Mia Higgins

Partner | Jake Higgins

## Basic Info

Mia Higgins is married to Jake. She is an interpreter implying that she has a strong knowledge of different languages. Her skill is extremely high as she is able to learn and master ancient and unknown languages such as those of the lost tribe the Yabahuaca.

Mia is of Spanish origins and she often speaks to Jake in her native tongue. Evidence to support this can be heard in the conversation Mia has with Jake when he finds the crashed plane. She mentions she would like to go back to Spain and says in Spanish *“echo de menos a mi familia”* which translates to, "I miss my family."

## Illness

At some point between 2013 and 2016 Mia is diagnosed with stage 3 terminal lung cancer. Mia's patient card from Sacred Heart Hospital Oncology Department shows she has a tumor in her left lung measuring at 6cm. Cancer cells have spread to her right lung resulting in an 8mm sized lump. The cancer cells are also spreading to the lymph nodes near the tracheal bifurcation, causing the paratracheal lymph nodes to become enlarged.

Some of the symptoms, underlying diseases and complications Mia experienced are listed on her patient card. They are the following:

* Persistent cough and hemoptysis (the coughing up of blood)
* Atherosclerotic lesions in the aorta (harding and narrowing of arteries due to build up of plaque)
* Hypertension (high blood pressure)
* Hyperthyroidism (excessive production of thyroid hormones - causing irritability, muscle weakness, sleeping problems, fast heartbeat)
* Degenerative changes in the spine (osteoarthritis or arthritis of the spine)
* Pain in left shoulder

Mia would have been in a considerable amount of pain. It can be suggested that the cancer was a result of long term tobacco smoking, evidence to support this can be seen in some of the compilations and diseases listed above - hemoptysis and atherosclerotic lesions - are both related to smoking. Mia is given palliative chemotherapy treatment which helps to prolong and ease the symptoms of terminal cancer. However the cost of all the treatments and tests she has undergone soon add up, resulting in medical bills now reaching into the thousands.

Shortly after Mia is diagnosed with lung cancer, Jake receives a letter from Omolu Corp offering an all expenses paid expedition to study the Yabahuaca tribe and discover why they are immune to sickness and disease. With Mia's deteriorating condition and overwhelming bills, they have little left to lose and decide to take up the offer.

## Returning to the Yabahuaca

In January 2016, Mia and Jake make the all expenses paid expedition to the rainforest. Even though Mia has lung cancer she shows bravery and courage as she plans to find and meet the Yabhuaca alone. It can be assumed that this expedition meant a lot to Mia. Not only is she returning to one of her favorite places in the world, but she also has hope of a chance to possibly find a cure and to make a difference.

In conversations with Jake she expresses her concerns over visiting the Yabahuaca, worrying they will not talk to her due to the increased attention Jake's book has brought to the tribe. Before setting out, Mia leaves behind a birthday gift and note for Jake to find. Dark water drops are present on the note, suggest Mia may have been crying at the time of writing it.

When Mia reaches the Yabahuaca village, she has no success in communicating with the tribe. She writes in a journal page that the tribe are ignoring her. Being ever persistent, Mia sleeps on the edge of the village while she works to gain the trust of the tribe. She remains in contact with Jake via the walkie-talkie. In one conversation, she mentions the tribe are split into two fractions after some of the elders become opposed to chieftain Kwini's interest in approaching the world health alliance. Eventually, Mia gains the trust of the Yabahuaca chieftain.

In a second journal page, Mia expresses her excitement that chieftain Kwini will soon be performing a ceremony to initiate her into the tribe. It is unclear how the ceremony was performed; however, one theory is that it involved drinking the ayahuasca brew. Shortly after being initiated, chief Kwini gives Mia a gift, wrapped in banana leaf.

After Mia and Jake return home to Brazil, he hands over the gift to Omolu Corp, who then uses it to develop a drug which cures cancer. At some point in 2017, Mia is given the drug with the hope it will cure her cancer. Later, Mia's Omolu Corp patient card shows the drug was a success. Her cancer is in complete remission, with CT scans showing no tumors in her lungs. All the underlying diseases and complications she had were also cured. With signs of a full bill of good health, Mia was discharged from hospital.

## Virus

It not entirely clear when but at some point during early to late 2018, Mia contracts a deadly virus. The virus is a result of one of the ingredients used in the gift Mia received from the yabahuaca, which was incorporated into the drug used to cure Mia's cancer. During Jake's visions it is suggested that Mia is given only a few short months to live. It is assumed that Mia is thrown into depression and starts drinking heavily knowing that she has no future. Evidence to support this can be seen in Jake's third vision, where Mia can been seen sitting on a windowsill with a bottle of wine, surrounded by empty bottles and broken wine glasses discarded across the floor. There are also hints that Mia was suffering violent mood swings, as she can be seen at one point pulling down a bookcase. This would have placed a huge strain on the relationship between Jake and Mia.

With her health rapidly declining, Mia calls Jake and leaves him a voice message begging him to come and see her in her final days. Unfortunately, by the time Jake arrives at the hospital Mia is already in a coma and on life support. As indicated by her voice mail, Mia may have been begging Jake to authorize the shut down of the life support machine to bring an end her suffering.

*“Jake please, please answer, Jake...
I need you here Jake.
I... I need you to do this for me.
 Please... please, I can't... I can't stand it”*
## Farewell

During the happy ending, Mia can be seen sitting with Jake at the airstrip. After a short conversation, she tells Jake *“You could always come back to me.”* before saying, *“Goodbye.”* and fading into dust.

It can be assumed that Mia did not survive the virus. Evidence suggests that Jake was in the jungle looking for a the cure to the virus for quite some time. By the time he finally finds the cure, it is already too late for Mia. The latency period between when a patient is infected with the virus and death is extremely short. The drug factory logs shows those who had the virus died within three weeks without medical assistance. With Mia on life support, it suggests that her body organs are no longer functioning and she cannot sustain life without the aid of the machine.

## Trivia

In earlier versions, Mia could only be seen during the tutorial. Mia later became a key character when story mode was added to green hell in V.1.0.

## References

*For information pertaining specifically to the real-world Lung Cancer and other complications, diseases and treatment that affect Mia, see the relevant Wikipedia articles listed below:*

*Lung Cancer*

*Hemoptysis*

*Atherosclerosis*

*Hypertension*

*Hyperthyroidism*

*Chemotherapy*

*Palliative care*

## Gallery

* Mia in hospital after being diagnosed with lung cancer
* Mia talking with chieftain Kwini
* Mia receiving the gift from the Yabahuaca
* Mia sitting on window sill
* Mia throwing over a bookcase
* Mia in a coma and on life support

## Update History

 V.0.5.0 | Fixed - Dialogue with Mia continued after skipping the Tutorial