Reuniting Friends & Lovers
Chapter 6
Kim's hospital room:
It took some time for Kim to assess her surroundings. It felt like she had been on a surreal journey of "This is Your Life" with various narrators telling stories of the past. Only being unconscious, the memories floated in and out of her dreams, intermingling and creating a fairytale of sorts. Shane was talking to her as Kim opened her eyes.
"I'm going to get a doctor Kimberly." He was saying as Shane started calling for a nurse. Within a few seconds the room was alive with activity and Shane was escorted out so they could evaluate Kim's condition. Bo had just come down the hall and started sprinting towards the room when he saw the commotion. Shane stopped him from entering and told him the good news. Bo pulled out his phone and made phone calls to the rest of the family as Shane stood impatiently by the door peering into the room occasionally to see what was going on. The doctors expressions told Shane that things were going well and within a few minutes the door opened and nurses were coming out to fetch some things. During this time, Caroline, Steve and Kayla arrived at the hospital. Hope had stayed at home with Ciara. After some time had passed, Mike came up to the family and spoke with them.
"We have some good news!" He began. "Kim's fever has broken and seems to be holding at normal range. We are weaning her slowly off the ventilator and will see how she does. I suggest all of you go home and come back in the morning." Mike flashed a look over at Shane who started to protest. Mike interrupted.
"Look, you're distracting my nurses with your Bond-like charms and I have understood since we felt Kim could benefit from the interaction. But I'm drawing the line here. Kim will be exhausted from the change. She is not going to be completely off oxygen as her levels are not where we want them, but they are above 90 and that is a good thing. We need to do some more x rays as well. So go home!"
Caroline thanked Mike for keeping them informed and they all exited the hospital for the night. Most of the family arrived back the next morning and were ready to see Kim. Kayla met her brothers, and mother in the hall.
"Kimberly is not awake and yet she already has a visitor." She said pointing down the hall at Shane who was sitting in a chair by the door. He was holding one single red rose.
"I have some patients to see and I'll be back later to visit. " Kayla added as she gave her mom a hug and waved "bye' to the others.
Shane was oblivious to the family coming down the hall to visit their sister and daughter. He was watching for signs of Kimberly waking up from her slumber. She looked much more comfortable than the night before since they took her off the ventilator. Kim was holding her own with the little oxygen she was receiving through her nose, and Kayla had told Shane that her doctor thought if Kim kept up with her progress, it may be taken off within the next 24-36 hours. When Kim's eyes started to fluttered, Shane made his move. He quietly opened the door as Kim moved her head back and forth, signaling that Kim was emerging from her sleep. Kim opened her eyes to see Shane kneeling beside her bed with a rose in his hand; her favorite. He smiled at her and said,
"Good morning, Kimberly." Handing her the rose, he kissed Kim's forehead. Kim's eyes turned from a sweet joy of remembering the rose's significance to horror as she exclaimed in a frightened but weak voice:
"Shane, there's something wrong!"
Kim's eyes were wide and starting to fill with tears as she grabbed his arm with her left hand. Shane made a quick glimpse over Kim's body and around the bed. Her eyes were alert and all her vitals looked normal as he surveyed the machines. Seeing his puzzled look, Kim directed him with her eyes to the right side of her body. Her lips were trembling as she said in a whisper:
"I can't move my right side." Right as the words came out of Kim's mouth, Shane noticed the problem. Kim had been moving her head, and it had been her left hand that reached out to take the rose instead of her right hand. Even as Kim faced him, her whole right side remained flat on the bed, so Shane had to move to the left so she would not strain her neck to meet his gaze. Shane's heart sank as he knew distinctly what the problem was; but he kept his demeanor calm and reassured Kim that everything was fine.
"Kim just calm down; I am going to get Mike and we will see what is going on." He said leaning in close to her face with both of his hands cupping her hand, so that she could look deep into his eyes. More than anything, Shane wanted Kim to know that she was not alone. He was here for her. Kim slowly nodded her head, not saying a word; just hearing Shane's words and leaning on his strength because the thoughts running through Kim's own mind, terrified her. Shane gave her a reassuring smile and walked out the door into a sea of smiling faces as Kim stared blankly into space. Everyone started to talk at once as Shane raised his arm to shush them. Looking at Kayla, Shane casually asked,
"Where's Mike?"
Shane did not want to upset the Bradys and he knew Kim would not want to see them until she knew something so he told the family that Kim was requesting breakfast and seemed to still be sleepy. Shane suggested that they go get some breakfast and when they returned, Kim would be alert and ready for visitors. Bo gave Shane a curious look but Shane nodded his head, so he guided his mother and wife to the elevator to the cafeteria below. Kayla was going to page Mike and knew there was more to Shane's request. She turned and looked at Shane.
"What is it, Shane? What is going on?"
Shane knew he could be honest with her. "Kay, it is her right side. She can't move it. I think we have some paralysis." Kayla's eyes darted from Shane to the door of Kim's room and she sprinted over to the room. Taking a breath, Kayla opened the door, to see Kim still clutching the red rose Shane gave her in her left hand. It rested on her chest as her head was turned to the right facing out the window.
"Kimmie?" Kayla said in a low but sweet voice. Kimberly turned her head, revealing the tears streaming down her face. One look at Kayla and seeing Shane still standing in the doorway, told Kim that Kayla knew. Kayla walked over to Kim and reached out for her hand.
"Hey, don't cry. This is probably just temporary. I have been reading about people who have dealt with complications to West Nile. In rare cases, some experience some neurological issues. Mike is on his way and he will probably get a neurologist to look at you. We will figure this out, Kimmie. I promise." Kayla said, reassuringly. At that moment Mike walked in and was told what was going on. Mike went over to Kim and asked her some questions and started performing reflex tests and the pin tests to see what was going on. Mike asked Kayla to page a Dr. Burke for him as Shane stayed with Kim. He held Kim's left hand up to his lips and kissed it tenderly as Mike talked to her. Kimberly sat in the bed as she watched the doctors talk and confer with her sister. Kim did not need to wait for them to address her; Kim already knew. Kim felt the pin pricks on her left side and jerked when they did it. She felt the pin pricks on her right side but the urge to jerk away from the pain was not there. It reminded Kim of the numbness one experiences when having dental work done. Only it wasn't a small portion of her body but the whole right side! Kim could not lift her arm, much less her hand to write with. She had spent the time when Shane left to get Mike, trying in vain to "lift" her right leg from under the sheet. "Left leg, good; Right leg, nothing." She thought. Kim was smart enough to assess the situation. Obviously her nerves were not dead or she would not feel anything but why could she not use her right limbs? Kim watched as this Dr. Burke person held up her recent x-rays and spoke with Mike. Finally, both doctors turned and addressed her. Mike was the first to speak; his voice hopeful, but concerned.
"Kimberly, the good news is that you have feeling in your right side. People who suffer from West Nile can experience some neurological issues after the initial fever. Have you felt any twitching?" Mike asked. Kimberly shook her head, 'no', so Mike continued.
"Most people do recover 100 and we have no reason to suspect that you will not be one of those. But as of now, we have to play wait and see. We want to run some tests, of course. As soon as your lungs improve a little more from the effects of pneumonia, we will schedule some physical therapy before releasing you."
Shane interrupted Mike and asked, "When do you foresee Kimberly going home?"
Mike caste a look to Kim and then back to Shane and replied,
"Well if she has the proper care waiting at home, then I could see in the next 3-5 days."
Shane did not hesitate: "Oh, she will have the best care. Kimberly is coming home to me." Both Kim and Kayla shot him a look, but Kayla was the one beaming about the prospect. Mike nodded, "Very well then. I need to see other patients. I'll be back by later." He said, pointing to Kimberly and winking. Kim said nothing and wanted to change the subject for now. If she even tried to say anything remotely dealing with her condition, she might burst into tears and she did not want to do that now! As Mike was leaving, the rest of the family was returning from the cafeteria; curious to know what was going on. Kayla started for the door to tell her family the news and to leave Shane and Kimberly alone, when Kim said, in a small voice: "Kay, would you stay here with me for a minute?"
Shane and Kayla exchanged glances and Shane motioned that he would go outside to tell the others while the two sisters stayed and talked. Once he was out of the room, Kayla sat down in the chair and helped Kim position herself in the bed so they could talk. Kayla had no idea what was on her sister's mind so she just started talking.
"You know, Shane has worn a hole into the floor just outside your door these past couple of days. Kim he really lo…" Kayla's voice trialed off as she met Kim's gaze and could see that Kim didn't want to talk about Shane. This was nothing new but Kayla could see the sadness in Kim's eyes and it tugged at her heart.
"Kimmie, you are going to be able to use your right side again, I just know it." Kayla squeezed Kim's hand as Kimberly smiled a little at her "Polly-Anna" tone but shook her head. Kim did not want to talk about what the doctors had said.
"Kay, I don't want to talk about me." Kim paused and Kayla saw that her sister was truly smiling out of joy and had no desire to talk about her current situation.. Kimberly looked at Kayla, chuckled and coughed and asked,
"Kayla Brady Johnson, are you pregnant?"
The question took Kayla aback and she smiled, realizing how Kimberly knew. Kayla had told her sister when Kim was unconscious with the high fever. Actually, it was a plea from Kayla that she needed her big sister's help since she was much older this time around. The news was received in a dream of Kimberly's with Kayla as the narrator.
"Does the family know?" Kim asked and as Kayla shook her head, 'no', Kim asked, "Why not?"
"Well, we just found out and Steve and I felt that since you were in the hospital…"
Kimberly interrupted her sister,
"Kay, this is exactly why you need to tell everyone. We, Bradys, need some good news and I think a baby meets the criteria." Kim took a much needed breath, coughed again from the effects of the pneumonia and added, "Anything to get the attention off me." She said, rolling her eyes.
Kimberly looked at her sister who was already exhibiting that pregnant glow. They sat in silence as Kayla stroked her sister's hair. So much between the two was left unsaid but they knew each other well enough to know the other's feelings. They had weathered so much since those dark days shortly after Steve's death. For Kayla it was a blur, a time when she had lost her way. Kayla never realized how much anger she felt over Steve's death until she had moved to LA 18 months later. Kayla came broken and ashamed at how she had lashed out at Kimberly in that first year. Kimberly never said, "I told you so" and it was clear to Kayla that Kim had never shared what had happened that previous year with anyone in her circle. Kayla arrived to the west coast with a group of friends waiting for her simply because she was Kim's sister. When Kayla asked Kim about it, Kim would shrug her shoulders and say, "It's none of their business, unless you want it to be. You would do the same for me." Kim never wanted Kayla to be judged, no matter how bad it was, in the same way Kim had been judged. And Kim was right; had the tables been turned, Kayla would have never let Kim's failings follow her to a new place. It was one thing to fight among each other, but Shawn SR had taught his children to keep differences with each other in the family. Kim felt that healing her relationship with Kayla had to be the first priority. Because, as their mother always told them: "You're parents will pass away, friends will move away, husbands may leave you, your children will grow up and start their own families; but your sister is the only one who is with you from cradle to grave."
Kayla understood this and took the same route. Healing was Kayla's first goal. The two sisters leaned on each other to raise the three kids and make a life in LA. Phillip had been a minor interference and Kayla resented his presence because she knew what Kim was doing: looking for something safe. Kayla had taken a different course of action and focused on her career. When Kimberly broke things off with Phillip, Kayla had tried broaching the subject of Shane, but Kimberly rebuffed her. Kayla could not understand why healing for the two of them could not include healing for Shane and Kimberly. When Steve was discovered alive, it renewed Kayla's desire to see things "fixed" with Kimberly as well.
Kimberly seemed to be drifting to sleep, so Kayla got up and headed to the door. As she opened it, Kimberly called to her.
"Kay, I'm so happy for you and Steven." She said weakly. Kayla smiled, knowing the full meaning in those few words. Kayla had longed lamented how she had wanted more children to Kim. Kimberly had chastised her sister for not pursuing anything with several very interested men that had crossed Kayla's path over the years when they believed Steve to be dead. Kim had felt that while Kayla was still carrying a torch for Steve, she was also punishing herself for getting involved with Shane. The problem was, calling Kayla on it, pushed the issue and meant Kayla would call Kim on the carpet for carrying a similar torch for Shane, yet not doing anything about it. So the two sisters, guilty of a similar crime, lived their lives together in LA until Kayla came back to Salem for a wedding. That pulled Kayla out of her decade of mourning and Kayla was determined to do the same for Kim. The paralysis was just a minor stumbling block. Kayla looked at her sister full of love and replied:
"Thank you, Kimmie. I knew you would be." Pausing, Kayla added quickly, "Now it's your turn, sister dear. You need to let yourself be loved by the only man who truly knows how to do that for you…hmm and it looks like Shane is right outside the door." Before Kim could scold her, Kayla waltzed out the door.
Kimberly drifted to sleep soon after Kayla walked out of the door. Kayla told the family that Kimberly was asleep again and so they retreated to their jobs and other responsibilities, promising to return later. Mike had told them to expect Kim to sleep frequently in the coming days and weeks as she recovered. Shane left to check out a lead on the case. A few short hours later, Kimberly awoke alone in her room for the first time since her hospitalization. She scanned her room and saw the dinner tray had already been delivered while she slept. For a moment, Kim thought that the "paralysis talk" had been just that; talk. Then Kim tried to turn her head to the far right to look at the monitors to view her vitals. It was as though she had a stiff neck, only being able to turn her head enough to get a glimpse out of the window that was on her right side. Kim's eyes started to fill with tears as she stared down at the pale blue sheet that covered her body. "Underneath that sheet lay half a person," she thought. As if she had been cut straight down the middle, but she might as well have been fully paralyzed since she could not even adjust herself in the bed with the use of only her left side. Kim desperately wanted to move to a different position in the bed but given the stubborn person Kim was; she continued the charade a little longer in the hopes of doing it herself. She was not paging a nurse for help! Kim half expected someone to walk through the door and assist her but no one came. Instead, Kim was alone and forced to deal with the diagnosis she had been given. After ten long minutes, of trying to maneuver around in the bed with a limp right side, Kim gave up exhausted. She turned her head to the left and towards the door and could see the nurses and various hospital staff passes by, through the tiny glass opening. Kim glanced at the table next to her bed on her left side and noticed her hairbrush sitting on it. She reached out for it; her fingers just inches from the pearl colored handle. "A little more," She thought. With one breathe in and pushed out, Kim managed to pull herself one inch to the left in the bed to grab the brush and pull it to her chest. Using her left hand she raised it up towards her head to brush her hair but stopped short! The urge to use her right hand to hold her hair and keep it from being pulled out by the brush was strong but met with no response as her right arm lay still on the bed beside her.
"I can't even brush my hair!" Kim screamed from the inside. With her left hand still clenching the brush, Kim stared at the tray of food sitting at the foot of the bed. She was hungry but knew there was no way in hell she would be able to get to it without the aid of a nurse. For a brief moment, Kimberly hated her family for leaving her alone to make this discovery. Why couldn't she have one more day of denial, before realizing the full extent of what paralysis meant…one more day to imagine that it was only this way due to her weakened state and not a more long-term issue? With one big breathe, Kimberly let out a primitive wail and threw the brush across the room. It bounced off the corner of the wall next to the window and hit the trash can below; causing it to tip over exposing its contents on the inside. Kimberly sank back in bed and cried herself back to sleep.
Shane had arrived shortly after dinner to check on Kimberly before going home for the day at the doctor's request. The nurse had told him she was sleeping so Shane thought he would quietly leave the flowers in her room. When he entered the room, Shane had found the mess on the floor and one look at Kimberly's sleeping face told Shane what had happened. Even with her eyes closed Shane could tell that she had been crying. He quietly picked up the brush and cleaned it off in the bathroom, placed the trashcan back in the corner and had a nurse take away the cold hospital food. Mike stopped by during this process to assess Kim's readings. In her sleep, Kim was running a low-grade temperature and after speaking to Shane, Mike concluded it was more related to her emotional state than a relapse. Shane requested that he stay for the night to be with her if and when she woke up and Mike agreed since Bradys were already home. Shane took the book he had been reading and sat in the window sill to read while she slept. Shane knew full well what had happened in that room, fore he had experienced the same thing over ten years before.
Kimberly opened her eyes and felt her stomach grumble due to a lack of food. Her face felt sticky from the dried tears that she had shed a few hours earlier. Kim surveyed her surroundings once more. At the foot of the bed, the food tray was gone. On the dresser where a TV sat, was a bouquet of fresh flowers that had not been there before. She moved her head slowly to the right because of the ray of lamp light that was penetrating the room's darkness from the direction of the window. Immediately, Kim's eyes fell onto the spot where her hairbrush had landed; only now it was missing and the trashcan had been placed back to its original spot. The area cleaned up. Kim let out a dry cough that caused whoever was at the window to move and the corresponding shadows to bounce around the room. Kim pressed the button on her left to raise herself up into a sitting position as it became clear to her who was in the room.
"Here, let me help you." Shane said in a whisper as he sat on her right side on top of the bed. Kim could not protest. She was so very tired and Kim desperately wanted to be in any other position than flat on her back. Shane was almost all the way in the hospital bed and had wrapped his left arm around her waist to pull her to him and give support for the motionless right side. He had brought a small pillow from his seat at the window to add for support and let Kim put her head in his chest. Kim did not think she had more tears left to shed; yet when Shane pulled her to him, Kimberly started sobbing in great big gulps. Shane used his right hand to stroke her hair and kiss the top of her head, while she cried. At some point, Shane thought Kim went back to sleep until he heard Kim say in a low weak voice, "I'm hungry."
"Well, my lady; you are in luck." Shane said in good humor. "But first we need to get you ready." Kim was able to look up into his eyes and also see that Shane had her brush in his hand. Shane sat Kim into an upright position, adjusting her IV and oxygen tube around, and began brushing her tangled hair. Then he brought her a hand held mirror and a warm wet cloth to wipe her face.
"I'll be back in a moment." Shane left Kim's room, letting her have some privacy. In a few minutes Shane returned with a bowl of French onion soup, a baguette and fresh water. Kimberly looked at the spread and smiled.
"I don't think you picked this up at the hospital cafeteria?" She said coughing. Shane smiled guiltily, sat the food on the tray and sat down on the bed. They sat quietly as Kim was determined to feed herself with her left hand. A task that was more difficult than she thought since she was right handed. After several attempts with the spoon, Kim settled on using the bread to soak it up and eat. Shane offered to help with the napkin but Kim refused the help.
"I'm not two!" She said defiantly. Shane dropped his head and smiled. Kim had always been stubborn and he found it attractive in a strange sort of way. When she was finished, Shane cleaned up the mess and when he turned around to speak to her, Shane could see that the meal had taken every ounce of energy she had. Instead, Shane walked to the bed and started to recline it so she could sleep. Kimberly grabbed his hand suddenly and said,
"No; I can't do it. I can't get comfortable." Shane looked into her pleading eyes and answered, "Well how do you want to sleep?" Kim thought for a minute.
"I want to sleep on my right side. I'm tired of facing the door." So Shane helped maneuver the pillows, IV, etc. so that Kim would be comfortable. After arranging everything just perfectly, Shane got ready to leave when Kimberly murmured,
"Thank you, Shane." He turned around, looked at her outline in the bed and made a snap decision. Without a word, Shane walked over to the bed, slid off his shoes and laid down beside Kim, putting his left around her. When his hand reached her face, Shane could feel a tear fall from her cheek and hit the sleeve of his shirt. Adjusting Kim's oxygen tube slightly around her ear, Shane reached down and kissed it. Shane quietly whispered into Kim's ear, "You'll take this one day at a time…and I will be with you the whole way."
Once Shane could feel Kim's breathing settle into a rhythm, he went to sleep as well.
