Part 2
Dr. Lawson closed the exam-room door softly.
“Maya,” he said, “I need to ask you something, and I need you to be honest.”
My daughter looked terrified.
Then the doctor turned the ultrasound screen toward me.
At first, I didn’t understand what I was seeing.
A dark shape.
Round.
Too large.
Pressing where nothing should have been pressing.
“It isn’t a baby,” Dr. Lawson said quickly, as if he had already seen the horror forming on my face. “It appears to be a mass.”
My knees almost gave out.
“A tumor?” I whispered.
“We don’t know yet,” he said. “But it’s big enough to explain the pain, nausea, dizziness, and weight loss. We need further imaging immediately.”
Maya began to cry silently.
I grabbed her hand, but her fingers were ice cold.
“Is she going to die?” I asked.
