Re: A New Fight
(in RL it would take longer but I'm going to do a TV/RP magic thing and make it take less time.)
Mac looked up as the doctor came in, presumably with the results.
"So what's the bad news?"
"You were fairly accurate with your suspicion, detective." He holds up the pictures to the light to point out the gray blob that doesn't belong inside his head. "It's not large enough to put your life in danger yet, but it's definately what caused the seizure. What happens next will be determined by the rest of the tests. Our next major step is a biopsy. You probably know what's involved...of course it is a surgical procedure but it's only minimally invasive. Whatever invasive surgery has to be done will be determined by the results of the biopsy and the remaining tests we'll perform. All these things will tell how we'll proceed, if you choose to, with surgery and/or chemotherapy. The good news is that the tumor is acceessible easily...what will really determine things, though, is how far it's advanced and what tissues it's connected to."
"You'll probably be taken down for biopsy before the end of the day...of course there's paperwork to be done, I'll get that to you shortly; and hopefully the lab will be able to tell us fairly quickly what we're dealing with here."
Mac listened to the explanation, noddiing occasionally. He wasn't happy, naturally, and hoped that something could be done to get rid of the thing.
"I understand you're anxious about possible effects on your work; but we won't be able to tell you anything until after we finish all the tests and get a complete picture. Some patients who survive do return to near-normal function, but it's difficult to say at this point what will happen. "
"The only thing I won't accept is being severely incapacitated...If I stand a good chance of recovering fairly well, I'll go through with it, but if not, I'd rather make the most of what time I have rather than having a poor quality of life."
"That's certainly understandable; though we can't tell you anything more at this point."
"I understand. I'll just have to take in everything you find out and try to make the best decision for myself." He eyes did say, though, that he would be doing a lot of talking to the people closest to him though only he could make the final decision.
"For now, I'm going to remain positive and hope for the best; it's all I can do."
"That's the best way to handle it. I'll be back in a few minutes with the consent forms and such."
"All right."
(whew that was a long post.)
