Northern Districts Hospital
"How's Bianca doing?" Casey asks as Brax walks back in.
"Still in labour. The doc said she's doing well so far and so's the kid." Brax says as he walks to the end of Kyle's bed. "They don't think there's much longer to go until the kid gets here."
"How exciting!" Emily smiles. "What are they going to do about the name though?"
"Irene arrived a while ago and said that they've been talking about it between contractions." Brax says. "Thought I'd come back here to wait instead of getting an earful from Heath about the nursery not being ready."
"I thought the nursery was the first thing that was finished?" Casey asks.
"That's what I thought as well but apparently some of the furniture still needs to be built and some things set up." Brax says.
"Well we could go and finish it for them, give Heath something to think about." Lucas says, Blake, Casey and Tyler agreeing.
"I think the four of us could get it done by late this afternoon if we left soon." Tyler says.
"Still no heavy lifting for you, but sure. I think they'd appreciate that." Brax says as the four of them get ready to go.
"We'll let you know how it goes." Tyler says.
"Keep us updated on Bianca." Lucas adds.
"Sure, see you later." Brax nods.
"What am I meant to do in the meantime?" Kyle asks.
"Sit there and be quiet, we need to talk." Brax says.
"Why don't we go for a coffee?" Ricky suggests to Emily and Denny, them both agreeing before walking out.
"Is this about your chat with Nate?" Kyle asks.
"Yep, I think there's some things we need to go through before you're discharged. Nate thought I was the best person to drill it into that rebellious skull of yours." Brax says.
"For the last time, I am sorry for taking off this morning!" Kyle moans.
"Yeah, I figured you were with the moody look you've had on your face since coming back." Brax smirks, Kyle rolling his eyes. "There's some things that have to happen before Nate is going to discharge you, and you won't be leaving here until they happen."
"What are they?" Kyle asks.
"The first one is your physio. Nate wants you to be able to walk by yourself on crutches without being unstable but the good news is you can have your cast off next week, so then there will be new rules to go by." Brax says, seeing Kyle was about to complain. "You might be able to be discharged before then, only if you prove that you are going to focus during your physio sessions."
"Fine, I can do that." Kyle reluctantly agrees. "What's the next thing?"
"You need to start taking control of the meds you're on. Your anti-rejection meds have to be taken everyday for the rest of your life, not a single one can be missed. Your antidepressants also need to be taken everyday still, but you're going to be on different ones until they're no longer needed. They might give you some side effects, you'll just need to get used to them again." Brax explains.
"What about my spleen being removed? Nate said something about me needing to be careful from now on."
"Yep, you need to be careful especially in winter. Nate said that's when you'll be most at risk of getting an infection, and because you don't have a spleen, you're at higher risk of getting infections." Brax says.
"Great, so basically stay indoors so I don't get the flu or whatever." Kyle mutters.
"Nate said you'll get a flu jab every year to help avoid that. I know it's a lot to consider now, but you're not alone."
"Yeah, I know." Kyle lightly nods. "What else?" He asks, knowing he'd be watched like a hawk for a while to make sure he sticks to it all.
"For the next few weeks, maybe longer if necessary, you have to tell us if you don't feel well. Even though you didn't have bad brain damage, you still had a serious head injury. Nate said it can take a long time for your brain to heal, and also your skull. He said it's going to be painful, and pain meds might not help a huge deal but it's normal."
"Why will it be painful?" Kyle asks, Nate walking in to check on him.
"Nate, do you want to tell Kyle why his skull healing will be painful?" Brax says, knowing Kyle wouldn't believe it if it came from him.
"Sure." Nate nods. "You had craniotomy surgery, so when your skull heals, it fuses back together. Luckily for you, you were unconscious during the start of the healing and it's normally about eight weeks for the healing to happen. We'll give you some pain meds for it, but they're not strong like you would get here in the hospital."
"Well that sounds like something I want to be unconscious for." Kyle sighs, feeling like it was never ending.
"After reviewing your latest scans, it shows that you're doing well and I don't think you have much longer. The pain you've been getting in your head is your skull healing." Nate says.
"You know I don't like it when you tell me all of this medical stuff. Just tell me I'm healing and that I'm ready to go home, and I'll be happy." Kyle says.
"I've already told you the stuff that has to happen before you can go home, Nate's going to be keeping a very close eye on it and will be the one to say when it can happen." Brax says.
"Yes, I know!" Kyle says, thinking to himself. "If I have more physios sessions a week, will that mean I get better quicker?" He asks Nate.
"Maybe, it will certainly help the more you do it." Nate says.
"Then can we change my physio to twice a day instead of once a day?" Kyle asks. "You just said it would help, and I want to go home."
"Okay, let me speak to the physio team and see what we can do. I'm not making any promises, so if they don't have available spaces, then nothing will change." Nate says. "We can also make time most days to go through your medication so you become familiar with what you will need to do everyday."
"Okay, sounds like a plan." Kyle nods, happier knowing he might not need to stay in hospital for much longer.
"And in other news, it's looking hopeful you can have your cast off next Wednesday. We'll do some X-rays before just to make sure your leg is healed, but your results have been good this week." Nate says with a smile.
"So I can definitely go home before I get my cast off?" Kyle asks to make sure, not wanting to get his hopes up in case it wasn't going to happen.
"As it's probably already been made very clear, you have to show me you're ready to be discharged before I'll consider it. These physio sessions are the main thing I'm concerned with at the moment but I'm hoping you'll have a good reason to try hard in them now." Nate says.
"Okay, I'll try my best." Kyle says. "Does the one I had this morning count?"
"I'm afraid it does. You took quite a tumble which could have delayed your recovery if you landed on your broken leg." Nate says.
"But I didn't, so we don't have to worry about what could have happened." Kyle says.
"Is that the point of this?" Brax stares at him, not impressed that he had started to talk back more.
"No, I was just saying." Kyle mutters, not needing to get his brother in a bad mood in case he makes Nate keep him there longer. "So if I do really well in physio for the next few days, I could go home after that?"
"As I said, you have to show me you're ready before we go thinking about it more. You also need to prove you'll be able to take all of your medications correctly without the help of anyone else. You'll have Brax there to help if needed but he isn't to get involved unless you're doing something wrong." Nate says.
"But that's going to be so much to remember! What if I have another forgetful moment and you keep me here longer?" Kyle moans.
"You haven't been having any forgetful moments, have you?" Nate asks, wondering if there was any he kept to himself.
"Not that I can remember." Kyle says, smirking at their faces. "No, I'm sure I haven't."
"Can we class that as a forgetful moment?" Brax jokes, Kyle lightly glaring at him as Ricky walks in with Emily, both of them with a smile on their faces.
"Bianca has just given birth to a very healthy baby boy." Ricky smiles. "We've just been down to see them, and Denny had to head back as she had a shift."
"That's great news." The boys smile.
"Yeah, the doctor said they want to keep them both overnight, but can probably be discharged tomorrow." Emily smiles.
"Well isn't that nice for the both of them." Kyle says, them all staring at him. "I wasn't being sarcastic." He mutters before taking guesses on what they're going to call their baby.