Disclaimer:
Don't own them.
Authors
note: This is the simplest/most plausable way I could explain how Lucas
developed hydrocephalus. I really didn't want to go into a more serious
medical conditon that would require deep medical explainations. What
I have given him does have varying forms of severity. I left it vague
for that reason. (I know it can be serious, I'm not trying to make light
of the condition.)
Special
Thanks: Mary thank you! She really helped me with this. Thanks
to everyone who sent me ideas. Keafers- my beta. She puts up
with my constant revisions and different sense of humor.
This will be revised, I don't know when though.
SeaQuest
0900
Lucas
walked into the Med Bay knowing it was going to be a long day. Kristen
had shown him the list of tests she had planned for the day. The only tests
not being run on him were a pregnancy test and a barium test.
He
walked into Kristen's office and said "Dr. Livingston, I presume?"
"What?
Oh, hi Lucas. Are you ready for some fun?"
"Fun
for you or fun for me? Swimming with Darwin is fun, or hacking a virgin
server, but not being a lab rat."
"A
virgin server?"
"An
unhacked server."
Kristen
just shook her head. Computer hackers had a different grasp on reality.
"Are
you ready to begin?"
"Sure!
S & M! S & M!"
Kristen
rolled her eyes, "It's not going to be that bad. Lets start with the blood
draws and X rays."
With
that Lucas was off for a day of long tests. He was cooperative, but he
really didn't like being messed with that much. Around noon they took a
break for lunch. It was partially to give Lucas a break, but also it gave
the staff time to analyze the test results.
Lucas
walked into the mess and got a ham and cheese sandwich. It looked better
than the hot food. He sat down by Miguel and Tim.
"Feeling
like a lab rat yet?" Tim asked.
"More
than you know."
"Has
she found anything?" Miguel asked.
"Not
yet, but I've been exposed to enough radiation to make me sterile."
"I
thought all computer geeks were sterile." Tim laughed as Miguel tried to
look innocent.
"Only
the ones that played with nuclear stuff at an early age. I wasn't able
to play with it until I was 7."
Tim
laughed as he was trying to take a drink. Tea almost came out of his nose.
"Don't
say stuff like that when I'm taking a drink!"
Lucas
and Miguel just laughed.
"How
many more tests do you have to do today?" Tim asked.
"I
have 1 more stress test today. I'll trade you for whatever you guys are
doing."
Miguel
and Tim looked at him, then said "Deal!"
Lucas
looked at them and then asked "Why?"
Miguel
looked at Lucas and said "We're doing equipment testing. Mother and Loner
are arguing over a current. I'll be in Med Bay before the end of the day
for headache medication."
"You
think that is bad? The last time we crash dove, some wires were severed
or pulled loose. I had to crawl through all the ducts until found exactly
where they were. Katie had to help me. I will be so glad when this is done."
"On
second thought, I'll stay with Doc. At least she has mercy."
"Don't
you have to do any testing?" asked Miguel.
"Yeah,
I have to do a viral sweep of the main frame, plus some other code testing.
I get to do that after Kristen is done with me."
Nathan
walked up to the table, curious about what they were talking about.
"Are
you trying to get them out of testing?"
Lucas
smiled, "No, I'd never do that."
"Good,
then get me out of it."
Miguel
and Tim looked slightly shocked, then just laughed.
"Not
only do I have to do my own tests, I also get to write up reports from
all the reports I receive."
Lucas
shook his head, "And I thought being a lab rat was bad."
"Has
she found anything yet?"
"Not
yet. I have no bacterial or viral infections, all my scans have been normal,
and no I'm not pregnant."
"Why
did they run that test?" Miguel asked.
"The
lab tech decided since he'd done every other test on the blood, that one
wouldn't hurt."
Nathan
smiled at the thought of Lucas with a positive pregnancy test. That would
be something interesting to explain.
"Did
they find out anything else that was expected?"
"No,
The usual lecutre: I need to eat better and get more sleep."
Kristen
walked up to the group. She looked at Lucas's empty tray.
"What
did you eat?"
"A
ham and cheese sandwich. It was the least scary choice."
"Did
you see the chief's surprise? It was almost better to chase down your own
food." Tim said.
"It's
not that bad." said Nathan as he attempted to stir his chief's surprise.
Tim
stabbed his with a fork, while Miguel said "Ow! Ow! Let me go!"
Lucas
laughed, while Nathan tried not to laugh at their antic. Finally they finished
lunch. Lucas and Kristen headed back to the lab, while the rest of the
crew went back to testing equipment.
Lucas
started the stress test, while Kristen went over his records. She had records
from age 3 to the present. She wondered why she didn't have the complete
record. She sent a request to the server for his records from birth. Lucas
was just getting off of the treadmill when she entered the lab.
"How
are you feeling?"
Lucas
inhaled deeply, "Computer hackers do not run for fun."
"It
didn't kill you. Take off your shirt, so I can take off the heart monitors."
He
did as she asked. As he turned around, Kristen noticed a very old scar
running transverse along the small of his back. Kristen ran her finger
lightly over the scar. Lucas shivered as she did.
"That
feels weird!" Lucas said as he pulled away from her.
"Do
you remember how you got this scar on your back?" asked Kristen as she
continued to study the thin white line.
"Which
one?"
"The
one that runs along the small of your back."
"I
don't know. It has always been there. Why?"
"What
do you mean by which one?"
"I
have several on my back. I have one on right shoulder from when I was 2.
I pulled Cynthia's curling iron off the sink. I also have one on my left
side from when I was 6. Lawerence asked me if I'd ever seen a match burn
twice."
Kristen
looked shocked, "He burned you with a match?"
"Yup,
good ole dad! It was supposed to be ok, though, he was drunk when he did
it, so that excuses everything."
Lucas's
sarcasm showed in his eye's as well as his voice.
He
could see that the subject was upsetting Kristen, so he tried to reassure
her.
"Don't
worry about it, that was a long time ago. Plus, they haven't wanted anything
to do with me since they sent me to college."
Kristen
shook her head. She was starting to acquire an excessive dislike for the
Wolenczeks. She squeezed his shoulder. He surprised her when he turned
around and hugged her. She hugged him back. When the embrace ended, she
noticed Lucas's grin. It was one that meant Lucas was up to something.
"What?"
"Oh,
nothing...Just glad to rub some of my sweat off on you!"
"Your
terrible!" Kristen said as she laughed.
"Why
are you curious about my scar?"
"It
looks like an old surgical scar. The records I have say nothing about any
surgeries. I also don't have some of your records."
"What
type of surgery?"
"I'm
not sure, but this may be a lead to the way you mysteriously developed
hydrocephalus."
"What
do you mean?"
"The
way the scar runs suggests you may have had a form of spina bifida as an
infant."
"What
exactly is that?"
"It is a interaction of genetic predisposition
with an essential nutrient deficiency(folic acid). In English, it means
that you had part of your spinis process missing. This allowed the cerebral
spinal fluid to push out the skin and form a sac. They remove the sac and
the child normally suffers no other problems."
"Then
how does this relate to my shunt now?"
"If
there is some injury to the sac, it can cause complications. One of those
is hydrocephalus. I don't know why we would be seeing such a complication
now, but it is the only thing I can see as a possibility right now."
"Ok,
but what does that mean about my shunt? Does it have to stay in?"
"I can see no reason to remove it.
It may be permanent, I don't know. Why?"
"The
guys are already saying the tube transports my one brain cell from one
brain to the other."
Kristen
tried to stifle her laughter, but failed.
"Laugh
all you want, at least I have two brains!"
"Yet
let males get in a group of 3 or more, and they can not seem to use either
one."
"To
shay, Doctor, to shay."
"Lets
get the last blood draw done, then your free."
"Thanks."
"You've
been very cooperative, so as a reward, you are free tomorrow as well."
"Does
that mean I can go swimming?"
"No.
You aren't to submerge the incision sites for at least another week."
"But!"
"But
nothing. I am not taking any chances."
"Yes
Mom!"
Kristen
smiled as she drew the blood. "I can be much worse, just ask my daughter."
Lucas
threw his arms up in jest and said "I give up! Please be merciful!"
Kristen
laughed, then said "Go! Be good and don't get Ben in trouble."
Lucas
smiled, "Wouldn't dream of it."
"Which
one, being good, or getting Ben in trouble?"
"Either!" With that, Lucas was off to
play with Darwin.
2000 hours
Kristen
finally got the records she requested. She had to threaten peoples lives,
but she had succeeded. The records corresponded with her theory. The sac
had been removed when Lucas was 4 months old. The nurses notes stated that
there had been some cranial swelling. It had been measured and documented.
Lucas's head had swelled only slightly, but it may have been enough to
cause damage. She sighed, letting out some of her tension as she did. At
least now she had a plausible cause.
Nathan
knocked softly on her door, making her jump. Nathan smiled. She nodded
for him to enter.
"How
are you doing?"
"Not
bad, I think I have figured out how Lucas developed hydrocephalus."
"What
would that be?"
"He
had spina bifida as an infant. This can possibly cause hydrocephalus. I
don't know why it has taken so long for him to show the signs, but that
is the most logical answer I can find."
"What
does it mean for him now?"
"I
don't really know. The shunt corrected the swelling, so that's what we'll
go with for now."
Nathan
could see the fatigue in Kristen's eyes.
"Are
you done for tonight?"
"Yes,
but there is something I'd like to ask you."
"What?"
"Have
you seen the scars on Lucas's back?"
"Yes,
he told me about some of them."
Nathan
could see the anger in Kristen's eyes.
"I
take it he told you about the match burn."
"Yes.
How could his own father do that?"
"Kristen,
there isn't much I would put past those two."
Kristen
could see Nathan was no happier about the thought, but there was little
they could do to erase the past. She did know it would benefit the
Wolenczeks to stay away from Lucas. They had shown little care about
him during the time he was on the SeaQuest. She and Nathan loved
the boy like he were their own son.
"I
just couldn't even think of doing that to any child, especially my own."
"I
know. I know I made my share of mistakes with Robert, but never anything
intentional."
"True.
My daughter almost pulled the iron off the ironing board when she was 8
months old."
"It
was my turn to watch Robert when he fell off the couch and hit his head
on the coffee table. He was 2 yrs. old at the time. He had a pretty bad
cut from it."
"It
probably scared you to death didn't it?"
"You
could say that. A screaming child, plus all the blood."
"How
many stitches did he need?"
"Only
three. It still woke me up with how easily a child can get hurt."
Nathan
smiled at Kristen.
"Buy
you a cup of gourmet mess coffee?"
"Only
if it has a piece of chocolate cake with it."
"That
sounds like a wonderful idea."
They
walked to the mess, each a little more relaxed about life in general.
End Note: Spina bifida has varying forms of severity and complications.
It is normally corrected 12-24 hours after birth. The long term results
depend on the condtion of the spinal cord and nerves. The outcomes
range from normal development to paralysis.