She Took Her Daughter to the Hospital for a Stomach Bug—What They Discovered Was Unthinkable
When Lila turned twelve, she was just like any other skinny, wide-eyed kid with big dreams and a messy backpack. Nothing out of the ordinary—until her belly started to swell. At first, her mom chalked it up to a stomach bug or maybe something she ate. But as the days passed, Lila’s belly didn’t shrink. It grew. Quietly. Worryingly. Then came the hospital visit. What the doctors said next didn’t…
When Lila turned twelve, she seemed no different from any other scrawny kid with big eyes and secret ambitions — until her belly began to swell in a way that made her mother’s heart clench. At first, everyone thought it was just a stubborn virus, something she’d shrug off in a week. But each morning, the ache worsened, and by the end of the second week, Lila was doubled over in tears, unable to sit upright without gasping.
Her mother, Elise, scraped together just enough coins for bus fare to the regional hospital, a grim building nearly an hour away. They boarded an ancient bus that rattled with every bump, smoke curling from the exhaust as if it might collapse any moment. Elise clutched Lila’s damp hand, trying to swallow the terror that pressed against her ribs. She was a single mother with two jobs and no savings, but none of that mattered as much as the girl beside her.
