Chapter 14
"Winning the Battle"
After spending the morning and a good part of the afternoon with their three younger children, Amy and Bob headed back to the hospital to be with P.J.
They made their way to the ICU and started to enter P.J.'s room. "Mr. and Mrs. Duncan, wait!" Sharon called out to them as Amy opened the door to an empty room. Her face drained of all color.
"Where is he?" She said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Sharon smiled. "That's what I was trying to tell you. Dr. Allen came in not long after you left and she took P.J. off of the ventilator. He's in room 220." She made sure Amy heard her. "Amy, he's fine. His temperature is normal, he's breathing normal. He's fine." She waited for that to sink in. "As a matter-of-fact, Dr. Allen mentioned maybe releasing him today or tomorrow."
"He's fine." Amy said, her voice a little stronger. She squeezed Bob's hand and felt him release the breath neither of them knew he was holding. "Our baby's fine."
Bob smiled. "I need to see him."
Soon Amy and Bob were on the 2nd floor of the hospital, just outside of Room 220. Amy gently knocked and pushed the door open at the same time. "P.J.?"
"Hey mom." He said hoarsely. "Hey dad."
"Oh, P.J." Amy hugged him and cupped his cheek.
"You managed to scare the heck out of us again, son." Bob said as he gently hugged his boy.
"Yeah, I know. Sorry about that." He winced as he swallowed.
Amy picked up a cup of ice chips and moved a spoonful towards his lips. "I know your throat must hurt."
P.J. nodded in a childlike way. "It's dry and sore."
Bob smiled, noting how his son almost looked seven again. "Where is Dr. Allen?"
P.J. finished swallowing the spoonful of ice chips. "She had rounds, but she'll be back in a little while."
"Why didn't anyone call us?" Amy asked. "You can't imagine how scared we both were when we got to the ICU and your room was empty."
"Sorry. Everyone thought you needed some time away from here." P.J. answered.
Everything was quiet for a few minutes, and then P.J. piped up. "How's Gabe?"
"He's . . . OK." Bob said hesitantly.
P.J. shook his head. "I know he's not OK. If I scared the heck out of you guys, I must have really scared him . . . and Teddy for that matter."
"I think Teddy is OK. She's old enough to understand what's going on, but Gabe . . ." Bob started only to be hushed by Amy.
P.J. smiled. "It's OK mom. I know Gabe is scared. He talked to me about it a little bit the other day. He thought I was dead because no one would explain what happened to me."
Amy took P.J.'s hand in hers. "We were trying to protect him."
"Sometimes we need to know what's really going on . . . you know?" P.J. said.
Amy nodded. "I know." She stroked his hand with her thumb. "It's just very hard to see any of you hurting. Someday, when you have kids, you'll understand that."
P.J. smiled and laughed a bit. "Me? I'm never having kids."
The afternoon was pretty uneventful and just before nightfall, a faint knock was heard at the door. "Come in." Bob announced.
Ivy entered P.J.'s room, stunned at the sight of him. "Well you certainly look better than I expected to find you." She smiled.
"Thanks." P.J. replied. "What are you doing here?"
"You've got my girl all upset and I needed to see for myself that you're OK, so I can get her calmed down." Ivy replied, watching everyone's reaction.
Amy stood up. "Ivy, is she really upset? Is she OK to watch Gabe and Charlie?"
Ivy shook her head. "She needs a break." She paused. "My mom is at your house right now fixing dinner for Gabe and Charlie. Teddy's OK, she's just a little freaked out by what's going on with P.J. and she's blaming herself for the wreck."
Bob looked worried. "Still? I've already explained everything to her. The man driving the 18-wheeler had a heart attack."
P.J. reached towards the table beside of his bed. "Mom, can you hand me the phone?"
"Who are you calling?" Amy asked.
"Teddy." He dialed their home number.
"Hello." Gabe answered.
A smile spread across P.J.'s face. "Hey, buddy. What's up?"
"P.J.!" Gabe cried out. "You're OK. You're awake and everything."
"Yeah, I'm awake and in a private room now. I'm hoping they'll let me come home soon." P.J. swallowed hard in an attempt to quench his dry throat.
"You sound funny." Gabe said.
"My throat's sore." P.J. replied, not wanting to go into great detail, just yet, with his little brother. "Hey, is Teddy around?"
"Teddy!" Gabe called out. "P.J.'s on the phone an wants to talk to you."
Amy noticed how tired her oldest child was beginning to look. "Honey . . ." She started.
P.J. knew the look his mother was giving him. "I have to talk to her." He emphasized the 'I'. "It won't help coming from any of you. I need to talk to her." He repeated.
"P.J.?" Teddy questioned as she took the phone from Gabe. "How are you?"
P.J. smiled at the concern in his sister's voice. "I'm good. I'm out of ICU and in a private room now. Hey did you send Ivy over here to check up on me?" He asked.
"Ivy's there, at the hospital?" Teddy asked.
"Yep. She said you were upset." P.J. paused and waited for Teddy to reply. When she didn't, he continued. "Teddy, you do know that the wreck wasn't your fault, right?"
Tears quietly slipped down Teddy's face as she replayed, in her mind, the events leading up to their car wreck. "P.J., I didn't have to go to the mall. I wanted to because a lot of my friends were supposed to be there, but most of them didn't even show up because of the weather. I'm the reason you were on the road in the first place."
"Not entirely. I had to work after school, remember? And I was supposed to have had a gig that night, too." P.J. replied.
Teddy wiped the tears from her eyes. "Yeah, but . . . P.J., I was so mean to you."
P.J. smiled. "You're always mean to me and I'm always mean to you, that's how its supposed to be, isn't it?"
"I wish you were here so I could punch your arm." She laughed. "Your good arm, that is."
P.J. laughed a bit too. "Me too." He paused. "Hey Teddy,"
"Yeah." Teddy replied.
"I know I don't say it much, but you know I love you." P.J. said quietly.
Teddy nodded. "I love you too, big brother. Get well soon."
P.J. hung up the phone and smiled at Ivy. "OK, your girl is good now." He yawned.
Ivy smiled at him. "Thank you, P.J. That was a real nice thing." She patted his leg. "You're tired, so I'm going. Take care and come home soon, OK?"
"That's the plan." P.J. said through another yawn.
"Ya'll better let him get some sleep." Ivy said sternly as she left the room.
Dr. Allen came in as Ivy left. "Hello." She announced. "How are you feeling, P.J.?"
"A little tired." He replied.
Dr. Allen smiled. "Well, I'll make this quick, so you can get some rest. Your blood tests came back great. Your white count is exactly where it should be, so the infection is gone. I'm going to keep you on the antibiotics for another week and we'll re-evaluate when you come back for your check up." She marked a few things on his chart. "I see no reason to keep you more than one more night, P.J. If you're up for a ride, I'm going to go ahead and sign your release papers and your mom and dad can take you home in the morning."
P.J.'s face lit up. "Really, even though I just got out of ICU?"
"You were only in ICU to get your breathing regulated and bring your fever down." Dr. Allen reminded him. "We have that now, so you're good to go."
"Why not today then?" P.J. asked, hopefully.
Dr. Allen shook her head. "Don't push it, young man. You'll stay here tonight just to make sure you're rested enough to travel home."
P.J. yawned again. "OK."
"Thank you, Dr. Allen." Amy said as the doctor left the room.
"Are you guys going to stay though the night?" P.J. asked and yawned again as someone knocked on the door. Amy looked at Bob.
"Do you want us to?" Bob asked.
"Hey." Emmitt said as he came into P.J. hospital room.
"Hey, Emmitt." P.J. replied.
Emmitt gave P.J. a couple of magazines. "I can't stay. My mom is here visiting a friend and I tagged along to see you." He looked his best friend over. "You look rough, man." P.J. smiled and yawned again. Before he could reply, Emmitt spoke again. "And sleepy. I'm keeping you awake. I should go."
"Emmitt." P.J. started. "Wait a minute."
Emmitt faced his friend again. "Sorry. Hospitals make me nervous. They always have. My mom said when I was born, I twitched the whole time I was here. They thought something was wrong with me. Turns out, I just hate hospitals."
P.J. nodded. "Yeah, they're not my favorite place either."
"I'm glad you're out of Intensive Care. What happened?" Emmitt took a seat close to P.J. and Amy and Bob took that as their cue to leave.
"P.J., we're going to step out for a few minutes. Emmitt, he does need his rest, so you may want to keep your visit short, OK?" Amy suggested.
"I will Mrs. Duncan." Emmitt replied.
"So . . .?" Emmitt asked.
P.J. slightly shook his head. "I don't know where to start."
"Well, I know about the wreck. I talked to Ivy earlier." Emmitt said.
"Well, first I had a reaction to the meds they had me on, while here in the hospital and that messed with my blood pressure and heart rate. They finally got that taken care of and sent me home, but I developed a nasty infection and ended up here again, except this time in ICU with a tube down my throat to help me breathe."
"So, you have pneumonia?" Emmitt asked, worriedly.
"No, just a little lung infection." P.J. answered. "Dr. Allen said it's pretty much gone now." P.J. yawned again.
"Well, hey, bro, I guess I'd better get going. You need some sleep and mom's going to be looking for me." Emmitt said, taking P.J.'s hand. "Heal fast, man."
P.J. nodded, gripping Emmitt's hand. "I'm tryin', bro. I should be home by tomorrow, just call before you stop by though, OK?"
Emmitt nodded. "No problem. I'll see you sometime tomorrow, then." He turned to leave. "Get some rest."
The following morning:
P.J. had been up for an hour before his parents arrived. He had already packed up what few belongings he had with him and was dressed in a pair of sweat pants and a loose fitting shirt that allowed room for his cast.
"P.J." Nurse Emily announced as she entered his room. "How long have you been up?"
P.J. looked at the clock. "About an hour, I guess."
"And you got up by yourself?" She asked.
P.J. nodded. "Yep and I've managed to wash my face and comb my hair too."
"You walked?" Emily asked.
P.J. looked at her sheepishly. "I used the wheelchair, but I did have to stand up a couple of times, so . . ."
Nurse Emily shook her head. "Well, lets get you back in the bed, so I can check your stitches to make sure you didn't pull anything." She started to help but, but he waved her off.
"I got out of bed, I can get back in." He insisted.
Emily smiled. "OK." She watched as he pulled himself up, turned, and positioned himself on the bed. "I guess you want me to lie down now, too."
Emily nodded. "I have to change your bandages, so yes, lying down would be helpful." Emily proceeded to cut away the bandage on P.J.'s leg. "Do you feel OK this morning? You seem a little . . . out of sorts."
P.J. knew he had been a little short with Emily. He hadn't meant to be, he like her, actually she was his favorite nurse, so he tried to explain. "I guess I'm just a little nervous about going home this time."
Emily continued removing the bandage. "Why?"
"I really scared my little brother the last time I was home and he treated me differently too, before the fever and . . . then there's Charlie, she's too little to really know what's going on, but she knows something is different. I can't play with her like I usually do . . . and then there's Teddy. Teddy blames herself for the accident and I don't' think I've really gotten through to her yet that this is not her fault."
Emily cleaned the cut on P.J.'s leg without as much as a flinch from him. "This is healing nicely. I don't think you're going to have much of a scar."
P.J. smiled. "That's good. Now if I could just get rid of this cast . . ."
Emily smiled. "I'm afraid you have a good five weeks or so left in that cast."
"I know." P.J. nodded. "Emily, how about the cut on my head and the bruising?"
"P.J., was this morning the first time you've really taken stock of your injuries?" Emily asked.
P.J. pursed his lips and nodded. "I guess so, alone anyway, and I'm sure not going to ask questions with mom and dad around. They're worried enough without knowing that I'm worried too."
Emily sat on the edge of the bed after she finished applying a fresh bandage. "P.J., honestly, you're healing nicely and now that your body isn't fighting the meds, you're moving forward, but honey, you need to talk to someone about what you're feeling." She looked at the seventeen year old, sizing up his fears. "How about the accident? Are you still having nightmares?"
P.J. nodded. "Not as bad, but yeah."
"Have you mentioned any of this to Dr. Allen?" Emily asked.
P.J. shook his head and grabbed Emily's arm. "No, and please don't you say anything either. It'll get back to my mom and . . ."
Emily realized she had upset her young patient. "Easy, P.J. I won't say anything to Dr. Allen if you'll promise me that if you aren't more at ease by your next check up, you'll say something."
P.J. nodded. "I promise." He paused and looked at Emily. "Hey Emily, what about the bruising on top of my legs and across my chest?" P.J. asked, quickly changing the subject.
Emily flipped through P.J.'s chart. "Dr. Allen has a couple of notes here, but says that you're doing well. The bruises will take time to heal. You do know that when you get home, there are a few things you're not going to be able to jump back into doing, like no TV and no video games."
"Why?" P.J. asked.
"You have a concussion. Your brain is bruised and it can't process things like TV and video games." Emily answered.
"Oh." P.J. replied and hung his head. "I look like a walking bruise, and speaking of walking, when will I be able to do that normally again?" P.J. asked.
"You have to give your body time to heal, P.J. That cut on your leg is still tender and so are the bruises on your legs and your chest, all of that will affect the way you carry yourself when you walk, and the cast on your arm plays a part in that too." She lifted his chin with her index finger. "Be patient, P.J. and remember to take it easy." She turned to leave the room and was met by Bob and Amy.
Emily smiled as she opened the door wide. "He's all ready to leave."
Amy made her way to her son and touched his arm. "He looks tired. P.J., are you feeling OK?"
P.J. nodded. "I'm fine, mom. I'm more than ready to leave." He picked up the paperwork and started to pull himself off of the bed.
"Paul James Duncan, what do you think you're doing? Wait, here, let me help you." He looked up to Emily for support.
"Amy, he's been up by himself for a good part of the morning. He needs to use his muscles." Emily reminded.
"But he's in pain. I can tell." Amy defended.
Emily gently touched Amy's arm. "What would you tell any of your own patients at this point?"
Amy paused, looking from Emily to P.J. "I would tell them to suck it up and work through the pain."
Emily nodded. "You're going to have to do the same thing with your son. It's for his own good. He needs to do some of this on his own."
"You're right, Emily." Amy inhaled deeply and turned to her son. " P.J., you let me know if you need help though, OK?"
P. J. smiled. "I will." He then lifted off of the bed and expertly positioned himself into his wheelchair. "There. All ready to go."
Bob stood behind the wheelchair and pushed P.J. out, followed closely by Amy and Nurse Emily.
"You be good, P.J." Emily called out as they headed towards the elevator.
TBC