What a Pain! -Chapter Ten
When the evening visiting hours came around, Dorothy and Jeannie headed back to Mike's room. A pretty nurse had just given Mike his bath and was changing his IV. He was unaware of the seizure he had earlier, and was dozing, his body as comfortable as it could be on the stark white hospital bed. The women whispered their conversation as Dr. Early came in to do his final rounds for the day.
"Hello, Mrs. Stoker; Jeannie, nice to see you again."
"Hello again, Dr. Early," Mrs. Stoker said with a tired smile.
Noticing Mike beginning to wake, he said, "Would it be alright if we spoke out here for a moment?" he asked, pointing to the hall. "I'd like to discuss something with you."
"Certainly," Dorothy told him. She and Jeannie made their way to the sitting area not far from Mike's room. As they sat on the orange Naugahyde chairs, Jeannie held her mother's hand.
"A short time after you left earlier, Mike had a seizure," he informed gently. "I want you to understand though, that seizures are very common after the type of surgery Mike's had. It's possible he'll have more of them until he's completely healed; it's also possible he may have to deal with seizures long-term, or he may never have another one again. I want to warn you ahead of time, however, if one occurs while you are with him."
Dorothy Stoker was aching in body and spirit, and leaned against her daughter and began to weep. It was bad enough seeing her son in such a condition, but to know he was having complications made it even worse.
"We have Mike on a low-dose of medication that is meant to prevent seizures, and we'll have to see how it works and adjust it as need be. The seizure did not cause any damage to the surgical site and his blood pressure has remained stable. Those are two very good signs," Dr. Early reassured them.
"Poor Mighty," Jeannie whispered. "I just hate this for him."
"I know this is rough," the good doctor added, "but I'm still optimistic. It's just going to take time."
"We understand, Dr. Early, thank you," Mike's mom said, sniffling. "I do apologize. May we go in now?"
"Absolutely, but don't feel you need to apologize; you've done nothing wrong. Take your time with your visit and when you're ready to leave, I'll speak with him."
Mike was awake again when they entered, but the nurse had administered his pain meds, and he was becoming drowsy.
"Hello, sweetheart," his mom said gently, "are you feeling up to another visit from us?"
Mike smiled and nodded wearily, "Yeah, mmom, I-I'm glaad to see yooo agaain."
They both noticed Mike didn't sound like he was struggling with his speech as much and Dorothy and Jeannie held on to that ray of hope. Jeannie gently picked up Mike's bandaged hand. "How's your hand feeling, Mighty?"
Mike smiled hearing his nickname again, "Caan't ffeeel it reeally. Guess iit's okay."
The cut had been deep and Dr. Brackett took nineteen stitches to close the wound. He was fairly certain there was no major nerve involvement, however, so that was at least one less concern. Jeannie placed his hand back on the bed and tucked the sheets around him.
They chatted uneasily, but Dorothy was searching around the room, looking for something to talk about. The weather, as well as Jeannie's children, had been discussed ad nauseam, and the conversation had died out several times. Finally, she said, "Well... honey, we're not going to stay; we just wanted to pop in once more before visiting hours were over. It's been a long day for your old mom, too," she laughed. "I think your friends will be here again later, so you just relax, okay?" She leaned over as far as she could and placed a tender kiss on her son's forehead. "Good-night, sweetie; we'll be back in the morning."
"Ookay, mmoom," Mike told her, "Ssee you. Bye, Jeeeneee."
Although fretting on the inside, Jeannie smiled down at him, and then kissed his cheek. "Be good for the doctors, little brother, and I'll see you in the morning."
Dr. Early looked up from the nurses station and noticed the Stoker family leaving. He took that opportunity to go in and speak with Mike.
Dorothy and Jeannie walked tiredly towards the waiting area and saw Mike's Captain and his friends, John and Marco, entering. They were smiling and chatting and ready to see how Mike was getting along.
"Oh, hello, Mrs. Stoker; Jeannie," Captain Stanley said, "How's Mike doing?"
Mrs. Stoker looked down, sighed, and said, "Well...oh, dear...I guess he had a seizure earlier..." Her voice cracked, fighting back another onslaught of tears. "Dr. Early said they're common after this kind of surgery, but I...I can't stand the thought of Michael going through this. He's been through so much already."
Although stunned by this development, realistically, Johnny knew what Dr. Early said was true. Still, it was not something anyone wanted to hear, especially a parent, he imagined. He took Dorothy's hands in his and said, "You know...Dr. Early doesn't mean to worry you. I…uh, I've been treated by him...well, let's just say it's been more than once, and he truly is one of the best. If he says not to worry too much, then we have to believe him." Mike's mom and sister were so nice, and for a fleeting moment, Johnny was envious that Mike still had family who loved and cared for him. Sure, he knew he had friends, very good friends, but a real family can't be replaced. It made him miss his own mother and father just a bit more.
The firemen then escorted Dorothy and Jeannie to the elevators and said good-night."Thank you, so much, gentlemen. Will we see you tomorrow?"
"Actually, ma'am, we're on shift tomorrow, but uh, here's the number to the station," Cap said, handing a piece of yellow paper to her, "please don't hesitate to call if you or Mike need anything."
She nodded and placed her stiff hands on Cap's leathery ones. "You are so kind, it really is a comfort to know Michael has you in his corner. I'll call with an update tomorrow." They looked kindly at each other as the steel doors slid closed.
The men trudged back to the nearly deserted ICU waiting area. Captain Stanley would visit first, alone, and then Marco and Johnny would stop in together on the next round. At least, that was the plan. As soon as Cap walked in, he approached his Engineer, who was staring at the white, pock-marked ceiling; a distinct frown on his face.
"Mike? How're you doing, pal?" Cap inquired softly.
As he turned his eyes to his Captain, it was clear that Mike was upset. Tears still pooled in his eyes, "Caap?" he asked with a shaking voice, "Whaaat w-w-iill I do? I-I mmiight nnot be an e-eng-gineeerr a-gain."
They both knew that seizures long-term would be a 'career-ender,' and it frightened them. Cap gripped his friend's hand and placed his other hand firmly on Mike's forearm. "You know what you're going to do? You're going to be okay, that's what. Give yourself some time, pal, it's still pretty early in the game. Tomorrow will be better, and the day after that, better yet."
Mike replied, "I-I hhhope ssso." He closed his eyes and took in a shaking breath.
Cap said tentatively, "Um, John and Marco are outside, do you want to see them or are you getting tired?"
"Dooo they knnnow about the s-s-seiz-ures? Mike sniffed. He wanted to yell and curse and throw something, but knowing the pain it would cause, he refrained from trying.
"Yeah, they do, pal. I guess Dr. Early kind of gave your mom and sister a heads-up, so they told us." he informed Mike.
"Oh," Mike said, dejectedly. He and was quiet for several long moments and Cap wondered if his friend had fallen asleep again. Suddenly, in a loud, strangled-sounding voice, Mike cried out, "Caaaap? I-I-I...ohhh..." Then his legs and arms began to shake again.
"Mike? Mike!" Cap's unspoken questions were answered as Mike suffered another seizure. He jumped up and called for a nurse. A doctor was paged as another dose of diazepam was swiftly administered. Cap looked on in stunned silence once the seizure had passed and when the doctor was satisfied that Mike hadn't suffered any damage, Cap sat next to Mike, holding his hand and murmuring reassurances. His own hands were shaking with anxiety as he whispered, "I'm so sorry, pal. I hate this, too. You'll be okay soon..." After a time, Captain Stanley quietly left the room to tell John and Marco what had occurred.
Burdened with the news of Mike's second seizure, Johnny said a forlorn goodbye and went to find a pay phone. He called Roy, and then Chet to suggest they not visit that night. Then he made his way back to Mike's house, wishing he didn't know what he knew.
Plodding tiredly into the house, Johnny found Sir Pain, napping on the sofa. The cat raised his head and looked at John, mreeeped a greeting, and hopped off to rub his fluffy mane against John's ankles. Johnny smiled and reached down to pick up the cat.
"Pain, huh? Wonder how Stoker picked that name. With you being gray and all, I'm surprised he didn't pick 'Smoky' or 'Ashes' or somethin' else fire related." Sir Pain snuggled into Johnny's shoulder, which drew a chuckle from the man. "You sure know how to kiss-up, don'tcha? C'mon, let's go get you some chow." Johnny let Pain out to the backyard for a while and filled the water and food bowls for his new friend. He fed the fish, and fetched the mail from the parquet foyer floor, where it lay after being stuffed through the mail slot.
He poured a large glass of milk and made a sandwich, placing it on a plate with some corn chips, and let Pain back in. He took his dinner into the living room and turned on the TV before plopping himself down heavily in the chair. He wasn't much interested in the show that was on, instead working over in his mind the possible implications of the seizures Mike had. The cat sat sentinel by his feet, and Johnny would drop pieces of ham to him from time to time. Sir Pain knew this human was anxious about something, so as soon as the plate was emptied and placed on the floor, he jumped up into the man's lap and purred as loudly as he could manage.
"Well, Pain, it's time for bed, I do believe." Johnny yawned, picked up Sir Pain and tossed him onto his shoulder. He stood up and to his surprise and delight, Pain stayed there, and rode Johnny's shoulder into the bathroom. Johnny leaned into the mirror above the sink and in a hearty pirate kind of voice said, "Arrrgh, Matey! I'll keel-haul ya' fer this!" He laughed as his furry 'parrot' stayed put on his shoulder. He squinted as if he were wearing an eye patch and scowled, "right then, Polly, let's be headin' out to sea!" He leaned down and Pain jumped to the toilet lid. He stayed near Johnny while the man showered and brushed his teeth, and Johnny was in a better mood merely because of the cat's presence.
It wasn't really all that late, but somehow, Gage knew he would probably have trouble falling asleep and thought he'd better get a head start. Sir Pain followed John to the spare bedroom, cat-talking all the way. "Mrow, yow, mrrr...," he told Johnny.
"You sure are somethin' else, aren't you, Pain. You're gonna keep Mike in conversation when he comes home, I'll bet." As Johnny put on clean boxers and a t-shirt, Sir Pain hopped up to the foot of the bed. "Guess you're determined to sleep here tonight, eh? Well, I suppose the company could be worse," he snorted. Then he turned off the light and closed his eyes, with Sir Pain curled up next to him, sounding very much like a tiny motorcycle.