Northern Districts Hospital - Day 13 Continued
"You have the results now?" Heath asks as him, his brothers, Ricky and Bianca walk into the relatives room where Brax and Emily were waiting.
"I do." Nate nods.
"So?" Lucas asks, not getting a good feeling with the sombre look of the doctors face.
"I'm afraid it's not good. I've been going through all of the scan and test results with colleagues and we agree that there is no improvement in Kyle's condition." Nate says. "I know it's not what you want to hear, but there's nothing more we can do. The next step would be for you all to come to a decision about Kyle's lif-"
"No." Heath shakes his head, Bianca taking his hand. "There has to be something!" He says, having wanted to put this off longer, not knowing what to feel now they were actually being told.
"There is no evidence to suggest that Kyle's condition is going to improve. We've done everything we can and Kyle has not improved. I'm sorry it's come to this, I really am. You don't have to make a decision now, you've got time. There is a significant amount of strain being put on Kyle's organs and I don't think keeping him on a life support machine longer will help with that." Nate explains.
"I want a second opinion." Brax says.
"Brax, I know it's hard-"
"You have no idea what this will do to us. I am getting a second opinion." Brax firmly says.
"Okay, I can organise another doctor to go over everything for you." Nate says.
"No, I'll be sorting it. You'll just get a doctor that will agree with what you're saying." Brax says.
"Do you have a doctor in mind?" Nate asks.
"Yeah, I do." Brax says, standing up and walking out to call them, Ricky following him out.
"Please know I never wanted it to come to this, but there's nothing else we can do. You need to think about what Kyle would want if he could make this decision." Nate says.
"If Brax wants a second opinion, we'll be getting one." Heath says, walking out with his brothers, but heading to Kyle's room instead.
"I'm sorry, Nate. It's not that we don't trust you, we just need more conformation so they can get peace knowing it really is the best choice." Bianca says.
"You've all been great looking after Kyle, but I'm with Brax on this. I trust he knows what he's doing, and he's the one you would need the signature from, yes?" Emily asks.
"Yes, it would need to come from him." Nate nods. "I can see I'm not going to get anywhere and this is your choice. I just hope you know that there really is nothing else we can do for Kyle. His injuries were just too severe and I'm surprised he was even able to survive after the severity of his head injury." He says.
"Thanks Nate. We best go and find them." Bianca says, walking out with Emily. "Did you know Brax was going to refuse this?"
"Not exactly. But we can't give up on Kyle. We actually spoke about a lot before you guys got here and we agreed that we were going to fight for Kyle's life." Emily says as they walk towards Kyle's room, guessing that's where the boys would have gone. "I know you don't think we should be dragging this out any longer than needed, but we can't lose Kyle."
"I don't think it should be dragged out, but I'm not the one who has a say. You and those stubborn brother's of Kyle's need to do what you have to do. But please take into account that a second opinion is highly unlikely to bring up anything different." Bianca says.
"We will, don't get stressed out over this. You've got a baby to think about." Emily says.
"I know. I'm trying hard to get this pregnancy stuff right and support Heath at the same time. He just wants our baby to have Kyle as an uncle." Bianca says.
"Yeah, I get that. Kyle would be great to your baby." Emily says. "He always wanted a family of his own, I thought I'd be having his baby one day."
"I can't imagine what you're going through." Bianca sighs, not knowing how she'd cope if it was Heath.
"I can't even explain it, not really." Emily says as they reach Kyle's room.
Northern Districts Hospital
"So who's this doctor giving us a second opinion?" Emily asks.
"Someone we've known for a long time. I trust him to give it to us straight." Brax says.
"You know Nate is trying to do the same." Ricky says, slightly shaking her head, but she was supporting him in his decisions.
"Yeah course." Brax rolls his eyes. "He should be finished by now." He mutters, Tyler glancing at the door as it opened up.
"Oi mate, wrong room. Get out." He glares as Nate then also walks in.
"I see the new brothers have the same Braxton charm."
"Sid Walker." Heath shakes his head with a scoff as they turn to face him. "Long time no see."
"I'm sorry, who are you?" Lucas asks.
"I was a doctor here a long time ago now. I've known your family since they moved here." Sid replies to him.
"But what are you doing here?" Heath asks. "I thought you were off being a travelling doctor or whatever you left for."
"When Brax called and said he needed help, I knew it must be serious. I was on this side of the state, so agreed to go over Kyle's case. I'm a locum doctor around Australia now and was currently based in Sydney. This also gave me a reason to come back for a visit, it's been a while." Sid explains. "But that's not what I'm here for right now. I've gone through Kyle's results a couple times just to make sure I've got everything clear before talking to you."
"And what do you reckon?" Heath asks.
"I'm sorry to say this, but I agree with Dr Cooper. I can run some more tests if you want me to triple check, but I wouldn't see why anything new would come up." Sid says. "I wish I could have come here with better news, I really do."
"So that's it, there's nothing we can do?" Brax asks.
"I'm afraid not. I saw that Kyle's brain injury was severe, and although his surgery went well, I'm surprised he made it this far. Even if there was a chance that Kyle would wake up, I would expect there to be some severe, maybe irreversible, brain damage." Sid says.
"I've brought you some leaflets to read through about the steps before turning life support off. I want you to all be sure it's what you want before we get to that stage." Nate says, handing them over to Brax.
"No matter how long it's put off, it's still going to happen, isn't it?" Emily asks.
"I'm afraid so. But a decision doesn't have to be made straight away." Nate says, knowing this would be hard enough on them without a deadline being put on the younger Braxton's life.
"Okay." Emily mutters.
"We'll be outside if you have any questions." Sid says as he leaves with Nate.
"What's everyone's first thoughts?" Tyler asks, knowing they needed to start discussing it before it kept being put off.
"I'm not ready." Emily shakes her head. "I still need some time to get my head around the fact there's nothing else that can be done for Kyle."
"Same here. I want some more time." Lucas says, still hoping for a miracle.
"Case?" Brax says, glancing at his youngest brother.
"I'm with Emily and Lucas, I'm not ready." Casey says, not knowing what he was expecting to come from the second opinion, he just hoped it would have been better.
"I'm with them." Heath mutters.
"If you agree with them, so do I." Tyler says to Brax.
"I said I wasn't letting him go without a fight, that hasn't changed." Brax says.
"So we all agree to wait a few more days, to get our heads around this review, and then discuss it again?" Tyler asks, getting a nod from everyone.
"Everyone needs to be in agreement before Kyle's life support is turned off, so if that means it takes a while, then it has to happen." Brax says, not wanting anyone to have regrets or feel out voted when it comes to it.
"Yeah, I think that a fair way of doing it." Casey lightly nods, not wanting to agree to something if his brother's didn't think it was the right time.
"I should go and tell Blake. He wanted to be kept updated." Lucas says before quickly leaving.
"Is he okay?" Brax asks.
"He was really hoping it wouldn't have come to this." Tyler nods. "We all were."
"We'll work through this, there has to be a way." Heath mutters.
"Are you okay?" Ricky asks Brax, resting her head on his shoulder.
"I was just hoping for something better but this is something I have to get my head around." Brax says, needing time to think over it.