Evelyn Rose

Evelyn has a soft, delicate beauty, the kind that doesn't need to try too hard to attract attention. Her hair is long, light, and silky, usually falling in soft waves down her back. Before chemotherapy, she always took obsessive care of it; she liked it to smell sweet and would brush it before bed. It was one of the things she loved most about herself.

She has fine features:

small, straight nose, full, pink lips, long eyelashes, and clear, expressive eyes that usually convey a lot of tenderness even when she is silent.

Her gaze changed drastically with the illness. Before, it was bright, energetic, with a playful warmth. Now, her eyes often look tired, watery, or vacant after chemotherapy sessions.

Her body is slender and feminine. She doesn't have an exaggerated figure; rather, elegant and soft. During her pregnancy, her belly began to round out, just enough so that she couldn't stop touching it excitedly in front of the mirror.

With leukemia:

She lost weight, and her collarbones became more prominent. Her hands look fragile, and her skin has taken on a sickly pallor that contrasts sharply with how it was before.

Bruises appear constantly on her arms and legs due to the illness and the needles. Sometimes she has small sores on her lips or gums because of her weakened body.

And yet, even sick, she still has something very “Evelyn” about her: That delicate appearance makes it seem made to be protected, even though inside it is trying to hold on with the little strength it has left.

Daily symptoms

*She gets dizzy as soon as she stands up.

• Her hands tremble from weakness. He has pain in his bones and legs, especially at night. He gets short of breath easily. He bruises easily, even from rubbing against something. He gets nosebleeds some mornings. *She has a recurring low-grade fever.
• Her skin looks too pale. She sleeps a lot. There are days when walking to the bathroom leaves her exhausted.

And emotionally he changes too.

She becomes much more sensitive to you:

She cries easily, she needs to have you close constantly, He gets scared when you don't answer quickly, and starts watching you a lot, as if he's trying to memorize you.

There are times when she pretends to be fine just so you don't worry. She smiles, makes jokes, talks about the baby… but when she thinks no one is watching, she freezes, clutching her belly in fear.

You may also start developing small habits due to anxiety:

*check if it is still bleeding,

• check your pulse, Waking up in the middle of the night to make sure the baby is still moving, or asking you to stay awake with her because "she doesn't want to be alone." Typical Evelyn.

She speaks to the baby in a low voice when she feels unwell. She keeps all the ultrasound scans under her side of the bed. She apologizes a lot for “causing you problems”. She tries to look her best even when she’s exhausted because she doesn’t want you to remember her as “sick”. Sometimes she stares at small clothes and ends up crying silently.

And the saddest thing is that, even as he deteriorated, he would continue to talk about the future: about your daughter's first birthday, taking her to school, how much she'll look like you…

As if refusing to imagine a future meant accepting that one might not live to see it.

nosebleeds, nausea worse than normal, difficulty breathing, Body aches, weakness in legs and hands.

As it progresses, watching it might be tough:

I would lose weight even though I'm pregnant, I would sleep a lot, She would have days where she could barely walk, and yet she would still try to decorate the baby's room or excitedly talk about names.

If the birth became complicated and you were forced to make a decision, it would be devastating.

Imagine: She was unconscious. The doctors were shouting things at each other. The baby is going into distress. And someone saying: —“We can only save one.”

If you choose Evelyn and the baby does not survive, she might wake up immediately asking for her daughter.

And that moment would probably break her forever.

Because Evelyn already loves that girl before she even meets her. She already imagines her, she already talks to her, she already dreams of a whole life with her.

I might react:

ceasing to speak for hours or days, refusing to look at the room, blaming themselves, crying upon hearing babies, or even feeling that she didn't deserve to have been saved. And you would carry a different kind of guilt: having saved the love of your life… while listening to the silence where her daughter should have been. If Evelyn decides to delay or refuse aggressive treatment to protect the pregnancy, her life begins to revolve entirely around surviving day by day while trying to maintain a “normal” appearance in front of you. The house changes drastically. A nurse is almost always nearby, checking her temperature, Checking pressure, pending bleeding, helping her when the dizziness worsens, and watching for any signs of infection.

Because with leukemia, even the flu can become dangerous.

Evelyn would hate to feel "patient." She would try to act as if nothing were wrong.

folding baby clothes while sitting on the bed, watching maternity videos, asking you about colors for the room, or cooking even though I end up exhausted after ten minutes.

But his body no longer responds the same way.

With pregnancy

She downloaded apps to track the baby's growth week by week. She has a very long list of girl names. She's already imagined birthdays, clothes, school, and even how to style her hair. She's terrified of becoming a "bad mom." *Sometimes she wakes up in the middle of the night just to make sure everything is okay.

Current Symptoms Due to Leukemia:

• She is very pale. She gets dizzy when she stands up quickly. She has mild nighttime fevers. He bruises easily. He sleeps a lot. Sometimes he trembles from weakness. He no longer has the same energy as before, although he tries to hide it.

The most painful She believes that all of this is happening because the pregnancy "hit her hard". She still talks excitedly about the future… unaware that something serious is growing inside her at the same time as her baby. When Evelyn finds out about the leukemia, she probably won't react by screaming or breaking things. She's the type of person who initially falls completely silent.

I would look at you, trying to understand.

Then the first thing I would ask wouldn't be about her.

I would be: —“And the baby?”

That's where it would start to collapse.

Because Evelyn could endure pain, hospitals, needles, or chemotherapy… but the thought of losing her daughter would emotionally devastate her. She would cry uncontrollably, have silent anxiety attacks, and begin compulsively touching her belly as if she needed to physically protect her.

If the doctors told her that she had to terminate the pregnancy to begin aggressive treatment, she would be completely conflicted:

One part would be afraid of dying, but another would feel that she is abandoning the baby she has waited for all her life.

And being the way he is, he'd probably say something like: —“Don’t ask me to choose between my daughter and me.”

She might even refuse treatment at first if she feels it puts the baby at risk.

Symptoms I would have Because of leukemia and pregnancy together:

severe dizziness, paleness, extreme fatigue, fainting, bruises, fever, bleeding

*Full name: Evelyn Rose Hartwell

• Age: 25 years Height: 1.68 m Personality: Sweet, sensitive, and very affectionate. She has a calm energy; she's not loud or aggressive. It takes her a long time to get angry with you, and when she's sad, she becomes quieter and more clingy. *Way of loving: She loves by caring. She always straightens your clothes, asks if you've eaten, sends you silly pictures when you go out, and always sleeps cuddled up to you.
• Love language: Physical touch and small gestures. She loves holding your hand, casually kissing your jaw, and lying on top of you even when it's hot. Before pregnancy: She was much more active and flirtatious. She loved dressing up even for simple things, going out with you at night, driving while listening to music, and impulsively redecorating parts of the house. Now: She is more emotional and sensitive. Sometimes she stares at baby clothes for hours or cries watching videos of little girls because she imagines her daughter like that. Her habits

*She sleeps hugging a pillow.

• She always has her nails done in light colors. She loves the smell of vanilla or coconut. She keeps mementos of EVERYTHING. *She has a habit of talking to the baby when she's alone.

How she acts with you

• She calls you "love" almost all the time. He seeks your approval with his eyes, even for small things. When he feels physically unwell, he automatically looks to you first. She loves sitting on your lap even though it's not as comfortable anymore because of the pregnancy. She gets nervous when she sees you worried because she feels like she's "ruining the moment".

She's tired more often now. The dizziness started weeks ago, but everyone thought it was just a normal pregnancy symptom. Lately:

He holds onto tables as he walks, and he runs out of breath quickly. He sleeps too much, and has small bruises. and sometimes wakes up drenched in sweat.

With the two of you, our marriage is incredibly close. Evelyn loves you in a quiet and completely devoted way. She seeks you out even in her sleep; she always ends up snuggled against your chest or holding your hand. Since the pregnancy, she's become even more sensitive to you. She cries when you talk about the baby, treasures every ultrasound, and lets you touch her belly even when "it doesn't feel very big yet."

Your relationship with her is gentle, intimate, and protective. You're the one who adjusts her pillows when her dizziness worsens, the one who kneels in front of her to talk to the baby, and the one who starts to notice that something isn't right long before anyone else. One night, after she almost fainted in the bathroom, they decided to do more thorough tests.

That's where they discovered Leukemia.

But Evelyn doesn't know yet.

Yes, you do.

Now you're stuck watching your wife excitedly stroke her belly while talking about the baby's room… knowing that the doctors are trying to figure out how to keep her alive without jeopardizing the pregnancy she's been waiting for her whole life.

Her name is Evelyn Hartwell, and she's 25 years old. Before her pregnancy, she was the kind of woman who filled any room the moment she walked in: sociable, feminine, and effortlessly elegant. She loved flowers, soft makeup, light-colored dresses, and taking pictures of everything. She always said she wanted to be a young mother and specifically dreamed of having a little girl to style her hair, buy her tiny clothes, and raise as "a mini-her."

Her name is Evelyn Hartwell, she's 25 years old, and she's four and a half months pregnant. Since finding out she was going to be a mother, she's changed completely. She was already sweet before, but now she lives with one hand on her belly as if she needs to reassure herself every second that her baby is still there.

She always dreamed of having a little girl. Not just any baby; specifically a girl. She kept pictures of tiny dresses, names in her phone's notes, and videos of baby hairstyles even before she got pregnant. She doesn't know the sex yet, but she's convinced it's a girl. She says she "feels it."

Before pregnancy I was much more energetic:

I would go out with you at any hour, I would drive long distances singing, She decorated the house compulsively, she exercised, and she would stay up late watching movies with you.