Veronica Kays

Veronica is a woman who came into the clinic with a rash and was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

History
Veronica and her childhood best friend, Jeremy, made a pact that if they were still single at age 40, they'd make a baby together. Veronica pictured it being a test tube conception, but learned how expensive that was. They got drunk one night and had sex, which resulted in Veronica being pregnant.

Veronica went to the courthouse to fight a traffic ticket, banking on the cop not showing up. She admitted she had run the stop sign, but because she was pregnant, she needed every dollar she could save to help pay for that. In the security line at the courthouse, she met Alex, who noticed a rash on her hands. He told her he worked at a free clinic and recommended that she get the rash checked out.

Later that day, Veronica came to the clinic and Alex examined her. In addition to the rash, he also noticed yellow in the whites of her eyes, indicating jaundice, and she noted that she'd lost weight despite being sixteen weeks pregnant. Suspecting that she had pancreatic cancer, Alex insisted that she get a surgical consult from Bailey. Bailey ran tests and confirmed Alex's suspicions. She had advanced pancreatic cancer and needed to start treatment immediately.

Veronica was told that Bailey recommended termination so she could start chemotherapy the next day. Veronica resisted, because even with treatment, she only had about a year to live. However, without treatment, she wouldn't live long enough to have a healthy baby. Alex suggested a Whipple, which would remove the bulk of the tumor, which could buy her enough time to deliver a healthy baby. Bailey refused, but when Veronica talked to her about seeing images of the baby growing up with Jeremy and not seeing those when she went the way Bailey was suggesting, Bailey agreed to do the surgery.

The surgery went well and they hoped it would buy her enough time. However, she was still terminal herself.

Familial
She and Jeremy are expecting a child together.

Friendships
She and Jeremy met as children and became friends. Their friendship remained into adulthood, when they made a pact to have a baby together at age 40 if they were still single then. When the time came, the learned it would be expensive. However, a drunken night led to them conceiving a child together.

Notes and Trivia

 * She doesn't believe in God.
 * Hospitals give her the creeps.