Four Month Old Jamie

Four Month old Jamie

Mary fell to her knees, looked to the sky and screamed at the top of her lungs, “Why??”

There was no audible answer, only a brief break in the clouds. The warmth of the sun’s rays flowed over her. She felt a deep sense of shame. Her grandmother’s voice rang in her ears, “It’s not our place to ask why. You know what you should ask for.” Mary closed her eyes. She willed herself to think. Behind her she heard her baby laughing. She got up and walked back to the car. Carrying Jamie closely in her arms, she headed for the climbing tree. Cradling her baby in her arms; she sat and listened to the wind whispering in the branches above her. Why did this happen to such an innocent life?

It was supposed to be a normal well baby checkup. From the moment the doctor walked into the room everything in Mary’s life had spiraled out of control. Dr. Wagoner asked about Jamie’s development while he checked his ears and eyes. Dr. Wagoner stood up and looked at her. His face had changed. It was like she was looking at a mask. This man was obviously worried. He asked her if she had seen any spots or unexplained colors in his pupils.

Mary confirmed she had seen a white spot in one of his pupils and dismissed it as a reflection of the room’s light. He told her to wait.

He wasn’t gone a minute. He had already set things in motion to find out exactly what was going on. He explained she was going to see a specialist, right now. He was an expert pediatric eye doctor and his own children’s eye doctor. He had complete confidence that he would be able to help Jamie.

Mary drove to the hospital and wondered how this was going to work. Jamie was way too young to have an eye exam.

Dr. Saunders introduced himself. Jamie was ready to play. She was amazed at how the doctor examined Jamie’s eyes while he was playing with him. He took the probe of the ultrasound and placed it beside Jamie’s eye. Jamie kept grabbing at it thinking it was a new toy. Mary relaxed she knew this was all a big mistake.

“Jamie has a tumor in his eye. We have to remove this tumor and we need to move fast. It has to be done this week.” The mask was back, on a different doctor’s face.

Numb, in shock, Mary and Jamie went upstairs to see another doctor. He looked at the Jamie, the paperwork and confirmed the diagnosis. Mary knew her son was going to lose his eye.

She sat under the climbing tree. She had to get herself together. She prayed for understanding, for her baby’s life, for healing. The wind whispered through the branches of the climbing tree. The clouds passed over and Mary once again felt the warmth of the sun filling her with hope.
500 words
PROMPT: “Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength.”
'Jamie has been cancer free 21 years- Jan. 2011.