Jethro did not get much sleep that night, it was the longest night of his life. He spent the night on the floor of the boys room. Not the best idea for a man pushing sixty but he wanted to be close to his boy. He dreaded the coming hours and feared that he would be told Joey had some fatal disease. He dreaded facing the loss of another child. Especially since he would now have to explain things to Colin. He woke from his forced sleep to a strong feeling of dread. Tony was working and Jason would be accompanying Jethro and Joey to the hospital, but Emma had the day off and had agreed to keep the children for the day.
"Boys it's time to get up." Jethro called, fearing the coming hours.
First stop was the pediatric Gastroenterology. The office was like any other pediatric doctor's office but the walls were covered with pictures of stomachs. One poster in particular stood out. It showed a smiling feeding tube. With facts in bullet points against the yellow background. A boy who looked to be about Joey's age leaned over to grab a toy, his shirt lifted to reveal a button in his stomach with a Mickey Mouse bandage. A girl about two lifted her shirt and pointed to her tube. Jethro and Joey were terrified but the other children and parents showed no fear. To them this was just another check-up. Moments later Joey was called back. He took Jethro's hand and the pair walked anxiously back to the office. The office was a small room full of medical equipment. The doctor was a tall man with graying hair and brown eyes.
"Good morning I am Dr. Davis and this must be Joey." Dr. Davis greeted.
"Why does my son get sick every time he eats?" Jethro demanded.
"We will have to run some tests but my guess is Celiac's Disease." Dr. Davis replied.
"My sister has that. Wouldn't that be an allergists job?" Jethro asked.
"Normally they would run the blood test but when Dr. Fisher heard Joey's symptoms they were alarmingly close to Celiac's. We will run a blood test today and when the results come back. If they are positive. We will have to preform a biopsy on his small intestine to confirm Celiac." Dr. Davis explained.
"A biopsy? Isn't that for cancer?" Jethro questioned.
"Biopsies are used to test for a number of disorders." Dr. Fisher replied.
"Will he be able to eat? Or will he have a tube like those kids out there?" Jethro asked.
"Depending on severity and other allergies which will be test for by an allergist. He may need a G-Tube to keep him nourished, but it is highly unlikely." Dr. Fisher explained.
Jethro held his son while Dr. Davis' nurse to Joey's blood. The sample was immediately sent off for testing. After leaving the pediatric Gastrointestinal doctors office. Jethro, Jason, and Joey were on the way to the neurologists office. There Joey was hooked up to an EEG machine. It was terrifying for Jethro to see his son with electrodes hooked up to his head. Joey would be hooked up to the EEG machine the entire night but at least he would be able to go home. Still Jethro had to talk to the new doctor about symptoms had not noticed until the day before.
"Good afternoon Mr. Gibbs. I am Doctor James." Dr. James introduced.
"What do you want to do? Besides hooking the machine to his head?" Jethro asked.
"He will have a brain scan in the coming days if the EEG activity is abnormal." Dr. James explained.
"Look I don't know when this started. He has been in my care for a week. Yesterday I left him with two friends for the afternoon. Both commented on how Joey just zoned out. One even claimed that Joey didn't remember a large chunk of the afternoon." Jethro explained.
"This is very serious Mr. Gibbs." Dr. James sighed.
"Why would he have seizures?" Jethro asked.
"There are a number of reasons but we have many tests to run." Dr. James replied.
"Will he live a normal life?" Jethro asked.
"I don't know." Dr. James replied.
"How can you not know?" Jethro demanded.
"Mr. Gibbs we just got your son on the EEG. There are dozens of tests left to run. It's going to be a while before I have any definite answers. All I can tell you is that this is not going to be a long and challenging road for both of you." Dr. James explained.
"That's what I was afraid of." Jethro sighed.
It was a long and difficult day for Jethro and Joey. Jason returned with the pair and ran to the grocery store. So that Jethro could stay home with his son. He put Joey in the bottom bunk for the night. Jason had offered to take Colin for the night. So Jethro would have it a little easier. The GI doctor had sent Joey home on an NG tube, a feeding tube that fed Joey through his nose. It was strange to look at and a sight that Jethro would have once laughed at. Now that he was grown and even more now that it was his son. He was scared to death. He was in for another long and likely sleepless night. He made a frozen pizza for himself and thought of just how terrified he was. He wondered if he could handle raising a special needs child. It was too late to back out now but Jethro still had his doubts as to whether or not he could handle it. He would give anything to have some back up, some help along the way. He desperately wished that Shannon were still alive to help him through this turbulent time in his life. He just wanted to be a good father for Joey but with each day it just grew more and more challenging. He would give anything to make life easier for himself and for his boys.
A/N: What will Joey's results show? New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.