of any benefit; it’s unnecessary."
"Is there... no other way?"
The doctor glanced at her, then said, "She could be hospitalized, and with dication, her pain could be relieved sowhat, but her ti can’t be extended."
By Aunt Sienna’s side, her mood was remarkably stable. Learning about her impending death, she showed no grief but calmly interjected, "Bella, didn’t I say it was useless? You still spent money on those tests. Let’s go ho now."
Bella Acker shook her head, "Doctor, please help us process the hospitalization paperwork."
The patient’s condition was already dire, and staying in the hospital was essentially burning money. The doctor had seen many children who could not avoid fleeing when they learned their elders were sick, so he was sowhat surprised to hear Bella Acker’s decision.
The doctor asked, "Are you sure?"
"Yes. Please, doctor." Bella Acker nodded firmly.
The doctor said no more, lowered his head to fill out the form, and called a nurse to take Aunt Sienna to the ward first.
After Aunt Sienna was taken away, Bella Acker then asked, "Doctor, please tell truthfully, how much longer does Aunt Sienna have?"
"At most three months."
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