something lost - Nancy Duan
Updated: Jun 24, 2020
“There has to be a cure”, the mother said.
The doctor shook her head again. “I’m sorry. There is no known cure, but as I’ve said, what we can do is try to manage his symptoms and help him live as normal of a life as he can.”
The mother pressed on. “Can’t you do more tests? To figure out what’s really going on? There has to be a cause for this.”
The doctor frowned. “We have done all the tests that are reasonable to do and available to us in this situation. As I’ve said, his disease usually does not have a specific cause that can be fixed.”
The mother started to cry. “Look at him. He’s only 18. How can this be happening?”
“I’m sorry,” the doctor said again, passing her a tissue box.
The mother curled in closer on herself. “He has his whole life ahead of him. What are we going to do?”
Inspired by a real life conversation heard in the psych ward.