Surgery With No Anesthesia / Feel the Knife Pierce You Intensely (Slayer)
"Cecil?" Carlos called to his boyfriend, who was lying down on the living room sofa. "What do you want for lunch?"
"I'm not hungry," Cecil called back prompting Carlos to exit the kitchen and walk over to where Cecil was sitting.
"Ceec," he started as he sat down next to his boyfriend's legs. "What's wrong? You skipped breakfast this morning and dinner last night."
Cecil merely shrugged his shoulders. But Carlos pressed on.
"Does your stomach feel alright?" To this, Cecil shook his head side to side.
"Is it painful?" A nod of the head.
"Upper or lower abdomen?" Cecil covered his entire stomach with his hands and groaned.
"Everywhere hurts," he moaned.
"How long has it been hurting?" Carlos's voice was soft despite the chastising statement.
"Just a few days."
"Is it like a dull, persistent hurt or is it like being stabbed?" Carlos asked.
"Um, it was dull, but now it's kinda sharp."
Carlos paused a second to think what to do, but then Cecil spoke again.
"And I think I'm going to throw up. . . ." Cecil trailed off as Carlos quickly grabbed the small trash can that they never used from the other side of the couch and placed it next to Cecil right as he had time to vomit into it. Then, he leaned back onto the arm of the sofa and groaned.
"Here," Carlos said standing up and grabbing the bin. "I'll clean this really quickly and then bring it back with something else that will help."
After a minute, Carlos deposited the bin next to Cecil again where he could clearly see it and make a grab for it if he came to need it again. Then, he walked down the short hallway to their little medicine cabinet and grabbed the heating pad from the lower shelf. He returned to the living room where he found, thankfully, Cecil hadn't yet thrown up again. Carlos plugged in the cord and set the pad down onto Cecil's abdomen.
"Here," he told him with a small, reassuring smile. "This is going to get warm and it should ease the pain."
"Thank you," Cecil said and Carlos leaned down to kiss him on the forehead.
"Try to get some sleep," he told Cecil as he closed his eyes in response. And then Carlos went back to making his own lunch.
Looking back at Cecil's sleeping form, Carlos decided to move into their study to get some work done and so as to not disturb his boyfriend. After about an hour or so, though, Carlos heard a sharp gasp from the living room and then a yell. Cecil was moaning in pain.
Carlos ran to the living room. "Cecil," he called as he slid to a stop next to him. "What's wrong?"
"M-My stomach," Cecil said before he groaned. "Unh, it really hurts. Like blindingly."
Placing his hand on Cecil's forehead, he noticed that he had a slight fever. Suddenly very worried at what he had just done, Carlos placed his hand lightly on Cecil's abdomen and slid it down until he was just underneath the naval. Then, he moved it to the right side and pressed down slightly.
Even though it wasn't much pressure, Cecil screamed out and grabbed at his stomach again, trying to turn over. Carlos quickly removed his hand.
"Does it hurt worse when I press on it or when I let it go?" Carlos asked urgently. Cecil just groaned.
"It hurts worse now. After you let go."
"Cecil," Carlos tried to get his attention. "Cecil, you have appendicitis and I think that it just ruptured. You need surgery."
"Call Dana," was all Cecil said before continuing to moan in agony. Carlos tried to protest at first, but then came to realize that a) he wouldn't get through to him with all the pain, b) if Cecil didn't want to go to the hospital, then there's probably a very good reason for that, and c) he trusted Cecil, and, more importantly, Dana. Carlos grabbed for his cell phone and hit Dana's contact.
The phone only rang a few times until Dana picked up. "Hi Carlos," she greeted.
"Dana! Cecil needs your help!" Carlos tried to keep his voice level, but found that it was extremely difficult.
Dana heard the worry and urgency in his voice. "What? Why? What's going on?"
"We're in our apartment and Cecil's appendix burst. It needs to be cut out before it can flood bacteria throughout his abdomen and Cecil told me to call you! Can you get here?"
"Yeah, I'm at the station, so I'll be there really soon!" she said before hanging up and leaving Carlos helpless. The first thing that he did was rip the heating pad cord out of the wall and throw the offending object across the room.
"Stay here, Ceec," he told him before jumping up and grabbing a washcloth from one of the kitchen drawers and soaking it with cold water before ringing it out and bringing it back to the living room. He placed it carefully onto Cecil's forehead and held it there and he cupped his boyfriend's cheek.
"Ceec?" When Cecil opened his eyes and looked at Carlos, still thrashing around slightly, Carlos continued. "Dana's on her way. You're going to be alright."
Cecil merely groaned and grabbed tighter at his abdomen, but Carlos was sure that he heard him. Whether or not he felt comforted by Carlos's words at this present moment, he didn't know.
Dana got to their apartment faster than Carlos expected; she must have broken a couple speeding laws on her way there. She entered through the door and called out Carlos's name.
"We're in here!"
Carlos saw Dana come into the living room and she dropped down next to Cecil.
"Cecil?" she called for his attention. He opened his eyes and watched her as she unbuttoned his shirt and pushed it off to the side. "I'm going to get a knife and cut out your appendix, okay?"
When Cecil nodded his acknowledgment, Dana rushed into the kitchen and came back with a small, flat knife from their knife block and with a lot of towels and rubbing alcohol from their bathroom.
"Carlos," Dana addressed him as he pulled out a lighter and held it underneath the knife, moving it back and forth along the small blade. "You're going to have to hold him down."
At this, Carlos paled. "What? Don't you have anything to knock him out?" When Dana shook her head, Carlos went silent.
"It's going to be alright," Dana said, unaware that that was what Carlos had told Cecil a few minutes ago, but now he wasn't too sure. "This is going to hurt him. Badly. But peritonitis hurts more, okay?"
Carlos nodded his agreement and took a deep breath. "Good," Dana said. "Now place the towels around his body except for three." He did as instructed and then Dana told him to hold the knife, not letting anything touch the blade. She took her bag and rummaged around, pulling out a small sewing kit, which made Carlos's stomach turn. She grabbed the last three towels and crossed them around Cecil's abdomen, leaving a small square right over where his appendix was and placing the needle and very thick thread onto one of the towels off to the side. .
"Cecil," Dana said softly, but firmly. "You have to stay still." When Dana set the towels just right, she climbed on top of Cecil's legs, one leg curled under her and the other keeping her steady on the floor. She took back the knife.
"Carlos, hold his shoulders down. Tight. Don't let go. He's going to have a lot of knee-jerk reactions, but you have to be ready and keep him still." Carlos nodded and positioned himself behind Cecil's head. He grabbed both of Cecil's wrists and held them in one hand, using them to push down onto his right shoulder. He leaned down and kissed the top of Cecil head before nodding to Dana.
Leaning down, Dana grabbed the rubbing alcohol and poured it onto Cecil's exposed skin and the blade. She gave Carlos a last sideways glance before making an incision.
Cecil's legs and arms jerked and both Carlos and Dana repositioned to keep Cecil's appendages down. Carlos turned his head away from the blood that seeped from the incision. He didn't have a problem with blood, per se. But knowing that it was Cecil's blood and that it was hurting him was almost too much for Carlos.
Luckily, it didn't take long for Dana to cut through the epidermis, dermis, subcutaneous fat, and surrounding tissue and muscle. She found the offending, three-inch long tube underneath the large intestine and cut it off, wrapping it into one of the towels on Cecil's side. Throwing down the knife onto one of the towels on Cecil's stomach, she grabbed the lighter.
Looking up at Carlos, Dana warned, "Knee-jerk again," before clicking it and holding it to the bleeding tissue. As predicted, Cecil screamed out and thrashed against Carlos's hands.
After what felt like hours, Dana clicked off the lighter, repeated the sterilization process with the needle and began to suture the wound. Surprisingly, Cecil was in much less pain by this part. He still thrashed around, albeit weakly now. His brow was soaked with sweat and his eyes were clamped tightly shut.
When Dana finally finished, she dabbed an alcohol-soaked towel at the stitches lightly and nodded to Carlos, who dropped Cecil's wrists. He moved into his boyfriend line of sight and pushed his hair off of his sweaty forehead.
"Ceec?" Carlos asked and Cecil just barely opened his eyes. "Hey," Carlos said with a smile. "It's over. You're gonna be alright now. It'll still hurt for a while, though."
Cecil didn't say anything as his eyes slid shut again. Dana put her hand on Carlos's shoulder.
"You should let him rest for awhile," she suggested quietly. "And he shouldn't move as much as possible for at least a few days."
Carlos nodded his understanding and smiled at her. "Thank you, Dana. For everything."
"Anytime," she told him with a smile. "I love you guys. I'd do anything for ya."
"Us, too," he returned as she bid him goodbye. Carlos leaned back against the couch, holding Cecil's hand as he watched his chest rise and fall with every sleeping breath.
Imagine person A having to undergo emergency surgery in a scenario where there will not be an anesthetic. Person B has to hold them down.
