Chapter 3 - The Diagnosis in ColumbusThen Maya began to tire. At first, she blamed the greenhouse where she worked. Then stress.
Her heart fluttered hard and fast at night, like a trapped bird behind her ribs. One afternoon in early March, she fainted while carrying a tray of seedlings. Three weeks later, in a sterile white examination room in Columbus, she received the devastating diagnosis: Advanced Dilated Cardiomyopathy.
Her heart was enlarged, severely weakened, and failing at a terrifying speed. Without a heart transplant, the doctor estimated she had monthsâmaybe a yearâto live.
Ruth wept hysterically in the clinic parking lot. Maya did not.
âWe are not telling Ethan today,â Maya declared, her voice pale but firm.
âHe loves you, Maya!â Ruth argued, her voice cracking. âHe deserves to know!â
âIf I tell him now, he will quit school by tomorrow,â Maya whispered, watching an elderly couple across the lot. âEthan has spent his entire life believing love means staying in burning rooms because someone might need him. I will not become the room that burns his life to ash.â
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âYou cannot protect him by breaking his heart!â Ruth sobbed.
Maya looked into her motherâs weeping eyes. âI may not have any other tool strong enough.â
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