Elmer looked up as a nurse came in pushing a machine that was very
familiar after his time volunteering down in the sleep lab. "An EEG?" He
asked as he looked up at Hook, suddenly feeling very nervous. Why would
Hook have an EEG brought in here unless he thought that something was
seriously wrong with Lona, that she had brain damage or.... Elmer bit his
lip, a frightened look in his eyes as if the familiar machine was a deadly
snake. If anything was wrong with Lona, it was his fault! He should have
found her faster, got CPR started faster, done something better!
"Elmer, it's just a precaution, okay?" Hook said to reassure the young doctor as he got the electrodes out and started to attach them to Lona's head. Deep down he was seriously concerned about Lona's lack of response to any stimuli since they had revived her. If there was damage,
that could be a bad sign that it was severe. He shook his head firmly,
forcing that thought away. No, he wasn't going to think like that, not yet. Lona was still young and until this happened, she had been perfectly healthy. She still had a very good chance of coming out of this just fine.
"That one's a little off," Elmer said as he watched Hook attacking the electrodes. He reached out, carefully moving it into the right position. "What?" He said when he noticed Hook looking at him with a bit of suprise. "I've seen Lona hook these things up about a million times. I know how it's done."
Hook shook his head slightly. "Want to attach the rest of these then?" He said as he held out the rest of the electrodes to Elmer. Maybe that would help him a bit, giving him a task he could do that might help Lona.
"What are you looking for?" Elmer asked in a slightly nervous tone as he took the electrode and quickly attached them. As he worked, he felt the fear slowly building. What if the EEG showed something wrong with Lona, something serious? Or even worse, what if it was flat? What if she was....
Hook reached out, gently patting Elmer's shoulder to try and reassure him. "I'm just looking for any sort of clue to try to figure out what this thing is, Elmer." He said softly. Elmer was obviously emotionally distraught and mentioning possible brain damage would only make him worse. "Why don't you just keep talking to her while I get this running and we'll see if we can get a clue what's going on here."
Elmer slowly nodded but the fear remained in his eyes as he took Lona's hand in his. "It's going to be okay," He whispered as he leaned over and gently kissed her forehead. He bit his lip once more to try to keep from crying as he felt her hot skin. The cooling blankets and the medicines they were pumping into her didn't seem to have helped the fever at all. How long could Lona last with a temperature like that? He closed his eyes for a moment, feeling tears building up that he didn't dare let fall. If he lost her.... He knew everyone thought that his feelings for Lona were just a crush but Elmer knew that it was something far more. She was the first woman that he had ever loved and seeing her like this....
"It's going to be okay." He whispered again into her ear. He forced himself to block out Hook, to block out the sounds of the medical equipment, as he focused totally on Lona. "I know that you think that the way I feel is just a crush but I swear to you this is something more. I had my share of relationships, I guess, in high school and college." He shook his head slowly as he thought back. Relationships. Somehow that word didn't sound quite right for what had at the most amounted to three dates per girl. "I almost had to. Dad got so freaked if he didn't see Edgar and I doing 'normal' stuff, like he thought our mom walking out on us would scar us for life or something. None of them ever really lasted though. They just weren't right somehow. But when I saw you, something just clicked and I knew that you were the woman I had been waiting for.
You have to get better, Lona. I love you." She gently kissed her forehead once more, a tear slowly running down his face and falling onto her flushed face. "I love you."
As Elmer talked, Hook was carefully studying the EEG readout. To his relief, there were definitely brain waves. He had feared deep down that the readout might be totally flat, signally brain death. The brain waves were much weaker than they should be in certain places, though,
wildly erratic in others. He shook his head slowly. That could be a sign of brain damage, he knew, but it could also be some sort of reaction to whatever was making her so sick.
As a nurse entered the room, Hook issued an order. "I want the equipment in here to do a spinal tap, stat."
"Spinal tap?" Elmer said as he snapped out of the private little world he had somehow made with just him and Lona and back into the real world where she was fighting for her life. "Did the scan show anything?"
How could it have had time to show anything? It seemed like Hook had just started it but when Elmer looked at the clock, almost fifteen minutes had passed.
There are some things I'm a bit concerned about." Hook said slowly as he looked at the readouts once more. He knew that the areas of slowed activity could simply be due to Lona's unconscious state but he knew that he would be remiss if he didn't check everything. "I want a spinal tap to see if this, whatever it is, might be going to her brain." It actually might be a good sign if it was attacking her nervous system in a manner similar to meningitis. They knew how to treat that, at least.
Elmer cringed as the original nurse entered along with an assistant. "No," he said softly but firmly as one of the nurses started to turn Lona onto her side and Hook and the other nurse started sitting out the supplies needed for the spinal tap. "I'll hold her." It was the least that he could do for Lona, to hold her when she went through something as painful as he knew this would be. "Hook, just be careful, okay?" He said as he stood, a hand on Lona's shoulders and hips as Hook withdrew the large spinal tap needle. He cringed as he saw the needle moving towards Lona's exposed back, turning his head slightly so he wouldn't see. "It's okay,
Lona. It's going to be okay." He felt more tears starting to fall as he spoke. It had to be okay. He couldn't loose her now.
"Elmer, it's just a precaution, okay?" Hook said to reassure the young doctor as he got the electrodes out and started to attach them to Lona's head. Deep down he was seriously concerned about Lona's lack of response to any stimuli since they had revived her. If there was damage,
that could be a bad sign that it was severe. He shook his head firmly,
forcing that thought away. No, he wasn't going to think like that, not yet. Lona was still young and until this happened, she had been perfectly healthy. She still had a very good chance of coming out of this just fine.
"That one's a little off," Elmer said as he watched Hook attacking the electrodes. He reached out, carefully moving it into the right position. "What?" He said when he noticed Hook looking at him with a bit of suprise. "I've seen Lona hook these things up about a million times. I know how it's done."
Hook shook his head slightly. "Want to attach the rest of these then?" He said as he held out the rest of the electrodes to Elmer. Maybe that would help him a bit, giving him a task he could do that might help Lona.
"What are you looking for?" Elmer asked in a slightly nervous tone as he took the electrode and quickly attached them. As he worked, he felt the fear slowly building. What if the EEG showed something wrong with Lona, something serious? Or even worse, what if it was flat? What if she was....
Hook reached out, gently patting Elmer's shoulder to try and reassure him. "I'm just looking for any sort of clue to try to figure out what this thing is, Elmer." He said softly. Elmer was obviously emotionally distraught and mentioning possible brain damage would only make him worse. "Why don't you just keep talking to her while I get this running and we'll see if we can get a clue what's going on here."
Elmer slowly nodded but the fear remained in his eyes as he took Lona's hand in his. "It's going to be okay," He whispered as he leaned over and gently kissed her forehead. He bit his lip once more to try to keep from crying as he felt her hot skin. The cooling blankets and the medicines they were pumping into her didn't seem to have helped the fever at all. How long could Lona last with a temperature like that? He closed his eyes for a moment, feeling tears building up that he didn't dare let fall. If he lost her.... He knew everyone thought that his feelings for Lona were just a crush but Elmer knew that it was something far more. She was the first woman that he had ever loved and seeing her like this....
"It's going to be okay." He whispered again into her ear. He forced himself to block out Hook, to block out the sounds of the medical equipment, as he focused totally on Lona. "I know that you think that the way I feel is just a crush but I swear to you this is something more. I had my share of relationships, I guess, in high school and college." He shook his head slowly as he thought back. Relationships. Somehow that word didn't sound quite right for what had at the most amounted to three dates per girl. "I almost had to. Dad got so freaked if he didn't see Edgar and I doing 'normal' stuff, like he thought our mom walking out on us would scar us for life or something. None of them ever really lasted though. They just weren't right somehow. But when I saw you, something just clicked and I knew that you were the woman I had been waiting for.
You have to get better, Lona. I love you." She gently kissed her forehead once more, a tear slowly running down his face and falling onto her flushed face. "I love you."
As Elmer talked, Hook was carefully studying the EEG readout. To his relief, there were definitely brain waves. He had feared deep down that the readout might be totally flat, signally brain death. The brain waves were much weaker than they should be in certain places, though,
wildly erratic in others. He shook his head slowly. That could be a sign of brain damage, he knew, but it could also be some sort of reaction to whatever was making her so sick.
As a nurse entered the room, Hook issued an order. "I want the equipment in here to do a spinal tap, stat."
"Spinal tap?" Elmer said as he snapped out of the private little world he had somehow made with just him and Lona and back into the real world where she was fighting for her life. "Did the scan show anything?"
How could it have had time to show anything? It seemed like Hook had just started it but when Elmer looked at the clock, almost fifteen minutes had passed.
There are some things I'm a bit concerned about." Hook said slowly as he looked at the readouts once more. He knew that the areas of slowed activity could simply be due to Lona's unconscious state but he knew that he would be remiss if he didn't check everything. "I want a spinal tap to see if this, whatever it is, might be going to her brain." It actually might be a good sign if it was attacking her nervous system in a manner similar to meningitis. They knew how to treat that, at least.
Elmer cringed as the original nurse entered along with an assistant. "No," he said softly but firmly as one of the nurses started to turn Lona onto her side and Hook and the other nurse started sitting out the supplies needed for the spinal tap. "I'll hold her." It was the least that he could do for Lona, to hold her when she went through something as painful as he knew this would be. "Hook, just be careful, okay?" He said as he stood, a hand on Lona's shoulders and hips as Hook withdrew the large spinal tap needle. He cringed as he saw the needle moving towards Lona's exposed back, turning his head slightly so he wouldn't see. "It's okay,
Lona. It's going to be okay." He felt more tears starting to fall as he spoke. It had to be okay. He couldn't loose her now.