Summary

Something Gray Like Grief – The author recalls the first ultrasound she ever had, in which she and her husband felt, just because of how the doctors were reacting, that there was something wrong with the child in her womb that was being scanned. She then describes discovering, along with her husband, that their son (who is unnamed here) has a clubfoot, and imagining his future. Focus then shifts to a present day ultrasound, in which the author again feels “something gray like grief” (67) as a technician discovers, and comments on, something wrong – new growth in the first tumor, and a new second tumor.

Occult Tumor – The author consults with a surgeon in what she learns that the second tumor is called an “occult” tumor – one that did not appear in initial scans, or tests. The surgeon then gives her the option...