BREATHE
Bridger and Kristen decided to leave the in depth discussion with Lucas about his condition until after they got back to the
island.
On the ferry trip back, Lucas remained mostly subdued. He was tired and had started to fall asleep on a few occasions whilst
resting on one of the chairs towards the back of the vessel. He knew that his Dad and the doctors had been talking about the
results of the tests he had just taken. He also was aware that all were worried about how poorly he had performed in some of the
breathing exercises.
He felt himself rubbing absentmindedly at his chest area while his mind went back over the day's events. The tiredness made
him feel frustrated. He just wanted to be left alone and ignore the whole world at the moment.
When the trio finally arrived home, despite his tiredness and the requests from Kristen and Bridger that he should rest before
they had any more discussions, Lucas made it perfectly clear that he wanted to find out then and there what was wrong with
him and what it would mean for him in the future.
"Are you sure you don't want to rest?" Kristen said as she placed a hand on his shoulder. Her concern for his health was
clearly written on her face but it only served to scare Lucas more about what was wrong with him.
"No, I am not sure. I am tired. But I also need to know what is wrong with me Kristen" he said, the frustration now showing
through his words. "I need to know why my chest hurts like hell all the time, and why I can't seem to stand on my own two
feet for more than a few hours without being so darned tired it's not funny."
Lucas now sat down on the couch in the living room. Kristen and Bridger took their own seats in the two single recliner
chairs in the room.
"Lucas I know you are hurting at the moment" Kristen said with a very gently voice. This wasn't going to be the easiest
thing to explain to the teenager. "What the doctor's were discussing after your tests, is the possibility of you developing
the condition of Asthma." She left it at that for the moment, trying to gauge the young man's reaction to her statement.
For the most part, Lucas just sat there for a few minutes, trying to take in what he had just heard. Someone in his brain was
searching under the name of Asthma and trying to work out what his brain had collected about such a condition over the
years. The only information that was coming back to him was that someone with Asthma usually couldn't breathe properly.
Somewhere also in the back of his mind he could remember seeing kids at school with Asthma sucking on strange looking
inhalers and wheezing until they were red in the face.
"So what does that mean for me?" Lucas asked in a barely audible voice. He kept telling himself that it couldn't possibly
be as bad as all that. Could it?
"It means that you need to take some medication on a daily basis and moderate your lifestyle so that it is more relaxed.
"You need to learn how to listen to your body and know what it is telling you." Kristen explained.
"Asthma is a condition of the airways. When you do too much and don't recognize the signs when your body needs
rest, sometimes the airways become inflamed and restricted. They become tight like your chest has been today and over
the last few days. And they start to give you the feeling that you can't breath properly" she continued to explain.
Bridger now moved beside Lucas and put a comforting arm around the teenager's slim shoulders. He could see that the
boy was wrestling with the whole idea that he was being told. "It just means that you need to take care of yourself
Lucas. The doctor's seem to think that the medication they have prescribed will help ease the pain and discomfort you are
experiencing now. Plenty of rest should help overcome the tiredness that you have been feeling lately."
"So what about in the future? Am I stuck with this death sentence for the rest of my life?" Lucas asked in an uninterested
tone of voice. All this talk about taking care of himself, resting more and having to take daily medication was beginning
to make him feel like an invalid.
"Most children grow out of Asthma by the time they are your age. Doctor Kavanagh is convinced that your condition
is only temporary due to the chest infection that you developed on the SeaQuest." Kristen answered. "He has given me
some other equipment and other ideas about treatment that we can use later if and when you have an attack……….."
"An attack?" Lucas asked suddenly looking up with curiosity. "What is an attack?"
Kristen looked at Bridger and had to think for a moment of how to come up with an explanation that would answer Lucas's
question without scaring the hell out of him.
"An attack happens when you over exert yourself or your lungs become prone to an infection which they cannot fight
on their own without help. When you don't listen to your body and those airways become very inflamed and restricted.
You will feel very short of breath and your chest will feel very tight."
"There is an inhaler that you can use at those times that will help to open up the airways very quickly. I will show you how
to use the inhaler after you rest a while. From now on you will have to carry one with you everywhere you so and learn
how to use it."
"Why can't I just have a normal life?" Lucas now said in dejection.
"Lucas, you are not alone. We promise to be there for you whenever you need us. Hopefully this condition will fix itself
within a short space of time. If it doesn't, we will cope anyway. Lots of people have Asthma and lead a very normal, active
and productive lifestyle. It doesn't mean that you are confined to the house for the rest of your life. It just means that you
have to make some adjustments for the time being and learn how to cope with an attack if and when it happens."
"I am not going to lie to you Lucas" Bridger now said, "This scares us as much as it does you, but we will work through
this together. You won't have to face this alone. I just ask that you allow your body to heal and take it easy for a couple
of weeks with the medication and see how you feel. Hopefully you will feel a whole lot better and never know you have
Asthma."
"I feel a little scared" Lucas admitted for the first time. This burden sounded like a heavy one to bear and he didn't know
if he was ready for the challenge ahead.
"Can this just be between us at the moment" Lucas now asked. "I mean not tell the rest of the crew until we really have
to. I don't want them treating me like a baby anymore than they do now."
"Sure Lucas" Kristen said. "We don't have to tell anybody unless you want to. Are you sure though that you would
rather they didn't know?"
"I need to get used to this myself first" Lucas replied. "I wouldn't be able to deal with everybody looking over my shoulder
all the time and making sure that I was feeling okay."
By the time they had finished their discussions Lucas's tiredness had become more than obvious to both Kristen and
Nathan. His eyelid kept drooping closed and his head nodded forward briefly, until he caught himself and sat up straight
again.
"Come on junior, time for a little rest. We can talk some more after dinner tonight and watch some of those educational
videos that we were given." Nathan now said, trying his best to cheer the sullen teenager up.
The fact that Lucas didn't protest about having an afternoon nap made Kristen and Nathan worry even more about Lucas's
state of health. When he was well, the suggestion of a nap in the middle of the afternoon would have brought wails of
laughter from the boy as well as a few well intended jokes.
"You need to start taking your new medication from today Lucas" Kristen reminded him. "You go and get yourself comfortable
upstairs and I will bring it up to you with some water to wash it down."
Lucas nodded his head in agreement and slowly pulled himself into a standing position. He briefly looked back at the Captain
and Kristen with a wan smile on his face and then headed up the stairs with his shoulders sagging a little.
Lucas sat on the bed and started to take his shoes off while trying to figure out why life had to be so darned complicated.
He muttered his way through the whole process and angrily threw the shoes across the other side of the room. He didn't
even have the energy at the moment to lift his legs onto the bed. He laid back across the bed and fell asleep without even
realising it.
This is how Bridger and Kristen found him a few minutes later when Kristen came up to give him his medication. She smiled
slightly at Lucas's unusual sleeping position. She decided that the medication could wait until he woke. She wrote a quick
note and left it on the bedside table with instructions for the teenager when he woke.
Bridger went about trying to move Lucas's legs onto the bed and stretch him out along the bed. Lucas didn't even budge at the movements. There was a soft sigh that escaped his lips as Bridger gently laid his head on the pillow. He decided the room
was warm enough not to need any further coverings for the moment.
"We need to cheer him up" Kristen said in a whisper as the two of them closed the door softly on their way out.
"I think I have just the idea too" Bridger said with a grin. "I need to go back to the boat for a while and check with Jonathan
how things are progressing with the repairs. I will explain everything when I get back."
"You know he's got to take it relatively slow, nothing strenuous you heard them say" Kristen reminded him with her forehead
turned down in a frown. Not that she didn't think Nathan had Lucas's best interests at heart, but she wondered what his
idea was.
Bridger just gave a quick wave in acknowledgement as he went out the front door. He secretly hoped his idea would work
as well as he hoped.
********************************************************************************************
About 4.00 in the afternoon, Lucas started to stir from his sleep. He took a few minutes to wake fully and get his bearings.
He had been asleep for about 2 hours and it had made him feel a little better he had to admit. His body didn't wake up to
the aches that he had been having over the last week or so. He even took his leisure at a long cat-like stretch and was
glad to report no significant muscles aches or pain.
Lucas looked over at the bedside table and noticed the glass of water and a clear liquid in a medicine glass next to it.
He picked up the note that Kristen had written: Yes you have to drink it all. 2ml four times a day. Don't grumble
just drink it. It doesn't taste that bad.
Lucas had to laugh slightly. He wondered how Kristen had come to know his moods so well within only a very short
space of time. He hadn't been very sick around her before so the fact that she knew he hated to take any medicine
made him think how lucky he was to have someone who cared about him. He had two people actually and he wouldn't
change any of it for the world.
Lucas drank the medicine as he was told and screwed his face up as it slid awkwardly down his throat. He reminded himself
that he would need to talk to Kristen about how awfully it really was. Maybe they could add a flavouring to mask the
bitter taste. He held up the empty medicine glass and thought for a moment. Is this what he had to look forward to every
day for the rest of his life: a daily dose of medicine. Someone always reminding him to take something and watch what
he was doing.
Lucas grabbed the empty glasses and headed with them down the stairs towards the kitchen. Kristen was sitting on the
couch reading a romance novel. The teenager looked around but couldn't see the Captain anywhere nearby.
"Where's the Captain?" Lucas asked simply.
"Hello sleepyhead, do you feel any better. Good to see you took my advice and drank your medicine like a good boy."
she joked with him.
"The alternative of having you nag me constantly every minute for the rest of the day wasn't very appealing" Lucas said
in reply with a smile on his face.
"Nathan went to see how Commander Ford is doing with the repairs. He didn't say how long he was going to be. Said he
would have something to show you when he got back."
"That's sounds suspicious" Lucas remarked.
"That's what I said to him" Kristen admitted. "While you are waiting for him to come back, we can watch some of those
educational videos if you like."
Lucas sank onto the couch with an over exaggerated groan but knew that he didn't have a legitimate excuse to get out of
it. May as well get it over with he told himself.
"Whatever" he said out loud, his mood immediately dropping a little again as he thought about his fate until Bridger got back.
After what seemed like an eternity of watching mindless people on the T.V. but was more like only half an hour, Lucas was
relieved to see Bridger walk through the door. He was carrying a large cardboard box as he came through the doorway.
Lucas got up from the chair to help open the door and was about to close it when his friend Ben Krieg walked up onto the
porch carrying another similar sized box.
"Thanks Lucas" Ben said cheerily as he came in and followed the Captain. To Lucas's surprise the Captain and Ben didn't
stop to explain their large packages, they just went right on in and up the stairs towards Lucas's room. Kristen and Lucas
followed after the pair with confused looks on their faces.
"What are they for" Lucas asked casually, with his hands in his pockets. He needed to bury them deeply for fear of having
them wander towards his tight chest and start rubbing at it before he caught himself. His chest had started to become
tight again only in the last half an hour or so since they started watching the videos.
Lucas couldn't tell if it was due to watching all of the people on the videos having attacks and scarcely able to breathe.
He was scared something like that was going to happen to him without warning and there would be nobody around to help
him and he wouldn't remember what to do. The last thing he needed was for Kristen or the Captain to catch him rubbing at
his chest area and suspecting that he was hurting again. He was due for some more medicine after dinner time. Hopefully
that would help ease the tightness overnight and he would be feeling okay by morning again.
"I thought you could use something to do while you got your strength back Lucas, so I went and asked Jonathan what
they needed help with the most on board the ship. You can guess what his answer was." Bridger informed him as he unwrapped
the two boxed and displayed two brand new lap top computers and other hardware.
Lucas eyes opened wide like it was Christmas morning. This was the first true smile everyone had seen on him in days.
"What do you want me to do?" he asked as he sat down in front of the consoles and started putting them together. The
instruction sheets were beside him but he didn't even look at them once. He knew how these things works. Computers were
his life.
"Jonathan says that they are having major problems with the computers due to the temperature drop while we were adrift"
Bridger now explained. "There are a lot of other people who could probably do the job, but we knew we needed an expert
who could do it quicker. Know of anybody who might be interested in the position?"
"Oh boy you really mean it. I have open slather on the ship's computer system. You want me to rebuild it to what it was
before. That is so cool. Of course I want the job." Lucas said excitedly.
Kristen couldn't help but smile at the boy's enthusiasm. Nathan really knew how to get inside the boy and cheer him up.
"Nathan, don't forget, I don't want him spending all of his time at these computers. I know the ship needs the work done,
but Lucas cannot get over excited at the moment and he still needs plenty of rest if he wants me to give the okay when
shore leave is finished." Kristen reminded them all sternly but not wanting to dampen the boy's excitement.
"Don't worry Kristen, I will take care of myself I promise. I can't thank you enough Captain. At least now I won't be
cooped up here like a prisoner. This is going to be great." Lucas replied.
"Let's leave the boy genius to his work shall we?" Bridger said, ushering the others outside and leaving Lucas alone
to play with his new toys.
"You did very good Captain Bridger" Ben Krieg said once they were out of earshot. "It's the happiest I have seen him
in weeks."
Kristen and Bridger looked at each other and felt a little guilty that they couldn't let Ben in on Lucas's new secret.
Bridger had told everyone back at the boat that Lucas was still resting as a result of the recent chest infection he had
developed which was not totally a lie. He had just left out the part about the Asthma, hoping that nobody would be any
the wiser for the time being until Lucas decided to tell them himself.
Ben had enjoyed a leisurely cup of coffee with the Captain and Kristen before excusing himself and telling them that he
was needed to complete his duties back on the boat. The schedule was getting tighter and tighter to finish the repairs
in time before they set off again and that was also why Lucas was given the task of the computer programming. He would
have it done in half the time of anybody else aboard and the crew could trust that it wouldn't break down the minute
they were back out on the open ocean.
*******************************************************************************************
For the rest of the evening Lucas played with his new toys and started to prepare for completing the computer systems
for the boat that the Captain requested.
He found himself falling into a regular pattern of taking his medication as needed and taking an hour nap after lunch
each afternoon to keep Kristen from worrying too much about him.
After he woke from his afternoon sleep the next afternoon though, Lucas knew that things were far from being right.
His chest had been tight for a couple of days now and no matter how much he persisted in taking his medicine on time
every day, the tightness didn't seem to dissipate at all. On the contrary it seemed to be getting worse.
He felt scared about running straight to Kristen and telling her about how tight his chest was and how his lungs seemed
to be burning at the moment as he breathed. He decided to give himself a break from the computers for an hour or so
and see if a walk in the fresh air outside would help him.
Kristen was sitting on the couch again taking her normal time out every day for some reading and relaxation. She heard
him on the stairway on his way down to the front door. Luckily for him her glance and smile at him was brief as she
returned to her reading. She didn't detect the slightest thing wrong in him.
If she had taken a little closer look she might have noticed the paler colour in his cheeks and hear the slight shortness
of breath that had been plaguing him since he awoke. Lucas had to choke back the tickling in his throat that made him
want to cough. He would take that short walk and then see how he felt. If he didn't feel much better then he could be
a little more honest with Kristen and she what she could do to help him. He didn't want to worry her unnecessarily. He
was told he might feel shortness of breath at times. Maybe the tightness in his chest was just something he would have
to get used to occasionally.
"Taking a break Lucas" Kristen asked as she looked up from her book a second time to see him opening the front door.
"Yeah, need to get out for a minute and stretch my legs a little. Getting a little stiff from sitting down too long. Just going
to take a walk along the jetty. Won't be long." Lucas replied.
"Be careful dear" Kristen now said. She didn't want to feel like she was bearing down on him all the time. He was a teenager
and needed a little space to himself for a while.
"I will" he answered and closed the door behind him. He shivered a little and had not known about the slight change in
weather that blew in from the sea and had cooled the temperature down more than normal. He thought for a minute about
going back inside to grab a jacket, but then told himself that he was only going to walk along the jetty. He would be alright
for a few minutes.
Nathan had been seeing to the repairs on the SeaQuest again and saw Lucas's figure standing out on the jetty as he pulled
up in front of the house. The kid seemed alright as he played and laughed with Darwin. Bridger decided to let the two of
them share some much needed quality time with each other before intruding.
"Hi honey" Nathan greeted Kristen as he walked into the house. "I see our young charge is getting some fresh air."
"Yes he only just went out there. Said he needed to stretch his legs. Said he was getting stiff from sitting too long." Kristen
answered.
"Now that's a first" Nathan said jokingly. Normally Lucas had to be threatened with all sorts of things to get him away from
his computer screens.
"What do you feel like for dinner tonight?" Nathan asked casually as he sat down on the sofa beside Kristen.
"I don't know really. Let's wait for Lucas to come in and decide." Kristen replied.
"If you are going to do that it will probably be pizza" Nathan remarked, knowing all too well how his son's mind worked
when it came to feeding his stomach.
Back on the jetty, Lucas had been relaxing and talking to Darwin. Darwin had tried to splash him a few times to get him
a little more involved, but Lucas's thoughts were still on the tightness in his chest that had now started to turn into a
distinct pain. He knew he was going to have to say something to Kristen when he went back inside.
He stood up but was suddenly buffeted by the gusty cool winds from the waves. He shivered at the coolness that touched
his skin and knew he shouldn't have been out in such conditions with his chest feeling so bad. He started to walk back
to the house. It was only a short distance, no more than 50 metres or so.
The walk for Lucas however became an effort after about the first 10 steps at the pain in his chest decided to become more
sharper. He gasped as he felt the jabs of pain stabbing at him. He rubbed at his chest vigorously trying to ease the hurting
and get his lungs breathing probably again. But with each stab of pain his mind was becoming more alarmed and his chest
was getting tighter still.
Somewhere in the back of his mind Lucas's mind told him that he was having an Asthma attack. His breaths were now
in short raspy gasps and the pain in his chest was becoming worse. He had tried to call out to Kristen on two occasions,
but gave up when only a hoarse whisper escaped his lips. The words drifted off on the gusty wind away from the intended
target.
Lucas finally managed to make it to the front porch. He was holding onto the hand rail of the stairs just to hold him upright.
The other hand was clasped tightly about his chest as he tried to deal with the pain that was not abating.
Lucas tried to take another step forward towards the front door, but found his strength waning as a result of a lack of oxygen
to his tired muscles. The blood was not circulating very well in his body and what blood was moving around felt as though
it was going straight to his head causing the giddiness he had just begun to battle.
Without warning Lucas found himself stumbling to his knees, making a thud on the porch decking. He once again tried to
call out for help. His voice was still no more than a whisper.
Nathan inside had turned his head at the sound he heard on the porch. He waited a few seconds to see if it happened again.
It didn't but his mind told him to go to the door an investigate.
"Did you hear that?" Bridger asked Kristen as he made his way to the door and opened it.
"Hear what?" Kristen asked, putting her book aside and watching his movements at the door. She had failed to hear the noise
that Nathan.
Nathan opened the door and almost couldn't find the words to say when he saw a very pale and ill looking Lucas kneeling
on the porch. His hair was hanging in his eyes and Nathan could see one hand wrapped protectively around his chest. He
knew something was desperately wrong.
"KRISTEN" Nathan yelled and then barrelled out the door and knelt in front of the trembling teenager trying to help him.
Kristen had moved as quickly as she could at Nathan's cry of anguish. She was just in time to see Lucas kneeling on the
floor and clutching at his chest in pain. He lifted his head and looked at her with obvious hurt in his eyes.
"Hurts real bad" he whispered and his head then went towards his chest as he again struggled to gain the next breath.
Nathan grabbed a hold of Lucas to try and help him stand but he found the boy's legs to be shaking. He didn't know if
it was from fear of what was happening to him or from the pain he was feeling or a combination of both.
"Help me please" Lucas begged and then lost his battle to stand upright. He found Bridger and Kristen half walking,
half carrying him into the living room. He barely felt himself being lifted onto the couch.
Kristen left Lucas in Nathan's hands for a moment as she raced upstairs to his bedroom and grabbed the equipment to
help him. She grabbed the nebuliser and oxygen mask, two pillows from the bed and a heavy blanket. She had noted
the coldness of the boy's skin as they brought him into the house.
This was the event that they had all been dreading but now was happening frighteningly right before their very eyes.
THAT'S IT FOR A WHILE GUYS – SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG TO UPDATE BUT I ONLY HAD SURGERY ON MONDAY
AND THE DRUG CLOUD IS ONLY BEGINNING TO LIFT. HOPE YOU ARE LIKING IT SO FAR. WILL UPDATE THE
OTHERS AS SOON AS I CAN.
JULES
