CHAPTER 10- STEPPING DOWN
When Dr. Pitt arrived at Bethesda the next morning he immediately went up to ICU to review the latest round of test on his most challenging patient Anthony Dinozzo Jr. He smiled at the results before him. The latest films showed a marked decrease in fluid buildup compared to the previous day. His temperature had dropped to a much more respectable 99 and his blood gas numbers where less concerning. He had maintained a reasonable oxygen status on the full mask throughout the evening also. A chuckle suddenly erupted from Dr. Pitt startling the nurse behind the desk. He had just read one of the night nurse reports on Tony.
The patient and family seemed content and are not a problem for the nursing staff. His father stayed the night with him. Patient seems to enjoy reading and movies. No complaints from family or patient. Overall it was a quiet evening.
Dr. Pitt wasn't sure what was more funny the fact that Gibbs was now a dad or that the nurses believed Tony to be well behaved and quiet. He had a feeling that once Tony moved down to the step down unit the nurse reports would get more colorful especially once Tony felt up to talking more. He seemed to recall one particular note when Tony was preparing to leave from his plague stay. It read something like…
Patient is a bit of a handful. Nothing physically alarming or inappropriate but he does have a tendency to wander off in an attempt to leave the building. Thankfully one of his co-workers is rather good at relocating him. The patient's sense of humor shows he is feeling better though he could use some better lines.
If Brad recalled correctly that note had been written by the Senior Nurse on staff out of exasperation at Tony's attempts to leave before he was ready. She had a husband in the military and knew that the threat of a bad report in one's file could cause a wonderful turn around in a soldier's behavior so she decided to see if it would work on Tony. She placed the "bad report" in his medical file and showed it to Gibbs. It had done wonders as Gibbs had laid down the law of the land and Tony had halted his attempts at early release. Brad hoped Tony soon would be feeling good enough to cause such disturbances once more. They were actually quite funny looking back though he recalled they had been less so at the time. Well it was time to give Tony the good news- he wasn't ready to leave yet but he could certainly step down out of ICU.
Walking into the room he noticed Gibbs was sipping his trademark coffee and reading the Newspaper softly to Tony. Both men immediately gave their full attention to him as soon as he entered.
"Well guys I have some good news. I am pleased with your latest round of tests and so within the hour I will be moving you down to the progressive care unit. I also will be switching you to a nasal cannula so you can start talking more though I will still have you on full mask when you are sleeping or anytime your oxygen stats drop below 90. I will be lifting the isolation protocols so the rest of your band of merry men will be free to visit meaning I'll warn the new nurses to expect an invasion."
Tony gave a bark of laughter at that followed by a brief coughing fit -enough to steal his breath momentarily but not nearly as long or frightening as previous bouts. Tony lifted the mask.
"That's great how long till I can kick this joint completely."
"Don't get ahead of yourself Tony, you're still really sick but we are getting there one day at a time."
"Fine" Tony pouted. A light slap of his head reminded him to watch his tone.
"Thanks Brad for all you do." Tony said this time in a more respectful tone of voice.
"You're always welcome Tony. I know you want out and we'll keep giving you the best of care to make that happen as soon as possible okay?"
"Okay."
"Any questions?"
Receiving negative responses from both men Brad continued "Good, then I'll start the paperwork for the unit transfer. Have a good morning boys. "
Right as he prepared to leave the room he turned with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "By the way Gibbs you are the talk of all the nursing staff. They all wished their dad still read to them."
Before he could get paralyzed by one of Gibbs death glares Brad high-tailed it out of the room with a huge grin on his face as Tony's laughter followed him down the hall."
Things were definitely looking up.