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Author Topic: Little Fire Burning (Ch. 85: Till death do us part *23.Apr 16*)  (Read 247381 times)
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Theraven
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« Reply #150 on: September 12, 2008, 12:07:02 am »

I updated only 3 days ago Smiley

it takes some time to do the pics, so I only have time to do them in the wekend. I do however have another chapter almost finished - but it's good to have some backup if I'm busy during the weekend. The update will come a few days from now, maybe - so just have a little patience. I want the pictures to be good, not just some I've spent two minutes on each just to have something to post.
« Last Edit: September 12, 2008, 12:09:17 am by theraven » Logged

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Little Fire Burning - Chapter 85 out

~Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain~
arielle22
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« Reply #151 on: September 12, 2008, 12:17:12 am »

ok

I can wait

lol
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rachel631
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« Reply #152 on: September 12, 2008, 11:30:39 am »

Must say, I didn't see muscular dystrophy coming... when you said swollen calves, I assumed heart problems (venous oedema). Go figure. You must do a lot of research into different illnesses for your stories (either that or you've had some very unlucky personal experiences with illness :sad4: ).
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Theraven
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« Reply #153 on: September 12, 2008, 03:41:15 pm »

wiki and youtube are good to start with - but I always find more reliable sources afterwards Smiley. I always try to make my stories as realistic as possible, so research is very important. I got a bit inspired for this story because a girl in my class last year had a documentary photo project about DMD - about three brothers where the two youngest have the disease. Also, I've put in a few personal experiences from the time when my own brother was sick. Not from DMD - but he also had a disease without a cure, and sadly the doctors did not find out what it was until several years later.

My two other stories are a bit personal too - especially MAF. I've lost so many people I loved, and that sometimes just makes you forget to think about the good memories instead of the bad ones.

it's always like that: good stories are those that you do a lot of research for - but the best ones are those where you actually know what you're talking about. Without everything that has happened around me in my life, I know that my stories would never have been anywhere near where they are now. And if you've ever heard that writing is good therapy - it's true! Since I get out most of my frustration and sadness in my stories, I feel happy most of the time otherwise - believe it or not Smiley
« Last Edit: September 12, 2008, 10:13:34 pm by theraven » Logged

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Little Fire Burning - Chapter 85 out

~Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain~
rachel631
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« Reply #154 on: September 12, 2008, 04:54:20 pm »

I'm sorry to hear about your brother. I always worry about asking personal questions, as I realise they can make people feel sad, so I'm sorry if I made you feel bad. I really like your stories though. Keep up the good work!
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Eimz08
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« Reply #155 on: September 13, 2008, 02:42:15 am »

 were did you get lilys oufit in that post and her hair and adians outfit and hair great story
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Theraven
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« Reply #156 on: September 13, 2008, 04:44:30 am »

Aidan's outfit is here. His hair is Raon nr.17

Lily's hair is a peggyzone hair. The outfit is from http://www.simphany.com/
« Last Edit: September 13, 2008, 04:56:06 am by theraven » Logged

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~Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain~
charleyhx
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« Reply #157 on: September 14, 2008, 01:35:48 pm »

poor adian Sad... this is so great. Cheesy
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Theraven
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« Reply #158 on: September 15, 2008, 01:08:51 pm »

Hi you all, and thanks for all the comments Smiley I had a lot to do this weekend, so I never got the chance to do another chapter, so the next one won't come until next weekend. However - I did two chapters last weekend, so at least I have something to post Smiley I hope you like it.
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CHAPTER 11: Blast from the past
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One week after Aidan had been diagnosed, everything still felt hazy. My concentration faltered every time my mind brought up a picture of Aidan in a wheelchair, or worse - a gravestone with Aidan's name on it. I spent evenings after the kids were in bed reading about Duchenne, and every time I closed down my laptop I wished I hadn't even opened it.


The little ones were running around as normal, and had probably forgotten everything already. I knew I couldn't forget. Not now, not ever.
Around the kids I tried to act normal, like nothing was wrong. But alone...
I found myself dropping items I was holding, burning food, forgetting simple things like turning on the washing machine after filling it, and else lose track of what I was doing several times a day. I noticed the same tendencies in Peter, and the following few weeks he spent more time at work, probably to keep his mind off worrying.


And all the while, the tears did not want to stop.
The genetic test the doctor had done on me showed I did indeed carry the gene mutation which was the cause of Aidan's condition. After testing me, the doctor had asked us if we wanted to test the girls, too. We'd said yes, because it could have implications for their future kids. The answer on those tests hadn't come back yet. I could only hope they had not inherited it.
I'd just discovered I had somehow managed to burn the spaghetti sauce when the phone rang. I turned off the oven, leaving the pot with the brownish sauce in the sink before I went to answer.
"Jenna Brooks."


"Hello, it's Madeleine Harris. Tony's teacher. I was wondering if you and Peter could come down to the school tomorrow afternoon. I need to talk to you about Tony."
Great. Even more trouble.
Wondering what on earth could be the problem now, I promised to come the next day.
Just then, the doorbell called, and I went to see who it was.
"Hi there, Jenna!" Mom said, smiling, as I opened the door. She gave me a long hug, and stepped aside, so dad could give me a hug, too.


They both had a nice tan, after a two-week vacation to Spain, so I hadn't had the opportunity to talk with them before now. This wasn't something I wanted to break over the phone.
"It's so good to see you," I said, and tried to smile.
Mom grabbed my shoulders, holding me at arm's length, studying me closely.


"What's wrong, Jenna? You've been crying, and you look awful! When was the last time you looked at yourself in the mirror?"
Was it this obvious?
"I-I don't know," I said, and turned toward the hallway mirror. Mom was right. I really did look awful.


My thin layer of mascara had looked perfect before I went to work, but now it had run several places, and my eyes were red from all the crying. My hair was pretty much the same as when I had got up in the morning, looking like I could need several hairdressers to tame it. To put it simply, I looked like a panda bear after a tornado.
"Oh," was all I could say, before the tears started to flow again.
Mom led me into the living room, steering me toward the couch.


She pushed me gently down in it, and sat down next to me, dad sitting down on the other side.
"Is it Aidan again?" mom asked.
Mothers. You can't hide anything from them.
"Yes. He's... he's very sick. He..." I had to dry away a tear before even getting started.
"Just cry, Jenna. There's no harm in crying," Mom said, putting her arm around my shoulder. "Take your time."


It took me a couple minutes to make my voice work properly.
"We took him to see the doctor a couple weeks back. You know how he's been a bit slow in walking?"
Mom nodded. She had remarked it a couple times before.
"Turns out he has a disease called Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. The disease will probably put him in a wheelchair long before he's even a teenager. It eventually affects the heart and breathing muscles, and... and since his heart disease is already weakening him, he'll most likely not grow older than twenty or so. There's no cure."
We'd taken Aidan for a heart checkup a few days ago, and even Celina had some devastating news for us.
"Aidan's heart surgeon said a while back he may need a transplant when he's older, but now it's not certain he'll be able to get one. She said she'll try her best if it comes to that, but most likely he'll not even be considered."
I couldn't hold back the tears any longer, and my head fell down on mom's shoulder. Having a shoulder to cry on helped - especially mom's shoulder. Neither she nor my father said anything. They just let me cry until my eyes were empty, comforted in mom's safe and warm embrace and with dad gently stroking my back.
When I finally regained control over myself, I dried my tears on some kitchen paper mom had found, and sat up straighter. I was glad none of the kids were there to see me in my breakdown, everyone off to daycare or school.  Having the occasional day or morning off work was a useful shift-work perk.
"The... the worst part is that I'm the cause of his disease. The doctor did a genetic test, which shows I carry the mutation in my genes. We tested the girls just in case, but those tests haven't come back yet."


"Why not testing Tony, then?"
"He can't be a carrier. If boys inherit the gene, they become sick. Girls seldom show any signs of the disease, and can be perfectly healthy even though they're carriers. There's a fifty-fifty chance for the boys to become sick if the mother is a carrier of the gene, and there's a fifty-fifty chance for girls to inherit it."
Mom's face paled, and she looked away from me.


"What's wrong, mom?" I asked, worried.
She sat there staring for several minutes, until she finally opened her mouth.
"You had two uncles on my side, Jenna. Not one."
I just stared. "I only had Uncle Freddie, Mom. What are you talking about?"
One uncle and three aunts.
"No, you had two. But to be honest, I never knew my second brother either.


I frowned at her. She took a deep breath, and continued.
"When I was eight, I found one of mom's photo albums hidden deep inside a closet. I knew I wasn't allowed to look at mom's things without her approval, but I was about as curious as you were at that age, so I pulled out the album, wondering why it had been so thoroughly hidden. I opened it up and several very old photos fell out. I sat down on the floor, trying to pick up the photos before mom showed up.


"At one of the pictures I hesitated. It showed a boy who looked like he could be around seven or eight years old, posing in my father's old favorite chair with Freddie, who couldn't have been more than a couple years or so then. I had never seen the boy before in my entire life, and did not know of anyone who wore leg braces like the boy on the picture did.


"I jumped almost sky high when mom came in, but she didn't get angry. She just took the album away from me, putting it away on the top of a shelf where I couldn't reach it. 'Who is the boy with the braces?' I asked mom. 'He was your brother,' she said. 'But we only have Freddie,' I protested, thinking she was joking or something. Then she explained to me that a few years before Freddie was born, she and my father had gotten a boy, Byron, who got very sick very fast, not being able to walk far without the braces he wore, and ending up in a wheelchair only nine years old.


"The doctors never found out what he had. He died when he was only eleven, because of breathing problems after severe pneumonia. The health care back then wasn't the best, either. Mom was so deep down in sorrow she had tried to 'forget' him afterwards. This was the only time I heard her talking about him. She kept the pictures, though. I was born a year later. I don't know if Fred still remembers Byron - but if so, he's never mentioned his older brother either."
"So... so you had another brother? And I had two uncles?"


"Yes. I'd completely forgotten it until today. It's just... when you said that about Aidan, I suddenly remembered the picture. I... I guess this means I inherited the gene from my mother, and... and that you again got it from me," she said. "I'm so sorry, Jenna."


"Don't be. You didn't know, mom. But my sisters should take a test. They can be carriers, too. It's best they know about it."
"That might be the best, yes. I'll tell them."
"Thanks, mom," I said, and hugged her again.
"Don't be mad at yourself for being a carrier, Jenna. You couldn't have known, and I had no idea, either. You can't do anything about it now, so put it behind you and move forward, alright?"


I nodded. She was right, as always.

---

It turned out one of my two sisters had inherited the gene - but neither of her children had. My brother, Jared, had been extremely lucky not to get sick - just like Tony. The thought that Tony could've had the same disease as Aidan was scary, but thankfully he'd been spared.
The tests on the girls showed that Lily had not inherited the mutated gene - but unfortunately, Erica had, which meant not all of my future grandchildren were safe.

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I hope you liked it Smiley
« Last Edit: September 12, 2019, 11:56:28 am by Theraven » Logged

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Little Fire Burning - Chapter 85 out

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hollymaniac12
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« Reply #159 on: September 15, 2008, 05:29:01 pm »

OOOOOOOH. I loved that chapter, Raven! (Hope you don't mind me calling you that). Fantastic! I already can't wait for the next chapter.
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Pierre
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« Reply #160 on: September 15, 2008, 05:32:51 pm »

Great chapter Looking forward in reading the rest.
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Glamily
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« Reply #161 on: September 15, 2008, 05:45:29 pm »

luv this story, cannot wait for the next update.
 
*pulls out a pink cd (so what) and plays it while waiting for the next update*
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« Reply #162 on: September 15, 2008, 06:09:23 pm »

Ooh! Yay, twists and turns. I feel the urge to go do some research, Great again Raven!
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Theraven
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« Reply #163 on: September 15, 2008, 10:11:00 pm »

thanks, everyone Smiley

(and stay tuned for even more twists and turns. It's not over yet Cheesy)
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Little Fire Burning - Chapter 85 out

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vickylougrl
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« Reply #164 on: September 16, 2008, 01:16:25 pm »

Theraven wonderful update as always!  I have to keep checking the threads to keep track why doesn't my subscription to thread thingy work???  I love the history part u have a way of making characters so real love it!
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Now, when you come under their power, one of them who is the overseer will say to you: "Who are you, and where are you from?"

You are then to say to him, "I am a child of humanity and I am from the Source."
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