Roy and Joanne met up with Doctor Brackett Sunday afternoon as he had requested they do so. Thankfully, it hadn't been difficult to convince the kids to spend the time with their friends, considering the fact that it was either that or spend the time reviewing the material that would be on their final exams on Tuesday. After making sure each child was dropped off, Roy and Joanne went to Dr. Brackett's office at Rampart.

"Thanks for coming by," Kel said, as he entered the office when his lunch break came up. "I would have come by your house, but my shift today is a bit odd and I got a bunch of paperwork to catch up on."

"No problem," Roy said, understanding how hectic the hospital could get. "We have to admit, we are curious what is going on though. I mean, when we saw Johnny yesterday, Dr. Early let us know that he'd be weaning John off the sedation so that hopefully by noon tomorrow, he'd be awake. That, and the fact that you wanted to see us both without the kids around."

"Yes, well, there are some things I found out about New Horizons that I didn't know if you would like them to know," Kel said, frowning as he sat behind his desk. "Dixie uncovered a lot of disturbing news about how the place is run and that coupled with what I found out about the director has led me to the decision to report the facility to the medical board."

"What?" Joanne was shocked. "But I thought it was a newer place that was supposedly run well!"

"Yes, well," Dr. Brackett was clearly uncomfortable. "It turns out we were mistaken. There is no way that I'd ever want to send a patient there, let alone Johnny."

Sigh, Roy and Joanne looked at each other. Unsure if he really wanted to know, Roy finally asked what was discovered. The more Kel told the two of them about how much the patients were controlled by medication and how the director claimed to be a doctor, yet wasn't, along with all the other evidence that was dredged up, shocked them.

"So, that option is clearly out," Kel concluded. "However, between Doctor Druthers, Doctor Early and myself, we have come up with what we hope is a better plan. Hank was asked a bunch of questions, mainly by Karl, which I think helped him decide that if John can meet the goals of each of us, the best place for him would be with your family."

Seeing their looks of excitement, he held up his hand, "A word of caution though. John has to meet all of them, or we will have to look into other options yet. Joe and I are hopeful that he can, but head injuries are unpredictable. And of course, all four of you will need to continue seeing Dr. Druthers. Although, after you adjust and learn to cope with the situation on your own, you won't need to see him as often. Of course, that doesn't mean Karl won't fit you in anytime you need help or guidance or just someone to talk to even after he feels you are ready to manage on your own."

Smiling, Jo and Roy looked at one another, then at Kel across the desk.

"So, what are these goals then?" Roy asked with excitement coloring his voice.

"Dr. Early's guidelines are fairly simple, considering," Brackett began. "He is going to keep Johnny on the ICU floor until the steroid for the brain swelling has been discontinued for at least 24 to 48 hours. Then, John will be moved to the Neuro Step-Down Unit. During the ICU stay, Joe wants to do some simple evaluations, much like before. He'd like to see what frame of mind Johnny is in, what memories have been lost, things such as that. Joe will be able to tell you more about that as it isn't my field of expertise. While on the Step-Down Unit, the goal is to get Johnny off the central line and able to take liquids on his own, perhaps some solids. Hopefully, a physical therapist can start working with him to strength his muscles and keep his body moving.

"Once Johnny is off the central line, done with the antibiotics and has the stitches out, he'll be moved to a regular room on the orthopedic floor. The antibiotics should only need about another few days, although as you know, once Johnny begins moving, that could change. The stitches should removed in about another week.
"Although Dr. Druthers will stop by to introduce himself while John is in the ICU, he won't begin counseling until he is in the Step-Down Unit. Even then, he will take things slowly. Only once Johnny is in a regular room will things become more involved. Karl just doesn't want to overwhelm him until Joe is sure Johnny is able to handle things a bit better," Kel said, his face twitching at the thought. "Karl will be forced to have John confront some very uncomfortable facts, such as the date Johnny believes it is verses the actual date or who he is verse who he appears to be in a mirror, things like that."

"Why would that be difficult?" Joanne questioned when the doctor trailed off.

"Well, if Johnny sees himself as a young boy, albeit one with facial hair and a different haircut. That would be confusing to anyone. However, the more likely scenario would be is that Johnny would see a person who is not the age he believes himself to be," Kel said quietly.

"And he'd be incredibly scared and confused," Roy said, equally quiet as his heart broke at the thought.

"Poor boy," Jo muttered and then another thought occurred to her. "It also has to mess with his mind when moving doesn't it? I mean…"

"Yes, and that is why the physical therapist will likely have to help him relearn some simple things. It hopefully isn't the fact that he has forgotten them, it's just the fact that Johnny will have to readjust his way of thinking. For instance, the physical therapist we asked to work with him, Peter Thomson, said that he will find himself missing steps or falling a lot as his legs are longer than he believes they are," Kel explained. "That's why Johnny has to get approval from Peter before being released to your care."

"And what are your expectations?" Roy curiously asked.

"Mine is a bit different," Kel bit back a laugh. "I had Mike in here checking up on John yesterday before you came. He's worried about you two, as well as the kids and would actually like to talk with you about what it was like growing up with his sister. After hearing about some of it, I honestly think it will help you four grasp the situation a bit better. Mike is more than willing to come to your house tonight or whenever he is off shift."

"We were thinking about it," Joanne confessed. "But Roy wasn't too sure that it would be a good idea."

"Well…" Roy squirmed a bit.

"He didn't want to invade Mike's privacy," Jo tattled.

"Well, Mike offered, so you don't have to worry about that," Kel pointed out.

"Alright, I'll give him a call tonight."

"Sounds good," Brackett said, smiling. "Ah, before I forget, here is the list us docs made up as far as the goals are. I think we covered everything, but again, any questions, let one of us know."

Standing up, Roy and Jo thanked Kel.

"You have no idea how much we appreciate this," Jo told him.

"Trust me, I don't mind," Dr. Brackett brushed off the compliment. "You guys just remember to take care of each other."

"Will do, doc," Roy said as he took Joanne's hand in his and walked out the office door.

There would be a lot to discuss with the kids tonight and hopefully, Mike would be able to provide answers to questions they didn't even know to ask yet.

I'm just glad school is almost done, Roy thought with relief. Even with all the activities going on, it'll make things simpler.