Chapter 8

April 10, 2022 at 8:45 pm

Stephanie sat in a chair next to her husband's bed. He had been airlifted from LazyTown to the hospital in SloppyTown since the FunTown hospital had received damage from the twister. The doctors had taken x-rays and performed some tests but they hadn't told her anything yet.

Joshua walked into the room to find his mother staring at his father. The two hadn't spoken since before the storm and now he had no idea what to say.

"Joshua," Stephanie said.

"Yeah, Mom?" He asked. Stephanie motioned for him to come closer to her. As he did she wrapped her arms around him. The two were both nervous but they didn't say anything. A knock on the door separated them.

"Mrs. Scheving? My name is Doctor Fixit. Can I talk to you for a moment alone?" He asked.

"Joshua, why don't you go out and sit with Samantha? I know she was looking for you." Stephanie said. The sixteen year old didn't want to leave but he did anyway. The doctor could now speak freely.

"Your husband has sustained some serious injuries. His right leg is broken and his right arm. Some of his ribs are broken and we'll have to go in surgically to fix them. We think the best option is to go in now and try to repair the damage. However there is some slight risk because of the coma he is in." Doctor Fixit explained.

"Are there any other options?" Stephanie asked.

"Unfortunately, if we don't fix his ribs the pieces could move around and lodge into his organs." The doctor told her.

"All right, can you bring him out of his coma?" She asked.

"He'll have to do that on his own, I'm afraid. I hate to bring this up but is your husband an organ donor or does he have any Do NotResuscitate orders?" Doctor Fixit asked.

"He is an organ donor but he would like to be resuscitated."

"Uh, well ok then we'll prep him for surgery." He was surprised when Stephanie answered him so nonchalantly. Leaving the room, Doctor Fixit went down to the nurses' station and told them to get Sportacus ready.

Stephanie slumped back into the chair. She only had a few moments alone before they wheeled her husband toward surgery.

"I don't have much time, there are going to take you into surgery. No matter what, I love you. I will always love you. Joshua loves you too. We'll be waiting for you." She told him. Standing up she kissed his lips and forehead. Then Stephanie squeezed his hand before the nurses took her out of the room.

Nurse Susan guided Stephanie to the waiting room. The two didn't say anything to each other. In fact, Susan wasn't sure what to say. She'd seen family members before and after surgery and she'd learned not to build up people's hope. Quite often telling the family that everything was going to fine had come back to bite her in the butt.

Stephanie sat down in the waiting room and Joshua sat next to her. Amanda, Robbie, and Samantha sat on the other side of the room. Everyone seemed to waiting for someone else to talk. Finally, licking her lips, Stephanie explained the situation.

"So they hope that his broken bones will heal better while he's in the coma?" Amanda asked.

"That's what I'm told. We don't have much to worry about, he always gets better." Stephanie replied. She wished she was as confident as she sounded. It was then that Pixel walked into the room. His left arm was in a sling and cast.

"Pixel, how are you feeling?" Robbie asked.

"Pretty good, thanks to Sportacus and Joshua." He said.

"I didn't help you. I was too concerned with my father. I didn't help anyone." Joshua replied. The sixteen year old got up and left the room.

To Be Continued…