Dementia
"He's still doing it, doctor."
"Doing what?"
"Staying up at night with that flashlight of his. I can hear him closing the doors at all hours of the night – Ron and I haven't had a full night's sleep in weeks!"
"Mrs. Love, Bernard is just having a hard time adjusting. He was in the hospital for a very long time-"
"Don't patronize me, Doctor Lipchitz!"
"I'm not patronizing you, I'm just pointing out that it is a large adjustment – he was there for three months, having all sorts of surgeries. Being away from what he considered a safe place is obviously making him nervous. I'm sure with time he'll readjust to his bedroom. Now, is he taking his medicine?"
"Yes, two pills every morning and every evening. It's helped to even out his temper – he was always so angry at the hospital, jumping on everybody about any little thing that went wrong..."
"A side effect of the damage, I'm afraid. Luckily, since the boy is so young, his body should be able to repair most of the damage to the frontal lobe."
"Really?"
"Yes. He most likely will have temperament issues for the rest of his life, and may experience some depression and trouble with organization, but the CAT scans and the MRI results showed the rest of his brain was fine."
"So, no...brain damage?"
"None, it appears, other than the emotional side effects I've just explained. Your son is very, very lucky, Mrs. Love."
"Yes, he is. They both are."
"How is young Todd handling this?"
"He's devastated; we can barely get him to eat anymore. He refuses to go to school, even though it's his freshman year of high school. Every waking minute possible, he's with Ben. If it weren't for the sleeping pills his doctor gave him, he'd stay up all night with him. He blames himself for what happened, and I think Ron does too."
"Some have trouble wrapping their heads around an accident – it's easier to blame someone and be angry at them, than to be angry and blame yourself."
"I suppose that makes sense. Do you have any suggestions, doctor?"
"Schedule an appointment for me and Todd – I'll tell Shirley to put it in one of the emergency slots, so I should be able to see him tomorrow or Thursday. I'll try and sort through what happened with him, and see if I can't convince him to go to school."
"Oh thank you, doctor! It's nearly October – I'd hate for him to get any farther behind."
"Of course, Mrs. Love. Oh my, it looks like our time is almost up. Is there anything else I can help you with today?"
"Well, I was wondering. Do you know what a 'plushtrap' is?"
AN: Plot Bunnies are a pain in the ass, especially when they bite and won't let go. Just a short start for a possible story, since Can We Keep Him? is winding down. I love the premise of FNaF's 4, and wanted to explore the aftermath a bit; not just the victims, but his families reactions as well.
Bonus smiles to anybody who gets the Rugrats reference!
Reviews are very much appreciated, treasured, cuddled, and loved! I enjoy hearing feedback, both positive and negative (as long as it's not rude - constructive criticism, please!).
Cheers!