『A Literary Ending - Chapter Thirteen - There’s Nothing Wrong with That』のカバーアート

A Literary Ending - Chapter Thirteen - There’s Nothing Wrong with That

A Literary Ending - Chapter Thirteen - There’s Nothing Wrong with That

無料で聴く

ポッドキャストの詳細を見る
“Is Dad home?” asked Sharon.Cheryl responded sarcastically, “Where would he be? He’s not out playing golf.”Sharon then peeked into the living room and saw her father sitting calmly in his chair, paging through a book. He looked over towards her and smiled.“What are you reading, Dad?”“A story that I somewhat remember from a long time back,” said Jerry. “It’s titled To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf. Do you know of her?”“I’ve heard the name, but know nothing about her or her books,” said Sharon, pleased to hear her father speaking as he did before his illness.“You probably know of Edward Albee’s play, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? The play was written long after she had died. The book I’m reading was written in the 1920s and is about the lives of family members over the course of many years. It begins with a vacation at their summer home, and continues a decade later, after the death of the mother and two of their children. The central theme’s about time, and how a single afternoon can feel like a lifetime, while a decade can pass in a heartbeat.“That’s similar to the way I feel now, Sharon, with my illness. Years in the past are far more vivid in my memory than moments experienced just yesterday.”“How far have you gotten into the book?” asked Sharon.“Frankly, I don’t know what page I’m on, but I’m able to remember the ending, which is about how one of the sons and their father formed a bond they never had while the children were growing up.”“Sounds fascinating,” interjected Cheryl, who had been listening from across the room. “Similar to our family now.”Sharon dismissed her mother’s comment, and instead put down her book bag and stated, “Speaking of that, Dad, I’ve been doing some research on my own about your illness. In the process, I’ve learned that Jen and I might both at risk of contracting the disease you have when we reach our forties. I’ve also learned a lot about the disease, FFI, which is an acronym for Fatal Familial Insomnia, And, yes, I’ve also learned the word ‘acronym,’ and that as of today the disease is incurable and ultimately fatal.”Cheryl looked over at Sharon as if she was listening to a girl she’d never met, amazed to find out that her daughter would take the time and make the effort to investigate the disease and be able to remain calm while talking about it.Sharon looked away from her father to her mother and continued. “For Jen and me, 20 years is a long way off, but it’s still kind of scary to know that you have something inside you that is destined to cripple and kill you. I haven’t yet told Jen about what I’ve learned. But I will. Especially since it’s very possible that one of us might get it.” “How... where did you learn about it?” asks Cheryl, mystified by this new version of her daughter.“You’ve spoken about the disease with us in the room, but never provided details. From what I’ve overheard from you and others, I looked the information up online, and after I got the name, I searched it using AI.”Sharon reached down to her book bag to find her notepad. “I wrote down what it told me,” she said, “and jotted down the term it used.“Here it is: FFI is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by prions, or misguided proteins that destroy the brain. Doctors and scientists haven’t found a cure yet, but scientists are currently working on a possible a cure for FFI and other prion diseases.“I’ve also learned that people can now be tested to determine whether they are prone to the disease or not, but that parents of a child under the age of 18 must have the approval of a parent or guardian to be tested.”There was a pause, during which time Sharon looked directly at her mother. Finally Cheryl, broke the silence and asked, “Would you really want to know?” “I believe I would, Mom. I know that it will be hanging over me no matter what, but it could also save others, as well as Jen and me... decades from now. Since I revealed to the program that my father has undergone tests that confirmed the location of the gene, I was directed to medical papers that revealed that scientists know exactly where to find the gene and can confirm it in the child of a person with the disease. So, if Jen and I don’t have it, we won’t die of it, and we can’t pass it on to our children. If either one, or both of us, tests positive, doctors can monitor the gene and predict whether the disease will progress rapidly, like Dad’s has done, or more slowly.”Cheryl interrupted, “But if you test positive for FFI, you then are destined to contract it and die of it, as well as any children you might have.”“That may or may not be true,” responded Sharon, looking at her notes. “If I test positive, I will become a ‘pre-symptomatic carrier,’ like Dad. To reduce my odds of passing it on to any children, there is currently a way of removing embryos and screening ...
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
まだレビューはありません