Page 100 - Till the Last Breath . . .

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Pihu Malhotra

The day had been exhausting. MRIs, nerve biopsies and a million other

tests were carried out to track the progress of her disease. Arman oversaw
every blood draw, every biopsy and every current wave that was made to

pass through her body. It was comforting for her. The battery of tests, the
pain and the constant tension were scary. In the middle of her third test, she

asked her parents to leave. She knew she was the weakest with them
around.
‘Are you still thinking about the stem cell thing?’ Pihu asked Arman

again.
‘Yes, I am,’ Arman responded. If they went ahead with it, it would be a

long treatment that would require her to pop fifty pills a day till the time of
her surgery.
‘These tests are off or on the record?’

‘You don’t have to worry about it. The medical expenses will be paid by
the hospital. I got you into the pre-trials but I have told them we won’t be

testing the stem cell treatment on you till we get the permission to do so …
which we won’t.’

‘Fine,’ she said with a sad smile.
‘Let’s hope things go as per plan,’ he said and tried hard to concentrate

on the screen. They were checking if the disease had won the battle against
the antibodies.
She sensed that he was either uncomfortable or he didn’t like to talk

when he was working. The creases on his forehead were incredibly sexy.
The taut veins in his outstretched hands were signs of a man who had

played some sport in his younger days. She started to imagine him on a