Chapter 11
Ali and Ashlyn walked to the car after they had their breakfast and got ready for the day. It was time for Ali’s first radiation treatment and she didn’t know what to expect. It can affect everyone differently and there was no saying when or how hard the radiation would hit her. They were planning on going to the Spirit training after her treatment was done, so they could only hope that she was feeling good.
“So do you know where and how this is all going to work?” Ashlyn asked.
“I have absolutely no idea. We still have yet to meet any of my doctors so this should be interesting. I guess we will just follow signs if there are any and hope for the best.”
“Well, here goes nothing.” Ashlyn yelled out as she sped up down the highway.
The rest of the ride was silent. It was quite obvious that they were both thinking about what was yet to come. There was going to be a lot of new things introduced to them between the hospital, treatment, home, everything. So many more days of radiation, and who knows what else that Ali still had to fight through. This was their new normal.
///
“Hi, I’m Alexandra Krieger and I have an appointment at 10 with Dr. Carter.”
“Ah, yes. She will be right out for you. Just take a seat in the waiting room.”
Ali and Ashlyn sat down together and patiently waited. It seemed as though both of them wanted to speak, but nobody knew what to say. Ali finally decided that she had to speak up, and about something other than the looming treatment.
“So are you excited to train again?” Ali asked.
“Definitely, I’m going to be very out of shape though. I just wish you could be training with me.”
“Believe me so do I. At this point, I’m just glad I will be able to see everyone. I feel so bad that I can’t help them for playoffs, but I know that we will do just fine without me.”
“So, who do you think is going to be the most surprised to see us? The only people we told about us coming today is the coaches and not many people knew that we were moving here in the first place.”
“Well, Crystal would have been, but she already figured out. I would guess either Nairn or Kelsey.”
“Kelsey will definitely be surprised to see you. It’s been a while since you too trained together.”
“That’s for sure. I love being with the Pride and being home in Florida, but I definitely miss being with the Spirit.”
“I missed having you with us too. You better be prepared to be training really hard if you want Jill to call you up for any of the games.”
“Well, not really. I don’t want to join them. I need to be here with you.”
“Ashlyn… Come on. You should be playing. It’s what you love to do.”
“Well I love you more than soccer.”
Ali blushed, but quickly changed her emotions. She was giving Ash the look of disappointment.
“Okay, fine. I’ll think about it, but you know I would only be doing it for you.” Ashlyn gave in.
“Oh come on. You love playing. I love watching you play. It’s the victory tour and I know you want to be part of that. Just do it.”
“We’ll talk later. I think this is Dr. Carter.”
“Alexandra Krieger?” Called a young lady from a few feet away.
Ali and Ashlyn both stood up and walked over to the lady.
“Hi. I’m Dr. Carter. You must be Alexandra.”
“Yes, but please, call me Ali. This is my fiancé Ashlyn.”
“Nice to meet you both. I am Dr. Carter, but since we will be together often, feel free to call me Lauren.”
///
“So every day when you come, you will come to the room that we will be going to next. There will be a technician there to help you get set up. Each one should last about half an hour, but make sure to get here a little early so that we have time to get you ready. Any questions?”
“Is there anything we should be prepared for with symptoms?”
“There will be some hair loss soon and some fatigue which I’m sure is typical for you at this point. Appetite change is possible. There’s nothing too serious, but if there is anything that worries you, make sure you come in. It’s always best to be safe. Anything else?”
“No, I think we’re good.” Ashlyn said, looking at Ali worriedly.
“Okay. I will go get a technician to come get you ready.”
Dr. Carter walked out of the room and Ashlyn was immediately looking at Ali with those eyes.
“What? None of it is that bad. I’ve been fatigued since I was first diagnosed so that’s nothing new. The hair loss sucks, but I can deal with it and I’ve been watching my eating for so many years that I am used to that any way.”
“I know, I know. I just hate to see you go through any of this.”
///
“Hey Alex. How are you feeling?”
“Fine. I was able to relax well I was in there so it felt pretty good.”
“No symptoms yet?”
“Ash, I literally walked out of the room 2 seconds ago. I am not feeling anything yet.”
“How should I know? I don’t know how fast it takes effect.”
“I get that you’re watching out for me, but I am just fine.”
“Okay Ali, let’s go back into the room we started in.” Dr. Carter interrupted.
They all walked to the room together and sat down. Dr. Carter closed the door behind them.
“Okay, so we just need to finalize the plan with you. What we have set is 30 days of radiation, every week day so it will take 6 weeks. At the end of it all we will get an MRI just to check that the treatment is working and there is no for sure tumor left. After that, we will have to re-evaluate based on the results of the MRI. Every 2 weeks, you will check in with me just to make sure that everything is going well and we can still keep on track with the treatment. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to come to my office or call me. Right now though, any questions?”
“Nope. Just fine.”
“Okay, while I will see you tomorrow.”
Ashlyn and Ali walked out of the room together.
“Okay so training is at 1 and it is 11:30 right now. Are you up for going out to eat then going straight to training or do you want to go home to rest a little?”
“We can just go out to eat. It’s not worth it to drive all the way home anyway.”
///
“I am going to regret eating this much when I get to training. I already know it.”
Ali laughed lightly, but Ashlyn could tell that she either didn’t feel good or Ali didn’t find it that funny. It was not a good thing either way.
“Yeah. The food was really good.”
Just by those few words, Ashlyn could tell that Ali didn’t feel good.
“Alex, are you feeling alright?”
“Yeah, I’m just fine. Are you ready to go?”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. I know that was a lie. We are going home. I don’t need to go to training. That can wait for another day.”
Ali couldn’t help but be mad the Ashlyn knew her so well. She did feel a little off, but it was just a slight headache. That wasn’t going to stop her from going to see the Spirit.
“Ash, what did I just say? I’m fine. I just want to go see the girls. I miss them.”
“Me too, but we can wait. It’s not like they are all going to disappear tomorrow.”
“Ash, please. Let’s just go. I’m fine.”
“Fine. You better not be lying to me about this though.”
Ali couldn’t help but feel guilty. She hated lying to her like this, but she wasn’t going to let a stupid headache hold her back.
///
As they pulled up into the parking lot, the jitters of excitement filled Ali’s body as she waited to see her teammates. It had been 2 months since she had seen the team and it was a much needed energy booster. They made sure to get there early so that they would be able to surprise everyone.
As she walked towards the locker room, Jim, her coach, walked up to her and gave her a hug.
“So glad to see you both. How are you doing?”
“Good. As good as can be expected.”
“And Ash, are you glad to be training again?”
“Oh, you have no idea. I’m really excited.”
Hearing Ashlyn say that confirmed Ali’s choice for her. She knew that seeing Ashlyn playing soccer again was going to be worth it, even with if she wasn’t feeling great.
“Great. I’m glad this whole move worked out.” Jim said.
The two of them walked off to the locker room quickly, making sure that they weren’t seen by anybody.
A few minutes later, the door opened and in walked Crystal.
“Oh my god. You guys are here?”
“Why are you surprised? You are the only one who knew we were moving back up here. Did you not expect us to be coming to training?”
“Well, I expected it. Just not this soon. I mean you had your first radiation treatment today. I didn’t think you’d be up for it.”
“Oh come on. I’m not that weak. I wanted to be with you guys so badly.”
“True, true. Well I’m glad you’re here. Now I get to score on Ashlyn some more.”
Ashlyn just rolled her eyes and laughed.
Once again, the door opened and in walked Nairn. She stopped in her footsteps and gaped at the two of them.
“Am I actually seeing this?” She said after a minute. “Are you guys actually real?”
“Yes ma’am.” They both stood up, and surrounded her in hugs.
“When did you guys come back? Why didn’t you tell me? Oh my god, I’m just so glad to see you both.”
“We flew in yesterday and this is the exact reason why we didn’t say anything.”
“Well that was just mean.”
Every other girl had just about the same reaction. They were all really excited to see Ali and Ash and glad they were back.
///
As the coaches explained the drill, Cali, Laura, and Ali both sat on the sidelines talking.
“So, are you ready for your surgery? When is it again?” Ali asked Cali.
“Feeling good right now, but that will change after the surgery for sure. It’s on October 14th so I have exactly 2 weeks.”
“Do you have any questions? I, sadly, have experience.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot about that. That was a while ago wasn’t it?”
“Only like 4 years.”
“Well that’s a while ago for me.”
“Well you’re only 23, but it’s not that long ago for me. Besides, it feels like yesterday.”
As the three girls continued to talk, Ali couldn’t help but stare at Ashlyn. It had always been mesmerizing to watch her play. Seeing the wide smile across her face as she trained and laughed with Kelsey and Steph made her smile too.
///
Ashlyn kept peeking glances at Ali making sure that she was doing okay. She was realizing that being with her teammates was just what the two of them needed.
“Hey, Ash, we’re starting the next drill.” Kelsey said, bringing Ash out of her thoughts.
“Oh sorry, I got a little distracted.”
“Come on. She’s fine. Just let her be. There’s plenty of other people around that are watching out for her.”
Ashlyn went on with training, trying her hardest to not focus on Ali, but instead focused on the drill. A few minutes later she heard Ali’s name said from further up the field, but brushed it off since she figured that Cali or Laura were just talking really loud. Seconds later, she decided she was going to look because she was going to be too much in her head about it if she didn’t. Suddenly, Ashlyn’s feet were moving, and fast. She was running towards Ali who was laying on the ground, ripping off her gloves in the process. The second she reached her, she dove to the ground and was trying to wake Ali up.
“What the hell happened?!” Ashlyn screamed.
Nothing. Nobody had an answer.
“Are you serious? Nobody saw what happened? She just fainted and nobody saw.” Ashlyn yelled once again.
“She uh, she was just talking to us, then, she just fainted. I don’t know. It all happened so quickly. Oh my god. Is she okay?”
There was tons of commotion around the two of them. The whole team had stopped training and 911 was called. All that Ashlyn could hear was Ali’s light breathing and her whispers.
“You have to be okay. I knew this was a bad idea. Why did I give in? I love you Ali. Please be okay. I don’t know if I can do this anymore.”
The tears started to fall down her face. Ashlyn couldn’t help but think back to the first time this happened. As she holds Ali in her lap, caressing her hair, she could only think that the doctors were wrong. Maybe the cancer was worse than they had originally thought.