Thank you to everyone who's still reading- this one's all a bit medical as they get Jay sorted. With 7 days to go... things are gonna get tricky for Jay soon! Enjoy...
Chapter Five
"Ok..." Ethan began, taking a big breath. "He's had the scan and I'm glad we ventilated him; it was definitely the right thing to do. His main issue is his lungs. Marcel is taking him to the OR as we speak."
"What for?" Will jumped straight in, questioning him.
"I'll get there…" Ethan said, continuing his planned speech. "Ok, so there is pulmonary oedema, or water present in his lungs." He simplified. "We've started medication to help remove it. On top of that, he has a bad chest infection too which isn't helping. I think the plan will be to keep him ventilated for a few days to let the antibiotics and other medications work, let him rest, and then if things improve, we can start to think about waking him up."
"So does that mean he's on life support?" Hailey asked.
"At this present time, yes. His body is really weak Hailey and he's sick. There's no way he could do this on his own, so his breathing will be managed by us for now." Ethan answered kindly, Hailey nodded in understanding. "The next 72 hours will be critical for him."
"Do his lungs need surgery?" Voight asked, trying to make sense of the OR visit.
"No, we're taking him up to the OR to get him cleaned up. He has so many contusions, lacerations and sores that need cleaning out and dressing that it'll be easier on him to do it under general anaesthetic, while he's deeply asleep. Even the soles of his feet are messed up! His back is the worst though, everything needs cleaning and disinfecting. There is a sore on his lower back that looks pretty infected, we've done tests- but the results will take a few days. However, I'm expecting the antibiotics to work for this too." Ethan paused to let that all sink in.
"This is bad." Hailey said quietly. "I just can't believe this is happening."
"I'm so sorry Hailey." Ethan paused his traumatic update.
"What else is there Ethan?" Will asked, encouraging Ethan to continue, he was unable to wait any longer.
He took another big breath and re-started, "Well, bone wise... both his wrists are fractured, I think that was a given judging by the state of them when he came in. Marcel will cast them in the OR. He has several cracked ribs, on both sides. Oh, and his collar bone on the right is busted." He paused again as he had noticed Hailey getting paler by the second.
"Do you need some air?" He asked, gesturing towards Hailey.
"No." She answered calmly. "It's just pretty shocking to listen to." She said quietly.
Voight reached out and squeezed her arm in reassurance.
"He's obviously dehydrated and malnourished, we'll work on fixing that straight away. That'll be via a tube through his nose into his stomach to start with, and IV fluids obviously until he's conscious again. The dehydration has upset his kidneys and they are not functioning normally at present. We'll keep a close eye on this, hopefully re-hydrating him will reverse this."
Hailey's eyes started welling up again and she reached for the already soaked tissue in her pocket.
"Does he need dialysis?" Will asked.
"Not yet, but they'll monitor everything in the ICU Will."
"Does Marcel need a hand in the OR Ethan?" Will asked, wanting desperately to be part of the team fixing Jay up, it was hard hearing about it and not doing anything.
"Will man, it's a kind offer, but let us sort it, ok? We can't ask him if he's ok with that." Ethan answered calmly, trying not to upset Will.
"I can tell you now that he won't want anyone cleaning him up." Will answered with a strained smile. "Well, maybe her." He said nodding with a smile towards Hailey.
"Nah, I'm not even sure he'd consent to that." She answered, holding her hands up. "If he was even a fraction more conscious, he'd be at home doing it himself and you all know it!" They laughed quietly, breaking the strain of the conversation.
"So, I have to say although we'll know more after the next 72 hours, you have to remember he's come in here in similar states before and walked out days later. Although he's normally leaking the really important red stuff like a sieve!" Ethan smiled, trying to put Hailey at ease. There was no reassuring Will, he knew the severity of the situation.
"So, no bullet holes or stab wounds this time?" Will confirmed.
"No." He replied shaking his head. "Just a really broken respiratory system and lots of bruising and soft tissue damage. I think one of our biggest concerns we'll have when Jay wakes up is psychological damage." The mood in the room became heavy once again. "Being tortured is likely to have caused severe emotional distress and mental strain, and despite Jay's life experiences, this can't have been easy for him." Ethan continued. "He's going to need his pain managed well and you guys around him to keep him strong and positive."
"Well, we're all here for that." Voight said straight away. "We're all here to help him."
"Shall we wait up in the ICU lounge?" Will asked.
"You can." Ethan replied, "Or... you could consider going home, to sleep. All of you." Three puzzled faces stared back at him. He felt the need to explain himself. "Well, it's real late, he's gonna be in the OR getting cleaned up for quite a while, then we'll get him settled upstairs. He won't know you've left and he's in safe hands."
"There's no doubt about that, but I'm not leaving him." Will stated firmly.
"Get some rest and come back first thing. Honestly guys, you've got a long fight ahead of you. None of you look like you've slept in weeks." Hailey looked at Voight desperately, she prayed he wouldn't consider agreeing to this. Voight shook his head, he was undecided as they were all absolutely exhausted, but it didn't feel right to just leave him on his own, he'd been on his own for weeks.
"Fine!" Ethan said rolling his eyes, he knew he'd lost that argument. "I'll have Maggie bring some blankets and pillows up to the ICU waiting lounge. Please try to shut your eyes at least!" He said standing to leave.
"Hey Ethan..." Will said standing, trying to catch him before he left. "Just wanna say thank you man."
"It's no problem. Just so glad they found him. He's just got to hold on now and keep fighting!" Ethan nodded and walked away.
Will hovered by the door watching Ethan go back towards the ER. He turned to see Hailey collecting coffee cups for the bin and Voight getting his cell phone out.
"Take her upstairs and get settled. I'll update Trudy and come find you." Voight instructed. Will didn't argue, he put his arm around Hailey and led her out of the room and down towards the lifts.
Voight walked swiftly out of the ER into the ambulance bay. He moved to the side, trying to escape any commotion, and hit Trudy's name on his cell. The phone lit up and the dial tone sounded.
"Hey." Trudy answered, after only two rings. "What's the update?" She asked, desperate for news about one of her favourite detectives, her very own Detective Chuckles.
"Well, he's gonna be out for few days. They had to put a tube down to breathe for him. Something about water in his lungs and infection." Voight gruffly explained, a hint of anger and frustration in his voice. He still felt heavily responsible for all that Halstead had been through since he left for that under cover assignment.
"Oh God." Trudy replied. "Hailey and Will ok?"
"Yeah, well... you know. Hailey's upset- but holding it together. Will wants to be in the thick of things as always, Ethan's done well with him though."
"Yeah, I get that." Trudy answered. "How about you?"
"Huh?" He replied, not expecting that question.
"I asked if you were ok, you sound stressed Hank."
"Yeah, I'm good. It's..." He paused wiping his free hand down over his face, leaving his folded knuckles against his mouth. "I feel like a Dad to that kid sometimes, you know?" He said, "And it was me who sent him there." He added quietly.
"It's his job Hank. He wouldn't have gone if he didn't want to." She added encouragingly.
"Yeah, I know." He said kindly, but not really believing her words.
"You know Halstead, he would have gone mad if you tried to send Adam in! He prefers to be at the centre of the action."
Voight chuckled down the phone. "Yeah, I guess so." There was a short pause. Voight decided he needed to walk and talk. He turned to his right and headed towards the carpark. It was now around 2am, the carpark was quiet, and the streetlights lit up the path a golden yellow. He acknowledged that it was still warm out and realised they were having a much better summer this year. He thanked his lucky stars that this didn't happen in the depths of winter. Jay would have frozen to death before anyone could have found him.
"How bad is it Hank?" She asked quietly, taking him away from his thoughts, she could hear that he was walking now.
There was a pause as Voight was deciding how much to explain in this short call. "He was hanging from his wrists when we found him. In and out of consciousness. God damn it, they were beating and starving him Trudy." He said forcefully, trying to keep it together.
"Poor kid." Trudy said. "What are the docs saying?"
"Well, they've taken him to the OR to get him cleaned up. He's a mess, needs a bath really. Broken ribs, wrists, collar bone too. Something about infected wounds."
Voight only heard a sigh down the phone. He decided to change the direction of the call, he couldn't keep talking about it and it sounded like Trudy was reaching her limit of hearing the finer details.
"What's happening at the warehouse?" He asked.
"Well, scenes of crime team are still there. Taken lots of photos for the evidence, but there's no sign of the gang at all. They're dusting everything for prints. We have to catch them Hank. They can't walk for this."
"Yeah, too right. Work on that starts tomorrow! Can you spare someone to sit on his door 24/7?" Voight asked.
"Absolutely. He shouldn't be alone for a second until these guys are in a cell." Trudy agreed. "I'm gonna finish up here and head home. I'll drop in to see you all in the morning."
"Thanks Trudy." He answered.
"No problem, oh and Hank..." She added.
"What?"
"This isn't your fault ok. Go in there and take care of him, but don't hold yourself accountable. He won't appreciate that, ok?"
"Right. See you in the morning." He said, ending the call. He walked a little further to the edge of the path and leaned against the railings taking in what Trudy had said. The lights and sounds of the city made it feel as busy as daytime. They say New York is the city that never sleeps, but Chicago had to be a close second. Sirens wailed in the air as more emergencies took place. Trudy was right about Jay not appreciating him taking the blame, but it was a hard one to shift. He pushed away from the railing and started walking back to Med. Ready to face whatever was coming.
CPDCPDCPDCPDCPDCPDCPDCPDCPDCPD
Jay had no idea what was happening to himself anymore. He was deeply sedated and wheeled into the OR to be cleaned up. The thick layer of filth that gathered from laying in that store cupboard for weeks, was all over his body. Stronger anaesthetic was administered, and he was transferred swiftly on to the operating table, this time he felt nothing. The team around him kept a close eye on all his observations and were ready to act on anything. There was a huge weight of responsibility for them, working on one of their own doctor's brothers. Marcel was scrubbing up when Maggie walked in to join him.
"I'm gonna help you fix him up." She said, picking up another soap and sponge. Marcel didn't respond, just nodded, deep in his own thoughts, he carried on his well-rehearsed actions. She followed suit scrubbing, and cleaning her hands, nails, and arms before donning a sterile gown, gloves and mask. They walked through the OR doors together and instantly looked at their patient waiting for them.
"Let's get this done." Marcel stated, he walked over to the table and stood alongside Jay, Maggie following behind him, she approached Jay from the other side.
"We're gonna need many bowls of warm soapy water, sterile cloths and a good supply of dressings." Maggie requested. One of the OR staff disappeared to fetch her order.
They both begun gently washing him, scrubbing away at the dirt until they reached the clean skin underneath. Starting at his head, they carefully washed his hair, mindful of the cuts and bruised lumps on his scalp. Maggie used a razor to remove four weeks of facial hair growth and they carefully cleaned his teeth around the tube providing essential air, suctioning away the tooth paste and water. Marcel discovered that Jay would need dental treatment, but that could wait, fixing his breathing was priority.
Moving down, they cleaned the rest of his body bit by bit, dressing wounds, stitching lacerations and applying cream to any burns as they went. Marcel was so grateful that Jay was unconscious. There was no way he would have tolerated the care they were giving him fully awake. Marcel gently applied casts to each of his wrists with the help of Maggie holding up his hands and then a decision was made to turn him over to fix the injuries on his back.
It took time to move Jay, with him deeply unconscious and various tubes and wires coming from him, but they did achieve it. Maggie gasped at the state of his back.
"Who would do all this?" She asked.
Marcel shook his head, "I don't know, but hopefully Voight does." Another bowl of warm soapy water was rested on the silver table to their side, and they started washing again, being extra careful around the deeper lacerations. Bowls of dirt filled water were taken away and replaced. More of the lacerations on his back needed stitching as they were much deeper and more likely to scar, Marcel got straight onto this, and Maggie was prompt with dressings to apply.
Moving down, they both noticed the large wound on his lower back, looked angry and inflamed.
"Did Choi swab this one for infection?" He asked, poking at the edge of the wound.
"Yes." Maggie confirmed, offering him a sterile cloth to wipe it down with. He gladly received it and began cleaning the wound. Marcel was confident in Jay's anaesthetic; he didn't react at all.
They decided for the sorest parts of his sensitive areas the best treatment was to apply diaper cream. The skin was raw in places and after being cleaned thoroughly they applied the cream generously, hoping that it would help the skin to heal.
During the clean-up, they had stopped a few times to attend to the warning alarms for his observations deteriorating. Medications were adjusted and oxygen levels raised to help him. It was decided that before he left the OR a central line would be put in. They gradually turned him back over, and the ultrasound was used to insert it into his neck, above the unbroken collar bone on his left.
After four hours of work, Jay was ready to be moved out of the OR. A hospital gown and blanket were placed over him, and they wheeled him into the recovery ward. Over the next hour he was monitored closely whilst he was switched over from general anaesthesia to a deep sedation. After an hour, Maggie checked his level of sedation. He did not respond to her voice, as expected, so she checked he could be stirred by a brief painful stimulus, she rubbed her knuckles on his sternum. The grimace on his face confirmed want she wanted to find.
"It's ok Jay, you're safe…" She reassured him, stroking his arm gently. "Just hold on, ok?" It was unlikely he had heard her, but he quickly went back into unconsciousness.
They moved him then from the recovery ward, up to the ICU. They checked him in, gave a thorough hand over to the new staff caring for him and then went their separate ways.
Maggie was exhausted, she knew it was close to 6am. Out of the windows she could see the sunrise was well in swing, it was going to be another warm day. She acknowledged she only had another two hours to go on one of the hardest night shifts she had done in a while. She headed back towards the lifts and wearily hit the button for the ground floor, ready to return to the ER to see the next patient. Crockett went to the ICU lounge to find Jay's awaiting brother and team.