CHASING LIFE Winter Premiere 'Next April' 1/19 Recap: April is in Remission!

The groundbreaking television show CHASING LIFE returns tonight on ABC Family. The show follows twenty-four year old journalist April Carver as she struggles with her life flipping upside down when she is diagnosed with cancer. With her career finally taking off and a new romance blossoming, the illness could not have come at a worst time for her. Nevertheless, she does everything in her power to fight the cancer. On her journey, she takes her best friend Beth, her slightly dysfunctional family, and a new friend she met at her cancer support group, Leo.

Last time we saw the characters, April was finishing up her chemotherapy and Leo was prepping for brain surgery. Leo, being the good friend that he is, helped April with shaving her head by doing it with her. I really like the chemistry these two have and hope that a romance blossoms (if Leo survived the surgery). The last scene of the most recent episode was Leo in surgery, and all that is heard is a flat line, so I'm very anxious to see how that ends up. While all of April's drama is happening, her mother Sara is dealing with her feelings for her late husband's brother, the doctor who diagnosed April's cancer and who hadn't been around until then. Brenna, April's younger sister, has just found out that their father had an affair and she has a half-sister named Natalie.

The episode started with April preparing for her first day of work after chemotherapy, and she is trying to be as normal as possible. Before she went to the office, she stopped by the hospital to talk to her doctor about the odds of her cancer coming back and to visit a barely-conscious post-brain surgery Leo. At work, things seem to be the same except for April's memory loss and a new boss who is impossible to get face time with (and the awkwardness between April and Dominic, of course). At the dinner table that night, April talks to her family about possibly contacting Natalie to get tested for a bone marrow transplant, in case the cancer returns. Hesitant, her mother thinks it might be their best shot.

At the office, April found a way to meet her new boss, briefly, to let him know that although she has cancer, she doesn't expect or want to be treated any differently than the rest of the staff. Sara and George talk about contacting Olivia Ortiz, Natalie's mother, the hospital honoring George the next night, and their secret relationship. April shared an awkward elevator ride with Dominic and his apparent new fling. Sara and her mother try to write an email to Natalie's mother about the whole situation, but are having trouble finding the right words. Meanwhile, April is keeping a still unconscious Leo up-to-date on everything going on in her life, and when she mentioned Dominic's name, he opened his eyes.

April talked to Beth about how hopeful she is about Leo's recovery, and Beth reminded her that everything might not be as wonderful as she thinks it might be when he wakes up. Brenna, ecstatic that her girlfriend Greer is back from England, has lunch with her, only to realize that her excitement was for no reason because Greer's parents still do not approve of Brenna, and Greer is not brave enough to stand up to her parents for the sake of their relationship. April is working on her first story since she's been back, and aside from another brief memory lapse, it seemed to go well, until Danny took a look at it and April told him that she forgot to record the interview.

At the fundraiser, April runs into her doctor and she convinces her to take off her wig. She does, and gives a wonderful speech about her uncle and his part in her recovery. The next day, Sara lets her family know that Olivia and Natalie are coming to Boston that night. During a team meeting at work, April admits that she did not get her interview on tape, and Raquel, who was not nice at all during the first half of the season, totally had her back. Only, it wasn't for April's benefit (because why would she do anything nice without something to gain?), she did it because she does not think their new boss is fit to run the newspaper (and I totally agree...the guy has absolutely no journalistic experience. I frankly have no idea how he even got the job, but that's just me-and Raquel). Brenna talks to her grandmother about relationships, which seemed to give her some hope that maybe things will work out with Greer. At the office, April takes the stairs to avoid another awkward collision with Dominic, and unfortunately great minds think alike. She tries to call a truce, but he is heartbroken (rightfully so) about everything that happened between them and does not want to. Olivia and Natalie show up at their house and Olivia is trying to be civil, but Natalie is not having it at all. To make matters worse, Brenna, who took her grandmother's advice to not give up, took matters into her own hands and snuck into Greer's house. Her romantic plan backfired when she was caught and the police arrived, forcing Sara to leave her husband's mistress and daughter alone with April...that is until Natalie also decided to leave.

Luckily, Greer's parents decided not to press charges, however only as a warning for Brenna to seriously stay away from their daughter. When Sara returned home, she found comfort in the arms of George once again, only this time the secret is out: her mother saw the two of them kiss. The next day Olivia returned to apologize for her daughter's behavior and to let them know that Natalie has reluctantly agreed to get tested. Relieved, April goes to work, but her heart drops when she gets a call from her doctor. She rushed out of the office to visit Leo after she called to let April now that he tried to speak. After talking to him for a bit, his first words are "it runs in the family," and yes, I did yelp at the sound of his voice. Leo is my favorite character in the series so far and I am so happy he is okay. The last words of the episode were "We're alive." "Now, what?" That is the perfect way to end the season premiere, except for the fact that I have to wait a whole week to find out what happens.

I haven't been this excited and nervous for a show to return in a long time, so 9 PM next Monday cannot get here fast enough. Be sure to watch CHASING LIFE Mondays on ABC Family.

Photo Credit: ABC Family

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