BREATHE
This is a Sequel to the story RESPONSIBILITY – if you haven't read that one you need to so that you understand the
characters that will be introduced later in the story. Murphy makes a come back later in the story so for now you
will just have to be patient until I get to that part. Enjoy
"Why aren't I getting any better Kristen?" Lucas said with a little annoyance evident in his voice. He was immediately
overcome by another painful coughing fit that left him feeling tired and out of breath.
Kristen took the stethoscope from her ears after listening to his chest and looked at the young man sitting before her.
"I honestly don't know Lucas" she answered. She was trying to use her medical knowledge to work out why the boy
was still feeling so poorly.
The chest infection had stemmed from being aboard the freezing SeaQuest about two weeks ago. It had been on the
verge of turning into a full blown bout of pneumonia, but thankfully the antibiotics he had been prescribed had prevented
his condition from deteriorating any further. The temperature that had been present both on board the vessel and when
Murphy had turned up at the hotel room was not totally gone.
"I have got some friends at the hospital who are better specialists in these types of areas. I'll give one of them a call and
see whether or not I can get them to take a look at you." Kristen now said, hoping to reassure the teenager.
"Oh great, so not only do I feel awful, I get to be poked and prodded some more." Lucas said in an uninterested voice.
The perpetual tiredness that he had been feeling over the last two weeks was now reappearing and telling him that he needed
to rest. He couldn't remember a time when he spent so much time in bed. He didn't have the energy to fight his body's
request though and so sullenly pulled his legs up onto the bed and under the blankets and laid back against the pillow.
"What's wrong with me Kristen" Lucas said with a little bit of fear starting to creep into his voice. Kristen told him that
it would take a couple of weeks to get rid of the infection from his lungs after being so sick. But everything about his body
told him that he wasn't getting any better at all. His body ached just as before, especially his chest. Sometimes he felt as
though his lungs were going to burst if he couldn't draw enough breath into them. His cough was still there and seemed
to be harsher and drier than before.
"I don't know honey, but I promise you I will find out" Kristen said as she now fussed with the sheets and blankets, making
sure the boy was comfortable enough. She let out a heavy sigh as she watched him close his eyes and turn onto his side.
The frustration from his lack of energy and his continual cough were evident on his face. "I promise" she whispered and
closed the door to Lucas's bedroom.
"How is he?" Bridge now asked, getting to his feet. He had been sitting in the living room for the last half and hour waiting
for Kristen to return and tell her what was going on with Lucas. He wanted to be in the room with her, but she told him that
she needed to make a diagnosis without any external interference. She didn't mean it to sound like he was not wanted , but
she thought it best that Lucas and her talked alone for a few minutes.
"Not much better I'm afraid. And it's starting to get him down." Kristen replied honestly. "I am going to speak to Doctor
Kavanagh again from the hospital and see who he can recommend to see Lucas tomorrow about this. I know he hates the
idea of all the tests, but I am really beginning to worry that this is something more than a chest infection.
Kristen spent the next twenty minutes or so talking to various doctors and administration staff at the hospital via the
video-link. She had spoken firstly to Doctor Kavanagh who showed some concern about Lucas's body's lack of response
to the antibiotics to shake the chest infection. He told Kristen of a few colleagues to contact about having some routine
tests performed and a chest x-ray.
"Well what did they say?" Bridger now asked, barely able to keep still with Lucas being sick.
Kristen turned to him and smiled at his obvious impatience. She knew that he just wanted to do the best for Lucas. "They
told me that I can take him in to see someone tomorrow at 11.00am. They are going to do a few simple tests and then have
a look at his chest with an x-ray. Hopefully all of that will tell us what is going on with him."
About 4.00pm that afternoon, Bridger and Kristen had been relaxing with a cup of coffee in the living room when a very
bleary eyed Lucas walked down the stairs. His hair was tousled and he was still rubbing the tiredness out of his eyes.
"Hey sleepyhead, how are you feeling?" Bridger asked in a gentle voice.
"Still tired, but not as bad as before" Lucas admitted as he sat down on the chair across the room from Bridger. He could
feel two sets of eyes on him looking him up and down and scrutinizing every move he made to see if what he was saying
was true.
"My chest still hurts a lot" he said and put his hand to the area to try and rub some of the tightness away as proof.
"I have booked you into see a doctor at the hospital tomorrow Lucas" Kristen now said. "Doctor Kavanagh set it up after
I told him about you not feeling much better. He says it warrants some more investigation and has set up some tests
in the morning to try and help you."
"Okay" Lucas replied, not really paying attention to what was being said to him. It was at this point that Bridger and
Kristen really did believe him about feeling poorly. They had never known Lucas to be so co-operative about seeing
someone such as a doctor. Events from his past had made them a very painful memory for him and when he as well,
he did his best to try and avoid any medical treatment.
The next morning, Lucas ate a sparse breakfast before they left for the hospital. He felt a little more awake than he had
last night, but his chest was still very tight.
About 10.00am all three, Bridger, Lucas and Kristen got into the car and drove to the catch the ferry to the mainland.
The journey from the island to the mainland took about 20 minutes. Lucas spent the trip leaning on the railing, looking
out over the sea. The breeze felt good on his face and watching the continual motion of the waves made him forget
all about his physical problems.
As they got into the cab at the port to go to the hospital, Lucas sat in the middle between Bridge and Kristen. Lucas
wasn't very talkative to either of them but the thing that worried Kristen most about the teenager was the sound of his
breathing. She could literally hear him take in each breath and exhale it sharply. It was if the boy was constantly out of
breath. It alarmed her and she began to form some ideas about what was making Lucas so tired. She decided to leave
the full diagnosis to the specialist but she made a mental note to talk to the doctors about what she was hearing coming
from the young man's chest.
Bridger got out of the cab and waited until Lucas was a little ahead of both of them before confronting Kristen about
what she was thinking about. He had seen the concentration on her face all the way in the cab and knew it had something
to do with Lucas's condition.
"Not now" she quickly said as Lucas stopped and turned around, wondering why his was walking in alone all of a sudden.
"I'll tell you later" she added.
"Come on you two" Lucas admonished the pair of them. "If I have to go in, so do you" he said as he grumbled all the way
into the hospital reception area. Truth was he hated hospitals. It was no secret to the SeaQuest crew that he had spent
an increasing amount of time in them as a child due to his father's abuse. But walking in here today, he almost felt like he
was going to the place that could tell what was wrong with him.
Kristen now walked in front of both Lucas and Bridger and approached the reception nurse at the desk "Good Morning,"
she greeted the nurse "My name is Doctor Westphalen, I have a patient here ready to see Doctor Kavanagh".
"One moment please" the woman answered as she checked the appointments on her computer.
"Yes I have that appointment, go upstairs to the medical ward to Room 232" she replied as she glanced at the other two
people with the doctor. "I'm afraid you will have to use the stairs this morning. The elevator is having some routine
maintenance done on it" she added.
"Thank you" Kristen said and now led her party towards the staircase. "Looks like we get some exercise" she commented
as she gazed at the two flights of steps they had to climb to the next floor.
The stairs didn't seem to take long and soon they were opening the door to the medical ward. Kristen stepped into the corridor
and started looking for Room 232. Bridger had reached the ward as well and noted that Lucas still had a couple of steps to
go. Somehow the boy had lagged behind them after the first flight of steps.
Kristen was a little alarmed when Lucas did reach the ward however. She could hear the boy's harsh sounding breathing and
the faint sheen of sweat on his face. He looked as though he had just run up about 50 flights of steps rather than slowly walked
up a few.
"Are you okay Lucas?" she said as she gasped his arms and looked intently at his face.
"Yeah……….. just…….just a little out of breath" he said as he tried to slow down and get his breath back. "Looks like
I need some exercise" he joked but than resumed trying to calm himself down. His pulse was racing and he felt incredibly hot
all of a sudden.
Kristen let him go but threw a worried glance towards Bridger who was looking at Lucas himself. Bridger was no doctor but
could also hear the raspy sound of his breathing. What did it all mean?
Kristen now made a determined effort to find the right room a little more quickly and triumphantly announced that she had
found the right door. Bridger and Lucas now walked in her, Lucas putting his hands deep into his pockets, trying to hide his
nervousness.
"Doctor Westphalen" said Doctor John Kavanagh as they walked in. He shook her hand and that of Bridger's before looking
at Lucas and raising an eyebrow at the boy's pale features. He looked back at Kristen with a questioning glance but she
quickly shook her head, signalling that now wasn't the right time. They would talk more when Lucas was out of earshot.
"Lucas would you like a drink or anything before we start?" Kavanagh now asked.
"No" came the reply.
"Okay now Lucas, I am just going to conduct some routine tests on you. Nothing too drastic. Just poke and prod you
a little, take your blood pressure and listen to various parts of your body. How does all of that sound?" Kavanagh said,
trying to gain the teenager's confidence.
"Tiring" Lucas said in an uninterested voice, immediately diverting his gaze from the people in the room, hiding his
apprehension.
"Lucas, you can sit there for a minute or so. I am just going to wheel this blood pressure and check on your pulse."
Kavanagh explained. "Now roll up your sleeve please."
Lucas rolled his eyes in disapproval for a minute but then complied, knowing that he wasn't going to get out of here
until they all these so-called tests. He now watched as the doctor tightened the Velcro sleeve on his arm and read
the mercury based scale. Before he took the sleeve off Lucas's arm, the doctor now placed the listening part of a
stethoscope on the inside of the boy's wrist and now counted time with his watch and his ears. Lucas saw a frown
start to appear on the doctor's face at the end of that test.
"All done here Lucas, but now I need you to come with me and talk to a few of my doctor friends. They are the ones
going to do some of the other tests" Kavanagh explained. He could see the hesitation in the young man's expression.
"Come on honey" Kristen said taking him gently but firmly by the upper arm and leading him from one doctor's office
to the next. Bridger followed behind without saying too much at all. He was intent on listening to whatever the doctor's
were saying and keeping an eye on the reluctant teenager's demeanour .
For the next hour or so Lucas went from one doctor to the other, one test to the next. Obediently complying with their
requests but not liking it any better. One test saw his face turn a bright shade of scarlet as he was required to blow one
long continuous breath into a small hollow tube. He was told that this test measured how much air was in his lungs.
A normal young adult of Lucas's age was supposed to obtain a reading about 400. Both Lucas and everybody in the
room grew concerned when the marker on the tube only reached 150.
They took blood and other body samples from him and told him to take a deep breath in and let it out slowly as they
listened to his lungs, front and back with the stethoscope again.
He did various other tests like running on the spot for a short period of time and measuring his breathing levels again, then
riding a stationary bike for a time and then repeating the breathing checks. He ran on a treadmill for what seemed like forever,
until his legs hurt from the exertion.
The clock chimed 1pm when all of the rigorous tests finally came to an end and they went back to Doctor Kavanagh's office
to listen to the findings.
Lucas sat on the long couch just inside the office door and sprawled himself out on it, closing his eyes and seemingly trying
to block out all of the noise around him.
Bridger and Kristen looked at him for a few minutes as did Doctor Kavanagh, trying to gauge how he was really going after
such a busy morning of tests. None of them seemed to be very happy with what they could see. Lucas's skin colouring was
rather pale, though some of that could be caused by the air-conditioning in the building and partly due to the running he had
just been doing a short time ago.
"Nathan, Kristen" John Kavanagh started "I don't want to sound like a party pooper, but I see some very worrying symptoms
in Lucas that I can't ignore."
"I saw some of them too John, but tell me truly what you think they all mean?" Kristen asked in reply.
"Now don't go flying off the handle because we have no way of knowing if it is permanent or not at the moment. Without
re-going over the data and test results again, most of the doctor's we just spoke to confirm that Lucas has developed the
condition commonly known as Asthma. At this early stage we have no real data to go on about how long he might have it,
but all the signs are there to indicate that his breathing is very laboured at times. Particularly when he has been doing some
physical exercise. You saw how his breathing sounded after the running and treadmill."
"What can we do to help him?" Nathan now asked with fear for Lucas in his voice. They all glanced back over towards the
teenager and noted that it appeared he had fallen asleep. His head was leaning against the armrest of the couch and his whole
body looked totally relaxed for the first time that morning. Soft wheezes could be heard escaping his lips at various intervals.
"Well, that's probably the good part about this whole thing" John Kavanagh explained. "Thanks to modern medicine, there
are a lot of very good medicines and equipment on the market to help him if he should suffer an attack."
"And how will we know when he has an attack?" Nathan asked a little frustration creeping into his voice. He wasn't oblivious
to the condition. He had crew members with Asthma before, had even seen some of them struggle for their breath while trying
to find their medication. Is that what Lucas had to look forward, turning blue in the face and struggling to draw a breath into
his lungs while fumbling around in his pocket for his medication spray?
"Oh believe me Captain, both you and he will know when he has an attack." Kavanagh replied. "The first time it happens, and
probably for the first few attacks, it is going to be very scary for him when he has an attack. It normally is for any asthmatic, but
with the right education and medication, people can be taught to monitor their own conditions and be shown what to do when
they feel an attack coming on."
"What should we do first?" Kristen asked now concerned herself about what this new condition meant for Lucas.
"Well, I have some video tapes and education pamphlets for you to take home. I think you will need them to explain to Lucas
how he is going to manage his condition. I will also give you the names of a nebulizer and other equipment that you may wish
to consider purchasing over the next couple of weeks and keep on hand. I will give you Kristen, the names of the medications
that you can purchase by prescription at the chemist. Probably just an inhaler spray to begin with and some Ventolin. The
Ventolin will help to ease his noisy breathing and open up the restricted airways. The spray can be used when he feels short
of breath and isn't anywhere near his other medication."
"Lucas will need to understand that he has to make some lifestyle changes as well until this condition disappears altogether or
becomes more manageable." Kavanagh explained.
"What sort of changes?" Nathan now asked with honest curiosity. He knew that he and Kristen would have to be the most
vigilant of the trio. If they waited until Lucas told them that he wasn't feeling well, it could be too late for any of the medication
to wait. Lucas had a notorious reputation for keeping his sickness and suffering to himself .
"Well, although he will still need to be active, he will also need to kerb some of the physical exercise at times when he feels that
he is getting short of breath. Avoiding over exerting himself or exercising for prolonged periods of time. If he starts to feel tired,
then he needs to recognize that his body is trying to tell him something. Also he needs to keep his inhaler with him at all times.
Attacks can come in many different types and severity. He needs to know how to use the inhaler to help him breath easier
and he needs to seek medical help when he does have severe attacks."
"I know this is a lot to take in all at once and it is going to be a bigger change for Lucas to cope with" Kavanagh started to finish
off. "But the most positive step he can take towards his own health and well-being is prevention. If he recognizes his body's
signs that he is tired and needs to rest, then he should avoid severe attacks and the medication should fill in whenever he is feeling
short of breath. The biggest mistake I see kids and adults make when having an attack is that they fight against their own body.
They feel the tightness in their chests and then tense up in panic and fear which restricts the airways and blood vessels even more.
If he has a attack, help him to keep calm, I know he will be scared, but if you help him to breath through it and take deep, long and
even breaths, his body won't try and fight him back. The attack won't be as severe and won't last as long.
"I will give you my business card. If you feel the need to call and discuss anything, or if Lucas has questions of his own, please
don't hesitate to call. I will be available day or night, especially if it becomes an emergency and he is having a genuine attack."
"I will make an appointment for Lucas to come back in two weeks and see how he is going. Hopefully, this is only temporary due
to the chest infection. Hopefully within a couple of months it will have cleared up altogether. His body was pushed to the limit
there on that submarine for a few days and is just reacting to those pressures. Try not to worry to much" Kavanagh said as he
got up from his chair.
"Come on sleepy head" Nathan said as he roused Lucas from the couch and helped him to stand on his own two feet. The less
than awake teenager could only give a sheepish grin in return for having fallen asleep through the whole discussion. "Kristen
can explain it all when you get home" he said with a sly grin as he looked back at Kristen. Kristen tried to return her best annoyed
look for being put on the spot but ended up giving a grin of her own after a few seconds and helped Nathan direct the still
disorientated Lucas towards the corridor.
"Thank you John, we will be in touch" Kristen said as she exited the door behind Lucas.
"Bye Lucas" Kavanagh sung out after the teenager and got a half raised hand in response. He lost the smile though one the people
had left, realising what an uphill battle they all might be facing over the next couple of weeks. He hoped he was right in his diagnosis
and the condition was indeed only temporary. Listening to the boy's restricted lungs though for most of the morning, didn't give
him much encouragement. While children often grew out of Asthma about the time they were 17 or 18. But in Lucas's case, he was
only just developing the symptoms at that age. He didn't have much faith in the boy's body being able to outgrow the condition.
AUTHOR'S NOTES
SORRY GUYS – YOU COULD HAVE BEEN READING THIS OVER TWO WEEKS AGO BUT I HAVE BEEN VERY SICK FOR THE
LAST FORTNIGHT. THIS STORY WILL TAKE PLACE AFTER THE FIRST AND I WILL USE THE IDEA I WAS GOING TO USE
AT THE END OF THE FIRST. MURRAY WON'T MAKE AN APPEARANCE FOR QUITE A WHILE.
MOST OF THE ASTHMA STUFF COMES FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. I AM THE ONLY FAMILY MEMBER OF FIVE
WHO DOESN'T HAVE THE CONDITION, SO MY HOUSEHOLD WAS ALWAYS FILLED WITH WHEEZY BREATHING.
FOUR YEARS AGO, THE CONDITION CLAIMED MY FATHER AND THEN THREE WEEKS AFTER HE DIED MY VERY
PREMATURE AND NEW BORN SON WAS PLACED ON MY CHEST IN THE DELIVERY ROOM, ONLY TO HEAR THE SAME
NOISES AND GROAN AS I KNEW WHAT WAS TO COME. NEEDLESS TO SAY MY BOY WHO IS NOW ALMOST FOUR
HAD HIS FIRST ATTACK ABOUT FIVE DAYS AGOAND IT WAS VERY SCARY FOR HIM.
SOME OF THE FUTURE SCENES HAVE COME FROM THE MOVIE "SIDEKICKS" WHERE JONATHAN BRANDIS PLAYED
AN ASTHMATIC. BUT MOST OF THE OTHER SCENES ARE JUST MADE UP IN MY OWN MIND.
ENJOY – LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK.
