Prognosis Percentage by Lisa Molina

The boy, age 13

battling leukemia 3 times since he was 3,

asks the transplant doctor,

“What are my chances of surviving, Dr. Lee?”

Dr. Lee locks eyes with boy, intentionally,

and says,

“40%.”

Somewhat confidently.

 Furiously, insistently,

boy pounds fist on table

“I’ll take nothing less than 50!”

 Negotiating for his life, desperately.

There is a roar of silence.

Air is hot.  

The agonizing 3-second wait.

Doctor Lee’s eyes crinkle as he laughs,

offering out his hand, the boy’s to grasp.

“You’ve got it!” he says.

The deal is done.

The bidding won.

All parties agree.

Heartily.

And that boy-fighter

of unrelenting hope,

Is given 10 percent more,

So that he may cope.

And he,

in time,

survived,

the climb.

Prognosis percentage?

It’s just a number to hear.

For no quantification can suffice,

The value of my boy’s saved life.

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Lisa Molina holds a BFA from the University of Texas. She has taught high school English and theatre, served as Associate Publisher of Austin Family Magazine, and now works with students with special needs. She finds joy in talking books with her children and friends, writing, hiking, and being near any body of water.