Chapter 10

Sid walked in the room silently, and saw Tobey sleeping on the edge of Sue's bed. He saw how peaceful the two looked, and decided to not wake up Tobey. He needed his sleep, after being up most of the night taking care of Sue. Quietly, he walked back out, and went to talk to Nana and the doctor.

"When can Sue come home? Do you have a guess on that?" Nana asked Joe as they waited for him in the waiting room. Sid stood next to Joe.

Joe sighed. "Honestly, I do not know. She is still very weak. Maybe a couple of days, if her strength comes back. Sue will also have to take vitamins every day, so her immune system can strengthen and be able to fight off illnesses. It may take a while until her immune system is back to normal . . ."

Sid spoke up. "That's fine, I'll make sure Mei Mei doesn't leave the house until she takes her vitamins! How much will she have to take?"

"I would say one pill in the morning when she wakes up, and one pill before she goes to sleep. But I am not entirely sure yet. I do not know what we will prescribe for her yet. I will need to check her medical records and condition. You will get the prescription for her before she leaves."

"But she will be fine, right?" Sid asked nervously, cracking his knuckles in a nervous manner.

Joe smiled at him and said, "she should be. But, Sue will need to be in a stress free environment, and no more kung fu for a while until she has full strength again. When she does start training again, you will likely need to start her up with small and easy exercises, okay Mei Hua?"

Nana nodded. "yes, I was going to do that anyway. I will make sure the only thing she is doing is resting, and maybe some deliveries in a week or two. Sid, you promise you and Tobey will take Sue's deliveries until she is feeling better?"

"Yes Nana, you didn't even have to ask me. I was going to do that anyway, and I bet Tobey will too." he smiled at her.

She smiled back at him, then asked, "where is Tobey?"

"He's sleeping in Sue's room. I didn't want to wake him up, he probably had a rough night taking care of Sue, right Nana?"

"Yes Sid, let's leave the two be."

~Three Delivery~

Tobey moaned, and opened his eyes. He looked around the bright room, and the smell of medicine hit his nose. His nose wrinkled as he remembered where he was. Smiling, he looked down at Sue, who was still asleep, but her eyes were twitching, and he thought she would wake up soon.

"No rush Sue. Sleep as long as you need to." Tobey smiled and gently touched her cheek. Sue's brow furrowed, and she opened her eyes and looked at him. At first unsure of where she was, she stared at him, as if she thought just looking at him would give her an answer.

"Sue! Your awake!" Tobey cried, and with his other hand, squeezed Sue's hand lightly.

Sue smiled weakly and said, "Tobey. Is that really you?" her voice was so soft and whispered, Tobey had to lean in closer to hear her. "Wh-where am I?"

"Sue, your at the hospital. How are you feeling?" he asked quietly, trying not to stress her in anyway.

"Weak, and really sleepy." she smiled and closed her eyes, trying to concentrate on her breathing, and Tobey even noticed that it was uneven and very shallow. She winced as she tried to breathe deeply.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, it just feels like my lungs are still asleep . . ." she answered with her eyes still closed. She winced again when she breathed in a deep breath.

Tobey started to worry something was wrong with her lungs, and he asked a little louder than what volume he was talking at, "you want me to get a doctor? It looks like it hurts when you breathe."

Sue shook her head. "No, it must be the medicine . . . I'm fine, really Tobey . . ." she smiled at him, but winced again.

"Sue, stop it! I'm tired of hearing you say 'I'm fine'! Something might be very wrong with you Sue!" he snapped, and realized he probably just rose her stress level. He stood up, and bolted to the waiting room. Sue was about to protest about him telling, but a sudden sharp, intense pain in her chest made her cry out loudly. Tobey heard her, and ran even faster.

"Joe! Joe! Help!" Tobey cried, and pushed Sid out of the way. "Something is wrong with Sue! It looks like she is having trouble breathing! It hurts her when she breathes!"

"That does sound serious . . ." Joe said, then followed Tobey as he went back to Sue's room, Nana and Sid hot on his heels. When they got there, Sue stared at them like 'what's wrong with everyone?'

Joe took his stethoscope and gently put it on Sue's chest. She cried out from pain. "Ow! That hurts! Please, not so hard! It hurts, please, your pushing too hard!" she cried out and begged.

Joe stared at her, shocked at her. "What? I'm barely touching you . . . oh my god . . ." he gently moved her patient gown away from her chest, and noticed a very large, very bad bruise. "Are you having trouble breathing? Does it feel like you can't get enough air into your lungs?"

"Yeah, it feels just like that. It hurts so much, doc. Please, give me pain medication! It hurts so bad! Please!" she cried, and gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut, obviously experiencing much pain.

Joe sighed, then said, "Sue, I am taking you to get an X-ray done of your chest. Some of your ribs are likely broken. While we wait for the results, I am going to check your breathing. It is possible that if you fractured your ribs, a sharp piece of the bone could have ruptured a lung, causing it to collapse, and it will need to be 're-inflated' with 100% Oxygen, and will need a catheter placed in the chest to make sure no other air can get out. If air is still getting out, you will need surgery to close the hole. Do you understand?"

Sue nodded, then said, "Please, just make the pain stop!" Joe took a needle, filled it with some sort of medication, and injected it in the base of her IV, by the crack of her elbow. Soon Sue's expression softened, and she didn't look to be in much pain now.

"Better?"

"Yes, thank you." she smiled, just as Joe wheeled her bed out of the room to get her X-ray and tests done.

~Three Delivery~

About an hour later, Sue was back in her room, very sleepy and ready to go to sleep when everyone would leave. Joe came in with Sue's folder, and hung it up in the lighted frame on the wall. He then started to explain,

"Sue has three broken ribs, and a very small fragment cut her lung, causing some of the air to escape out of her lung. Luckily, the cut is small, and should heal fine. We vacuumed out the extra air that escaped into her chest, and we gave her oxygen, which spontaneously re-expanded the collapsed lung segment. A collapsed lung causes pain when inhaling, and broken ribs cause bad pain when breathing. Both together cause great pain, right Sue?"

Sue nodded and chuckled. "Yep."

"One question, how could this trauma happen to her? Tobey, you said Sue was out of it most of the time when you were taking care of her, correct?"

Joe knew all about the cookbook, and Kong Li. He promised never to tell anyone, so the four trusted him very well.

"Yeah, but Kong Li slammed his staff into her chest when we were fighting." Tobey said to him.

He nodded in understanding, then looked at Sue's tired face and said, "Let's let Sue sleep. She needs it. Come, I need to talk with you three anyway." the three walked out of Sue's room then entered the lobby. Just as he was about to start, they heard Sue scream and came running. When they got to her room, Kong Li was holding her by her throat!

To Be Continued . . .