I Have Leaukaemia

• Jacklyn Ersan, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2008

Hi, my name is Lucy, I’m eight years old and I have Leukaemia. Leukaemia is a type of cancer that begins in blood cells. I’m staying in a hospital which is located near the Peabody Park. The Peabody Park is a park full of dolphins. I have been there since I was four years old. I can always see all the dolphins swimming and flipping from my window. Sometimes I look out the window and think about how much freedom the dolphin has, they can go anywhere they want. Unlike me, I have to stay in this hospital ALL day long.
Dr. Sandy (my doctor) thinks that my treatment wouldn’t work. She says that it’s mostly because it’s too late; I have had cancer for longer than when they started to check my blood. But mum always said, “There is always hope and it’s never too late”.
At 9:00 in the morning they always wake me up to do my treatment. I have to do a treatment called the Chemotherapy. I’m starting to loss my hair bit by bit, but mum said it’s alright because it’s going to grow back when I finish the treatment. No one really knows when that is, even me! Before my treatment I always have to take a blood test first, it is to measure the height of the different types of cells in my blood.
The side effect of my treatment is really getting in to me. I feel sick and weak; I don’t have the strength to do anything. I found it hard to walk and balance, I’m back acting like a baby. I am not me anymore, and I know I haven’t got long to live.
Every once a fortnight after the treatment, mum and I always get called to Dr. Sandy’s office so she can tell us about how I’m doing in my treatment. Dr. Sandy is really nice, she makes me feel really happy and once a week she always comes to visit me in my room. Dr. Sandy is the only cancer doctor in this hospital, so she gets really busy.
Today is time for me and mum to talk to Dr. Sandy, but today, she ask me to stay outside. It has never happen before; I’m starting to get really worried and scared, what can be going on?
I wait outside with my ear leaning against the door. I can’t hear anything good; all I can hear is bad news,
“Lucy has been in this hospital for four years now, but she isn’t improving, I’m afraid she will need an operation...”
“Do I need an operation?”
Suddenly I feel weaker than I have felt for years. I have tears in my cheek and I let them fall.
When mum came out, she tells me that I will need an operation tomorrow. Right now, I’m not just sad because I need to have an operation, but I’m also sad that tomorrow can be the last day to breathe.