She looked her age — 27, startlingly close to my own age. Did we share acquaintances or friends of friends? She fixed her hair in a ponytail and wore jeans and a collared shirt with a sweater, a preppy and youthful fashion statement consistent with her budding career as an architect. Polite but slightly withdrawn she looked uncomfortable, out of place. And indeed she was. No one had ever been sick in her immediate family. The hospital felt strange. She exercised daily and strictly adhered t...
