Title: The Road to Recovery
Author: Pammie Helton
Email: bjtvgcd@aol.com
Rated: PG
Challenge: 93) Mark, Steve, Jesse, and Amanda are held hostage.
Steve is seriously wounded. - Bbw517536
Summary: This is kind of a sequel to my other story, Trapped. The
whole gang goes out for a day of fun, but somebody wants to be
sure that they don't have fun.
* Special thanks to Betty for the title and proofreading *
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, I'm just borrowing
them for a while.
*****************
"Steve," Amanda said as she walked onto the beach house
deck.
"Oh, hey Amanda."
"Dion's birthday is coming up, and he wants to spend the day
at the zoo."
"That sounds great."
"Yeah he's never been to the zoo. Anyway, he wants it to be
a family gathering, and he wants you there. Do you think you'll
feel up to it?"
"Yeah. I think I can make it with this cast on. I've been
working at Bob's so I should be okay. When are you going?"
"Next Thursday. Dion would love it if you came."
"Well I can't let him down, now can I."
"Thanks, Steve." Amanda walked back into the house
where Mark was sitting.
"Is he going?"
"Yeah."
"I knew he would. So," Mark said getting up, "can
Jesse make it?"
"Yeah, he's going. I think he was more excited than CJ and
Dion combined," Amanda answered.
"This is going to be a pretty good day," Mark said
walking to the kitchen.
"Yeah. Dion can't wait. He has never been there
before."
"Well, then he is going to have a wonderful time."
"I need to get going. We're meeting here, right?"
"Yeah."
"Alright, we'll be here at 8:00," Amanda said getting
her purse.
"Does Jesse know?" Mark asked as he followed Amanda to
the door.
"I don't know. I'll talk to him and find out. Bye
Mark," Amanda said as she walked out the door.
*****************
Thursday morning
"Where is Jesse? I told him to be here at 8:00. If he's not
here in five minutes, we're leaving without him." Amanda
said as she looked out the window.
"Amanda," Mark guided her away from the window,
"he'll be here. There was a major accident last night, and
he worked kind of late. He called earlier and said he had
overslept, but he would be here soon."
"Alright."
Jesse opened the door, "Sorry, I'm late."
Mark answered for Amanda, "That's okay. Let's get
going."
They all went to Mark's car. Mark drove, Steve sat in the
passenger seat, and CJ sat between them. Jesse and Amanda sat in
the back with Dion between them. They traveled for a little
while, and eventually pulled into the parking lot. Everybody got
out of the car and walked to the ticket counter. They failed to
see the person that was following them. They walked through the
zoo, looking at all kind of animals. Then they walked into a
museum, and the stalker followed. There were only a few other
people in the building. The stalker pulled a gun and shouted,
"Everybody, get down on the floor right now!" This
announcement shocked everybody. The two couples froze. They
didn't know what to do. Amanda grabbed CJ and Dion behind her and
pushed them to floor. She followed and hovered over them. Steve
pushed Mark and Jesse down. Then before he went down, he told the
other people to get on the ground.
The gunman made sure that everybody in the building was in this
front room. He pointed his gun at Steve, and said, "You
caused my brother and my father to be arrested. It's time you
pay." But the gunman moved his aim towards one of the
couples. He fired and hit one of the men in the shoulder.
Steve stood, "Listen, Conner, these are innocent people. You
want me. So let the others go."
"So, you do recognize me. I'm glad. Now, shut up and get
back down, or I'll kill everyone in here," he shouted.
Steve sat back down. He looked over to Amanda and her boys. They
looked terrified. Amanda was trying to calm them. He looked over
to the other people in the room. The man's wife was trying to
stop the bleeding that the gunshot wound had caused. She was
crying. Mark was easing his way to Amanda so he could help calm
the boys. Jesse looked scared, but Steve knew he could count on
him if he figured a way out.
Conner went to the window and looked out, he saw several cops
already, "Great." He turned to Steve, "You know
this is all your fault. If you had just minded your business,
this wouldn't be happening right now."
"Oh. And how is that?" Steve asked
"With the drug deal. If you had just died there like you
were supposed to, this wouldn't be happening. It was just you
before, but now you've dragged other people into it. And now I'll
make you suffer like I've been," he pointed his gun towards
Amanda, who instinctively shielded her sons with her body. She
looked terrified. The gunman aimed the gun at her head. He pulled
the trigger, but before the bullet hit Amanda, Steve jumped in
front of her and knocked her and the boys to the ground. Steve
landed hard.
*************
Outside the police heard the shot, "What do you see?"
One of his snipers answered, "The gunman shot somebody.
We're not sure who it was though."
"Do you have a clean shot?"
"Yes, I do."
"Then take him down."
The sniper obeyed and he fired a shot and the gunman went down.
*************
Amanda raised herself slightly, but before she saw Steve, a
bullet came soaring through the window, and the gunman went down.
She looked to Steve who hadn't moved since the man shot. She saw
blood, but she didn't know where it was coming from. Police
entered and went to the gunman first. They moved the gun and
checked for any sign of life, "He's dead," one officer
said.
Amanda checked Steve's pulse, and then called to Jesse,
"Jesse, come here. He doesn't have a pulse. We need to do
CPR." Jesse moved to Steve and took over chest compressions
on Steve. Mark stood, shocked, and watched his friends working on
his son. Mark couldn't move.
The paramedics came in. Amanda told them, "He doesn't have a
pulse. We're doing CPR to try and revive him." Amanda moved
over and let the EMT take over. She walked over to CJ and Dion to
make sure they were okay. They were, so she walked over to Mark,
who hadn't moved since the man shot.
Jesse stopped compressions and checked for a pulse. "We've
got a pulse. Let's bag him and move him. Take him to Community
General. I'm a doctor there."
The paramedics loaded Steve on a stretcher and then put him in an
ambulance. Jesse got into the ambulance right before they closed
the doors. The sirens wailed and the ambulance sped out of the
parking lot. Amanda managed to get Mark to his car. She put him
in the passenger seat and loaded the boys in the back seat. She
got in the driver's seat, and made her way to the hospital.
****************
The ambulance rushed to the hospital. Jesse jumped out and
reached in for the stretcher. They rushed Steve into the ER.
Another doctor and several nurses met them. Jesse told the other
doctor, "GSW to the head. At least 1 liter of blood loss,
maybe 2. He needs to be intubated," they pushed Steve into a
trauma room. Jesse gets at the head of the stretcher and opens
Steve's mouth. Jesse puts a breathing tube into Steve's airway,
"okay, start bagging him." A nurse moves over with an
ambu bag and starts breathing for Steve, while another nurse
starts an IV. The heart monitor starts making a loud beeping,
"He's in V-Fib. Charge to 300," Jesse gets the
defibrillators, "Clear," he yells right before he
shocks Steve. The heart monitor returns to a normal beeping.
"Get two units of O-neg. started. Pulse is rapid and
irregular, eyes are 6 mm and sluggish," Jesse lifts the
gauze off the wound and looks at the wound, "looks like it
went in at an angle. We've got to get him into surgery, or he's
not going to make it. Call the neurosurgeon on call and get him
to the OR." They pushed the stretcher into the elevator just
as Mark and Amanda came into the ER.
Jesse saw them and ordered the nurses with Steve, "Get him
upstairs and prepped. I'll be up in a minute. Tell the
neurosurgeon that I'm going to assist." The elevator closed
and Jesse came over to Mark and Amanda, "He took a bullet in
his head. We had to intubate. We're taking him to surgery
now," Jesse walked off quickly.
Amanda had to guide Mark to a chair. When he sat down, he looked
to Amanda, "Why is this happening again?"
Amanda looked at the pale face of her mentor, her second father,
and her friend. She wanted to tell him it would all be okay, but
she didn't know and she couldn't lie to him, "I don't know
Mark."
After a little while, a nurse brought CJ and Dion to Amanda,
"Thank you so much for watching them. Guys, your babysitter
is waiting for you. She's going to take you two back to the
house."
"When will you be home?" CJ asked.
"I don't know sweetie. I'm going to stay here with Mark for
a while, okay?"
"Alright. Will Uncle Steve be okay?"
"I hope so." The two boys walked off with their sitter,
and Amanda walked back to Mark. She handed him a cup of coffee.
"Thank you, Amanda," Mark said taking the cup. "I
hate this waiting. Was the shooter dead?"
"Yeah, he was. Bullet straight to the heart," she said
as she sat down.
Several hours passed before Jesse came into the room. Amanda saw
him before Mark saw. When Mark noticed her looking, he turned
around and stood up, "Jesse, how is he?"
"He's alive. The bullet went into his head and barely missed
his brain. The bullet was lodged in the skull. When we tried to
get it out, he hemorrhaged." Mark looked down and Amanda
went over to support him. Jesse continued, "We got the
bleeding under control, but it took us a while. He may have some
brain damage, and he's still at risk for seizure, but right now
he is stable," Jesse patted Mark's shoulder.
"Can I see him?"
"He's still in the recovery room, but I'll come out and get
you when you can go in," Jesse said as he left the room.
Amanda guided Mark over to a chair. He looked pale. For a minute
she thought he was going to faint, "Here, Mark drink
something."
"What if he doesn't wake up? What if he's a vegetable the
rest of his life? What if he never remembers anything? Any of
us?" he looked to Amanda, "I don't think I could handle
that."
Mark had never before shown such emotion in front of her. She had
no idea what to say to him. But the more she thought about it,
the more she realized he wasn't really asking a question. He just
needed to say it.
Another hour passed before Jesse came back into the room.
"Mark, you can go on and see him now. I have sedated him so
he can just rest and heal, so he wouldn't be awake. He's in the
ICU in bed 4."
"Thanks, Jess," Mark got up and walked down the hall.
Jesse and Amanda watched as Mark walked down the hall.
"Has there been any change with Steve?" Amanda asked
hopeful.
"No. He was unconscious until a little while ago, and when
he started to wake up, he became agitated, so I sedated him. He's
still on the vent."
"What's the chance that he won't have any brain
damage?"
"Slim. But we're lucky we were able to save him. A couple
more minutes and he would have died. But I didn't have the heart
to tell Mark yet," Jesse said sitting down.
"I think he knows how close it was and about how much brain
damage there could be. I just don't think he wants to believe
it," Amanda said sitting down next to Jesse.
"I think Steve will be able to overcome the damage, it's
just going to take a lot of work and endurance on his
behalf."
**********************
Mark walked into Steve's room. Steve's head was bandaged, and he
was still hooked up to the ventilator. He had IVs coming out of
both arms, and the only sound in the room was the steady beeping
of the heart monitor. Mark walked over to Steve's bed. He laid
his hand on Steve's head. He started talking to his son.
"Today, I guess I was just about as proud of you as I've
been in a long time. You jumped in front of Amanda and CJ and
Dion to protect them from that bullet. You thought of them before
you thought of yourself. You've always done that. Always thinking
of others before you think of yourself. I have to believe you are
going to get better, and knowing you and your stubbornness, I
think you will pull through this. I love you, Steve. I don't tell
you that enough, but I don't always know how to tell you."
Mark finished and then sat down next to the bed.
A few minutes later Jesse and Amanda came into the room. Jesse
checked the monitors, and then checked Steve's eyes.
"Jesse, are they reactive?"
"Yeah, they are. That's good news."
Amanda sat down to Mark, "How are you holding up?"
"I guess I'm okay. This is bad this time isn't it?"
"It is pretty serious, but we're certain Steve will pull
through."
"Yeah, he will," Amanda reassured.
"Mark, you look tired. Why don't you go home and rest?"
Jesse asked Mark.
"There's no way I can leave. At least not now."
"Alright, but I'm going to stay right here with you,"
Amanda said, "but first I have to call home and tell the
sitter."
Jesse walked up beside Mark, "And I'll be in the ER. I've
got duty tonight. So we'll both be here if you need
something."
"Thanks. It helps having friends here."
Amanda came back, "The sitter can stay the night."
Jesse walked to the door, "Well, I've got to get downstairs.
I'll come up when I can to check on him."
***************
Later that night
Mark had finally fallen asleep. Amanda knew he was uncomfortable,
but at least he was sleeping, so she didn't bother him. She,
however, could not sleep. She kept thinking about earlier that
day. She kept thinking that it was her fault. Steve jumped in
front of her. He had saved her life. Maybe he had even saved CJ
and Dion. There was no way of knowing where the bullet could have
gone. She owed Steve so much, now she felt she owed him more. But
she knew how Steve would act. He would act like it was nothing.
But what if Steve never recovered completely? Could she handle
that? She was almost in tears, but her thoughts were interrupted
when Jesse entered the room. He saw that Mark was asleep, so he
motioned for her to come outside. She got up and met Jesse
outside.
"How is Mark doing?"
"He fell asleep a little while ago."
"What about you?"
"I can't sleep. I keep thinking about today."
"Come on. Let's get some coffee." They walked to the
doctors' lounge. They each poured themselves a cup of coffee and
then sat down on the couch.
"Jesse, I can't get this morning out of my head. Steve
jumped in front of me. He saved me. Maybe even CJ and Dion. What
if Steve never gets better? What if he's got brain damage that
can't be repaired," tears were brimming in her eyes, "I
don't think I could live with myself knowing that if he hadn't
tried to save me, he wouldn't…" her voice trailed off
as tears streamed down her face. Jesse set his and Amanda's
coffee cups on the table and pulled Amanda to him. He held her
while she cried.
"Amanda, listen. It is serious, but Steve will get better.
It may take time, but he should be able to recover completely.
He's going to need support from his friends. We've got to be able
to give him that support. And you know he wouldn't think twice
about saving you. In fact when the man first shot, he pushed me
and Mark to the floor. He made sure that the other people got
down quickly. He was the last one standing. He was making sure
everybody else was okay before he got down." Amanda sat back
and Jesse handed her a tissue. "He's just that kind of
person. I wish I was that brave." Amanda smiled.
"I just can't get the picture of him lying on the floor out
of my mind. Jesse, he was so lifeless. Blood was just pooled
around his head. I thought I was going to break down."
"But you didn't. You saved Steve's life just as much as he
saved yours."
"I don't think so."
"I do. It took those paramedics at least a minute or two to
get in there. By then you had already started CPR on him. That
little bit of time probably saved him from being in a coma the
rest of his life."
"But anybody could have done CPR."
"Are you kidding? Mark was frozen. I was in shock because of
what happened. But you… You started right away. You called
me over to help. You did save his life."
"But still. It's just so hard seeing him lying in that bed.
He's so helpless. You know Steve's not supposed to be like that.
I hope you can take him off the sedative soon. That way we can
see how much damage he has."
"Yeah, it might be a little while, though. I want to try to
keep him sedated so he can heal. The less movement he makes the
better. Why don't you get back? My break is almost over. I've got
to get back."
"Alright. And Jesse," she said as they started for the
door.
"Yeah, Amanda?"
"Thanks for letting me cry on your shoulder."
"Anytime."
***************
Amanda walked back into the room. Mark didn't notice she had come
in. She reached for a blanket and covered him with it. She went
back to the other chair, but she couldn't sleep. She pulled out a
book and started reading it. The next thing she knew she was
waking up and it was morning. Jesse was checking Steve's eyes. He
looked over and saw that Amanda was awake, "Sorry."
"Oh, that's okay. I don't even know when I fell
asleep."
"It had to have been right after our talk. Because I came in
here about 20 minutes afterwards to make sure the IV was okay.
One of the nurses had called to ask if the dosage was
right," Jesse then checked the monitors and the IVs. One of
the bags was low, so he called the nurse to change it. The nurse
came in and changed the bag. Jesse told her something and then
she left.
"So, how is he doing?"
"Real good. I could bring him out later today. But I may
wait until tomorrow. A lot of the swelling has gone down, and I
really want to see how much damage there is, but he could still
have a seizure and that could only cause more damage. If I do
bring him out, I may put him back under if he becomes too
agitated."
"It may be better to wait. You never know how he might react
if he can't move his legs or his arms."
"Well, I'll come back in a few hours. I'll decide then if
I'll bring him out," Jesse walked out of the room.
Amanda walked back to her chair when she noticed Mark was
stirring. She walked over to him and he opened his eyes. He
looked to the bed and remarked, "So, this wasn't just all a
bad dream. It's real."
"Yeah, Mark, it is," Amanda patted his hand, "but,
Steve is strong. He's doing well."
"I know. But you know there has to be some damage. There's
rarely a time when there is uncontrolled bleeding that there is
no brain damage."
"I know, Mark. But you have to look on the bright side.
Steve may not have that much damage. He will recover Mark. He
probably has a long road ahead of him, but we'll all be there to
help him through."
"Thanks, Amanda. Did Jesse say when he will bring Steve
out?"
"He was up here a little while ago, and said he might do it
this afternoon. But he thinks it will probably be tomorrow. He
doesn't want to rush things."
****************
Later that day, Jesse came back to the room. He decided to wait
on waking Steve. Mark understood, but he was adamant about
staying the night again. Amanda and Jesse didn't argue, and this
time it was Jesse who stayed the night with Mark. Amanda had to
get home to CJ and Dion.
Mark watched his son sleep. His thoughts kept wandering. Jesse
noticed that Mark was being quiet. He figured Mark was just
thinking. But Jesse decided not to interrupt. Mark eventually
fell asleep. Jesse read the newspaper for a little while, but he
also ended up falling asleep. Amanda walked in early the next
morning. She found both Jesse and Mark asleep. There were no more
chairs in the room, so she sat down on the floor to wait until
they woke up. She didn't have to wait long before Jesse woke up.
He looked over and they both went outside.
Amanda was the first to speak, "Any changes?"
"No."
"How is Mark? Did he sleep any?"
"He slept. But I don't think it was a restful sleep."
"Are you still going to bring Steve out today?"
"Yeah. I stopped the sedative last night, so he should wake
up sometime later this morning."
"I'll stay with Mark today. It's Saturday and I don't have
to work."
"Yeah. I've only got to work a few hours, so I should be
able to be up here in a while. But right now I have to get
downstairs. See you later."
"Bye." Amanda walked back into the room. Mark was now
awake. He looked up to her, "I was wondering where everybody
went."
"Jesse and I were just talking in the hall."
"Did Jesse take Steve off the sedative yet?"
"Yeah, so he should wake up soon," Amanda sat down and
waited with Mark. She knew it was going to be a difficult wait
for Mark; it was difficult for her.
A couple of hours passed and Jesse came back into the room,
"The nurse told me he hasn't woken yet."
"He hasn't," Amanda answered.
"Well, I'm off for the day, so I'll just stay up here."
A little while later and Steve's hand started to move. Mark was
the first to notice, "I think he's waking up." Mark
stood back a little ways just watching.
Jesse walked over and shined the light into Steve's eyes. Steve
blinked at the brightness of the little light. Jesse moved back.
Steve opened his eyes, but closed them suddenly. The lights were
just too bright even though the room was slightly dim. He opened
his eyes again and blinked a few times. His eyes had adjusted to
the lights. He stared at the ceiling for a minute until Jesse
said something, "Steve, can you hear me?"
Steve rolled his head ever so slightly, just enough to see Jesse.
He nodded slowly. He looked like he wanted to say something, so
Jesse had to stop him, "You can't talk right now. There's a
tube down your throat helping you to breathe." Steve nodded
again and closed his eyes. Jesse continued, "Steve, do you
remember what happened?" Steve shook his head saying no.
Jesse told him, "You were shot. We brought you to the
hospital and did surgery. We removed the bullet. You've been
sedated since the surgery. Being sedated has helped you heal
quicker."
Jesse stopped and let Steve absorb what he had just said. Mark
walked over to Steve and put his hand on his son's forehead.
Jesse pushed the call button and told the nurse that he was going
to extubate, and that he needed an extubation kit. The nurse came
in a few minutes later. Amanda walked over to Mark and led him to
the other side of the room. Jesse walked to the side of the bed.
He laid a sterile drape on Steve's chest. He put on sterile
gloves and told Steve, "I'm going to take the tube out. When
I count to three, I need for you to give me a cough so I can pull
out the tube." Steve nodded and Jesse continued, "Okay,
1…2…3." Steve coughed and Jesse pulled out the
tube. The nurse wiped Steve's chin, and Steve rolled his head to
the side and coughed again. He closed his eyes in pain when he
coughed. Mark walked over to the bed and held Steve's hand. Steve
opened his eyes and looked up to his father. He wanted to say
something but Mark told him, "Don't try to talk right now.
Get adjusted to not having the tube in." Steve just nodded
and closed his eyes. Steve was soon asleep and the three left to
go to the doctors' lounge. Mark went back to the room after a
while, but Jesse and Amanda stayed a while.
"When are you going to test him?" Amanda asked as she
poured herself some coffee.
"I was going to do it right after he woke up, but he was too
tired. I'll probably do it later today."
Jesse and Amanda went back to the room and waited with Mark.
Steve stayed asleep, although now the sleep wasn't induced.
A few hours later Steve started to move some. Mark rushed to the
side of the bed. Steve opened his eyes and looked at Mark. Steve
grimaced when he tried to raise his head. Mark told him,
"Try not to move too much." Steve closed his eyes.
Jesse waited a minute before he started, "Steve?"
Steve opened his eyes and looked towards Jesse.
"Okay, Steve, during the surgery to take the bullet out, you
started to hemorrhage. We got the bleeding controlled, but it may
have caused some damage." Steve just looked at Jesse. Jesse
continued, "We need to do a few tests to give us an idea of
the extent of the damage." Steve nodded. Jesse reached over
and held both of Steve's hands, "Okay, I want you to squeeze
my hands as hard as you can." Steve squeezed and Jesse
looked up to Mark. "Alright, Steve. Good." Jesse walked
to the foot of the bed. He untucked the sheets and put his hand
next to one of Steve's foot and told Steve, "Push against my
hand as hard as you can." Steve did and Jesse moved his hand
to the other foot, "Okay, now push against this hand."
Again Steve complied. "Alright, Steve that's good. Why don't
you rest a little? We'll come back later and finish up."
Steve responded by closing his eyes. Jesse started to walk out of
the room, and Amanda went over to Mark and guided him out of the
room.
Once in the hall, Mark turned to Jesse and asked, "Is it
bad?"
Jesse looked hesitant but nevertheless answered, "It's not
good, but it's not as bad as it could have been. He didn't have
much strength when he squeezed my hands. And he had even less
strength when he pushed his feet against my hands."
"Oh, God," Mark looked uneasy so Amanda went over next
to him held his arm to keep him steady.
"Mark, listen. We'll get physical therapy to come up here
and work with Steve. He does have some strength to work with.
That's invaluable when it comes to rehabilitation. But first, we
need to do some more tests on Steve. You know that if he's lost
some function of his arms and legs, he may have some other
problems."
Mark had turned pale, "Like not being able to do simple
tasks like feeding himself."
"Mark, that's true, but we'll get the best to help him
recuperate."
Amanda noticed Mark was still pale and uneasy, "Mark, let's
go to the doctors' lounge. You need to sit down and drink
something." Amanda led Mark to the lounge. Jesse walked to
the nurses' station and called the therapists.
********************
A week later Jesse found Mark and Amanda in Steve's room. The
occupational therapist was with Jesse. Jesse walked to Mark,
"Do you want to stay?"
"I have to Jesse."
"Okay." Jesse walked over to the bed and laid a hand on
Steve's shoulder, "Steve."
Steve moved slightly and opened his eyes. Jesse started talking
to him, "Steve, this is Dr. Reynolds. She's going to test
some of your motor skills. Do you think you could sit up for a
few minutes?"
Steve nodded and said, "Yeah." His voice was weak and
rough with sleep. Jesse elevated Steve's head. Dr. Reynolds came
closer. She was carrying a pad of paper and a pen. "Hi
Steve. I'm Dr. Reynolds. I'm going to ask you to do some things.
You may feel weird doing them, but I need to know if you can do
them. Okay?" Steve nodded. "Alright, then let's get
started. First can you raise you eyebrows for me?" Steve
did, but it was a struggle. "Alright, now stick out your
tongue for me." Steve did with no problem. "Alright,
good," Dr. Reynolds put the paper and pen on the table,
"now, I need you to draw a square for me." Steve took
the pen. He struggled to hold it at first, but he finally got a
good grip on it. He put the pen to the paper and waited a minute.
He started drawing something. Both Dr. Reynolds and Jesse looked
at each other. Dr. Reynolds continued, "Alright, try once
more." Steve looked devastated as he started to draw again.
Jesse looked at the paper, then he looked back at Mark. Mark
couldn't see what Steve was drawing. Mark moved closer to the bed
when Jesse looked at him. "Alright," Dr. Reynolds said
once Steve had finished, "that's good." Steve just
looked at the paper. Dr. Reynolds continued, "I'll be back
tomorrow. We'll start working then, okay?" Steve never let
his view leave the paper, but he managed a nod.
Dr. Reynolds left the room. Steve looked up and said,
"What's wrong with me? Why can't I draw a simple box?"
his voice was hoarse and weak.
Nobody said anything for a minute, so Jesse started, "Steve,
it's just some minor neurological impairment. It was caused by
the bleeding that occurred during the surgery. It's normal for
that to occur when there has been some bleeding. You are going to
have to learn some things again. You will have to learn how to
hold objects again, probably how to write again. You may not even
be able to feed yourself for a while," Jesse told him.
"My legs feel numb and tingly. Can I walk?" his voice
etched with frustration. The truth of the extent of his injury
was becoming clear to him.
"We don't know Steve. Probably not for a while. A part of
your brain was slightly damaged. But it's the part that controls
the things you have to learn anyway. Like walking, talking, and
other things. So, you have learned them once, you should be able
to learn them again. But none of us thinks any of this is
permanent."
"I'm tired. I want to go to sleep."
Jesse walked over, "That's a good idea. We'll be back
later," Jesse lowered the head of the bed. "You will be
okay, Steve. It will just take a while." Steve's eyes closed
and he was soon asleep. The few minutes of sitting up had worn
him out. Jesse and Amanda led Mark out of the room. Mark was in
shock. He didn't say anything until he was sitting in the
doctors' lounge. "This is so hard seeing him this way."
Jesse tried to make him feel better, "I know Mark. But it's
not as bad as I thought it was going to. All his impairments seem
to be repairable."
"He looked heartbroken when he drew a circle instead of a
square."
Amanda held Mark's hand, "Which is exactly why he's going to
need to have all of us there helping him through this. We can't
let him get depressed."
"You're right Amanda. I can't be like this. He will need
help, and he is depending on me for that help."
"There you go. Now tomorrow when they start therapy, we'll
all be there with him to help him through this."
**************
Go
To Part Two
