I awoke to what would be a normal day for me at the time. The room we stayed in was still dark and quiet as it was six in the morning. The only light that was funneling into the room was from the partially opened bathroom door. Looking directly into it was blinding as I tried to cover my head with the light, itchy, and cold cheap hotel bedding. Although you could feel every spring putting pressure on every tender part of my body the bed was too comfortable to leave this early in the morning. I was forcefully motivated to get out of bed by my mother whom had already gotten dressed, powdered her face, and put on jewelry. I could tell by looking in her eyes there was a tired, stressed, and weak person hiding behind all that colorful and happy makeup.

After getting ready for the day we made our way downstairs for breakfast. Only three other people took their place at the small eating area in the corner of the hotel lobby. The food was nothing amazing, toast, fruit and cereal. I grabbed the small Styrofoam serving bowl and served myself a small amount of fruit loops and a milk carton. The cereal tasted bland and unsatisfying. When done I threw the bowl away and my mom and I left the lobby and walked out to the car. The cool morning air sent chills through my body as soon as we stepped outside. There was a faint glimmer of sunlight appearing on the horizon that gave the clouds above a grey fade to them. The truck we drove was cold as well and took a minute for the heater to warm the cabin. We drove down the empty town streets toward the hospital for the day of testing.

We stopped at the Charleston building, an awkwardly built building which looked like large crystals protruding from the surface of the earth. Inside, rich granite and marble lined the floors and walls. A waterfall misted down in the large multiple story atrium. As we were escorted back to the changing room all the beautiful stonework and natural light ended as we walked in dull hallways with white paint on them, grey carpets and doors lining each side. The hallway seemed as if it went for miles. The nurse gave me the standard hospital uniform which I have become so aquatinted with.

I changed and was escorted into a small waiting room. The room had six chairs covered in purple stitched cushions and all faced in on each other. The only spacing were two white end tables which each held a stack of uninteresting, over sized magazines. After about ten minutes the nurse came back and said "Okay Trent we are ready for you." I made my way down the hallway following the nurse into a room filled with computer screens. "come this way bud," she said. I followed her through a large door into a large cold room that held a large cylindrical machine with a bed positioned in the center of it. I was positioned on the cold hard bed and was strapped in. My head was locked into a helmet and held in place with Velcro straps and wedged pillow cushions. The nurse left and so began my hour of hell.

The MRI machine required complete stillness by me which was very uncomforting. The machine was also very loud, each sequence began with a loud high pitched buzzing which made me jump every time but I was completely immobile. It continued with a THUMP THUMP THUMP, CLICK, and would continue with an infinite amount of unpleasant sequences of obnoxious noises, while all I could do was sit there and stare at the blank white top of the tube mere inches from my face.

Halfway through I was required to give a blood sample and have a highlight dye injected into me. The nurse entered holding a baggie of supplies. She was a younger girl, mid twenties with a cute little face. Her dark hair was wrapped up in her nurses’ cap as if it had the potential of contaminating the air. "Let me see your arm please," she asked as I stuck out my right arm. I could notice in her face that she was enjoying this as much as I did. She strapped a tight band on my bicep and began searching for the perfect vein to use, like an explorer trying to find the best river to travel down. Then it is found and a sharp pain shoots up my arm as the cold needle enters my arm. My muscles tense up and I bite down hard enough to bite through rock. As she pulls the blood I see the dark red fluid being oozed into the clear vile. Then the dye is flushed into my system which makes my veins feel cold and leaves a twangy salty taste in my mouth as the needle is removed.

After the testing I put my clothes back on and meet my mom in the lobby where she sat half awake sitting in one of the chairs with her head resting on the wall behind her. "How did it go?" she asked.

"Its over," I replied.

"Well all we have to do now is play the waiting game," she said.

We walked out and went back to the hotel to get some more rest. For the remainder of the day, every second lasted a minute. My mom constantly checked her phone in case of any missed calls or messages. We went to the mall for most of the afternoon to kill time. We grabbed a bite to eat and the food this time had some taste to it but it still was not satisfying. At around three in the afternoon we started to become impatient. My mother checked her phone more often and became quieter as the day grew old. I too was starting to become antsy as I had nothing else to do. Then suddenly a little past four o'clock the ring of the telephone was as loud as a ship horn in a harbor early in the morning. My mother answered it nearly immediately.

"Hello? Yes this is her...okay...okay...uhh-huh...yup...okay thank you very much...good bye now." She turned around so I could see her face which had tears running down it. She smiled and ran over to give me a hug. Suddenly everything became light. The once dull grey room began to fill with color. I also began to feel warm and I could see color and happiness in my mother’s eyes again. Her happiness began to shine through all the horrible things she kept hidden behind that makeup. We decided to go to my grandparents who lived only an hour out of Rochester. We went outside and I could see the sun sitting high in the sky lighting up all of the once dull surroundings. The sun felt warmer than before and the clouds were as white as snow.

When we got to my grandparents house, multiple relatives have already heard the news and were waiting for us there as my mom and I rolled in just in time for supper. All of my aunts and uncles embraced me and my mom as we entered. Everybody's eyes were glistening and their faces were full of joy. We all sat down at the dinner table and my grandfather sitting at the head of the table led us in a prayer in his deep commanding voice. As I looked around the room I noticed the wood trimming around all the windows and doors appeared richer than before. The warm brown paint on the wall was warmer than before, and the people that I was sitting next to were more colorful and joyous than I have ever seen them before. We all dug into a gourmet meal of burgers and chips. It may have been a simple meal but it was the most delicious burger I have had in my life and for the first time in six months I was fully satisfied the day I defeated cancer.