She really wasn’t supposed to be playing.  Dr. Fry and her oncologist had both seriously warned against it, but Dana wouldn’t listen.  She was here playing because to drop out would force her to admit to herself that this was really happening, that she was really sick.  If she just played in the tournament, she could lie to herself and pretend everything was as it was before, and she was perfectly happy.  Of course, she knew the truth in the back of her mind, but it was nice to try and pretend.

Dana shot up as the ball came across the net at her, taking a swipe at it and hitting it into the net.  *****.  She hadn’t played this badly since she’d first started playing tennis.  This was more than just an off day.  Dana had to admit to herself that she was honestly to weak to keep up, and that she could barely lift her arm to swing the racket, nor put one foot in front of the other without struggling.  She was freezing, yet sweating profusely since early in the game, while her head pounded and her vision occasionally blurred.  I shouldn’t have even come here.  This chemo has my ***** whipped.

As the ball came back toward her, Dana threw herself toward it, pitching forward dangerously as her vision blurred once more, and everything began to swim around her.  She flailed uselessly with her racket as she heard a roaring in her ears.  The toe of her foot caught on the clay of the court, sending her off balance and crashing toward the ground.  Throwing her arms out protectively, Dana felt her knees and arms scrape roughly against the surface of the court.  Rolling over onto her side, her eyelids fluttering, she lay in silence, struggling to keep conscious.

Dimly, she could hear the crowd gasping around her as running footsteps rapidly approached her.  Forcing her eyes open, she looked up to see the courtside medics approaching her with a stretcher.  “I’m okay,” she said weakly, coughing.

“Ma’am, we need to get you to a hospital.  You appeared to almost faint.  You could be dehydrated,” the medic argued.

“I’m fine,” Dana argued, managing to stand up, shaking off the helping hands that were offered to her.