Learning to Stand Again
Rating: PG to PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters nor am I making any money off of them. They belong to Tolkien, who is a greater writer than I'll ever be.
Warnings: This chapter and future chapters may contain references to wee hobbit sickness, injury, treatment of said sickness and injury, as well as references to wee hobbit bodily functions. I will be sure to up the rating if I include anything seriously graphic, but, for the most part, it shouldn't be of an extremely graphic nature. If you are suffering from an injury similar to this you should see a licensed professional for treatment. The methods for surgery and treatment given in this chapter should not be attempted by anyone who is not a licensed professionl.
A/N: Thanks goes out to Febobe for giving me a great idea of how to make Frodo suffer. Love ya, dear!
Chapter 5:
For what seemed like the hundredth time, Frodo leaned his head up to peer at Aragorn, who was busy concocting what was sure to be yet another vile medicine.
Frodo had tried sleeping, but after Aragorn's words he found he just couldn't relax. When Aragorn had said "from the inside" he could only have meant one thing: he was going to have to cut into Frodo's back. Frodo had never enjoyed the thought of someone having surgery. The thought of Aragorn cutting into his back made him sick.
Now suffering from a severe bout of nausea brought on by these disturbing images, Frodo tried to get comfortable. This was complicated by the fact the he really couldn't move.
His back was hurting now, more than ever, and he had a strange sensation around the area of the fracture as thought he was laying on something hot.
Aragorn had given him more medicine for the pain in his back, but it wasn't having any affect whatsoever. Still, he reasoned, feeling pain in his back was better than no feeling at all which would have signified a more serious break in his spinal column.
A soft knock at the door announced the arrival of Faramir. Frodo idly wondered why he kept popping in. He had been rather cool with Faramir after what happened in Ithilien, yet Faramir didn't seem to mind. On the contrary, he seemed to be trying his best to make it up to Frodo. Perhaps that was why he kept coming to assist Aragorn. Frodo suddenly found himself feeling a little more at ease.
"Faramir, I'm glad you've come. I'll need some assistance with what I'm about to do, "Aragorn greeted him solemnly. "I'm going to have to get a look at that fracture in Frodo's back, so I'll have to cut in. You can assist me."
Faramir gave Frodo a pitying look before turning to the table of herbs and medicines Aragorn was working at. "What shall I do?"
"Administer this to Frodo. It should help him to rest while we do the surgery," Aragorn handed Faramir a cup.
Nodding, Faramir brought the cup over to Frodo, who eyed it with unease. Taking it from Faramir, he sipped cautiously. Deciding that it wasn't too bad, Frodo quickly drained the cup.
After waiting a moment and not feeling any affect whatsoever, Frodo settled himself grumpily against the pillow, "It's not working."
Aragorn turned around, an amused smile playing around his lips, "It will take a few minutes, Frodo."
Frodo hmphed to himself and pulled the covers up tightly to his chin. The thought of having his back cut up was definitely not agreeing with him.
Slowly, the affects of the medicine came over him. He could feel a numbness creeping into his mind as he grew steadily drowsier. Finally, with a last look at Faramir, Frodo drifted off to sleep.
"Hopefully that will keep him asleep while we do the surgery. Let us proceed," Aragorn brought a rolled up cloth and a bowl of Athelas leaves soaking in heated water over to the bedside nightstand.
Unrolling the cloth, he revealed a carefully cleaned knife, a small needle, and a length of very fine thread.
Gently, the two of them turned Frodo onto his stomach and removed his nightshirt. Aragorn cut the dressing on the wound and set right to work.
Faramir grimaced at the site of the wound. The area around the wound had turned bright red and was full of pus.
"First we'll need to drain the area of the infection. Be ready with a cloth to clean it up as I pour this Athelas water over the area," Aragorn instructed as he made ready to cut. He made a small incision in the middle of the infection. Immediately, the swollen infection site began to drain a thin yellow colored pus occasionally flecked with spots of red.
"Is that blood?" Faramir looked concerned.
"It is. It's not uncommon."
Faramir carefully wiped all of the liquid up as Aragorn poured the water and Athelas over the site of the infection. After several minutes the wound was relatively clean.
"We'll have to keep an eye on that to make sure it doesn't come back," said Aragorn as he made a wider and deeper incision. "Now let's have a look at this bone.
Faramir dabbed at the blood that was now oozing out of the cut. As Aragorn parted the flesh he caught site of the fracture. The bones didn't appear to have fallen out of alignment, which was a good sign.
"Hmm, it's a compression fracture. It appears stable; it should require a healing period of about six weeks. I don't like the look of this bone, though. It looks like the infection has started inside the bone and spread outward. Look, the bone itself is filled with pus." Aragorn indicated a point in the break was more yellow liquid was seeping out. "That can lead to an abscess which will deprive the bone of blood."
"What kind of treatment will we need to administer for an infection like this?" Faramir asked.
Aragorn thought carefully, "I know some excellent herb combinations that will help to clear up the infection and to clean the blood. I also know of a salve that can be applied to the skin where an abscess is forming that should help. There's nothing we can do inside. The bone doesn't need to be set. As long as we are careful when moving him and keep a tight dressing on him it should heal correctly."
Faramir cleansed the wound once more with the Athelas water before Aragorn began to stitch it up. They redressed the wound and carefully turned Frodo back over.
"I'm sure that must be a painful infection," Faramir remarked. "He's running a fever."
"Faramir, can I ask you to stay with him? I need a rest, but I don't want to leave him alone."
"I will stay and watch over him. Shall I call on you if his condition worsens or shall I retrieve one of the healers?"
"Send for me. I have faith in our healers, but I wish to treat him myself. I feel responsible for his wounds," replied Aragorn. He stroked a wayward curl out of the Ringbearer's pale face before leaving the room.
Faramir sighed softly, slipping his hand into Frodo's. Frodo had suffered so much already. He didn't deserve this.
TBC
Rating: PG to PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters nor am I making any money off of them. They belong to Tolkien, who is a greater writer than I'll ever be.
Warnings: This chapter and future chapters may contain references to wee hobbit sickness, injury, treatment of said sickness and injury, as well as references to wee hobbit bodily functions. I will be sure to up the rating if I include anything seriously graphic, but, for the most part, it shouldn't be of an extremely graphic nature. If you are suffering from an injury similar to this you should see a licensed professional for treatment. The methods for surgery and treatment given in this chapter should not be attempted by anyone who is not a licensed professionl.
A/N: Thanks goes out to Febobe for giving me a great idea of how to make Frodo suffer. Love ya, dear!
Chapter 5:
For what seemed like the hundredth time, Frodo leaned his head up to peer at Aragorn, who was busy concocting what was sure to be yet another vile medicine.
Frodo had tried sleeping, but after Aragorn's words he found he just couldn't relax. When Aragorn had said "from the inside" he could only have meant one thing: he was going to have to cut into Frodo's back. Frodo had never enjoyed the thought of someone having surgery. The thought of Aragorn cutting into his back made him sick.
Now suffering from a severe bout of nausea brought on by these disturbing images, Frodo tried to get comfortable. This was complicated by the fact the he really couldn't move.
His back was hurting now, more than ever, and he had a strange sensation around the area of the fracture as thought he was laying on something hot.
Aragorn had given him more medicine for the pain in his back, but it wasn't having any affect whatsoever. Still, he reasoned, feeling pain in his back was better than no feeling at all which would have signified a more serious break in his spinal column.
A soft knock at the door announced the arrival of Faramir. Frodo idly wondered why he kept popping in. He had been rather cool with Faramir after what happened in Ithilien, yet Faramir didn't seem to mind. On the contrary, he seemed to be trying his best to make it up to Frodo. Perhaps that was why he kept coming to assist Aragorn. Frodo suddenly found himself feeling a little more at ease.
"Faramir, I'm glad you've come. I'll need some assistance with what I'm about to do, "Aragorn greeted him solemnly. "I'm going to have to get a look at that fracture in Frodo's back, so I'll have to cut in. You can assist me."
Faramir gave Frodo a pitying look before turning to the table of herbs and medicines Aragorn was working at. "What shall I do?"
"Administer this to Frodo. It should help him to rest while we do the surgery," Aragorn handed Faramir a cup.
Nodding, Faramir brought the cup over to Frodo, who eyed it with unease. Taking it from Faramir, he sipped cautiously. Deciding that it wasn't too bad, Frodo quickly drained the cup.
After waiting a moment and not feeling any affect whatsoever, Frodo settled himself grumpily against the pillow, "It's not working."
Aragorn turned around, an amused smile playing around his lips, "It will take a few minutes, Frodo."
Frodo hmphed to himself and pulled the covers up tightly to his chin. The thought of having his back cut up was definitely not agreeing with him.
Slowly, the affects of the medicine came over him. He could feel a numbness creeping into his mind as he grew steadily drowsier. Finally, with a last look at Faramir, Frodo drifted off to sleep.
"Hopefully that will keep him asleep while we do the surgery. Let us proceed," Aragorn brought a rolled up cloth and a bowl of Athelas leaves soaking in heated water over to the bedside nightstand.
Unrolling the cloth, he revealed a carefully cleaned knife, a small needle, and a length of very fine thread.
Gently, the two of them turned Frodo onto his stomach and removed his nightshirt. Aragorn cut the dressing on the wound and set right to work.
Faramir grimaced at the site of the wound. The area around the wound had turned bright red and was full of pus.
"First we'll need to drain the area of the infection. Be ready with a cloth to clean it up as I pour this Athelas water over the area," Aragorn instructed as he made ready to cut. He made a small incision in the middle of the infection. Immediately, the swollen infection site began to drain a thin yellow colored pus occasionally flecked with spots of red.
"Is that blood?" Faramir looked concerned.
"It is. It's not uncommon."
Faramir carefully wiped all of the liquid up as Aragorn poured the water and Athelas over the site of the infection. After several minutes the wound was relatively clean.
"We'll have to keep an eye on that to make sure it doesn't come back," said Aragorn as he made a wider and deeper incision. "Now let's have a look at this bone.
Faramir dabbed at the blood that was now oozing out of the cut. As Aragorn parted the flesh he caught site of the fracture. The bones didn't appear to have fallen out of alignment, which was a good sign.
"Hmm, it's a compression fracture. It appears stable; it should require a healing period of about six weeks. I don't like the look of this bone, though. It looks like the infection has started inside the bone and spread outward. Look, the bone itself is filled with pus." Aragorn indicated a point in the break was more yellow liquid was seeping out. "That can lead to an abscess which will deprive the bone of blood."
"What kind of treatment will we need to administer for an infection like this?" Faramir asked.
Aragorn thought carefully, "I know some excellent herb combinations that will help to clear up the infection and to clean the blood. I also know of a salve that can be applied to the skin where an abscess is forming that should help. There's nothing we can do inside. The bone doesn't need to be set. As long as we are careful when moving him and keep a tight dressing on him it should heal correctly."
Faramir cleansed the wound once more with the Athelas water before Aragorn began to stitch it up. They redressed the wound and carefully turned Frodo back over.
"I'm sure that must be a painful infection," Faramir remarked. "He's running a fever."
"Faramir, can I ask you to stay with him? I need a rest, but I don't want to leave him alone."
"I will stay and watch over him. Shall I call on you if his condition worsens or shall I retrieve one of the healers?"
"Send for me. I have faith in our healers, but I wish to treat him myself. I feel responsible for his wounds," replied Aragorn. He stroked a wayward curl out of the Ringbearer's pale face before leaving the room.
Faramir sighed softly, slipping his hand into Frodo's. Frodo had suffered so much already. He didn't deserve this.
TBC