Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2001 19:14:42 From: Ocean View Doc Subject: Jonah: A Hospital Story JONAH : A HOSPITAL STORY A story about man/boy love. Contains explicit sex details. Not for minors. Jonah was 14. Not by much. Nontheless, he would let you know quickly that he was 14 now even though he didn't look it. He was also gorgeous as boys go. With dark brown hair about shoulder length. Thick and wavy. He had deep brown eyes that seemed to look right through you, yet were warm and friendly. Add to that a light complexion , a body that was a little small for his age, and the face of an angel. He had a turned up nose. A smile that could melt an iceberg. A soft voice that squeeked at times causing him to blush. Last, but not least, was the quick wit. He was always ready to start a connversation, or to join one, Definitely smarter than the average boy. That was probably why he seemed so confident and mature at this age. I first met him when they brought him into the West Wing at Children's Hospital. He had been losing weight fast, tired easily, and was constantly running a low grade temperature. He had been told that it might be an allergy. Or that he might be anemic. All Jonah knew was that he didn't feel right anymore. He knew something was really wrong when they put him in the hospital, although they had told him "it was just for some lab tests". He wasn't buying that. Something was wrong. And it was getting worse. He had been ill for several weeks. Even had blackouts. He would have been even more upset if he knew why I had been called in to meet him. They told him I was a medical technician that specialized in anemic problems. That was true enough. I was part of a hospital research team that was working on juvenile blood diseases. The most common, of course, was leukemia. There were doctors, nurses, and other technicians on the team. All very qualified. All very professional. Taught to be very friendly, concerned, dedicated. Not to get emotional or attached to any patient. For good reason. Some would not make it. We didn't say they might die. They just might not "make it". I explained to Jonah that my job was to start a series of lab tests. They would include blood, sputum, urine, feces, and gastric samples. I told him the tests would help the doctors come up with a diagnosis. We would see a lot of each other. Within days, Jonah became a problem. The tests confirmed that it was leukemia. No big surprise there. But it was very advanced. We had all agreed on that. His chances of getting well were pretty far-fetched. A conference was called with the parents. We would not tell Jonah what the problem was. His father was a preacher. He was not handling this very well. He insisted Jonah should not be told. He also insisted God would not let Jonah die. This was just a test of his dedication. His faith was being tested. I had been through this before. With other parents. It was hard on all of us. We needed to be sympathetic to the parents without getting involved. We explained there were "new" drugs and treatments. None of them had worked well with this type of leukemia . That wasn't mentioned, but we knew it. "Here come da vampire." Jonah greeted me smiling impishly as I came into his room with my tray of needles and test tubes. "Let me have that bottle. I gotta pee something fierce." He had an outgoing but warm personality. And he loved to tease. Thanks mostly to him, everyone on that Wing now knew me as "Vampire". He watched curiously as I prepared to take some blood samples. I tried not to stare as he sat up on the side of his bed to pee into the bottle. Slipping down his boxers, he pulled a sheet over his waist to cover up. Still, I had a pretty good view of his chest and his stomach. My protests about being called a vampire were pretty weak, but gave me a chance to tease Jonah back. "Your blood tastes pretty good today." I would tease pretending to taste it. "You must be getting better." Handing me his urine sample, he quipped "How does this taste?" When I turned away and pretended to stick a straw in the sample he blushed. "I was just kidding! Tell me you didn't taste that stuff." When I held up a glass of water, he burst out laughing and tapped me on the shoulder. "Your pee don't have much of a taste to it." I kept up the teasing. "We'll have to change that." His smile was winning me over. Without realizing it, I was becoming much too friendly with this young man. I soon found myself going by his room just to chat. Or to play a game of chess. My visits did not go unnoticed. The team leader was a doctor friend named Boyd. He walked in on us during a visit. After chatting with Jonah, he asked me to step out with him."You know what I'm going to say. You're seeing Jonah a lot more than you should. He thinks the "Vampire" is really kewl. And he likes you a lot. Right now, he needs you. I want you to be there for him. But you know the other team members are more concerned about you. They think your concern for Jonah is going to hurt you in the end. I have to warn you. Try not to hurt Jonah, though. If you choose to keep seeing him, his parents think you are really great with him. He even looks forward to the "Vampire" coming for blood. What kid in his right mind doesn't mind blood tests?" I shrugged. Kids have a natural fear of needles. "Jonah needs someone. He is lonely, and scared." Dr. Boyd agreed. Turning to leave, he added " Jonah is not the one whos going to be hurting a few weeks from now." I knew only too well what he meant. I went back in to finish my chess game. Jonah knew that something was wrong. He sensed that I had been told something that had upset me. I tried hard to hide it, but thats not easy when you have tears in your eyes. I couldn't look at him. The chess board was blurry. "You just made me the most popular guy in the hospital ." I tried to talk without showing I was upset." Dr. Boyd says everyone is talking about the vampire. Kids are actually requesting me to do their blood tests. There's no way I can see all of them. I have to tell him that all the kids want is for the lab techs to be more friendly. We get along good because we are friends. You have done a big favor for all the kids. I'm really proud of you for that. Damn it! Don't know why I should get all choked up about it." Jonah let me jabber on almost incohertly. He. Wasn't buying it. When I had finished, he reached out to put his hands on mine. "We don't have to finish the game. I just like having you here. I told all of them you are just a friend. I tease you to get you to come back. I know I am weaker. I can't do things without help anymore. And I like the way you look at me. You're the best friend I ever had. You know I'm scared, but you never mention it. But I don't want you to get in trouble. I couldn't stand that. Do you have to stop staying with me?" And without thinking, I leaned forward and gave him a long affectionate hug. "No way!" was all I could choke out.