Cause and Effect
By GrumpyMagrat and Magratconvert
Disclaimer: We don't own the Thunderbirds. We wish we did, but it's just one of those dreams that will never come true. We do NOT make any money off this endeavor. It is just for our own pleasure, and (we hope) your enjoyment.
Chapter 7 – Surgery Over
Scott was pacing restlessly in the waiting room. It had been about two hours and forty minutes since John had been taken to surgery, but a nurse had notified them a while ago that the surgery had been completed, and that John had been taken to recovery.
"What is taking so long?" Scott complained. "That nurse said that the doctor would be 'in shortly' to talk to us. That was an hour ago."
"Ac-Actually, it has only been f-f-forty-five minutes." Brains corrected.
Scott glared at Brains. "Close enough."
Jeff broke into the conversation. "Scott, you need to calm down. I'm sure that she will be here as soon as possible."
"You don't think that something has happened, do you? That something is wrong? Maybe he took a turn after he got to recovery. What if the head injury was worse than expected and is causing problems?" Scott asked not bothering to try to hide his worry.
"No, I don't think anything is wrong. The doctor probably got sidetracked with another patient." Jeff said. He wanted to get Scott's mind off of the worst case scenarios that seemed to be flooding it at the moment. Holding his coffee cup out to Scott, he asked. "How about pouring me another cup of coffee?"
Scott stopped pacing and stared out the window overlooking the parking lot. "The pot's empty." He said in a disinterested tone.
Jeff sighed and placed his cup back on the small table next to his chair. "Then how about going down to the vending machine and getting me a bottle of water and whatever kind of fruit juice they have?"
Scott knew that his dad was just giving him "busy" work. "What if the doctor comes in?" He asked.
"You're only going down the hall." Jeff replied. "You won't be gone that long."
Scott sighed heavily. "Fine, I'll go." Turning to Brains, he asked. "Do you want anything while I'm going?"
"I w-w-would appreciate some w-water." Brains answered.
"Okay, two waters and some juice." Scott mumbled as he headed out the door.
When the door closed, Jeff spoke to Brains. "I'm sorry about Scott's attitude."
Brains shook his head and interrupted. "There's n-n-no need to apologize. I am f-f-fully aware that he is w-w-worried about John. I w-will not take o-o-offense."
Jeff nodded. "You're a good friend to all of us. I know I don't say it that often, but I do mean it. We could never do what we do without you."
Brains face reddened at the praise. He had always felt uncomfortable accepting praise for something that came so easily for him. "Th-th-thank you, Mr. Tracy." He stammered. They fell into a companionable silence while they waited.
A few minutes later the door opened and Jeff assumed that it would be Scott returning, so he was startled when he heard a female voice say. "Mr. Tracy?"
Jeff looked up to see Dr. Winter standing in the doorway. He was immediately on his feet. He began to fire a rapid stream of questions at the doctor. "Dr. Winter, how is John? When can I see him? How did the surgery go? Will there be any permanent damage? When can I take him home? Will…"
The door flung open startling the group. From down the hall, Scott had seen Dr. Winter enter the room. He had run the rest of the way down the hall to rejoin his father. Once he opened the door, he began firing his own questions. "What's wrong? How's John? When can I see him?"
The doctor held up her hands to stave off more questions. "Please," she said. "Let's sit down and I will explain John's condition to you."
Jeff nodded. "You're right. I'm sorry for bombarding you with so many questions. It's just that we've been so worried." Motioning to one of the chairs, he said. "Please have a seat." Jeff then took the chair across from her while Scott took the chair next to Jeff.
Dr. Winter dived right into the explanation. "First I want to apologize for it taking me so long to get here. Unfortunately, I was called to the emergency room for a consultation. Now on to John's condition, the surgery took one hour and thirty-three minutes. I removed four fragments from John's left eye and six fragments from his right eye. I am cautiously optimistic that they should heal properly."
"What does that mean?" Scott demanded. "Cautiously optimistic?"
The doctor cleared her throat. "Well, most of the fragments were imbedded shallowly and should heal without any problems, but there were a couple fragments that were a little deeper which may or may not heal correctly."
"When will we know?" Jeff questioned. "Will any of the damage be permanent?"
"Well, his eyes will have to be bandaged for six weeks. Once they are off, I will be able to assess any residual damage. He may need additional treatment but I'm confident that over time he should regain almost all his range of vision." The doctor replied.
"When can we see him?" Jeff jumped to another question.
Dr. Winter leaned forward a bit and smiled. "Well, that's an easy question. I checked on him in recovery after the emergency room consultation. He had already woken up and was able to answer some questions."
"What kind of questions?" Scott asked worriedly.
Dr. Winter was taken aback slightly. That wasn't normally a question asked by family members. "Uhm, the usual questions that we ask to evaluate orientation: name, birth date, president's name, those kinds of things. He even remembered that his injuries were caused by a computer monitor blowing up."
Jeff felt a sense of relief. Since John was oriented now, Dr. Raymond's assessment of his head injury was correct. Scott, however, was concerned that John might have inadvertently mentioned the Thunderbirds. So he continued to ask questions.
"Anything else?" Scott pressed.
Now Dr. Winter was really confused. "No, is there something else that I should be aware of?"
Scott visibly relaxed but shook his head. "No, I was just afraid that his head injury would cause some confusion."
Dr. Winter thought that was strange but let it go. "Anyways, he should be being moved out of recovery shortly. Once he is settled in his room, a nurse will take you to him. You can visit for a short time, but please remember that he will still be groggy from the anesthetic and needs his rest."
"How long will he have to stay in the hospital?" Jeff asked.
"Barring any complications, it should only be two or three days." The doctor replied. "Any other questions?"
Scott, Jeff and Brains looked at each other, but Scott and Brains shook their heads. So Jeff addressed the doctor. "No, not at this time. Is there anything else we need to know?"
Dr. Winter took a deep breath. "Well, this is a hard topic to address. Once John is released from the hospital, he will need added help during his recovery time."
"Like what?" Scott asked.
"Well, the most important thing will be changing the bandages on a regular basis." The doctor explained. "But he will need help in many little ways, like coordinating his clothes or guiding him around unfamiliar places."
Scott shook his head. "I don't understand. Isn't that something most blind people do on their own?"
Dr. Winter nodded. "Yes, they do. But it is something that they have learned to do over time. For my patients that are unfortunately permanently blinded, I normally recommend a home that specializes in teaching 'life skills' for people who have suffered traumatic sensory losses. But since I truly believe that John will regain most, if not all, of his sight, I don't feel that is necessary. I'll have an occupational therapist come and work with him on the basics over the next couple of days, but he will probably still need help, especially in the first couple of weeks. Hopefully as time goes by, he will become more confident doing things on his own."
Jeff nodded. "Okay, that shouldn't be a problem. Between me and John's brothers, he should have all the help he needs."
Dr. Winter cleared her throat. "Yes, I can see that you're a very close family, but you need to understand that helping can be a two-edged sword."
"What do you mean?" Scott asked.
"For a self-sufficient person to suddenly need help," Dr. Winter began to explain. "Can be dis-heartening and lead to depression. Almost all of my parents have exhibited depression on some level, even if they are expected to make a full recovery."
"So how do we help John without pushing him over the edge?" Jeff asked.
"Help him with what he needs." Dr. Winter replied. "But don't smother him. If he can do things by himself, let him. Try to keep him involved in conversations and such. Treat him as normally as possible. If he needs to blow off steam, let him, but try not to let him wallow in self-pity. A positive attitude can be just as important in the healing process as medicine. In the same regards, a negative attitude can be detrimental to his recovery."
Jeff nodded. "We'll do what we can. John is a fighter, like all the Tracys. I can't see him giving in to depression."
Dr. Winter nodded. "I hope you're right. You do know your son better than I do. Anyways, we can go over all this again before John is released." Dr. Winter stood up and pulled a business card from her lab coat pocket and held it out towards Jeff. "If you come up with anymore questions, you can either have me paged here at the hospital or call my answering service, and I'll return your call as soon as possible."
Jeff stood up and took the card. He extended his hand towards the doctor. "Thank you, doctor…for everything."
The doctor shook Jeff's hand. "You're welcome Mr. Tracy. Although the circumstances were not the best, it was still a pleasure to meet you." Looking around at the other occupants of the room, she continued. "It was a pleasure to meet you all. If any of you have any questions, do not hesitate to call me." Heading toward the door, she said. "A nurse should be here shortly. I'm sure that I will see you again during the course of John's recovery. Goodbye." Dr. Winter then left the room.
Jeff, Scott and Brains sat in silence for a few moments. Finally Brains cleared his throat and said. "W-w-well, she seemed to be op-op-optimistic about John's r-recovery."
Scott shook his head. "She is 'cautiously' optimistic, but there could be problems." He stood up and began to pace. "I can't believe this is happening. John doesn't deserve this."
"Nobody deserves this." Jeff interrupted. "It was a computer malfunction, not a personal assault."
"But it could have been prevented." Scott snapped at his dad. "If Alan had just done his job…"
"I'll take care of Alan." Jeff asserted. "You need to get control of your anger. It's not going to help anything, and it certainly won't change anything. John needs to be our priority right now. Not Alan, not your anger.
"Are you trying to tell me that you're not angry with Alan?" Scott asked. "He is responsible for John's injuries. He could have killed him."
"All right," Jeff conceded. "When the accident first happened, I was angry with Alan."
"See," Scott said in disdain. "I knew…"
"BUT" Jeff interrupted. "Now that I have had time to think about it, my feelings have changed. I'm still angry at the situation, but I know that Alan didn't do this on purpose. He got distracted and forgot."
"How can you say that?" Scott retorted angrily. "He…"
"He is a human being, and he made a mistake." Jeff broke in. "But I know that he would not purposely endanger any of his brothers, any more than you would."
"Okay, fine," Scott argued. "So it wasn't on purpose, but it still doesn't change the fact that he was negligent."
"So was John." Jeff said.
"What?!" Scott exploded. "Now you're blaming John?"
Jeff tried to calmly explain to Scott. "Think about it. John was on duty for around two hours. Obviously that monitor had been acting up that whole time. So why didn't John notice it before it blew up?"
"Well, he…I…John…" Scott stumbled for an answer.
Jeff answered for him. "It's because he is human. He's not perfect. None of us are."
Scott seemed to deflate some. "So Alan is going to get away with this scot-free?" He asked.
"I didn't say that." Jeff said. "He will still have to answer for his mistake. Plus we will need to develop more safety procedures to avoid this ever happening again."
"I've b-b-been thinking about that." Brains said. "Once I g-g-get back to the is-island, I'll b-b-begin to work on the p-p-possible solutions."
Jeff nodded. "Thank you, Brains. I appreciate all the work that you do. We also need to repair the damages that the blown monitor has caused."
The three of the fell into silence again as they each got lost in their own thoughts. A few minutes later the door opened and a nurse entered. "Mr. Tracy?" She asked.
Jeff stood up. "I'm Jeff Tracy."
The nurse glanced at Scott and Brains. "You're son is now in his own room. If you will follow me, I will take you to him."
Scott and Brains were both instantly on their feet. "Great, let's go." Scott said.
The nurse gave Scott a questioning look. "And you are?" She asked.
Scott rolled his eyes. "I'm Scott Tracy, one of John's brothers." He said in a condescending tone.
"Very well," the nurse said. "Follow me please." She then left the room and headed down the hall with the men following.
It took them about two minutes to walk to John's room. The nurse stopped outside the door. "This is his room. Just remember that he just had surgery. He needs his rest. He is also on pain medication that will make him drowsy. So don't be alarmed if he dozes off on you. You can press the nurse's button if you have any questions, or if John needs anything."
Jeff nodded and said. "Thank you, nurse." As she walked away, Jeff quietly opened the door. His breath caught in his throat when he saw his son.
John looked so helpless as he lay in the hospital bed. He was hooked to a heart monitor that showed each beat of his heart as a blip on the screen. His respiration rate, oxygen saturation, and his blood pressure were displayed on another monitor. An IV line snaked from the bag on the pole to the injection site in his arm. John's hands were wrapped in white bandages. White bandages also encircled John's head covering his eyes. The lower portion of John's face was visible. Jeff could see the burns to John's face which stood out starkly against his pale skin.
Blinking back the tears that had filled his eyes, Jeff quickly crossed the room to his son's bedside. He pulled a chair up next to the bed and sat down. Gently he placed a hand on John's shoulder.
"John? Can you hear me, son?" Jeff asked quietly.
John turned his head slightly toward his dad's voice. "Dad, you're here." His voice was weak and unsteady.
Jeff gripped John's shoulder slightly in an effort to comfort his son. "Yeah, John, I'm right here."
Scott had started to follow his dad, but Brains grabbed his arm and stopped him for a moment. Brains quietly said. "M-m-maybe I should w-wait outside."
Scott looked at Brains in confusion. "Why?"
Brains looked at Jeff and John. "This sh-sh-should be a time for f-family. I don't w-w-want to intrude."
Scott slung his arm around Brains' shoulders and gave him a playful shake. "When are you going to understand that we think of you as family? Come on." He said as he pulled Brains into the room with him.
John could hear quiet voices talking through his muddled brain; he tried to place the voices. "Scott? Is that you?" He asked.
Scott moved closer to John's bed. "Yeah, it's me, little brother. How are you feeling?"
"Drowsy," John replied. "I feel like my brain is a big cotton ball. It's hard to think."
"You don't have to think." Jeff said. "Just relax and allow your body to heal. Are you in pain?"
"Nah, the drugs they are giving me are taking care of the pain." John said. "Everything seems fuzzy. Who else is here?"
"Just Brains." Jeff answered.
"Where's everyone else?" John asked. "What happened? Did anyone else get hurt?" John began to get upset.
"Calm down, John." Jeff replied. "They're fine. They're at home. We've kept them updated on your condition."
Turning his head back towards his dad, he asked. "Am I going to be blind?" A touch of fear shadowed his voice.
"Of course not." Jeff said. "You're eyes are just bandaged because the doctor removed some glass fragments from them. Don't you remember? Didn't the doctor explain this while you were in recovery?"
John settled back wearily in the bed. "Recovery? I don't remember much. It's all really fuzzy. There were voices asking me questions but…what happened?"
Jeff gently ran a hand through John's hair. "A computer monitor blew up in your face."
John nodded slightly. "I think I remember. I was alone. The monitor flickered and I went to check it out. There was a flash of light, and then my face felt like it was on fire. I don't remember anything after that."
"Do you remember waking up in the plane or in the E.R?" Jeff asked.
John began to tense again. "No, I don't. Why can't I remember?"
Jeff wished he had kept his mouth shut. "It's okay John."
Brains decided to speak up. "J-John, it's not un-un-unusual for you to experience s-s-some memory loss. You've s-s-suffered a major tr-tr-trauma which your mind m-may be blocking out. P-p-plus you have been g-g-given a variety of m-m-medications that could also be c-c-clouding your memory."
An even breathing pattern indicated that John had fallen asleep. Jeff gave Brains a contrite smile. "Sorry about that."
Brains nodded. "It's the d-d-drugs. I won't t-take it p-p-personally."
The three sat in silence for about ten minutes. Finally, Scott exhaled loudly. "Should we call home and update them on John's condition?"
Jeff shook his head. "Not right now. Hopefully they should be resting which is what you two should be doing too."
Scott waved his hand dismissively. "I'm fine. I want to be here for John."
Jeff relented a bit. "Okay, you can stay for a little bit longer, but when I…"
John shifted in the bed. "Dad?" He asked drowsily.
Jeff turned his attention back to his injured son. "Hey John, you back with us?"
"Where am I?" John asked getting agitated. "What happened? Why is it so dark?"
Jeff patted John's shoulder. "It's ok. You're in the hospital in Sydney. A computer monitor exploded in your face. You're eyes were injured, but the doctor expects you to make a full recovery, although your eyes will have to remain bandaged throughout the recovery time."
John gave a slight nod. "I think I remember. Did you tell me this before?"
Jeff laughed lightly. "Yes, I have, but don't worry about it."
"Yeah, with all that 'happy juice' they are pumping into you, you're lucky to remember your own name." Scott joked.
John turned toward his brother's voice. "Scott, you're here too."
"Where else would I be when one of my brothers are hurt?" Scott asked.
"I should have known." John replied. "Was anyone else hurt?"
"No," Jeff replied. "You were alone."
"That's good." John said.
Scott nodded out of habit. "You were really lucky considering that you were 'at work' at the time."
"Scott," Jeff said reproachfully.
Scott immediately understood his father's unspoken message: too much information. He mouthed "sorry" to his father.
John though tensed again. "At work? Was there much damage? How…"
"John, calm down." Jeff ordered.
"But Dad…my 'bird?" John choked out.
"I know son." Jeff said comfortingly. "Frankly, we just don't know what the damages are. Our first priority was taking care of you."
John sighed. "Okay."
Brains tried to reassure John. "Once I g-g-get back to the island, I will b-b-begin to assess the d-damages."
John started at the sound of Brains' voice. "Brains, I didn't know that you were there. Is there anyone else here that I should know about?"
"No, it's just the three of us." Jeff answered. "Although a nurse was in a bit ago to check the monitors, apparently they forgot to mark something on your chart."
John didn't answer but clumsily fiddled with the blanket with his bandaged hands.
"John?" Jeff questioned. He could tell that something other than his injuries was bothering him. "What is bothering you?"
John shifted in the bed. "It's nothing, really. It's just dumb."
Jeff shook his head. "Come on. I may not be able to see your eyes, but the rest of your body is telling me that something is wrong. If something is bothering you, it isn't 'dumb'. Please tell me. I want to help you."
John nodded. "Well…it's just…it's no big deal, really. I guess my mind went into a 'what if' mode. I began to think of all the things that could've gone wrong, and how things could've been different."
"Well, you can quit thinking like that." Jeff said. "It wasn't any worse. You're going to be fine. We can repair the damages that occurred. All in all, we were very lucky."
John smiled. "Okay, you're right. I'm just glad that it happened while I was on duty instead of Alan."
"Don't worry about Alan." Scott broke in angrily. "He is safe at home." Then under his breath he muttered. "At least until I get home."
"Scott…" Jeff admonished.
"What?" John questioned. "What did I miss? What happened with Alan?"
Jeff patted John's arm while at the same time shooting a warning look towards Scott. "Nothing. It's nothing that you need to worry about. It's just something that Scott and Alan need to work out for themselves. Right, Scott?"
Scott sat on the edge of the bed. He tried to lighten his tone. "Right. It's nothing. You know how we are. Alan does or says something stupid. I get angry. I teach him a lesson. Then things will be back to normal."
John gave a small nod. "Well, go easy on him. I'm sure that whatever he did was just because he was worried about me."
Jeff gave Scott another warning look. Scott swallowed back his first impulsive reply. "I'm sure it was. I'll take care of Alan. Don't worry. I'll always take care of all my brothers."
"Okay, no more talking." Jeff interrupted. "The doctor said you needed your rest. So John, you…sleep. Scott, I want you and Brains to find a hotel and get some rest yourselves."
"But, Dad…" Scott began.
Jeff cut in. "No arguments, Scott. I want you to get some sleep. I need you to be fresh so that you can fly home tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Scott questioned. "Does it have to be tomorrow?"
Jeff sighed. "Yes, it does. I'm sorry. There is work that needs to be done as soon as possible. I know that sounds so callous, but…"
"It's what we do." John finished for him. "He's right. There's repair work to do, plus the family business to run."
"But I'd like to stay here with you." Scott argued. "I want to be here to help you."
"And I appreciate that." John said. "But other people will need your help too. So I'm telling you to go help them."
Scott laughed lightly. "I thought I was supposed to be the bossy one. Okay, you win, but I'll stop by and see you before we go back to the Island."
"Thanks, Scott…for everything." John said. Addressing his father, he continued. "You should go to the hotel too, Dad. It's been a long day, and I'm sure you're beat, both physically and emotionally. You'll get a better rest at the hotel then if you stay here. Besides, if I'm asleep, I won't even know you're here."
Jeff just shook his head. "You know. I could've sworn that I was the father here. So listen up. Scott and Brains, you are to go to a hotel. John, you are to rest. No more discussion. No more arguments. That is an order." Stopping and taking a deep breath, he continued. "Now, any more questions?"
"Ahh, no, I can't think of anything." John said. "How about you, Scott?"
As a reflex action, Scott shook his head. "Nope, I think that all that was pretty clear. I'll see you in the morning. Have a good night's sleep, John." To his dad, he said. "Call me if anything changes."
Jeff walked with Scott and Brains to the door. "I will. Goodnight, Scott, you too Brains."
Brains and Scott left and Jeff turned down the overhead lights of the room before he returned to the chair next to John's bed.
John heard his dad sit down. "I still think that you should've gone with them." He said.
"I thought we covered this." Jeff replied. "Now be quiet and get some sleep."
"Yes, sir." John said lightly. "Good-night Dad."
"Good-night John." Jeff responded. "I love you."
"I love you too." John said while yawning.
Jeff settled back in the chair and propped his feet up on the edge of John's bed. He heard John's breathing settle into the rhythmic pattern of sleep. He closed his eyes and tried to push the events of the day out of his mind. He felt his body slowly relax and soon he was asleep.
Author's Note: Okay, so everyone knows how John's surgery went...happy now? We hope so. You can all take a big sigh of relief since we didn't permanently blind him (at least at this point).
Again, we want to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter, especially our anonymous ones. Keep up the good work. Next chapter, next weekend. Hope to see you then.