Chapter Text
Hinata Shoyo was 6 when the pains started. The pains weren't excruciating or even that noticeable but it was still there. He didn't think to tell his mother about the pains, or anyone else, because it was so dull and it wasn’t constant. This pain went on for about a year until, at recess, his teacher noticed he was jumping weird. She asked for him to go to the nurse to get his knee looked at since it looked like it wasn't bending correctly and he was limping when he walked. Once at the nurse’s office his mother was called since his knee had gotten swollen and was hot to the touch. The next day they went to the doctors and when they examined the knee they decided to order an MRI because the doctors and nurses agreed that something was wrong. Once he had gotten his MRI they decided to do a biopsy and found a tumor.
Hinata Shoyo, age 7, had Osteosarcoma in his tibia and would need a rotationplasty and multiple rounds of chemo.
The doctors then explained that the next step would be chemotherapy but it wouldn’t be easy. There would be about ten weeks of chemo before they could do any surgery to remove the tumor and do the rotationplasty then they would continue the chemo treatment for up to a year and in that time he would also be starting physical therapy. Mrs. Hinata was in tears by then but Shoyo didn’t fully understand what was going to happen, all he knew is that he was sick. He asked, “Will I still get to play with other kids and run and jump?” The doctors then explained in more child-friendly terms what was happening. “Shoyo, you most likely will but not for a while. Right now you have a really bad sickness in your leg.” The doctor then pointed to the spot on his tibia right under his knee, “If you want you to get better you will have to go through Chemo which is some really bad medicine but it helps make the sickness get smaller and smaller until we can go in and take it out. Once we take it out we will do a procedure we will have to give you some yucky medicine again for a while but then you will be all ready to go back home. Then you will be able to run and jump again. The procedure we will do is called in big person words a ‘rotationplasty’ but that just means that when we take the sick spot out of your leg, you won't have a good knee but your ankle could work like your knee does so we will take your foot, turn it around so it works like a knee, and then you will be able to jump and run in it with a super cool fake leg. ” The doctor took a breath and looked to his mother “If the rotationplasty goes correct he will be able to do almost any sport again, high or low impact because his joint in his ankle will act as his knee, the other option that we would go with would not allow him to do any sports or anything with high or medium impact. It would take out part of the bone and you already agreed to the rotationplasty, we just want to make sure you are informed of the choices. If the rotationplasty fails we would have to do the above-knee amputation which would be harder to get accustomed to but that shouldn't happen” then she turned back to Shoyo “I know this is scary but it will get better because you will be with other kids like you.”
Shoyo was still mildly confused but he understood this much: he was really sick, they had to give him medicine that would make him sicker at first but then he would be better, they had to do this procedure that would make him able to jump again. That much was enough to make him okay with the whole situation because after it he shouldn’t be sick anymore and it sounded like he would be able to make a lot of new friends.
A week passed and they had informed the school of Shoyo’s condition. The school offered their condolences and offered to send him his work and a tutor for when he started chemo which was fine except that both Mrs. Hinata and the school both knew that Shoyo would be absolutely miserable and might have long periods where he wouldn't have the energy to do school work.
Mrs. Hinata decided that Shoyo should stay at the hospital for the duration of this. This was not an easy decision but it was the right one. She didn’t do this because she didn’t love him but because she was a single mother with a one-year-old and a very sick seven-year-old. They didn’t have any living family in town that could help and she already had to work two jobs to pay the bills. Also, she lived in the Miyagi prefecture while the hospital Shoyo would have to stay at and go-to for treatments was in Tokyo, 325 km away. She was so upset when she realized she couldn't care for her son while he was sick but was consoled by the nurses who explained many families were in this position especially because the hospital was one of the top hospitals in Japan for childhood cancers and treatment. They also had a childhood prosthetic specialist.
It was Sunday, the day Shoyo checked into the hospital. He had his favorite clothes and his favorite hats. He was told that his hair would most likely fall out so he didn’t want his head to get cold. He also had all the cards from his classmates and teachers telling him to get better and the photos that had been sent. All his teachers, classmates, and friends wished him the best but he could see the look in their eyes. He didn’t recognize it at the time but it was a look of pity. The adults looked at him thinking “that poor child” and his peers thinking “I feel bad but at least I'm not sick.”
Some kids were mean tough. They had taunted Shoyo with “Eww, your sick. Stay away. I don’t want to get sick” and other taunts but for the most part, all he got were looks of pity. Maybe this was why he was so excited to be with other sick kids so he wouldn't be pitied by them. Shoyo was directed to his room after checking in. It was the pediatric wing in the new dorms the hospital had added on less than a year ago.
The hospital he stayed at was trying something relatively new, having pediatric dorms for chemo patients if the family needed assistance and to also make sure that the children were not developing long term side effects or other illnesses. All the dorms had two names on the doors. The photo of the dorms that they had shown him looked like it was one big room with a half wall in the middle and two bathrooms on the sides, both with a sink, shower, and toilet. All of these were made easy to reach with a wheelchair or disabilities that restrict motion. The rooms looked colorful and not as dull as normal hospital dorms. Shoyo’s room was near the end of the hall, the dorms being separated by when they would start chemo and also age range. When he reached his room, he noticed that the door was decorated with video game characters, cats, and some volleyball decals. He was a mixture of excited and nervous. He would meet his new roommate for at least the next year. He was about to go into the room with the nurse when the door swung open.
“Are you Hinata Shoyo?” the boy asked.
He looked rough with long hair and dark bags under his eyes but Shoyo didn’t care because he saw something that caught his eye.
“Yes, I’m Hinata Shoyo but behind you, is that a kitty?” Shoyo said, starting to bounce up and down.
“Yeah, apparently today is one of the days they bring in animals to help cheer us up. His name is melon and he likes to cuddle. I'm Kozume Kenma by the way.”
“Hi, Kenma. By the way, is it ok that I call you Kenma since we will be roommates for a while and that means you will be my new friend!” Shoyo said full of enthusiasm, forgetting all of his previous nerves.
“Sure but that means I can call you Shoyo if I want,” Kenma replied, going back to his gaming console with a smile and welcoming Shoyo in.
The nurse helped Shoyo get settled in then told him how this would work. It was a long and complicated schedule and procedures but fortunately, the nurses would be around to get them when needed and they had the boy's schedules on an electronic tablet. She also informed them that they each got a tablet but they weren't for playing games, they were for schedules and then for when they got the chemo so they could have something to do. Shoyo was also grateful that his mom had gotten him a phone so he could record the instructions, even if it couldn’t have many games. Once he was settled and starting to tape some photos up he called his mom to tell her the room number and everything that had happened up to that exact point. He was exhausted but excited. He would get to see his mom every weekend if she could make it but also have a super cool roommate. He also would make lots of friends on the floor and meet all the nurses who checked on them every hour when the kids weren't out of the rooms. Shoyo explained how he thought it was like teachers because they checked in so often and how he didn't have that much playtime and nap time. There were a lot of things like chemo sessions or stretching and also things he didn't yet know if they were good or bad, the group talking times, and the wellness checkups. He was excited for movie time, playtime, food, and even learning time. He eventually had to hang up for dinner and a tour around the hospital wing with the other new patients.
On the way to dinner Shoyo struck a conversation with Kenma asking him all these questions like how long has he been here and why does he look so tired. The short answer is that Kenma only got here three days prior and he looked so tired because his best friend had been over for the two previous days and wouldn't shut up about all the different science-related things he could see, which was a lot because they were in a hospital. They learned that they were put in the same chemo group and would start chemo on the same day later in the week.
Shoyo decided that he was glad there was good food. This wasn't like normal hospital food like his mother got when Natsu, his little sister, was born. That food looked bland and all mush but this food was fun sandwiches and different types of milk and waters. There was so much fruit and there were even sweets with dinner. It seemed like heaven but Kenma explained that with the chemo you might not be able to eat if you get even sicker and if you do get super sick with that you do have to eat the liquid food. After that, he finally got to tour the hospital wing. He had already seen the chemo dorm wing, he learned it is called the tangerine dorms for those 12 and under and the other dorms was the strawberry dorms and those were for those over 12. After touring their dorms they got to see the other dorms. Those were for different terminal illnesses or auto-immune diseases. They learned that they would get to meet some of the people from those dorms in groups. Next, they got to see the rooms so that they would get chemo. The room you would be in would be separated by types of chemo, their ages, and other conditions. Shoyo learned that he would be in the same rotation as Kenma so he was happy, he already had at least one friend in his chemo group.
After that they got to see the rest of the hospital; in the rooms, they saw the ones relating to treatment there were the physical therapy rooms, therapy group rooms/therapy rooms, and rooms meant to chill out and calm with thighs such as plants and white noise. They saw the game room and lounge, a group of rooms for school/tutoring, a library for the children connected to a computer room, the family rooms, and the courtyards. They also got to see the buildings connected to the hospital: the pool, gym, restaurants, a bookstore, and a movie theater. This strip of the building was connected by a sky-walk that you needed a key card to cross. Each patient in the long-term ward would have a personalized key card but if you were under 18 it wouldn't work before or after a certain time and during the times it would work you would need a staff member or guardian with you. After that, the tour consisted of going through the schedules and what rooms not to go in. It was a lot but at the end of the tour, they got key-cards for their rooms/access to the dining area and the other rooms that were on the schedule. They then got split into smaller groups and got to meet the nurses/ adults that were in charge of them. Shoyo’s group had ten people in it. He already knew Kenma; the rest of the group consisted of five girls and three boys. Two of the boys were also from Miyagi, like Shoyo, but the other boy was from Tokyo. The girls were all from Tokyo or had moved to Tokyo before treatment. They were all either seven or eight years old and would be doing IV chemo. The nurses talked for the next thirty minutes just explaining how the rounds would go and how sick they might start to feel. She then explained what they had planned for treatment. Starting tomorrow they would run a test to make sure what doses they would need and by Wednesday they would start their first round of chemo. She explained how the rounds of chemo would work and the tests that would most likely have to run. She also explained how important it was that they didn't get something like the flu because their immune system would get weaker.
Shoyo absorbed every word and once she was done it was already almost curfew. There would be room checks and lights out and to him it felt like how camps were explained. He was starting to get nervous but when they got to the room he was utterly exhausted. He set up his bathroom and got changed for bed. It took him little time to fall asleep, which he felt guilty because he didn't have nightmares about missing his mom, he only dreamed of the friends he would have and the cool rooms and super nice nurses.