Andrea immediately brought Leah to the hospital. They rushed to the emergency room and found Nanay and Tatay standing outside one of the curtained cubicles.

"Tita!"

"Leah!" Nanay responded.

"Good afternoon po."

Nanay introduced Leah to Tatay and then she asked what happened. Nanay and Tatay shook their heads. They, too, were worried about their son. Soon after, Ate Ai arrived with her husband Dondi. Minutes later, Lucas came out from the curtained cubicle along with the doctor. She invited the group to the lounge nearby.

"It seems like he has the bad case of the flu but so far, the tests that we've done, blood test and MRI don't really show anything alarming. Kakausapin ni Lucas yung mga kasamahan nya sa therapy center kung may na-observe sila or may naikwento ba si Kento na pagsama ng pakiramdam nya over the last few days or weeks. Kayo po, meron ba syang naikwento sa inyo?"

"Nung isang araw, bago dumating si Leah." Nanay began.

Leah mentioned that she had just arrived from Bangkok and was home for a visit.

"...nabanggit nyang parang may tumutusok-tusok daw sa mga kamay at paa nya. Sabi ko, baka napagod lang sya sa trabaho kasi nabanggit nyang medyo malaki at mabigat daw yung isang pasyente nya. Sabi ko, maligo sya ng maligamgam na tubig para ma-relax..."

"I noticed that he looked different this morning" Leah began.

"What do you mean?"

"There was a slight droop on his eyelids yung parang how you look when you're sleepy pero nilalabanan mo yung antok. And he kept on tripping din. Sabi nya, gutom lang daw sya."

"Hmm. When we talked to him earlier, he mentioned that the last time he went to the bathroom was to brush his teeth before leaving for work. We had to put a catheter in him to extract urine and almost as soon as the tube was in place, the collection bag was filled. We also gave him some laxatives to help him move his bowels. Did you notice anything different?"

Leah thought for a moment, she heard Kento complain that he'd dropped his toothbrush twice or thrice while brushing his teeth.

When Kento arrived at the therapy center, he went straight to the staff lounge and dropped off his things. From the moment he stepped into the center, Tricia already noticed that something was off with Kento. He tried to walk steadily but he seemed to be dragging his feet. Just before he said he was going to be in the PT room, Kento tried to write on a patient's chart but could hardly manage to hold the pen properly. Thinking that he was just tired from his 'sudden' early morning jog, which he had stopped doing 3 days prior, Kento felt like he was a having a relapse of the flu-like symptoms he felt days before. He was excited to get to play on the baby grand piano at Leah's house, so he tried to ignore the prickly feeling he had on his fingers and feet. He played the song he composed for Leah, hoping an inspiration would come so that he could finish the song.

Lucas joined the group and talked about what he discussed with the people at therapy center – Kento's odd gait and constant tripping over the past few days. "They also showed me the charts he'd written, and his writing has become shaky over the past days." Lucas added.

The doctor thought for a moment and excused herself. Lucas followed her. Leah excused herself also to make some calls.

---

Throughout all the tests and procedures going on, Kento was conscious. He was still able to see Leah before his eyelids shut. When the initial blood and urine tests returned unconclusive, more tests were conducted, including an MRI. Kento became paralyzed and could not complain and tell his doctors how he felt anymore. He was admitted to the ICU and his doctor ordered for a spinal tap to be done as he suspected either MS (multiple sclerosis) or GBS (Guillain-Barre Syndrome). Several hours later, they received word that Kento had Guillain-Barre Syndrome.

(Guillain-Barre (gee-YAH-buh-RAY) syndrome is a rare disorder in which your body's immune system attacks your nerves. Weakness and tingling in your extremities are usually the first symptoms. -- https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/guillain-barre-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20362793 )

---

Because they could not stay at the hospital, Leah and Kento's family came up with a schedule so that they could take turns. Lucas had himself assigned to the ICU unit and volunteered to be Kento's private nurse. As soon as she got home, Leah began reading and watching videos on Guillain-Barre Syndrome. She wanted to know everything about the disease and what could be done to heal Kento quickly. Because the disease hits people differently, there was nothing about the exact time frame Kento would plateau and 'awaken' again.

Leah talked to her parents about Kento and wrote her school. She was hoping that she could continue her program online via distance learning since she only had a semester left. "Think about it really well." Leah's mom said.

"If they don't accept, you'll need to start from the beginning and we won't pay for it anymore." Her dad said.

"I understand." Leah replied.

At bedtime, she lay on Kento's mattress and cried herself to sleep. In the hospital, Kento, who was aware of what was going on, mentally prepared himself for the challenges of his situation. Aside from being a therapist, he first studied nursing with Lucas, so he was aware of conditions similar to his. Recently, a patient recovering from Guillain-Barre had his therapies at the therapy center.