An Act of Friendship

Chapter 9

As Roy crossed the threshold, all the air in his lungs was violently expelled. He had, unfortunately, seen Johnny in critical condition more times than he wanted to think about, but even that was nothing compared to how he looked now. As his eyes swept over the room, he wasn't sure if there was a piece of medical equipment left that wasn't attached to his partner. There were so many tubes and lines attached to him, he looked like a mad scientist's project. For the first time in his life, Roy felt afraid to approach his partner. 'No wonder the guys looked the way they did,' flitted through his mind as he tried to calm down, his heart felt like it was going to pound out of his chest.

Dixie, who was standing in the far corner, saw the emotions sweep across Roy's face. Feeling for her friend she walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder as she kindly said, "its okay, Roy, take your time. Why don't you come over here and sit down?" She led him over to the chair and gently pushed him down. "I'll just be outside the door," she whispered as she gave a squeeze and moved away.

Roy gave a grateful nod as he sank onto the chair. His eyes focused on his partner. To say Johnny was pale was an understatement; he was so white he made the sheets look dirty. He peered closely at Johnny's face and noted the bruise on his temple that trailed into his hair. An NG tube was taped in place and his cheeks looked sunken as his mouth was forced into an uncomfortable position by the blue plastic hose of the ventilator that looked grotesque jutting from his mouth. Both he and Johnny had experienced a ventilator enough times to know that it felt even worse than it looked, and it was even worse when they took it out. As his gaze traveled down, he flinched as he saw that Johnny had a central line embedded in his jugular. He knew it was practical and would make it easier on the nursing staff, but it was still hard to see. His gaze traveled to the IV stand where there were a number of bags hanging. He was surprised to see that Johnny was still being given blood.

Kel stepped up beside Dixie and questioned, "Mind if I join you?"

Roy turned and replied, "Not at all, Doc. I was just about to ask Dix why Johnny's being given blood?"

Kel put his hands in his pocket as he explained. "Obviously because of the surgery there was blood loss, which we need to replace, but on top of that, nearly drowning would affect his oxygen levels and there are some other potential complications…"

Roy interjected, "What kind of complications?"

"When freshwater enters the lungs it gets pulled into the pulmonary circulation by osmosis. This causes the blood to dilute, which causes hemolysis or the bursting of red blood cells. When this happens, potassium levels can become elevated and sodium levels decrease which can cause ventricular fibrillation…"

Roy stood up in alarm as blood drained from his face. His eyes flew to the heart monitor.

Kel walked over and put a hand on Roy's arm and guided him back into the chair. "Don't worry, Roy, we're watching him. As I stated before, we will be closely monitoring his heart and his kidneys…"

At the mention of the word kidneys, Roy instantly looked at the foot of the bed, checking the collection bag.

"Earlier, he started showing signs of arrhythmia, but we've given him Lidocaine and it seems to have settled down," Kel assured.

Roy relaxed slightly as he thought, 'Boy Junior, you never do things the easy way, do you.' He rubbed the back of his neck trying to ease some of the tension as he thought about everything Kel had said. His brow furrowed as he asked, "Why his kidneys?"

"When red blood cells burst, they release hemoglobin, which can accumulate in the kidneys and potentially cause acute renal failure. I honestly don't foresee this happening, but at this point, I'd rather err on the side of caution," Kel replied kindly. "But back to your original question, I'm hoping that by giving extra blood products, we can stabilize his levels more easily and lessen the stress on his body."

Roy nodded his understanding but then turned his attention back to his friend. Johnny had a hospital gown on but his arms were not in the sleeves, it was folded over the sheet that was pulled three quarters of the way up his chest. There was a bubbling sound coming from the chest tube as mucous and other fluids drained to the Pleurevac. Chest leads snaked out from under the sheets and led to the heart monitor. Roy briefly looked at the heart monitor, assuring himself that his friend's heart was beating properly, before continuing his perusal. A small section of a bandage could be seen on the right side of his chest where Brackett had performed surgery. Johnny's right arm was resting on a pillow, supporting the new, white cast on his lower arm and his upper arm had a BP cuff wrapped around it. Sighing, he stood and stretched as his eyes roamed over the traction device that held his friend's leg at an angle. It didn't look very comfortable, but then again nothing in this room looked very comfortable, including his partner. He walked around to the other side of the bed and rested a hand on Johnny's arm, it was icy cold. He looked over at Brackett, "Doc, he feels kinda cold."

Kel pulled Johnny's chart. As he scanned it he said, "Dix, let's get another reading."

Dixie grabbed a thermometer from a nearby tray and put it under Johnny's arm. Gently, she applied pressure to the arm to keep it in place. She winked at Roy as she said, "How do you like this, Roy? This hose jockey thinks he can give me more gray hairs," she said playfully as she ruffled Johnny's hair. "If he keeps this up, I'm going to have to buy Miss Clairol—the whole company."

Roy snorted, then replied, "Well what about me? I'm not gonna have any hair left to be gray," he ran his hand through his hair to demonstrate. He knew that Dixie was trying to ease some of the tension in the room, and he appreciated it.

Kel looked from Dixie to Roy and shook his head. The resiliency of his friends never ceased to amaze him.

Dixie pulled the thermometer out, "It's 97.2, Kel." She shook it down and put it back on the tray then busied herself with taking vitals.

"All things considered, that's pretty good," Kel said as Roy nodded his agreement. Kel knew his next words would not go over well. He squared his shoulders then said, "I hate to do this Roy, but it's time for you to go. Don't worry, Dixie or I will be with him all night." He put a hand on Roy's shoulder, "I know you're not going to want to hear this, but I think you should stop and check on Joanne then go home for the night."

Roy adamantly shook his head. "No way Doc, I won't leave. If you won't let me stay here, I'll go down with Joanne."

"Listen to me Roy. The next few days are going to be really rough. Why don't you go home and get a good night's sleep and then come back in the morning. You won't do Joanne or Johnny any favors by wearing yourself out," Kel said as he gently shook Roy's shoulder.

"I appreciate your concern Doc, really I do, but I need to be here," he said pleadingly.

Kel shook his head as he held both hands up, palms out. "Alright…alright, you can stay with Joanne. You might as well crash on the other bed. We'll wake you if we need it."

Roy smiled. Truthfully, the stress of the day was quickly catching up to him and he felt exhausted. He had planned to sleep in the chair near Joanne's bed, but an actual bed sounded really nice, "Thanks Doc. I think I'll do that. Oh...hey Doc, if Brice comes in on a run, can you make sure he gets to see Johnny. He was feeling really guilty earlier, and I thought it might help if he could see him."

Kel looked puzzled as he asked, "Brice? Guilty? Why?"

"You're not gonna believe this one, but he feels responsible for Johnny being injured during the rescue. I talked to him about it, and I think I convinced him that what he did was necessary," said Roy as he shook his head. "Only Johnny could bring out the sensitive side of Brice," Roy snorted.

Dixie and Kel laughed, Roy was right. Johnny had a way of making people care about him. It was one of the many reasons he was so special.

"I'll make sure he gets to see him," Kel assured.

"Thanks, Doc," Roy replied then bent down next to Johnny's ear and said softly, "I'm gonna go now Junior. You behave while I'm gone. Don't give Doc or Dix any problems…hear me?" He patted Johnny's arm then straightened up. "You know where to find me if you need me," he told Brackett and Dixie.

As Roy headed out the door, Kel called, "Roy."

Roy turned and looked at him.

"Try to get some rest okay?"

Roy gave a brief nod and left. As he walked past the waiting room, he was surprised to find Cap and the guys still there. He stopped and leaned against the doorframe. "I thought you guys would've already headed back to the barn," he stated then was overcome by a huge yawn.

Hank stood, smiling, "I just wanted to make sure John was okay before we left," he stated simply. Roy didn't need to know that the other reason they hadn't left was that he wanted to make sure Roy was okay as well.

"He's fine, Cap…well…you know what I mean. Doc said he and Dixie will be with Johnny all night and they'll call if anything happens. I'm gonna go crash in the extra bed in Joanne's room."

Hank was relieved when he heard this. He knew it wouldn't be the best sleep for Roy, but at least it was better than those darn plastic chairs. "Alright fellas, let's head out," he said to his men. They all stood and then headed for the elevators.

Roy assessed all of them. While they looked worn and still upset, they looked better than they had. As he got off on Joanne's floor, Cap reminded him of the meeting in the morning and then told him to call if he needed anything. The guys sent well wishes to Joanne and then bid goodnight. Roy stopped at the nurses' station and told her of Brackett's order, which she already knew about as Brackett had already called down. He asked her how Joanne was while he was gone. The nurse told him Joanne had slept most of the time and seemed comfortable. He then asked for a spare toothbrush and toothpaste and headed for her room. He snuck in quietly and brushed his teeth before kissing Joanne goodnight and climbing into the bed. When his body hit the bed, he sighed contentedly and quickly fell asleep.