Marie looked to Doctor Price for answers while she cradled Tony's head against her chest while he cried. Doctor Price had just sent a page for the Neurologist who had seen Tony earlier so she could come and examine him now that he was awake. Alyssa and Gibb's moved closer to the hospital bed and Tony noticed them for the first time. He did not want Alyssa to see him crying so he forced himself to stop even though he was still scared and wasn't sure what was going on.

Marie stepped back and motioned for Alyssa to take her place next to Tony. Alyssa gently picked up Tony's hand then leaned over the bed rail and kissed him on the forehead saying, "Were going to get through this baby, I promise."

Tony choked back a sob and said, "I hope so." He then noticed and felt the feeding tube as he moved his head. The tape on his cheek pulled at the tender skin on his cheek when he moved his head and he could feel something in his nose and his throat felt funny.

Doctor Price introduced himself to Tony and stood at the foot of the bed so he could talk with him and still allow his patient to be near his family. He seemed to know what Tony was thinking and said, "I'll have the feeding tube removed as soon as possible."

Tony just nodded and tried not to think about having the tube in his nose.

"Do you remember being hurt in the football game Tony?" Doctor Price asked.

Tony thought for a moment, "I remember jumping to catch a pass and then getting hit and I remember a terrible pain in my leg." Tony looked at his leg for the first time and noticed it was in a cast. "Is it broken?" he asked looking at Doctor Price.

"Yes it is Tony, it was a very bad break, the bone tore through the skin causing damage to surrounding ligaments and nerves. This explains why you may be experiencing some lack of feeling at the moment."

Tony took in what the Doctor told him and said, "That explains my right leg but what about my left leg and my arms and hands?"

Doctor Price continued, "When you were hit during the game you suffered a concussion and there was and still is swelling in your brain."

Tony let out a big breath, "Then that explains why my head feels like it's about to explode."

Doctor Price came closer to examine Tony, again shinning the light in his eyes, "I'm sorry Tony, I should have asked if you were in any pain, I'll get you something for your headache right away." He made a few notes in Tony's chart and handed it to the nurse, she looked it over and said, "Right away Doctor and left to get the pain medication for Tony.

Doctor Price was about to continue when the Neurologist came in. "Hello I am Doctor Tarrin, I hear our patient has decided to once again join us," she said winking at Tony. He gave the Doctor a quick smile then dropped his chin to his chest suddenly embarrassed by all the attention he was getting.

Doctor Tarrin walked over towards Tony and said, "You probably don't remember, but you and I spent some time together shortly after you first arrived."

Tony shook his head no and said, "I don't remember."

Doctor Tarrin continued to smile, "Aw, that's just my bad luck, I always like it when the handsome ones remember me."

Tony looked at the Doctor not knowing what to say. He thought she had to be at least 50 and it seemed like she was flirting with him. He then thought it had to be the concussion making him hear things the wrong way.

"Mind if I take a look?" Doctor Tarrin asked Tony as she moved closer. Tony shook his head letting the Doctor know it would be okay. She gave him a quick examination and once satisfied she said, "I have to say things are looking much better."

Gibb's then said, "That's good to hear but what can you tell us about his lack of feeling?"

Doctor Tarrin then said, "Tony injured his head here, (she points to the spot on his head) This region of the brain transmits and receives signals telling our body how to act. For example, if I want to raise my arm, my brain sends the signal to my arm to tell it what to do and my arm raises. When this area of the brain is damaged it can cause these signals to become confused or not connect at all."

Tony looked wide eyed at the Doctor upon hearing the news he had brain damage and said, "Can you fix it?"

Doctor Tarrin said, "Let me show you something." She then reached into her pocket and pulled something out that resembled the type of tool a Dentist uses to clean a persons teeth. She took the sharp pointy edge and gently lifted the blanket at the foot of the bed and proceeded to poke the pin in Tony's big toe on his left foot.

Tony smiled a little and said, "I felt that."

Marie asked, "Why is he not able to feel when we hold his hand?"

Doctor Tarrin said, "I believe that is just temporary, I think we will see more feeling begin to come back as the swelling in the brain subsides."

Doctor Tarrin continued to poke Tony in other areas of his body and he felt each one. She then raised the head of Tony's bed and placed his bed tray in front of him and said, "I want you to try and pick up the cup of water."

Marie, Alyssa and Gibb's watched anxiously as Tony tried to do as Doctor Tarrin asked. They could see the determination in his face as he tried to will his arm to move but was unable to.

Tony let out a deep breath and said, "I can't."

Doctor Tarrin looked at her young patient and said, "This confirms my initial findings, I was just waiting for you to wake up so you could show me."

Tony looked at the Doctor and said, "You never answered my question, can you fix this?"

Doctor Tarrin looked Tony directly in the eye and said, "Yes Tony, we can. It will take some time, but with Occupational and Physical Therapy, you will learn to use different parts of your brain to get the job done. There is also the chance that as the swelling continues to go down, you will begin to regain some of the normal brain function. We will just have to wait and see."

Tony let out a big sigh and said, "I'll do whatever it takes so that I can still play football."

Nobody in the room had the heart to tell him that his football playing days were over, they felt he had enough to deal with right now and that the bad news could wait until later.

Tony was exhausted and could barely keep his eyes open he fell asleep as soon as everyone left his room. He was scared about his future but he knew he could get through this, he just had to, he had so much to look forward to and he was determined to not let this bump in the road keep him down for long. Shortly after just dozing off two nurses came into his room to remove the feeding tube and to Tony's horror, they changed his soiled diaper he had not realized he had been wearing. One of the nurses told him that as soon as he was able to feel when he had to make a bowel movement, the diaper would no longer be necessary and he could then switch to a bed pan as needed. Tony was embarrassed and tried not to make eye contact with the nurses as they changed him and he prayed that Alyssa would never see him like this.

The next morning Tony was given a bed bath and then sat up in bed as a breakfast tray was placed before him. He was just beginning to realize how helpless he was at the moment, he had to have everything done for him including someone feeding him his breakfast. He refused the help of the nurses aid, he thought it was bad enough having to wear a diaper but to have a complete stranger feed him his oatmeal, toast and juice was just a bit too much for him to deal with right now. He turned his head away from the spoon everytime the nurse tried to get him to eat something, he would only accept the straw from his juice box as she held it for him to sip from.

Doctor Price was told about Tony's refusal to eat and he explained to Tony that if he didn't eat, the feeding tube would have to be put back in. Tony agreed to cooperate at lunch time even though he was not happy about it. Doctor Price then told him he was being moved in a few minutes to a private room now that he was no longer critical.

Marie, Alyssa and Gibb's returned just after 7am after getting a good nights sleep at a near by hotel. They were happy to hear Tony had been moved from ICU and they met with Tony's Doctor before visiting hours. Doctor Price told them about Tony's refusal to be fed his breakfast and he told them that he had a talk with Tony about it. He suggested that when Tony's lunch tray was brought in later today that the three of them make an excuse to leave to give Tony privacy while he adjusts to everything.

Alyssa, Marie and Gibb's entered Tony's room and saw that he was sitting up in bed watching television, Tony immediately checked to make sure his blanket was completely covering his diaper and was thankful when he looked down and saw that nothing was exposed. He was happy to see them and together they spent the morning reading the material Doctor Tarrin had droped off explaining the different rehabilitation therapies Tony would soon be participating in once he got back to Ohio.

When lunch time came around and Tony's tray was brought in by one of the nurses aids, everyone noticed that Tony immediately became very uncomfortable. Gibb's stood up and said, "Lunch sounds like a good idea, we will be back in about an hour Tony." Then the three visitors left Tony alone with his nurse so he could get through his lunch in private.

As soon as the nurse sat the tray on the table she had moved in front of Tony she took one look at her patient and knew this was not going to go well.