Chapter 251
“Mrs. Garcia, I’m glad you called.” The voice on the other end was somber as the call connected swiftly.
A frown marred Teresa’s graceful brow, and her heart constricted abruptly. She quickly pressed for details, “Doctor, are the test results in? Is there a problem?”
“Well, it might be better to discuss this in person. If you’re available, could you come down to my office at the hospital?” The doctor’s tone remained heavy.
‘Is something wrong with Gabriel?!’
This thought paralyzed her, and at that moment, her heart seemed to seize, breaths escaping her.
“Mrs. Garcia, are you there? Did you hear what I said?” The doctor inquired after a moment of silence.
“I... I’m here,” Teresa stammered, trying to regain her composure. “Doctor, can you tell me now? What’s wrong with my dear one?”
“Mrs. Garcia, why don’t you come to my office, and we’ll talk?” the doctor insisted.
“Okay, I’ll...” She was about to agree, ready to rush to the hospital when she suddenly recalled a conversation she’d overheard between colleagues. They spoke of a woman in her thirties, healthy until she felt unwell, and then was diagnosed with advanced liver cancer at the hospital. Three days after the diagnosis, the shock had killed her.
Surrounded by so many bodyguards rushing to the hospital now would essentially announce to Gabriel that there was something wrong.
With this in mind, Teresa halted her response and instead proposed, “Doctor, can we have a video call instead? I’ll find somewhere quiet.”
She needed to understand the situation thoroughly before deciding whether to tell Gabriel anything.
“Okay, I’ll wait for your call.”
“Three minutes, I’ll call you in three minutes,” Teresa said with urgency, her voice laced with panic.
“All right, I’ll be waiting.” With that, the doctor hung up.
Teresa stood frozen in place, gripping her phone as the disconnected line beeped a constant tone for a full ten seconds before she snapped back to reality. An impulse surged in her to sprint to her office, but she barely lifted her foot when she realized she couldn’t panic. Gabriel would notice something was off.
So, she pulled herself together, quickened her pace without running, and made her way to her office. Upon arrival, she closed the door firmly behind her and rested her back against it, releasing a deep sigh. The anxiety and fear she had been suppressing surged uncontrollably.
Yet, she couldn’t waste time. She whipped out her phone and initiated a video call to the doctor.
The call connected immediately, and the doctor’s face appeared on the screen.
“Mrs. Garcia.”
“Doctor, I’m all ears. Go ahead,” Teresa sat at her desk, calming herself as much as possible.
On the screen, the doctor gave a nod and shifted the camera to show the medical report spread on his desk.
Although Teresa wasn’t a medical expert, she could understand standard blood test results. Gabriel’s report was clearly abnormal, showing elevated platelets, white blood cells, and eosinophils.
“Doctor, just lay it out for me,” Teresa said firmly after scrutinizing the report for a few moments.
The doctor turned the camera back to face him, his expression grim, “Mrs. Garcia, when I checked Mr. Garcia this morning, I found that his fever and night sweats weren’t due to a common cold. The swollen lymph nodes on his neck, combined with this blood report, lead me to believe that Mr. Garcia likely has...”
“What is it?” Teresa pressed eagerly, her heart leaping to her throat.
“Malignant lymphoma.”
It was just a few words, so simply put, but as the doctor spoke them, something inside Teresa’s head seemed to explode, leaving her completely stunned.
Even though she wasn’t versed in medicine, she wasn’t entirely unaware of medical conditions. Malignant lymphoma is a malignant tumor arising from the lymphatic system, with a cure rate below fifty percent.
How could this be? How could Gabriel have malignant lymphoma?
“Doctor, there must be some mistake. How could my husband have malignant lymphoma?” After a moment of stunned silence, Teresa snapped back to reality, her eyes brimming with tears as she asked the doctor urgently.
“I wish I were wrong,” the doctor said softly, looking at Teresa. “Mrs. Garcia, would you take Mr. Garcia to the hospital for a thorough examination? Then we can confirm the diagnosis.”
“What if...” Teresa’s worry deepened, her voice breaking with emotion, “What if it really is malignant lymphoma? What happens then? What’s the treatment, and what are the chances of recovery?”
“If it is confirmed, given Mr. Garcia’s status, he could have the best international medical team treating him. If it’s caught early, it’s not a big problem. There shouldn’t be any danger. If it’s more advanced, treatment would primarily involve chemotherapy and radiation. Once his condition stabilizes, we will look for compatible hematopoietic stem cells for a transplant,” the doctor explained, trying to be reassuring despite Teresa’s visible distress on the video call.
“And after... after the transplant, everything will be all right, correct? He’ll be able to live a normal life without any risks?” Teresa asked, seeking confirmation.
“It varies from person to person. However, Mr. Garcia is young and has always been in good health. I believe the transplant would be more successful for him than for others,” the doctor replied, unable to give Teresa a definitive answer.
Teresa nodded, at a loss for words, her mind racing. After about ten seconds of heavy silence, she blurted out anxiously, “I need to go to him now, accompany him to the hospital for the tests.”
“All right, Mrs. Garcia, I’ll wait for you in my office,” the doctor said.
“Okay, thanks,” Teresa responded, ending the video call. Clutching her cell phone, she rushed out of the office without a second thought.
