Chapter 17

It was now mid October. The album was doing well, Justin’s team was prepping for the tour in setting up tour dates and locations. Jenn had been getting things ready for their NYC loft, and working part time as a substitute teacher. 

Jenn had come home from a day of subbing when she got a phone call from her dad. “Jenn, your mom is in the hospital.”

Her heart sank. “Is she OK? What happened?” Justin sensed her tone along with her questions. 

“She’s been fighting a cold for over a week. Her doctor had prescribed extra strength stuff, but her cough kept getting worse. We went to the ER and they found spots on her lungs. They don’t know if it’s TB or something else, so they’re doing a biopsy.”

Biopsy. After all they’d been through with Dad, that word triggered immense fear. 

“Is there anything we can do?” Jenn asked. 

“Pray.”

“We can visit if she’s up to it.”

“Not right now. Maybe tomorrow once we know more.  Love you sweetheart.”

“Love you too, Dad. Give Mom our best.” She hung up. 

Justin held her for a while before asking her what happened. They both cried as she told him. 

“I’m so scared babe. What if they find something?” she said between sobs. 

“We’ve been through this before, we’ll get through it again. The tour doesn’t start til January, gives us plenty of time here for now.”

Jenn didn’t eat much for dinner that night and went to bed early, even though she couldn’t fall/stay asleep. 

The next day, Dad called telling Jenn they could come see Mom, but his voice told her there was more going on. 

They get to the hospital, and Dad meets them outside her room. “The biopsy came back negative for TB and negative for cancer,” Dad said. “However, overnight there were complications. They’re not entirely sure what happened, but she almost died. She’s stable now, but she’s on a breathing and feeding tube. She can’t talk, so we have a pad of paper for her to write things to us.”

Jenn felt tears welling up as Dad spoke. Justin held her hand tight. They did their best to prepare themselves, but seeing Mom there, the tubes very visible, broke their hearts. 

Jenn did her best to be strong. She grabbed her Mom’s hand. “Hi Mom.”  Words failed her. “How are you feeling?”

Scared, she wrote in shaky handwriting. 

Stupid question, Jenn thought. She stayed silent, just sat there holding Mom’s hand, Justin’s hand on Jenn’s shoulder. 

“The doctors have no idea what’s wrong with her. They thought she had one type of disease, but didn’t show all the symptoms and it’s normally seen in migrant farm workers. There’s nothing in her lungs, yet the spots showed up on her chest x rays. We just have to wait and see what happens and try different treatments.” Dad explained. Jenn was still at a loss for words. They hugged Dad goodbye and went home.