Chapter twenty-three
The operation
Suddenly it was January 24 and Chet was being prepped for the surgery. Now that it was imminent, he was really more nervous than ever.
The morning of the 25th dawned bright and early. The nurse came in at 6am to give Chet his preanesthesia medications and assist him to the bathroom before putting his side rails up.
Within minutes, he felt 'spacey' and when Jeanette entered, he said, "Hey, pretty lady,. wantta go for a spin in my spaceship?" and started giggling.
Jeanette smiled at him and said to herself, "Chet, mon chere you are so much like a little boy. J'taime."
"Chet, no honey, no ride now. Maybe later. How are you doing? Feeling a little silly?"
He giggled again and nodded. "Guess the med is kicking in, huh? God, no wonder Gage is so weird after he gets a shot." and he laughed, finding this enormously funny.
Suddenly the door opened, and they heard, "Did someone say my name?
"Hey, Chester B. just came by to see how you are doing? Ready for the operation, buddy?"
"Hey, Johnny,. pal. How are ya? Where's Roy? Just telling Jeanette, here (and he giggled) that I know why you are so weird after you get hurt on a run. I feel really funny." And he laughed out loud.
Johnny and Jeanette smiled at one another in a way that said, "He's really in la la land."
"Yeah, Chet, I bet. But you know what pal, it didn't take the shot to make you freak out. You've always been a nut!"
For some reason, Chet found this so funny he almost fell off the bed laughing. Both John and Jeanette had to restrain him from becoming over excited.
Finally Chet settled down and said, "No, seriously, Jeanette, John, I'm glad I got the shot, cause I am really more scared than you think.
"Johnny, don't pass this around, but I really do love you like a brother, a brat of a brother, but I do."
Johnny laughed and patted Chet on the shoulder, saying, "Don't worry, Chet, I won't pass that around, but and don't you pass this around, I feel the same way, pal, the same way.
"You just concentrate on getting well and coming back to the station, we miss ya. It ain't been the same without the Phantom and Henry really misses ya."
As they were talking, Johnny's HT went off and he ran off, saying, "Good luck, guys. Talk to you later."
Chet and Jeanette spent the next few minutes talking amongst themselves until the orderlies came to transport him to the operating room.
Jeanette went to the waiting room and met Den and Mrs. Kelly there. She assured them that Chet was ok and so far in excellent spirits.
Within the hour, Mr. and Mrs. Boucher arrived along with Marco, who had taken the day off to be there for Chet.
After two hours, Den became impatient and said, "How long is this gonna take?"
Jeanette tried to reassure everyone that the operation itself could take up to four hours, due to the care needed to perfectly match and make it look like the other skin. Then Chet would probably be in recovery for at least two more hours, before going to his own room. So it may be up to six hours. But she knew that Dr. Brackett would keep them abreast of what was going on.
After another forty-five minutes, Dr. Morton, who was assisting, came out and spoke to everyone.
"Well, everyone, the first phase of the operation is over. We have removed the burned dead skin from Chet and are preparing to apply the grafted skin now. This should take anywhere from another hour to ninety minutes. Chet is doing really well and so far no complications.
"Dr. Brackett found a few lacerations in his liver that we patched up but otherwise it seems to be healing well.
"Any questions before I go back inside?"
Nobody had questions, but Mrs. Kelly did express her thanks to Dr. Morton for being as honest as he had been.
On that note, Dr. Morton returned to the operating theatre to assist Dr. Brackett in the second phase of Chet's surgery.
The second phase of the surgery went off without a hitch and Chet was in recovery within 2 hours.
Dr. Brackett went to speak to the family, "Hi Guys. Chet is in recovery as we speak."
"How is he doing, Dr. Brackett. Is Me Chet going to get a break this time?"
"Yes, Mrs. Kelly, I do think,. this time, Chet will be lucky. The medication doesn't seem to be giving us any problems and the graft took right away.
"His liver had a few extra lacerations in it, which is what is causing it to heal so slowly. But we stitched them up, so maybe that will speed things up a little bit.
"Chet will be in recovery another hour or so and then you will be able to visit with him. But please keep the visits short. He will be really tired and may be in some pain. We have given him medication, but still."
And Dr. Brackett, after asking if there were any more questions and there weren't.
Jeanette, sitting on the couch, was so relieved she cried. Timmy ran up to her saying, "Mommy, why are you crying? Daddy is ok, the doctor said so. Please mommy,. don't cry." And the child put his small arms around his mom to comfort her, not realizing her tears were not of sadness, but of relief.
"Oh, baby, mommy isn't sad. She is just so happy to hear that daddy is finally going to be better. Sometimes people cry when they are happy, too. Understand?"
"Yes, mommy, I know. I cried when I found out I would be with you and daddy forever. I love you both so much. I am so happy daddy is gonna be ok. Thank God!"
After another ninety minutes, Dixie McCall came and got the Kelly family. She let them know Chet was awake and asking to see his loved ones. She said he seemed in excellent spirits and was aware that the surgery was successful.