Chapter 11 - A Cut Above the Rest

Friday, April 18, 2020, 5am

Judy's hospital room was a small hive of activity as nurses and a few tech's bustled about, prepping her for her surgery in just a few short hours. Gone was the frame that had held her in a rigid position for the past 6 or so months, and all bruises had faded. Gone too was the upper half of the bulky cast that had held her lower body rigid for so long. Judy smiled slightly as the cool air hit her now exposed lower half. That is until a strange odor hit her nose. It was the smell of stale sweat, and damp fur. The nurses quickly gave her a sponge bath, using a special odor eliminating wash. She was told that they would take care of the other side just before the actual surgery. They currently had her on her stomach, as they were taking a detailed 3D scan of her back, so a special light weight support could be created to hold her back in a very precise position as she healed from her pending surgery.

Dr. Fast, Madge, and another rabbit doctor by the name of Leif Heinrikson, had visited with her for a short time, explained the procedure in some detail, telling Judy that while her type of back injury was, while severe, was,as far as her spine went, fairly easily fixed. They did state that the surgery was only to remove the damaged vertebrae, and would not allow her to walk again, though they had mentioned that there may be a procedure that could be implemented at a later date, providing successful repair of her spinal column.

It turned out that Dr. Heinrikson was the foremost micro-surgeon not only in Zootopia, but in the greater western Animalia. The two doctors, Heinrikson and Badgerson, would be teaming up, with Dr. Fast, who would be performing the primary incision and closure of the surgery, while Dr. Heinrikson was to perform the excision of the damaged portion of Judy's spine. Dr. Heinrikson elaborated a bit on the equipment to be used during the procedure. Dr. Badgerson would be handling the onsite fabrication of the replacement vertebrae, using a special 3D printing and milling machine that was so precise in its cuts that it was smooth to almost the molecular level.

Judy of course was a grey ball of anxious energy. She knew the risks, as well as there were any one number of things that could go wrong. It was times like this that she was reminded of Murfurys Law, Anything that could go wrong, would. She hoped not, but went in with an open mind. She had hopes of not only being able to walk again, but to run and chase crime. She longed to feel the air as it whipped past her, making her ears flap behind her like a flag on a windy day. But mostly, she wanted to go home, wherever that was. Judy had, up to this point, been hospitalized for so long she was sure her "shoebox apartment" as Nick called it, had been re-rented long ago. Judy figured she could go back to Bunnyburrow while she healed. Of course that was a long ride even by train. And there was NO way Judy was going to ask Madge to go all that way for, whatever it was she had in mind. No, Judy's best bet was either stay with Nick or, heck buy her own place, its not like she was broke, 'well not in that way' she reminded herself.

An hour or so before Judy was due to be taken to surgery, her parents arrived and visited for a bit. Bonnie, ever encouraging, did her best to help her nervous daughter. Stu on the other hand simply fainted. 'Of course he did' Judy thought to herself with a small huff. Nick simply winked at her, picked Stu up and set him in one of the overstuffed chairs. After a few minutes Stu came to. Looking around, he saw his wife and daughter. Judy had a small frown of frustration. Spying Nick, who carried his signature smirk. Stu gave a weak smile as the inside of his ears turned a slight shade of red.

"Sorry about that, guess I'm more nervous then I thought."

Bonnie rubbed Stu's back a moment as he regained his composure. There was a light knock at the door, and Dr. Fast entered.

"Good morning Judy," he started. "Today's the big day. There's just a few more minor details we need to go over before they come to take you back for your procedure." Turning to the rest,"I am afraid that I'm going to need you to step out during this discussion. I do apologize." Turning back to Judy he handed her a clipboard with several sheets of paper.

Nick figured that was a good time to leave the room. Motioning to Bonnie, who nodded and grabbed Stu, they made their way out to the nurses station.

x⁰X⁰x

At the nurses station, the group was informed that Judy would be taken to surgery soon, and that there was a waiting area on floor 2 that was near the main elevators that they could wait in. Nick excused himself as the two bunnies made their way to the indicated area. Nick, on the other hand, went to the gift shop and got Judy a special gift. A large bouquet of flowers, a card and a stuffed Captain Carrot that was almost as big as Judy. After paying for the items, and requesting they be delivered to Judy's room, he made his way to the elevator and up to floor two.

As Nick approached Judy's parents he caught the last part of the conversation Dr. Fast was having with them.

".. dy has been taken to final prep, and we shall begin soon. Barring any complications, this type of surgery takes close to 6 hours. You are of course welcome to stay, but I strongly suggest you get some rest. We are happy to give you updates as to progress, and of course we will let you know should anything be amiss." Catching scent of Nick, Dr. Fast turned and smiled at him. Quickly repeating what he had just mentioned to the two bunnies sitting nearby, Dr. Fast placed a reassuring paw on Nick's shoulder. "Don't worry Nick, we will take good care of Judy. She will be back in her room and awake soon. Get some rest in the meantime, yes?"

Nodding, Nick shook the doctor's paw and turned back to Judy's parents. "Anyone hungry? My treat."

Shrugging, the two bunnies agreed they could eat, and Nick suggested Therus for breakfast. "They have a decent selection of both pred and prey food," Nick said. And considering he knew the owner, he could personally vouch for the quality. Arriving at Therus, Nick, Stu, and Bonnie chatted about the farm, how difficult it was to raise 275 kits. It still boggled Nick's mind that they could be happy with all that noisy business.

"We honestly never gave that much thought, we simply enjoyed being parents and having kits," Bonnie said.

"And besides, I can't work 22,000 acres by myself, the older kits pitch in and help work the land, and help with the harvest."

Bonnie nodded agreeing with Stu. "Of course many of the older does help with raising the youngest kits. Everyone does their part. Though, I do admit that meal times can get kind of noisy."

The conversation ranged from Nick's time at the academy, to different times of Judy's younger days on the farm, how she preferred running through the fields as fast as she could to actually harvesting them.

"Judy just was never the farming type," Bonnie was explaining as the young deer doe sat their check on the table, smiled at Nick and walked off. Of course a small argument ensued about who was going ro pay. In the end Nick snatched the check from Stu's paw and paid, leaving a generous tip. More conversation about some of Judys antics as a kit, from getting her face smooshed into her carrot cake on her 7th birthday, to chasing after one of her older brothers when he teased her about it, of course trailing frosting and cake through the burrow.

5 Hours Later

Nick and Stu were becoming nervous wrecks. They were each doing their level best to wear twin paths in the carpet with all their pacing. It had been six hours since Judy was taken back for surgery, and no word on what was going on. Bonnie of course was trying to get both of them to sit and wait, reasoning that there might be a few small complications they had not anticipated. As the boys were almost ready to concede to Bonnie, when a very tired looking cheetah strode through the doors leading to the OR.

"How is she Doc," Nick and Stu said at the same time, garnering a brief glare from Bonnie.

Indicating them to have a seat, "There was a complication, she's just fine, not to worry, she's in good paws. We found another vertebrae that had been crushed near her pelvis that we were unaware of," hold up a paw to stave off any comment. "I know you're anxious, but please allow me to finish, then I will answer a few questions." Looking at each of the two rabbits and the fox.

"As I was saying, she is doing well, we did have one complication that will extend the surgery by another good hour. Once we started removing the crushed vertebrae we noticed a 5th near her pelvis that didn't show up on any x rays or MRIs. We are in the process of removing that last one now, and prepping her for implantation of the new vertebrae. We should be done in a couple more hours. We will let you know when Judy is out of surgery and in recovery, and when you can go see her. She's going to be groggy and probably wont recognize you right away, due to prolonged anesthesia. Any questions? No? Good we will let you know when she's in recovery."

"How long till she will be able to go home?" Nick quickly asked.

Well, if all goes well, in about a month."

With that Dr. Fast stood up, gave Nick a friendly squeeze on his shoulder, and strode back through the doors to the OR. Sighing, Nick looked over at Bonnie and Stu, and sat back with an almost exhausted resignation.

"It's going to be ok dear," Bonnies said.

"That's right," said Stu. "She's a tough bun."

2 Hours Later

Nick, Bonnie and Stu were quietly discussing Judy's possible future and the hope that with some very specialized equipment, Judy might in fact walk again.

"What is that going to do for her being an officer?" Stu asked.

"Im not entirely su-"

Nick was interrupted, as an OR nurse came through the big double doors.

"Judy is out of surgery, everything went as planned, despite the one complication. She is in recovery and for now we ask that you wait back down in her room. We will bring her in shortly, after we make sure her vitals are normal after we remove the anesthesia."

"Thank you nurse," Bonnie said as the small group made their way back down to Judy's room. A short time later, two orderlies wheeled Judy back in, gone were all the hardware that had forced Judy to remain still for so long. Gone was the cast on her left arm. Gone was the cast on her lower half. She slept peacefully as she was still under the influence of anesthesia. Nurse Jen appeared moments later and made sure Judy was connected to a couple various machines and monitors. Smiling at Nick and the bunnies, she quietly slipped out of the door. It wasn't long before Judy started to stir. Cracking her eyes she first saw her parents, then they found Nick and she smiled. In a raspy voice she croaked, "Hey Slick, did ya miss me?"

Nick was about to answer when Jen came in. She had apparently heard Judy. "Ok Judy, you just spent the last 8 hours with a breathing tube down your throat. No talking." She gave Judy a look of "try it and I'll tape your muzzle shut," all the while smiling. Checking Judy's vitals, and making sure the small machine that delivered her timed doses of pain killer was functioning properly, She smiled at Judy. Turning to Nick, "Make sure she stays quiet till at least tomorrow. Her throat will be raw from the breathing tube, and any exertion could damage her throat and vocal cords." Jen then handed Judy a white board and a marker, then turned and walked out.

Padding over to Judy's side, Nick smiled down at her.

"How ya feelin Fluff?" Nick asked quietly. Judy started to respond, but Nick shushed her by putting a digit to her muzzle, and tapped to the white board.

Rolling her eyes she quickly wrote, "Sore .. back hurts, throat hurts."

"Judy dear, we wanted to wait till you were out of surgery and awake. We both love you very much, and are so very proud of the strength you have had through all of this mess," Bonnie said. "We will be headed back to Bunnyburrow tomorrow, but we will stop and see you on our way out of town."

Reaching down Bonnie and Stu gave Judy a hug, Stu being careful not to jar Judy too bad. After many hugs and not a few tears, the two made their way back to the hotel. Judy was still fairly tired from her ordeal, and closed her eyes. She was soon asleep. Nick gave her a kiss between her ears, getting a small, happy churr from Judy. Settling into his chair, Nick pulled out his phone and shot a message to Leon, requesting a list of fast construction firms that specialized in disabled remodeling. Satisfied that he had covered the necessary items including any additional construction, needed to be done within the month, he crawled into his cot, watched Judy sleep for a time, listening to the steady beep of the monitoring equipment, Nick closed his eyes and was soon asleep.

x⁰X⁰x

Well Judy is out of surgery and seemingly doing well. What's next for our favorite duo? Not sure, but you can bet laughs, hijinks, and drama are coming. Please stay tuned to see how this story plays out.

As always, a special shout out to my buddy Blkdragon7 for the editing.

If you aint reading his ongoing story called A Friendly Hustle you really should be.

Also go check out his new story Wilde Cards: Savage Lands, and show him some love there as well.

You can also check out his original work and link to his writing Blog, Scribblings, where a lot of it lives by hopping over to ( Direct: dcballard (remove the spaces) and my writing blog, BearSpace, at: bearspace … because the forwarding is misbehaving.)

Until next time my friends.