"We ready to go home and gatecrash Bookworm and Luca's joint" Sonny said with a smile as the team walked onto the C130, gear in hand and ready to head home
"Before we head home, there's a few things Trent and I need to talk to you about, with regards to Jess" Eric said calling the group to his attention
"Thought you said everything was going good for Jess, she was kicking the cancers butt" Ray asked surprised
"She is, however Jess's cancer was more extensive than what we originally told you, it wasn't just a tumour in her larynx" Eric said
"What was it" Brock asked, he stopped by Pepper's cage, Pepper jumped up on top to be a part of the conversation
"It was in her stomach, esophegeaus and liver region, and her lower pelvic region, which involved her bladder, rectum, anal passage, reproductive system and her genitalia, she also has secondary leukaemia, so she's been through a lot of changes these last 6 weeks" Eric said
"How many changes exactly" Jason asked curious
"Jess currently has a tracheostomy tube in her throat still, it will be staying put till her larynx has healed up completely, which does include the fact it will be in for her wedding, however she's compensating by having a dress that will cover it, you won't even be able to tell she's sick in the photos" Eric said
"What else" Clay asked
"The tumour in the pelvic region, they had to remove everything that was in the cavity, her bladder, rectum, anal passage, reproductive system, and genitalia has all been removed entirely, Jess now has a permanent colostomy and, what do they call it Trent" Eric asked, turning to Trent for help
"Indiana pouch sir" Trent said
"To handle removing waste from her body, good news is however is that they were able to make it so Jess doesn't need to wear any external collection pouches, she deals with it manually. She's also going through a early menopause, but they're giving her hormone therapy to help her manage that" Eric said
"Jess is also having a lot of trouble with keeping her blood sugar levels stable, they keep dropping out on her, she wears a sensor so that they can be easily monitored" Trent said
"Sounds like she had a rough go with it" Clay said
"Why didn't she tell us sooner" Jason asked concerned
"She didn't want you distracted" Eric said to the team leader
"Look, the important thing is she's doing really well, the only cancer cells still in her body is the leukaemic ones and they are becoming vastly outnumbered by the healthy red blood cells. There's no sign of the sarcoma anywhere in her body" Trent said trying to settle them down
"And she's not quite half way through her treatment yet, her plan was 15 weeks of chemotherapy, she's just finished week 4" Eric said
"So Bookworm will be back next rotation" Sonny asked hopefully
"That's still unclear, only focus Jess has with her future at the moment is her wedding" Eric said, he was wanting the same good news
"Its going to come down to how well Jess can maintain her bladder and bowel routine now, can she avoid getting infections, keep her blood sugars stable, her weight steady things like that" Trent said, he'd spoken quite closely to Doctor Masterson about the whole returning to duty after her treatment was finished, passing the fitness tests would be the easy part for Jess, it was going to be her ability to maintain the medical side of things with minimal support she would need to prove
"But Doc Masterson and Miss Aubree are going to be helping Bookworm right" Sonny asked hopefully
"They'll do whatever they can to help Jess get back yes" Trent said to him
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
"Uncle Jason" Zah said running out of the house as soon as she'd recognised the truck pulling up
"Hi Zah, you look taller since I last saw you" Jason said to the 8 year old
"I've grown nearly an inch since I got out of the cast, and I've put on weight" Zah said proudly
"That's great news Miss Zah" Sonny said hopping out of the passenger side as 3 more cars pulled into the driveway
"Doctor Michaela said its because I'm not as sick as what I was uncle Sonny, and I'm going to start proper swimming lessons, and train with a coach so I can get even stronger" Zah said, she was getting even more excited as she saw the rest of her uncles and her aunty Lisa getting out of the cars
"That's really good news, swimming will be lots of fun for you" Jason said pleased to see how far Zah had come in such a short period of time
"Aha, and Nonna is going to teach me how to play tennis, she taught mummy you know" Zah said as the group gathered
"Really, I didn't know that" Clay said, he knew Jess was a good player, Metal had told them a few months ago, but never that Alie had been the one to teach her
"She was really good when she was younger, she won lots of medals in Italy" Zah said with a huge smile
"Really" Clay asked surprised
"Yep, she's shown me them" Zah said excitedly
"Where's your mummy" Trent asked
"She's out on the back deck, daddy's pulling the blinds down ready for the big storm thats coming tonight" Zah said to the group
"Didn't realise there's one coming" Eric said surprised
"Yep, daddy said it was a hurricane" Zah said before a voice interrupted them from behind Zalie
"Relax, we're not in the direct path of it, it will most likely be confined to rough weather, we're hoping though that because the blinds flex, they will absorb most of the impact, you're welcome to wait it out here though if you want, Stella, Naima and the kids are more than welcome as well, kids will be able to jump in the pool and play on the equipment still, and we've got solar power stored if the power goes out" Luca said with a smile greeting the group warmly and explaining the situation
"Didn't realise you lot were green" Brock said surprised
"For emergency uses, learnt the trick from when we lived in Cairns, we can go 6 weeks comfortably off grid if we loose power before we'd need to start being concerned about usage" Luca said, normally in storms, if the Mersey wasn't at sea, then the crew would get called in to take it to sea and out of the direct path of the storm, having a solar power backup allowed him to not worry about Laura and Zalie being stuck at home without power
"That sounds like a great idea in that case, but what about food" Ray said, he knew that the kids would drive him and Naima mad
"Already sorted, let's just say old habits die hard" Luca said with a grin
"Daddy was the quartermaster for the Mersey, we got a huge stockpile built up which daddy keeps track off, I used to watch the couponing videos on YouTube, so daddy and Nonna helped me learn to do it and plan big shops, we keep some of it and send the rest to people like Tahlia so she can give it to her volunteers, he even has mine and mummy's medical supplies set up in one room so he knows what we have" Zalie said proudly, she was currently being home-schooled, her mummy and daddy had talked to her about it and decided that it would be less stressful for her to be home-schooled while she was getting better, then she'd start at the beginning of the next school year, this meant that Zalie was able to choose a lot of her own activities, while it might have seemed to be a unconventional school activity for an 8 year old, Zalie had thoroughly enjoyed doing it
"And I thought Jess was the organised one, this I gotta see" Jason said laughing
"I thought you were the ships medic" Brock asked curious
"I was, as well as senior helmsman, quartermaster, handle the crews legal issues, drug and alcohol counselling, maintain chain off custody for any evidence gathered during investigations, I done the lot" Luca said explaining his role
"Man of many talents" Trent said
"Didn't want to be confined to one job on ship, give me a minute" Luca said suddenly rushing into the house at the coughing sound coming from inside
"What do you need Luca" Trent said as he and the rest of the team made their way into the house, Jess was standing in the kitchen holding onto the bench making some weird noises
"Syringe on table, it's okay cuddle bug, I've got it, better" Luca said softly as he took the syringe Trent handed him, put it to Jess's throat, as he pulled the plunger back a yellow liquid come up into the tube
"What happened" Eric asked concerned
"Slow breaths, there you go" Luca said softly as he took the syringe away, they could all see Jess was breathing a lot clearer now
"Jess vomited, it blocked the tracheostomy tube and she couldn't breathe, you wanted to change it today anyway Luca" Jay said appearing behind them, he held up the new tube and dressing kit he'd brought in
"You up for me changing it now, or do you want me to do it after" Luca asked Jess as he handed a plastic cap to her which she put on top of the trache tube
"Do it now, that way it's done, hi" Jess said now able to talk again with her speaking valve in place
"Hi yourself stranger, you okay" Ray said taking the initiative to walk over and give her a hug
"Its annoying more than anything, tube changes you can prepare yourself for" Jess said accepting the hug, the others, realising they weren't going to break her by giving her a simple hug followed suit
"Here, chuck these on Trent" Luca said handing a pair of sterile gloves to him to put on, he then began to expertly set up the supplies he needed to change the tube in Jess's throat
"Can we film this" Brock asked eager
"Don't get my face in it and you can" Jess said pulling a seat out next to where Luca had set the supplies up
"But that's no fun" Brock pouted
"Ready" Luca asked Trent
"Yep" Trent said, he'd watched a few videos, but nothing involving an actual patient who was not on a ventilator
"Okay, so I'm going to unclip the holder, as soon as I take the tube out, I need you to check for any granulation and clean the area with these, then I'll put the new tube in and secure it, shouldn't take any longer than 20 seconds" Luca said explaining the plan to Trent
"Got it" Trent said
"Right cuddle bug, ready" Luca asked Jess who was now sitting on the chair, she simply nodded as Luca immediately pulled the cap off and sat it to one side, he then unclipped the strap that was fastened around Jess's neck and sat it to the other side, he then slid the actual tube out and sat it next to the strap, as soon as he had the tube out Trent immediately moved in to check the tissue for any damage
"That thing is huge, that's what's in her throat" Clay said
"That's gotta be uncomfortable" Sonny added
"That's solid plastic" Jason said gently squeezing the device
"Done, feel better" Luca said to Jess not paying any attention to what the others were saying
"Definitely, and I don't notice it now" Jess said as soon as she'd clipped the plastic cap back on top of the tube so she could talk
"That was surprisingly easy" Trent said as he took the gloves off
"You still up for a trip to Horizon, I have to go and get a few things" Luca said cleaning up after the change
"I'll come, quick change of scenery, even if it is just to get medical supplies" Jess said, she was a little tired, but had been stuck at home since she'd been discharged 5 days ago from the hospital
"Thought it got delivered" Brock said
"That's the new store you were telling me about, it's a medical supply store actually here in Virginia Beach, it's to cut out the middle man, that way we can just pick up whatever Jess and Zah needs from there instead of waiting on delivery" Trent said, he'd explored the website already
"We've found it easier that way, why don't you go and get ready, and I'll finalise what we need, Zah, you want to come to the shop" Luca capped out to Zalie
"Can I get some of that new chocolate pudding and strawberry milk" Zah asked looking at her dad
"I suppose so" Luca said with a grin
"And some banana pudding like mummy has, she won't share hers" Zah asked again
"Now you know that's not true, last time we went, they only had a few banana puddings left and they're the only ones mummy eats, you eat all the other flavours, so that's why we told you not to eat the banana ones and leave them for mummy" Luca said correcting her
"Cause they're nice and soft for mummy" Zah said looking at her daddy
"Jess has mouth sores, from the chemo" Luca said to the others
"Mind if I tag along, noticed they stock patient restraints for a reasonable price, wouldn't mind stocking up" Trent said with a smile
"Sir, that's not fair, we so much as have a sniffle" Sonny began to protest
"I can physically confine you to bed and don't have to have anyone restrain you so I can give you medication, or you doing a runner, sounds perfect to me" Trent said cutting Sonny's complaining off
"Wouldn't you need permission to purchase stuff like that" Eric asked looking at Luca
"Nope, you can buy them straight of the shelf, we even get all our nutritional snacks and drinks from there" Luca said to Eric
"Fair enough" Eric said thinking he could use the trip to check out what was available himself