If I could turn back time.

I sat on the white plastic chair beside my best friend's hospital bed. Monitoring machines surrounded her, beeping steadily. Tubes of different shapes and sizes stuck in and out of her body. She looked so lifeless lying there with her eyes closed. It was all I could do to not cry out in front of her.

 Vera was just thirty years old. She was too young to be dying. Her family's record was free of the disease so how did it manage to find a way to get her, slowing down her life in the process and threatening to bring it to a complete halt. 

Peaceful Vera. She never picked a fight with anyone, but here she was fighting for her life. The door opened and I wiped my face just in time to see Vera's husband and four year old son.

"Ellen," Vera's husband greeted. There were dark rings under his eyes. Proof that he had not been sleeping well. "How are you doing?"

"I'm alright. How about you? How've you been putting up?"

"Not too well," he replied as he sat down heavily on the chair. "Vera...she used to be the one that made sure things were running, that everybody was okay and everything was fine. Without her, it's just difficult."

I nodded my understanding and gave him a sympathetic look before turning to Philip, their son.

"How about you, buddy?" I asked, trying to work some excitement into my tone. "How have you been?"

"Does mummy still have cancer?" Was all the boy replied .

My heart sank and I shot his dad an helpless look. He shrugged. "That's the longest statement he's made since we left here last week."

I sighed. "Philip, your mum is going to be okay. She'll get out of it. Trust God."

"But Daddy said mummy was dying."

"What?" I snapped my head back at Vera's husband. "How could you say that?"

"Florence," he said quietly. I did not like the look in his eyes. "Let's meet outside." He got up and left the room.

"Listen," I told Philip. "Your dad and I want to talk. Your mummy will be fine. Why don't you just get yourself busy with homework. I'll be right back."

"Okay," the boy said. 

As I exited his side, I knew homework was the last thing on the boy's mind. All the while she talked with his father outside, the young boy would have his worried eyes trained on his sick mother.

"Really?" I said immediately the door shut behind me. "Is this what you've been telling your son? That his mother is dying?" Anger flashed in my eyes.

"Vera I understand your worries and I know you sincerely believe that Vera would be fine eventually. But let's not give that poor boy any false hope. You heard what the doctor said. She has only two weeks to live when she comes out of her coma. I want Vera to be alright. I want her back home too. If there's anyone who's praying that a miracle happens and that cancer leaves her body, it's me. I love Vera. Florence, I love her more than you do. But it's better to prepare for the worst. These are our last chances at saying our goodbyes."

I clenched my fists. Anger and hurt surged through my veins making me dizzy. As much as I wanted to disagree with Vera's husband, Iknew he had just spelt out the truth. He had told me exactly what the doctor had said three weeks ago. Vera was living her last days. 

"But miracles are still possible," I sobbed. "God can still do something."

Vera's husband kept quiet. He looked into space.

"Vera and I talked the last time we were here to see her." He said after sometime. "She has a message for you."

He looked at his watch. "Didn't the doctor say she should come around by 4pm? It's 4:30. Let's go inside."

Philip was on the bed, sitting opposite his mother. He was talking excitedly and Vera's eyes sparkled as she listened to her son."

"Daddy!" Philip exclaimed when they entered. "Mummy is alive."

I gulped nervously but managed to give him a smile. 

"Vera." I said instead. "How are you?"

Vera was quiet but her eyes were pregnant with words. She wanted to talk and I was more than ready. 

"Do you want them to excuse us or...?"

"It's fine. I want everyone to hear what I have to say."

I moved closer to her bed. "We're all ears Vera."

"Whatever you do in life Florence," she began "don't ever neglect your health. I know it's easy to forget to take care of our bodies and do the right thing because of our work and lifestyle, but your body operates in Gigo."

"What are you talking about?"

"When I was younger, my father used to caution me about what I ate and how I treated my body. I was a sugar addict. Bread was my favourite food and I had little or no vegetables in my diet. I ate fruits when it was absolutely necessary and I always selected only the sweet ones. I grew up like that and only got worse when I entered campus. You remember how I used to buy fried foods and drank soft drinks almost everyday? I have been putting garbage into my body for so long and now...well, I'm reaping the fruits of my actions. That's why I said our bodies operate Gigo. Garbage in, garbage out. It will only give you what you've put in it."

I sighed. "Vera. Don't talk like that. I'm sure you don't have cancer because of that."

"Florence, the doctor said it himself. My lifestyle only promoted the abnormal growth. By the time he found out I had cancer, he realized it had been there for months without my knowledge. They said sugar and carbohydrates speed up it's growth and my body was the perfect place for it. Apart from that, since nutrients were very scarce in my body, my immune system had become so weak that it couldn't fight off cancer anymore. By the time it was found out, my immune system was already too compromised."

I stared bewilderingly at her. Before now, I had had no idea about all these. Vera reached for my hand and she did so as if she was using the last of her strengths. 

"Florence, you have a bright future ahead of you. You're going to get married and have kids. It's not too late for you to change your lifestyle. Eat right. Treat your body right. Drink a lot of water and exercise as much as possible. I know it sounds cliche but I only wish I had listened."

"Vera," I sobbed. "we're still praying for God to heal you. Why do you sound as if you've given up."

"Consequences." Vera replied slowly, painfully. "This is the consequence of what I've done so far in life. God gave me this beautiful body. His temple. He expected me to take care of it by doing the right thing. I knew the right thing but I didn't do it. Many times, He warned me. When I started feeling pains in my back and arms the Holy Spirit actually warned me about my diet and lifestyle I thought I could adjust anytime and start doing the right thing when I got a little older. Of course, a lot of other factors can cause cancer, but don't do it Florence. Don't neglect your health. Eat right so that whoever you marry can have you around longer...so your..." A sob caught in her throat and I wanted to reach out to comfort her but I didn't want her to get infected with any germs. That would spell doom for her."...so that your children can enjoy you longer" 

Vera's husband teared up and he looked away so I wouldn't see the tears in his eyes. Philip looked on from where he was at the foot of the bed, too young to understand anything his mother was saying, too young to understand that she didn't have much longer before she left him, too young to...

The beeping from the monitor beside Vera's head suddenly became louder and more rapid. The formerly green line on it was flattening and flashing red. I looked at Vera in alarm. Her eyes were glassing up and her grip on her husband's finger was loosening. Her head was tilting slowly to the side and the color was draining from her face.

"Doctor!" I screeched. "Doctor!"

Then everywhere went black.

Disclaimer: Not all cancers are as a result of a bad lifestyle. But you can seriously reduce your chances of encountering it if you improved your diet and lifestyle. Your health is in your hands.✨

Recommended book: Hallelujah Diet.