The Doctor's Plaything

Prologue

VALERIE De Leon lost her father when she was very young. He died in a car accident when she was barely two years old. She didn’t have memories of her father and all she has to remember him by are pictures and her parents’ wedding video. They were only married for less than two years when he passed away. They actually got married because her dad got her mom, Lynda, pregnant with her. She was 28 years old at the time.

Although the pregnancy was the reason why they got married, they were ready to be tied to each other forever. Valerie’s dad was just waiting for the right time to propose, and it seemed like fate created the opportunity for them. When they found out about the pregnancy, they got married right away. Lynda insisted that she didn’t want her stomach bulging in her wedding pictures. He didn’t mind, and although it was a simple wedding, it was the happiest day of both of their lives.

Her mom loved her dad so much that she did not get married to anyone else after her dad. She’s had boyfriends, just because she has needs. However, as soon as she thought that the boyfriend was not good enough for her daughter, she broke up with them. Her priority is and always will be her daughter. She started working again when her husband died. She’s been hard at work, just to support her daughter, and she has dedicated her life to giving her a good life.

Lynda was an orphan, so she didn’t have any known relatives. She grew up in an orphanage and never had the inkling to find the family who abandoned her. They don’t have any contact with Valerie’s dad’s relatives anymore, since most of them live abroad. They didn’t really like Lynda, and they weren’t in favor of her dad marrying her mom since he was supposed to migrate with them when they met. He chose to stay to marry her and be with her.

When he died, they tried to take Valerie away from her mom and bring her with them abroad. Since Lynda was working, the courts didn’t grant her dad’s parents custody of her. They said that she’s better off with her mom.

Valerie has an aunt named Muriel, who is her dad’s first cousin. She visits them every now and then and brings them some supplies whenever she does.. She’s an old maid and acts impassive towards Lynda, but she loves Valerie dearly. She even sends her allowances regularly to help augment with her expenses.

Because of how hard her mom works, Valerie loves her very much, and she vowed to take care of her the same way that she did when the time comes. Lynda always tells Valerie to just let her live in a home for the elderly when she gets too old because she doesn’t want to be a burden on her daughter. Valerie keeps getting mad at her and kept saying “If that’s what you want me to do to you, then just put me in an orphanage now.” They usually end up just laughing at each other as they both start acting silly.

Since she was young, Valerie has always wanted to be a doctor. She wanted to find a cure for some of the deadliest diseases including cancer. She knows that it will be hard for her mom to support her studies because medical school costs a lot, so she’s determined to either get a scholarship or be a working student. Her mom has always told her not to worry about it and that she’ll take care of everything.

Still, Valerie made sure to study hard and get good grades. She wanted her mom to be proud of her and would like her to feel that she is worth all of her hard work. She also knows that doing well in school is the key to her getting a scholarship grant. She graduated elementary, then high school at the top of her class. When she got a full scholarship to college, she got into one of the best universities in the country, where she took up a pre-med course.

Although the tuition is free, Valerie still needed an allowance to spend on other things like books, school supplies and transportation among others. Valerie wanted to work part-time but her mom did not want it. She said she can manage and wants her to focus on her studies instead.

When Lynda started feeling some pain in her breasts, she ignored it and just thought that maybe it’s because she’s about to have her menstruation, or that she’s nearing menopause. She noticed some lumps on her breasts, and her co-workers told her to get herself checked. She didn’t want to miss any day at work so she put it off. She had some unused leave but she didn’t want to waste those on getting herself checked. Besides, their unused leaves get converted to cash, and she didn’t want to lose this amount.

One day, Valerie accidentally bumped into Lynda and she felt a hard lump in her mom’s breast. Her mom grimaced seemingly in pain. It became unbearable for Lynda that Valerie started panicking and rushed her to the hospital. Her mom was adamant and did not want to go to the hospital but the pain just kept getting worse.

When they got to the hospital, a doctor at the emergency room checked on Lynda and did a physical exam on her breasts. She felt the lumps in her breasts and ordered an ultrasound as well as a breast biopsy. When the doctor asked Lynda how long she’s had the lumps, she said that the first time she felt it was more than six months ago.

Valerie asked the doctor what the lumps meant, but she said she wants to see the results of the tests first before making any medical diagnosis.

Being a pre-med student, Valerie has an idea that the lumps could be breast tumors. Depending on whether they are benign or malignant, the worse case scenario is that her mom could have breast cancer. She asked her mom why she didn’t get herself checked the first time she noticed the lumps. She said that she’s always been busy with work and that she didn’t have time.

Valerie wanted to be mad at her mom for not taking care of herself, but she knows that she’s partly at fault because she’s the reason why her mom has been working so hard. She made a vow to herself that she will make sure her mom gets better. It doesn’t matter if she has to stop going to school and start working. Her mom is her priority now.

The ultrasound identified that there were at least three lumps in Lynda’s breasts. They did a biopsy, and found out that the tumors are malignant. Lynda has Stage 2 breast cancer.

When the doctor told Valerie about it, she couldn’t control the tears from falling. However, she chose to be optimistic. Due to the location of the tumors, her mom had to get a mastectomy (removal) of both breasts. The doctor suspects that there are smaller tumors that they can’t nip out with a simple lumpectomy (removal of tissue containing the tumor). 

After the operation, Lynda will have to get chemotherapy to ensure that any cancerous cells that will remain in the body will be eliminated. Valerie learned that the operation and treatment will cost a lot, and that she will need to get a job to support it. Furthermore, her mom will not be able to work due to her condition anymore.

This is the beginning of Valerie’s journey.

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Disclosure: I am not a doctor and I do not work or did not study anything that has to do with the medical field. My parents did get sick and spent some time in hospitals, so my knowledge of the medical field is limited to that experience. I will be doing some research, but not too extensive, so some of the information you might read might be figments of my imagination. Thank you for understanding and I hope that you enjoy the story!