Seeking
Solace
by GCS
Chapter Seven
After writing this and posting it I looked back at the shows I referenced in memories here and found that I went back too far. Actually some of the events would have been before Captain Stanley took over the station. Oh well it is after all fiction. My apologies for the slip up.
Captain Stanley settled in with his coffee to wait for Roy to take his place sitting with Johnny. His young friend was again sleeping. Actually except for brief moments Johnny had basically been asleep since his surgery the previous day. I know they said you would be weak, but you haven't even spoken since your surgery. You really have me worried here John. Something was on your mind yesterday before we got called out. What was going on in that head of yours that has you so upset since the accident? Whatever it is John I'll be here to help you through it. When you're ready to talk I'll listen even if it is just one of your crazy rants. Hank was lost in thought when Dixie returned with another steamy cup of coffee and the newspaper. "I thought you could use some more caffeine and something to keep you busy," She smiled at Hank as he graciously accepted to offering.
"Thanks Dixie. I think a gallon of coffee wouldn't be enough. I guess I can understand why John is sleeping so much. That fire yesterday took a lot out of all of us."
"Take care of yourself Hank. Johnny will be all right in time. Now I have to get back to the ER before they send a search party out for me. I'll check on Johnny a little later. I hope you go home and rest before coming back up here." She gave Hank her best 'you need to do what I say' glare to stress her point.
"Yes ma'am I will," he chuckled as he agreed.
A short while later Roy tiptoed into the room where he found his Captain once again sleeping in the chair with the newspaper folded in his lap and his feet resting on the bed rail. Johnny opened his eyes and followed his best friend's progress into the room. "Hey Junior, Cap been asleep long?"
Johnny didn't answer Roy. He just looked over at Captain Stanley.
"Johnny?"
"Don't know," Johnny whispered with much difficulty. His throat was sore, and he just didn't have the energy to try harder.
"Would you like some water or some ice chips?" Roy reached for the cup on the tray beside the bed. He held the straw to Johnny's lips. Johnny took a sip and his eyes slid closed and the corners of his mouth rose slightly. "That's good huh?" Johnny nodded his head. "I'm going to step out for a cup of coffee before I wake Cap up. I'll be right back." Roy knew that once Captain Stanley left he wouldn't want to leave his too weak friend alone, so he decided to get some coffee first.
When Roy came back to the room with two cups of coffee Hank was awake and talking to Johnny. "Hey buddy, it's good to see you awake. You've been pretty much asleep since yesterday. Your surgery went well. Do you remember what happened?"
"Uh un no. Fire? D..di..did I fa..ll?" Johnny croaked out hoarsely.
"Yes it was a factory fire, and some drums exploded knocking into the catwalk you, Chet and Roy were on. You were knocked off and hit your side on the way. Some how you were able to grab onto the damaged end of the walk; Roy and Chet got you out. You have a pretty bad cut on your right side, some broken ribs, and they repaired a cut to your liver. You lost a lot of blood. That's why you're so weak, but you're going to be just fine." Captain Stanley patted Johnny on the shoulder as he reassured him of his recovery.
"O..ok..kay."
"I brought you some coffee Cap," Roy said as he made his presence known.
"Thanks Roy, I think I need some to get me awake enough to drive home."Roy pulled another chair over beside the one Hank had been using. The two men drank their coffee as Johnny went back to sleep. "At least he's talking now. I was getting worried about that. This is the first thing he's said since yesterday in the copter."
"He's really weak from the blood loss." Roy understood the weakness better than Hank due to his medical training. "He probably won't start talking much until later today or tomorrow. A quiet Johnny is kind of strange isn't it?"
"It sure is." The two men laughed at the thought. "Do you remember his first brush fire? He wanted to get called out so bad when he heard there was a brush fire. He kept pacing around the station. I think the engine got called out first. You guys came later. I don't think he realized how tiring a brush fire can be, or how people refuse to leave their homes when told to evacuate."
"Yeah he talked about that for days after. Remember those two elderly sisters who didn't want to leave. They were mad at each other and each wouldn't leave because they thought the other would take over the house. We had to bring them down on the squad, because the fire was getting too close. I remember one of the ladies had fallen. People just don't realize how quickly a fire can spread and trap them."
"What I remember is you and John having to deliver a baby in a house that we had to keep the fire off of long enough to bring that kid into the world. Then you went back to rescue a biker that turned out to be a looter. The fire trapped you. I remember listening to your communication with the battalion chief trying to get a water drop at your location so you could drive through the flames that had blocked the road. I thought we had lost you guys that day. Thankfully we only lost some paint off the squad." Hank reached out and gripped Roy's shoulder reminding him that he was glad they had survived that ordeal.
"That was pretty scary," Roy smiled at the memory. "Johnny's hated brush fires ever since. It only takes one good brush fire to realize you never want to be called to another."
"You sure have had some strange rescues over the past couple of years. There was that black widow spider bite victim, and the little five year old girl who fell down that storm drain at that construction site."
"I remember the little girl's rescue well. We had to dig another hole parallel to the one she was in and tunnel over to her. Johnny got her out, but Tom Wheeler from over at 110's got the credit from the news media. Tom had been in the news for weeks. Johnny was really ranting about how it looked like Wheeler was the only good paramedic in the program, but when he got that little girl out all he cared about was that she was okay. He didn't care about any publicity. Just that another child lived to see another day."
"He sure can get caught up in things. He went on for days after he fell and twisted his knee while rappelling down to that drunk who drove his car off the embankment beside his house. That guy wasn't even hurt, but Johnny ended up being the victim," Hank chuckled at the memory.
"Well don't forget about the time he got so hung up on that episode of Adam-12. We missed the end of the episode and no one seemed to have seen it either. He called everyone he knew trying to find out what happened. Then he ended up in the hospital from radiation exposure. I went by to see him before I left the hospital that night. He had forgotten about the whole thing. I swear he can drive ya crazy with his rants, but then he moves on in an instant, forgetting about it while you're still trying to figure out what he is all upset about. Drives ya crazy."
"C..cou..ld you h..hold it d…down? T..tryin' t.. sleep…o'er here." Johnny stuttered from the bed with a slight smile on his face.
"Sure Johnny I need to go anyway. I'll be back later this evening." Captain Stanley rose from his seat as he spoke.
"…okay Cap. …tay home. Be o..kay."
"Don't worry about me John. You just rest so you can get better. Roy call me if there is any change."
"Okay Cap. Have a good rest."
Captain Stanley left the cubicle, and Roy settled in for his turn with Johnny. Roy was accustomed to sitting with his friend and had brought a book to read. The worst part about the ICU vigil was the lack of a TV. Once Johnny was moved to a regular room they could watch TV together, but for now a novel would be his entertainment.
"Roy."
"Yeah Johnny?"
"Th..thank..ss."
"Just take it easy Junior. No thanks necessary. We only did what you would have done if it had been one of us. Joanne and the kids send their love. They will be up to see you once Dr. Brackett moves you to a regular room."
"Okay."
"You need some more water?"
"No. Tired."
Roy pulled the blanket more securely around his friend and settled in the chair with his novel to maintain watch over the injured man. Johnny was his best friend and partner and that's what partners do. They look after each other. No matter what.
Chapter Eight
Hank Stanley left the hospital on a mission. He needed to go by the Station to fill out an incident report, or at least pick up the paperwork to get it filled out before his next shift. He needed to call headquarters and update the chief on Johnny's condition and expected length of absence. He also wanted to request a rotating absence for his other crewmen so someone could be with Johnny as long as needed. He wasn't sure how headquarters would feel about that, so if that could not be arranged he was prepared to take some personal vacation time. He would stay with Johnny for at least a week if necessary himself. Hank also wanted to check Johnny's locker for his shaving kit and clothes. Most firemen left their car keys in their lockers during shift. Hank hoped that Johnny's keys were in his locker, so he could go by Johnny's apartment for his robe and pajamas. Then he planned to go home and get a much needed nap.
Arriving at the station he found the place empty. The engine and squad were both out. He first went to the office to gather the needed paperwork to report Johnny's accident and information about the call for the logbook. He didn't want to spend too much time there at the station so he put the papers in a manila folder to take with him. He could write out the reports while sitting with Johnny tonight. Picking up the receiver he dialed the number for department headquarters. "This is Captain Hank Stanley from Station 51's A-shift. Could I speak with the Chief please?"
After waiting for what seemed like a long time Hank heard someone pick up on the line. "This is Chief McKonikee how may I help you?"
"Chief this is Hank Stanley. I called to update you on John's condition." Hank proceeded to explain the situation to Chief McKonikee and made his requests for shift coverage.
"Hank I'll have to get back to you about the rotating time off request. I am not sure how we will cover that. I recommend that you ask your men if they might consider taking some vacation days. That would leave us no choice but to cover the shifts."
"Well I can tell you sir that I am prepared to request at least a week of my own vacation time if that becomes necessary. Let me check with my other men and get back with you on that." Hank was pretty sure that his crew would be ready and willing to do whatever it took to help Johnny, but he would have to ask.
"Why don't we talk again in the morning Hank? Your shift is back on the next day. We will finalize the arrangements in the morning. Please keep me informed with John's progress."
"Thank you Chief." Hank hung up the phone. The call had not gone exactly how he had hoped. Truthfully he hoped that he could allow his men to be off shift with pay to be with Johnny. Now it looked like they might have to use their own personal time to be able to do that. Well as he had already decided he would definitely use his if needed. Hank got up from the desk and walked across the apparatus bay to the locker room. He first went to his own locker and quickly changed out of the scrubs he had put on at the hospital. Once he had his street clothes on and the scrubs tucked away in his bag he opened Johnny's locker half expecting to get hit by one of Chet's water bombs. He even ducked out of reflex. When no bomb hit him he chuckled. How does Johnny always walk into Chet's traps? They are so obvious. Gathering the clothes, kit, shoes, and keys into John's duffle bag Hank paused before closing the locker. He looked at the poster of Smokey the Bear that Johnny kept taped to his locker door. Hank noticed that there was something behind the poster. He carefully lifted the corner of the poster and found an old black and white photo of a young couple. The man looked a lot like Johnny and the woman was a petite woman who was very pretty. He lifted the picture and looked on the back to see if anything was written there. On the back of the picture was the names Roderick and Sara Gage. Hank thought that the picture must be Johnny's parents. Seeing the picture tucked away so discretely made him realize how much Johnny missed his parents. Hank carefully put the picture and the poster back in place, grabbed the duffle bag and manila folder and left the station. He still had to go by Johnny's apartment before he could get a nap.
Arriving at Johnny's apartment complex Hank decided he might need to stop by the management office to let them know that Johnny was in the hospital and that he was going to be in and out as needed until Johnny could come home. Hank was surprised to find out that Johnny's land lady offered to keep the apartment clean and aired out. She said that Johnny was always helping her to fix things around the complex on his days off. She told Hank that Johnny was one of her favorite tenants. She asked him to keep her posted on Johnny's recovery. Hank was not really surprised to learn about Johnny's willingness to help the older woman. He was pleasantly surprised to find that the land lady was just as willing to help John. Hank had been to Johnny's apartment building, but never inside his apartment. The land lady showed him which one it was.
Hank let himself in. Johnny's apartment was surprisingly small. He had a living room dining room combination that had a worn sofa and chair, coffee table, TV on a stand and a small wooden dining table and four plain chairs. There was a small bookshelf that held mostly paramedic training manuals. On top of the bookshelf there were several framed photos. One was the departmental photo of the A-shift, one was a copy of the photo of Johnny's parents, there was one of another lady that resembled John's father that Hank guessed was his aunt, and the last picture was of Roy's family including Johnny at a theme park. Hank looked into the kitchenette and noticed how clean and neat everything was. Wondering to himself he pulled open the refrigerator to see a carton of milk, a carton of orange juice and some bologna. He had some mayonnaise, mustard, a bottle of ketchup, a few pieces of bacon and three eggs. Knowing how much Johnny ate he wondered why there was not more food. Does he not eat on his days off? Is that why he is so skinny? Moving to the pantry Hank found a box of corn flakes, some canned spaghetti and soup, a loaf of bread, coffee and a box of crackers. Hank thought to himself that he needed to find out why Johnny didn't have any more food in the house than this.
Deciding that he had wasted enough time he moved to the one bedroom. Again the furnishings were sparse. There was a bed and bedside table with a lamp and alarm clock and a simple dresser. Above the bed hung an obviously homemade decoration that sort of resembled a spider web decorated with feathers. It looked Native American. Hank looked in the dresser drawers for Johnny's pajamas. He was surprised when he didn't find any. He did find some sweats and shorts, a couple of pairs of jeans and some fire department t-shirts. He moved to the closet and found several shirts and department uniforms hanging in the closet. Where were his clothes? Didn't he have a robe and slippers? Hank made a quick decision that he would swing by the department store on the way home to get Johnny some pajamas, a robe, and slippers. He couldn't allow him to stay in the hospital in one of those open backed gowns. He also decided that he was going to stock up his youngest crewman's refrigerator before bringing him home to his apartment. He would talk to his wife about sending some food to Johnny from time to time. He would also talk to John to find out why he lived like he didn't make enough money to support himself. Where was all of his money going?
Hank decided to take some sweats, a t-shirt and sneakers for Johnny to wear home when he was released. Repacking the duffel bag he neatly folded the jeans and shirt that he had brought back from the station and laid them on the bed. Then he left Johnny's place making sure it was locked up.
Hank made a promise to himself to be more than a Captain to his men especially Johnny. The men that worked for him had become more than just his crew. They were his friends, his extended family. Hank chuckled to himself. He realized that he needed his friends as much as he thought they needed him. Johnny was soon going to find out what it was like to have family to look after you when you needed them. Sure Johnny was close with Roy's family. Roy was like a brother to Johnny, but Hank thought the young man needed a mentor, a father and Hank once again appointed himself to fill those shoes.
Arriving at the station he found the place empty. The engine and squad were both out. He first went to the office to gather the needed paperwork to report Johnny's accident and information about the call for the logbook. He didn't want to spend too much time there at the station so he put the papers in a manila folder to take with him. He could write out the reports while sitting with Johnny tonight. Picking up the receiver he dialed the number for department headquarters. "This is Captain Hank Stanley from Station 51's A-shift. Could I speak with the Chief please?"
After waiting for what seemed like a long time Hank heard someone pick up on the line. "This is Chief McKonikee how may I help you?"
"Chief this is Hank Stanley. I called to update you on John's condition." Hank proceeded to explain the situation to Chief McKonikee and made his requests for shift coverage.
"Hank I'll have to get back to you about the rotating time off request. I am not sure how we will cover that. I recommend that you ask your men if they might consider taking some vacation days. That would leave us no choice but to cover the shifts."
"Well I can tell you sir that I am prepared to request at least a week of my own vacation time if that becomes necessary. Let me check with my other men and get back with you on that." Hank was pretty sure that his crew would be ready and willing to do whatever it took to help Johnny, but he would have to ask.
"Why don't we talk again in the morning Hank? Your shift is back on the next day. We will finalize the arrangements in the morning. Please keep me informed with John's progress."
"Thank you Chief." Hank hung up the phone. The call had not gone exactly how he had hoped. Truthfully he hoped that he could allow his men to be off shift with pay to be with Johnny. Now it looked like they might have to use their own personal time to be able to do that. Well as he had already decided he would definitely use his if needed. Hank got up from the desk and walked across the apparatus bay to the locker room. He first went to his own locker and quickly changed out of the scrubs he had put on at the hospital. Once he had his street clothes on and the scrubs tucked away in his bag he opened Johnny's locker half expecting to get hit by one of Chet's water bombs. He even ducked out of reflex. When no bomb hit him he chuckled. How does Johnny always walk into Chet's traps? They are so obvious. Gathering the clothes, kit, shoes, and keys into John's duffle bag Hank paused before closing the locker. He looked at the poster of Smokey the Bear that Johnny kept taped to his locker door. Hank noticed that there was something behind the poster. He carefully lifted the corner of the poster and found an old black and white photo of a young couple. The man looked a lot like Johnny and the woman was a petite woman who was very pretty. He lifted the picture and looked on the back to see if anything was written there. On the back of the picture was the names Roderick and Sara Gage. Hank thought that the picture must be Johnny's parents. Seeing the picture tucked away so discretely made him realize how much Johnny missed his parents. Hank carefully put the picture and the poster back in place, grabbed the duffle bag and manila folder and left the station. He still had to go by Johnny's apartment before he could get a nap.
Arriving at Johnny's apartment complex Hank decided he might need to stop by the management office to let them know that Johnny was in the hospital and that he was going to be in and out as needed until Johnny could come home. Hank was surprised to find out that Johnny's land lady offered to keep the apartment clean and aired out. She said that Johnny was always helping her to fix things around the complex on his days off. She told Hank that Johnny was one of her favorite tenants. She asked him to keep her posted on Johnny's recovery. Hank was not really surprised to learn about Johnny's willingness to help the older woman. He was pleasantly surprised to find that the land lady was just as willing to help John. Hank had been to Johnny's apartment building, but never inside his apartment. The land lady showed him which one it was.
Hank let himself in. Johnny's apartment was surprisingly small. He had a living room dining room combination that had a worn sofa and chair, coffee table, TV on a stand and a small wooden dining table and four plain chairs. There was a small bookshelf that held mostly paramedic training manuals. On top of the bookshelf there were several framed photos. One was the departmental photo of the A-shift, one was a copy of the photo of Johnny's parents, there was one of another lady that resembled John's father that Hank guessed was his aunt, and the last picture was of Roy's family including Johnny at a theme park. Hank looked into the kitchenette and noticed how clean and neat everything was. Wondering to himself he pulled open the refrigerator to see a carton of milk, a carton of orange juice and some bologna. He had some mayonnaise, mustard, a bottle of ketchup, a few pieces of bacon and three eggs. Knowing how much Johnny ate he wondered why there was not more food. Does he not eat on his days off? Is that why he is so skinny? Moving to the pantry Hank found a box of corn flakes, some canned spaghetti and soup, a loaf of bread, coffee and a box of crackers. Hank thought to himself that he needed to find out why Johnny didn't have any more food in the house than this.
Deciding that he had wasted enough time he moved to the one bedroom. Again the furnishings were sparse. There was a bed and bedside table with a lamp and alarm clock and a simple dresser. Above the bed hung an obviously homemade decoration that sort of resembled a spider web decorated with feathers. It looked Native American. Hank looked in the dresser drawers for Johnny's pajamas. He was surprised when he didn't find any. He did find some sweats and shorts, a couple of pairs of jeans and some fire department t-shirts. He moved to the closet and found several shirts and department uniforms hanging in the closet. Where were his clothes? Didn't he have a robe and slippers? Hank made a quick decision that he would swing by the department store on the way home to get Johnny some pajamas, a robe, and slippers. He couldn't allow him to stay in the hospital in one of those open backed gowns. He also decided that he was going to stock up his youngest crewman's refrigerator before bringing him home to his apartment. He would talk to his wife about sending some food to Johnny from time to time. He would also talk to John to find out why he lived like he didn't make enough money to support himself. Where was all of his money going?
Hank decided to take some sweats, a t-shirt and sneakers for Johnny to wear home when he was released. Repacking the duffel bag he neatly folded the jeans and shirt that he had brought back from the station and laid them on the bed. Then he left Johnny's place making sure it was locked up.
Hank made a promise to himself to be more than a Captain to his men especially Johnny. The men that worked for him had become more than just his crew. They were his friends, his extended family. Hank chuckled to himself. He realized that he needed his friends as much as he thought they needed him. Johnny was soon going to find out what it was like to have family to look after you when you needed them. Sure Johnny was close with Roy's family. Roy was like a brother to Johnny, but Hank thought the young man needed a mentor, a father and Hank once again appointed himself to fill those shoes.
Chapter Nine
Johnny had been sleeping for most of the day. Roy had stayed with him for the most part except for when he stepped out for a bite to eat at lunch. It was now late afternoon. Dr. Brackett had just completed another check up on his patient. Johnny needed to start working with the incentive spirometer to strengthen his breathing again and try to prevent post surgical pneumonia, but they couldn't seem to get him to wake up long enough to use it. Dr. Brackett was growing concerned over Johnny's lack of awareness and ordered more blood work to see what the current levels were. He also wanted to check for any kind of infection that might be trying to set in. Dixie hated to stick Johnny again. He hated needles, but she knew it was for his own good.
"Okay sweetheart this is going to sting a little. You know we have to do this." She smiled down at Johnny's tired brown eyes.
"S'okay Dix." He turned he head away from the needle and gripped the sheet with his other hand. Ever since he was a little boy Johnny hated needles. The vaccinations he had to get as a child growing up on the reservation had been administered by the worst nurses. They didn't care if they hurt the Indian children. They were forced to work long hours on their off time volunteering for this chore. Only they really hadn't volunteered at all. It was required as part of their grade in completing their nursing course at the local university. The student nurses resented the task and took it out on the kids they were there to vaccinate. One of the careless nurses had broken a needle off in Johnny's arm. His mother had gotten the end of the needle out, but it became infected and hurt for a very long time. He had never really told anyone why he hated needles so much. They just knew he did.
"All done Johnny," Dixie told him as she placed a bandage over the site. "Now we need to get you to try to eat something. How about some chicken broth?"
"Not hungry."
"Johnny it's just a little warm broth. You have to try sweetheart."
"Okay Dix for you."
"That's good Johnny. I'll be right back with some. You try and stay awake for me. I'll bring some juice too." Dixie quickly left the room encouraged that Johnny agreed to the broth. Next she would try to get him to eat some jello.
"Roy?"
"Right here Johnny," he answered as he moved from the spot on the far wall where he'd been standing while Dr. Brackett and Dixie examined Johnny.
"Thirsty."
"Here ya go Junior," Roy placed the straw from the cup of water in Johnny's mouth. Johnny looked up at Roy as he drank the cool liquid.
"You look tired."
"Me? I didn't just have major surgery and lose half of my blood. You look pretty rough yourself." Roy chuckled.
"Go home Roy. 'm o…kay. D….don…'t need a sit…ter."
"I'll go in a little while. You just relax. I'm lookin' out for you right now. You stop worrying about me."
Johnny didn't answer. His eyes blinked slowly. He was drifting again. He yawned a slow deep sleep craving yawn.
"Johnny stay with me a minute Dixie will be right back with that broth. Try to stay awake."
Dixie came rushing into the room with the broth. "Here you go Johnny. Let me help you with this. Roy, could you raise the bed here just a bit so he can sip on this without spilling it all over the bed?" Roy pushed the bed controls to put Johnny's head at a better angle. Johnny struggled to keep his eyes open. He drank about half of the cup of broth before losing the fight to stay awake. He nodded off between sips. "Well he won't be losing that IV anytime soon if he doesn't eat more than that." Dixie was clearly disappointed in the amount of broth Johnny had managed to get down.
"Leave the juice Dixie. He'll wake up again in a little while, and I'll get him to drink it."
"Okay Roy, I'll leave word at the desk to get more broth if you can get him to drink it. I have to get back to the ER. Take good care of him." Dixie smiled at Roy. The look in her eyes let him know how glad she was that he was here looking out for their mutual friend.
Hank Stanley returned to the hospital later that evening. He entered through the ER hoping to talk to Dr. Brackett or Dixie McCall to get an update on Johnny's condition. When he didn't see either of them he went on up to Johnny's room in the SICU. Stepping off the elevator he almost ran face to face with Dr. Brackett. Both men stumbled backwards a little and laughed. "Well hello Dr. Brackett. You're just the man I was looking for."
"Hello Hank what can I do for you?" The men shook hands.
"I was hoping you could give me an update on how Johnny is really progressing."
"He's still very weak Hank. I'm not really pleased with how slow he seems to be bouncing back after the blood transfusions. I hoped he would be more alert. We're running some more tests to see what his white blood count is. He may be starting some kind of infection. He doesn't really need that right now in his weakened state. And finally he needs to be using the incentive spirometer at least a few times whenever he is awake. We haven't been able to get him alert enough to do that. I planned on moving him from SICU to a regular room tomorrow morning, but unless he makes a drastic recovery overnight that will have to wait. That my friend is his condition in a nut shell." Dr. Brackett's lip twitched like it did when he was very concerned about a patient. Hank didn't know Kel as well as his paramedics did, but he knew him well enough to know how concerned he was about Johnny.
"Thanks Kel. I guess we have our work cut out for us if we're going to get him moved in the morning. I'm here to relieve Roy. Is there anything else I need to know that might help him make that turn tonight?"
"He needs to eat something, broth, jello, and some juice. He needs to drink more liquids. That will help. Listen Hank I've got to get back downstairs. I plan to head home in a couple of hours, but I'll check in with you before I go home. I'll see you later. See how things are going." With that Dr. Brackett turned, pressed the down button for the elevator and waved to Hank.
Hank went to relieve Roy. "Evening gentlemen," he said as he entered the cubicle.
"Evening Cap," Roy greeted him. Johnny stirred on the bed and slowly opened his eyes. He scanned the room and settled his gaze on Captain Stanley.
"John how are you this evening?" Johnny's eyes blinked slowly and he turned his head toward the pillow. Captain Stanley reached out and placed his hand on Johnny's shoulder. "John I need you to wake up a minute. There's something I need you to do." Johnny turned back toward Cap and slowly opened his eyes. Captain Stanley picked up the spirometer. "I know this is hard to do and will probably hurt a little, but we have to do this John. Now let me raise your head up a little." He adjusted the bed. "Okay I'll hold it for you and you blow as hard as you can right here."
Johnny opened his mouth enough for Hank to place the mouth piece on his lips. Johnny closed down on it and with great effort blew. He barely had enough air pressure to move the little ball inside at all. "Good job John now two more times and you can relax again." Johnny pulled back from the device. "No John you have to do this. I can make it an order if you want, but we will try this two more times." Johnny scrunched his forehead showing he didn't like it, but he opened his mouth again. He managed to make the ball move a little more by the third try. "Okay you can rest now. Dr. Brackett says you need to eat. I am going to go ask at the desk when they can get us some broth and jello. Is there anything else you need?" Johnny just looked at Captain Stanley. His eyes slid closed as he drifted back to sleep.
"That was good Cap. I've been trying to get him to do that all day," Roy looked over at his best friend and smiled. "He sure can be stubborn when he wants to be."
"Well Roy I think that comes from having to take care of himself for so long. He's never been able to rely on anyone since his parents died. But he will have to get used to letting us help him, because someone will be with him at all times until he gets his strength back." With that Captain Stanley left the cubicle to find a nurse to get him the food he intended to make Johnny eat. Stopping just outside the entrance he turned back and spoke again to Roy. "Oh and Desoto when I get back I expect you to go home and kiss your lovely wife and children, rest and not come back until tomorrow afternoon. I have Mike coming in tomorrow for the day shift. I have to talk to the chief in the morning about the work rotation at the station. Then we can decide who will stay tomorrow night and the next day. I'll be right back."
"Junior I hope you're ready to get better, because I think Cap's gonna order you to."
Captain Stanley returned with two steaming cups of coffee. "Here ya go Roy. Have one for the road."
"Thanks Cap." Roy took the offered cup.
"Roy have you been inside Johnny's apartment?"
"Yes Cap I have."
"What did you think about it?"
"What do you mean Cap?"
"I mean he doesn't have much furniture. I expected him to have some pajamas and a robe I could bring to him, but there were none. He didn't have a pair of slippers either. I've seen homeless people with more clothes than he had in his closet or chest. And for a guy who could win any eating contest he didn't have enough for one good meal in his refrigerator or pantry."
"Oh that."
"Oh that?"
"Well Cap Johnny is a pretty simple guy. He decided that he wore his uniforms two out of three days, so he didn't need many clothes. He eats at my house or with his landlady at least one or two nights a week. He is at work for several more. As far as his furniture he spends a great deal of his days off up in the mountains. No need for fancy stuff or much of it."
"I see, but still Roy he makes a good living what is he doing with his money if he isn't spending it on food and clothes."
"That you will have to ask him. I have no idea."
"I just want to be sure he takes care of himself. He's too thin. I got him some things at the store today to use up here. I got two pairs of pajamas, a robe and slippers. I didn't know what he liked so I just got plain ones." Captain Stanley picked the duffle bag up from the floor and pulled open the zipper. "I also got him this novel to read. It's a new release by a guy named Clive Cussler. It looks interesting. Do you know of anything else he might need?"
"No Cap sounds like you have everything he'll need."
The two men didn't know that Johnny had awakened and listened to them as they talked about him. Cap had gotten him some pajamas and robe. It had been years since anyone had gotten him anything. He didn't know what to think about that. Before he could formulate what he wanted to say the nurse came in with the requested broth, juice, and jello.
Captain Stanley stood and walked up next to Johnny. "Well son you're awake. Let's see how much of this broth and jello you can eat." One side of Johnny's mouth curled up in a partial smile as he opened his mouth to take the spoon full the captain held out to him. "Go home Roy. We'll be fine and we'll see you tomorrow afternoon."
"Good night Johnny. Good night Cap."
"Night." Johnny said weakly amd smiled at Roy as Captain Stanley spooned some jello into his mouth. Roy couldn't believe that Johnny was eating for Cap after he had tried all day to get him to eat something. Well anyway Cap said he would make it an order. Johnny was good at obeying Cap's orders.
"I got us a book to read together John. It's called 'The Mediterranean Caper' by Clive Cussler. It's his first novel. It's about a guy named Dirk Pitt who is some kind of special agent who tries to find out who is trying to sabotage a scientific expedition. It has a lot of action in it including dueling World War II airplanes, double agents, and a psychopathic ex-Nazi. I think you'll like it. We'll start reading it after we finish dinner."
"Ok Cap."
"Okay son now eat up." Johnny opened his mouth to receive the next bite. "Dr. Brackett said if you are stronger by tomorrow morning you can get moved into a regular room." Johnny ate a whole cup of broth and half of the cup of jello before nodding off to sleep again. Hank slipped out of the room for a few minutes to get another cup of coffee. He was determined to help Johnny gain enough strength to be moved out of the SICU into a regular room tomorrow. It was going to be a long night.
"Okay sweetheart this is going to sting a little. You know we have to do this." She smiled down at Johnny's tired brown eyes.
"S'okay Dix." He turned he head away from the needle and gripped the sheet with his other hand. Ever since he was a little boy Johnny hated needles. The vaccinations he had to get as a child growing up on the reservation had been administered by the worst nurses. They didn't care if they hurt the Indian children. They were forced to work long hours on their off time volunteering for this chore. Only they really hadn't volunteered at all. It was required as part of their grade in completing their nursing course at the local university. The student nurses resented the task and took it out on the kids they were there to vaccinate. One of the careless nurses had broken a needle off in Johnny's arm. His mother had gotten the end of the needle out, but it became infected and hurt for a very long time. He had never really told anyone why he hated needles so much. They just knew he did.
"All done Johnny," Dixie told him as she placed a bandage over the site. "Now we need to get you to try to eat something. How about some chicken broth?"
"Not hungry."
"Johnny it's just a little warm broth. You have to try sweetheart."
"Okay Dix for you."
"That's good Johnny. I'll be right back with some. You try and stay awake for me. I'll bring some juice too." Dixie quickly left the room encouraged that Johnny agreed to the broth. Next she would try to get him to eat some jello.
"Roy?"
"Right here Johnny," he answered as he moved from the spot on the far wall where he'd been standing while Dr. Brackett and Dixie examined Johnny.
"Thirsty."
"Here ya go Junior," Roy placed the straw from the cup of water in Johnny's mouth. Johnny looked up at Roy as he drank the cool liquid.
"You look tired."
"Me? I didn't just have major surgery and lose half of my blood. You look pretty rough yourself." Roy chuckled.
"Go home Roy. 'm o…kay. D….don…'t need a sit…ter."
"I'll go in a little while. You just relax. I'm lookin' out for you right now. You stop worrying about me."
Johnny didn't answer. His eyes blinked slowly. He was drifting again. He yawned a slow deep sleep craving yawn.
"Johnny stay with me a minute Dixie will be right back with that broth. Try to stay awake."
Dixie came rushing into the room with the broth. "Here you go Johnny. Let me help you with this. Roy, could you raise the bed here just a bit so he can sip on this without spilling it all over the bed?" Roy pushed the bed controls to put Johnny's head at a better angle. Johnny struggled to keep his eyes open. He drank about half of the cup of broth before losing the fight to stay awake. He nodded off between sips. "Well he won't be losing that IV anytime soon if he doesn't eat more than that." Dixie was clearly disappointed in the amount of broth Johnny had managed to get down.
"Leave the juice Dixie. He'll wake up again in a little while, and I'll get him to drink it."
"Okay Roy, I'll leave word at the desk to get more broth if you can get him to drink it. I have to get back to the ER. Take good care of him." Dixie smiled at Roy. The look in her eyes let him know how glad she was that he was here looking out for their mutual friend.
Hank Stanley returned to the hospital later that evening. He entered through the ER hoping to talk to Dr. Brackett or Dixie McCall to get an update on Johnny's condition. When he didn't see either of them he went on up to Johnny's room in the SICU. Stepping off the elevator he almost ran face to face with Dr. Brackett. Both men stumbled backwards a little and laughed. "Well hello Dr. Brackett. You're just the man I was looking for."
"Hello Hank what can I do for you?" The men shook hands.
"I was hoping you could give me an update on how Johnny is really progressing."
"He's still very weak Hank. I'm not really pleased with how slow he seems to be bouncing back after the blood transfusions. I hoped he would be more alert. We're running some more tests to see what his white blood count is. He may be starting some kind of infection. He doesn't really need that right now in his weakened state. And finally he needs to be using the incentive spirometer at least a few times whenever he is awake. We haven't been able to get him alert enough to do that. I planned on moving him from SICU to a regular room tomorrow morning, but unless he makes a drastic recovery overnight that will have to wait. That my friend is his condition in a nut shell." Dr. Brackett's lip twitched like it did when he was very concerned about a patient. Hank didn't know Kel as well as his paramedics did, but he knew him well enough to know how concerned he was about Johnny.
"Thanks Kel. I guess we have our work cut out for us if we're going to get him moved in the morning. I'm here to relieve Roy. Is there anything else I need to know that might help him make that turn tonight?"
"He needs to eat something, broth, jello, and some juice. He needs to drink more liquids. That will help. Listen Hank I've got to get back downstairs. I plan to head home in a couple of hours, but I'll check in with you before I go home. I'll see you later. See how things are going." With that Dr. Brackett turned, pressed the down button for the elevator and waved to Hank.
Hank went to relieve Roy. "Evening gentlemen," he said as he entered the cubicle.
"Evening Cap," Roy greeted him. Johnny stirred on the bed and slowly opened his eyes. He scanned the room and settled his gaze on Captain Stanley.
"John how are you this evening?" Johnny's eyes blinked slowly and he turned his head toward the pillow. Captain Stanley reached out and placed his hand on Johnny's shoulder. "John I need you to wake up a minute. There's something I need you to do." Johnny turned back toward Cap and slowly opened his eyes. Captain Stanley picked up the spirometer. "I know this is hard to do and will probably hurt a little, but we have to do this John. Now let me raise your head up a little." He adjusted the bed. "Okay I'll hold it for you and you blow as hard as you can right here."
Johnny opened his mouth enough for Hank to place the mouth piece on his lips. Johnny closed down on it and with great effort blew. He barely had enough air pressure to move the little ball inside at all. "Good job John now two more times and you can relax again." Johnny pulled back from the device. "No John you have to do this. I can make it an order if you want, but we will try this two more times." Johnny scrunched his forehead showing he didn't like it, but he opened his mouth again. He managed to make the ball move a little more by the third try. "Okay you can rest now. Dr. Brackett says you need to eat. I am going to go ask at the desk when they can get us some broth and jello. Is there anything else you need?" Johnny just looked at Captain Stanley. His eyes slid closed as he drifted back to sleep.
"That was good Cap. I've been trying to get him to do that all day," Roy looked over at his best friend and smiled. "He sure can be stubborn when he wants to be."
"Well Roy I think that comes from having to take care of himself for so long. He's never been able to rely on anyone since his parents died. But he will have to get used to letting us help him, because someone will be with him at all times until he gets his strength back." With that Captain Stanley left the cubicle to find a nurse to get him the food he intended to make Johnny eat. Stopping just outside the entrance he turned back and spoke again to Roy. "Oh and Desoto when I get back I expect you to go home and kiss your lovely wife and children, rest and not come back until tomorrow afternoon. I have Mike coming in tomorrow for the day shift. I have to talk to the chief in the morning about the work rotation at the station. Then we can decide who will stay tomorrow night and the next day. I'll be right back."
"Junior I hope you're ready to get better, because I think Cap's gonna order you to."
Captain Stanley returned with two steaming cups of coffee. "Here ya go Roy. Have one for the road."
"Thanks Cap." Roy took the offered cup.
"Roy have you been inside Johnny's apartment?"
"Yes Cap I have."
"What did you think about it?"
"What do you mean Cap?"
"I mean he doesn't have much furniture. I expected him to have some pajamas and a robe I could bring to him, but there were none. He didn't have a pair of slippers either. I've seen homeless people with more clothes than he had in his closet or chest. And for a guy who could win any eating contest he didn't have enough for one good meal in his refrigerator or pantry."
"Oh that."
"Oh that?"
"Well Cap Johnny is a pretty simple guy. He decided that he wore his uniforms two out of three days, so he didn't need many clothes. He eats at my house or with his landlady at least one or two nights a week. He is at work for several more. As far as his furniture he spends a great deal of his days off up in the mountains. No need for fancy stuff or much of it."
"I see, but still Roy he makes a good living what is he doing with his money if he isn't spending it on food and clothes."
"That you will have to ask him. I have no idea."
"I just want to be sure he takes care of himself. He's too thin. I got him some things at the store today to use up here. I got two pairs of pajamas, a robe and slippers. I didn't know what he liked so I just got plain ones." Captain Stanley picked the duffle bag up from the floor and pulled open the zipper. "I also got him this novel to read. It's a new release by a guy named Clive Cussler. It looks interesting. Do you know of anything else he might need?"
"No Cap sounds like you have everything he'll need."
The two men didn't know that Johnny had awakened and listened to them as they talked about him. Cap had gotten him some pajamas and robe. It had been years since anyone had gotten him anything. He didn't know what to think about that. Before he could formulate what he wanted to say the nurse came in with the requested broth, juice, and jello.
Captain Stanley stood and walked up next to Johnny. "Well son you're awake. Let's see how much of this broth and jello you can eat." One side of Johnny's mouth curled up in a partial smile as he opened his mouth to take the spoon full the captain held out to him. "Go home Roy. We'll be fine and we'll see you tomorrow afternoon."
"Good night Johnny. Good night Cap."
"Night." Johnny said weakly amd smiled at Roy as Captain Stanley spooned some jello into his mouth. Roy couldn't believe that Johnny was eating for Cap after he had tried all day to get him to eat something. Well anyway Cap said he would make it an order. Johnny was good at obeying Cap's orders.
"I got us a book to read together John. It's called 'The Mediterranean Caper' by Clive Cussler. It's his first novel. It's about a guy named Dirk Pitt who is some kind of special agent who tries to find out who is trying to sabotage a scientific expedition. It has a lot of action in it including dueling World War II airplanes, double agents, and a psychopathic ex-Nazi. I think you'll like it. We'll start reading it after we finish dinner."
"Ok Cap."
"Okay son now eat up." Johnny opened his mouth to receive the next bite. "Dr. Brackett said if you are stronger by tomorrow morning you can get moved into a regular room." Johnny ate a whole cup of broth and half of the cup of jello before nodding off to sleep again. Hank slipped out of the room for a few minutes to get another cup of coffee. He was determined to help Johnny gain enough strength to be moved out of the SICU into a regular room tomorrow. It was going to be a long night.
