His heart was pounding all the way. Although his mother was old, she had always been in good health. Why would she suddenly faint?
In the hospital corridor.
Grandpa Wang sat alone on the bench, holding the sleeping Er Mao in his arms.
The old man's back was hunched, making him look ten years older.
"Dad! How is Mom?"
Wang Xiulan almost threw herself at her father, her voice trembling.
The old man raised his head, his eyes were red, and his lips trembled but he could not speak.
He trembled as he pulled a medical report from his pocket and handed it to his daughter.
When Su Jianguo saw his father-in-law's appearance, his heart skipped a beat.
He walked over to Wang Xiulan and they looked at the report together.
"Brain...brain cancer? Late stage?"
Wang Xiulan said in disbelief.
Su Jianguo quickly skimmed through the report, his heart sinking with each word.
The examination results showed that my mother-in-law had a malignant brain tumor that had progressed to an advanced stage. Due to her age and the location of the tumor, the surgical risk was extremely high, and chemotherapy was not very effective.
"What did the doctor say?"
Su Jianguo asked his father-in-law in a low voice.
The old man finally spoke.
"The doctor said...at most...at most a month..."
These words struck Wang Xiulan's heart like a heavy hammer.
Her legs went weak and she almost knelt down, but Su Jianguo caught her.
"Impossible...impossible..."
Wang Xiulan shook her head, tears streaming down her face.
"Mom was perfectly fine yesterday, she even made me mung bean soup... how could this happen..."
Su Jianguo hugged his wife tightly, his eyes also welling up with tears.
He looked at his father-in-law, whose eyes were vacant, as if his soul had been ripped out.
"Where's the doctor? I need to see a doctor! There must be a mistake!"
Wang Xiulan suddenly broke free from her husband's embrace and rushed towards the nurses' station.
Su Jianguo quickly followed, but he knew in his heart that the hospital couldn't possibly have made a mistake in such a big matter.
Sure enough, the attending physician was quickly summoned; he was a male doctor in his fifties, with a serious and tired expression.
"Doctor, are there any mistakes in my mother's test results? She's always been perfectly healthy!"
Wang Xiulan clutched the doctor's white coat as if it were her last lifeline.
The doctor sighed.
"Family members, please remain calm. We have performed a CT scan and cerebral angiography, and based on the clinical symptoms, we have diagnosed it as an advanced stage of glioma. Considering the patient's age and the location of the tumor..."
"What about chemotherapy? What about radiation therapy? There must be other options, right?"
Wang Xiulan refused to give up.
The doctor shook his head.
"Given the patient's current condition, aggressive treatment might actually worsen the situation... We recommend conservative treatment to minimize pain."
Wang Xiulan's tears flowed again, and she turned around and threw herself into Su Jianguo's arms, sobbing uncontrollably.
Su Jianguo hugged his wife tightly.
At the end of the corridor, Grandpa Wang was still sitting there, motionless, only holding Er Mao in his arms even tighter.
The little guy frowned in his sleep, but didn't wake up.
Su Jianguo helped Wang Xiulan back to her father-in-law's side. The three of them sat together in silence, the air thick with despair.
Does Mom know?
Su Jianguo asked softly.
The old man shook his head.
"He hasn't woken up yet."
"dad..."
Wang Xiulan held her father's hand.
"What...what should we do?"
The old man finally broke down, tears streaming down his face.
"I...I don't know...This old woman has never enjoyed any happiness in her life, and now that things are finally getting better..."
Su Jianguo took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
As the pillar of his family, he must be strong now.
"Dad, Xiulan, now is not the time to be sad. Mom is still in the hospital room; we need to decide what to do next."
The old man then seemed more alert.
"First of all, should we continue treatment? If so, Dad, don't worry about the money; I'll cover whatever it costs."
Su Jianguo continued to ask.
"It's incurable."
The old man suddenly spoke, his voice resolute.
"Your mother is most afraid of pain; she can't bear the pain of surgery. So... let her go peacefully."
Wang Xiulan burst into tears again upon hearing this, but this time she did not refute it.
She knew her father was right; her mother had always been afraid of pain and even needed a lot of mental preparation before getting an injection.
Su Jianguo nodded.
"Then I'll go complete the hospital admission procedures. Mom needs to rest well now, we...we need to think about how to get her through this month..."
Just then, the nurse came over.
"Family member of bed 3? The patient is awake."
The three people stood up at the same time.
Wang Xiulan was the first to rush into the ward, followed by Su Jianguo carrying Er Mao and supporting his father-in-law.
In the hospital ward.
The old lady had opened her eyes, but her gaze was unfocused, as if she didn't recognize anyone.
Her mouth was slightly crooked, and she spoke haltingly.
"Where...where am I?"
"mom!"
Wang Xiulan knelt by the bed and held her mother's hand.
"You were in the hospital, you fainted, remember?"
The old lady slowly shook her head.
"I...I have a headache..."
Su Jianguo looked at his mother-in-law's appearance and felt very emotional.
The elderly person who was so energetic yesterday is now like this. Life is so fragile.
The doctor came in to examine him and then called Su Jianguo to the corridor.
"The patient is currently unconscious due to tumor compression. This will likely become more frequent in the future, so please be prepared."
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