Her Return, His Regret by Natie

Chapter 158~ Getting along

"Wanna bet?" Jason asked, a playful smirk on his lips. "If I win, you will have to give me your favorite sports car."

"What? No way... I don't give away my babies," Ryan replied. "I'll have to win then... I'm sorry, little bro, I was going to go easy on you but not anymore."

"Little bro? I'm a thirty-year-old man," Jason remarked. "Can you not call me that?"

"To me, you're my little bro," Ryan replied and chuckled. "I'm your big brother and I'll call you whatever I want."

Jason rolled his eyes and said, "Show off. Is being the first born something to brag about?"

"Of course, it means I'm the boss," Ryan replied.

The ward was filled with a lively atmosphere as Ryan and Jason bantered. Lora watched them with a small smile on her face.

Were they always so childish?

"I never thought we would one day chat and laugh like this," Ryan said after a little while, glancing at Jason before looking at his wife. "In a way, Lora brought us together."

Jason smiled and replied, "I never thought we would get along too. It's kind of nice to have a brother."

"It was just a few weeks ago when I was ready to destroy you," Jason chuckled and shook his head. "Making decisions when angry is never a good idea. I would have done something I was going to regret for the rest of my life."

smiling. "I'm glad

Steve suddenly cleared his throat and everyone's eyes turned towards him. He stepped forward, a clipboard in hand as he said, "I hate to cut this heartwarming time for you, but we need to go over the treatment procedure in detail. It's critical that we all understand what's involved and also, for the patient's family to be aware of what may happen

looking over at Ryan and smiling at him warmly. "We

first thing we need to do is to prepare you for the transplant. The preparation will involve you undergoing high-dose chemotherapy to destroy the cancerous cells and make space for the healthy stem cells

your immune system. We need to reduce the risk of infections

to offer support. The two shared a look before Ryan glanced at the doctor and asked, "How long will I need to stay

their bodies accept the new stem cells," Doctor Steve replied. "During this time, we will monitor you closely for any signs of complications and infections." "What about me?

of a medication that will increase the number of stem cells in your bloodstream. Once your levels are high enough, we will collect the stem cells from your body using a simple procedure. It will just

nodded and said, "It's not that complicated. So, when do

you're so eager to help your brother. We will start the procedure tomorrow. Ryan will undergo chemotherapy for a week or so until we destroy

might have mild side effects like fatigue or bone pain but it's temporary. Your body will replace the missing

you sure you want to do this?

hurt but it's pain that I can endure. You, on the other hand, will have a hard time. But

doctor continued, "We

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to grow and

in

killing healthy cells in the process You might suffer from fatigue, a weakened immune system, sores your mouth, loss of appetite and the common side effect that everyone knows about- hair loss," the doctor

Lora and Jason, the doctor added, "During this time, it's critical for the family to stay close to the patient because the side effects that come as a result of chemo can cause depression. Be sure

later, Lora proclaimed, "We will all support Ryan. I