Around me, patients filled out forms or scrolled through their phones.

I wasn’t alone for long. The door opened and my best friend, Pearl, walked in carrying a bottle of water. We’d been friends since college. She worked as a human resources manager in an office across the street and had checked on me almost daily since my health began to slide.

When she learned the date of my follow-up, she rearranged her morning to spend part of her lunch break with me.

She sat beside me and handed me the water. “How are you feeling today?”

“Worse.”

“Did Gordon come with you?”