"Alright Jess, little discomfort that's all" Doctor Carmichael said as he injected a liquid into Jess's lower back, she was laying on the bed in the radiology catheter lab in the hospital
"Ow" Jess moaned as her face screwed up in pain from the injection
"How's the pain, scale 1 to 5" Doctor Carmichael asked after a few minutes had passed
"4, it burns" Jess groaned, thankful for the light sedation she'd been given previously, she was able to remain still, doctor Carmichael tried to stimulate a nerve to test sensation, he quickly noted down the responses
"Alright, you're doing really well, I know it's frustrating, injection is in, let's move on to the next location" Doctor Carmichael said calmly pleased with the results he'd noted
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"How'd she do" Jason asked eagerly standing up as he noticed Aubree and another female nurse he'd occasionally seen on the ward wheel Jess's bed back in, she was on her side and had a blanket pulled up around her shoulders
"Feel like a pin cushion" Jess groaned clearly still feeling the effects of the sedation
"There's your answer, it will take a few more hours before the blocks have fully kicked in, she needs to not move for 6 hours, Doctor Carmichael is worried about the potential for excess bruising as her platelets were a little low, we've given her medication to help, but staying still will help as well, Jess may experience some burning sensation at the site of the injections, if that happens then let Camden know, he'll get some ice packs, 20 minutes every 4 hours" Aubree said starting to explain the recovery process, Pepper, not interested in sitting by Brock's feet anymore immediately put her paws up on Jess's bed to check out the possibility of climbing up as well, checking that the coast was clear, Pepper hopped up on the bed to sniff Jess
"Pepper, I don't know" Brock said about to get the Dutch shepard of the hospital bed before she got told of, Aubree however started laughing at the sight
"It's okay Brock, probably more comfortable than the pillow, she can be up there" Aubree said smiling at the sight of the dog making herself comfortable, Aubree grabbed the pillow Jess had been holding and took it away, Pepper immediately took the spot where the pillow had previously been and looked at Brock
"Oh you've learnt that look from Zah" Trent said recognising the look of, I told you I was allowed to be up here
"So it's Pep snuggles instead of Super Zah snuggles for the afternoon hey, well that's okay with me to" Jess said as she gave the dog a quick scratch around the ears before settling herself in for the afternoon, Aubree carefully readjusted the blanket so it was covering both Jess and Pepper so that Jess would remain content enough to sleep for the afternoon
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"Bookworm planning on making an appearance this afternoon" Sonny asked 2 days later, Bravo team was sitting out on the patio at Jess and Luca's house getting ready for another family barbeque
"If she doesn't come down in half an hour, I'll go and get her, she's still napping in the afternoon" Luca said getting everyone another round of drinks from the outdoor bar fridge and handed them around
"Nerve blocks were successful then I take it" Eric asked accepting the drink offered from Luca
"The phantom pains have dropped right back, she said it's still there a little bit, but not as bad as it was, her brain is still trying to work out the new sensations after all" Luca said sitting back down to enjoy the afternoon
"No other side effects from the procedure then I take it" Ray asked curiously
"There's some numbness in her glutes, but her mobility hasn't been affected by it" said Luca, he'd been worried about the possibility of a loss of sensation with the nerve blocks, if they went to high it would affect the sensation in Jess's legs, however Doctor Carmichael had managed to effectively do the block at the S3 level to control the phantom pains for the downstairs region, Luca had noticed that Jess no longer was tensing up in bed, and could rest easier and more comfortably
"What about your visit to the specialist, how did that go" Clay asked eager to know if the tests were successful
"Waiting to hear when the doctor can fit the procedure in, it will be in the next 4 weeks, I'll be there for a week, just hope that it's not going to coincide with Jess's second round of treatment" Luca said, as he unclipped the pain pump that was attached to his clothing to show it to Clay, the medication was a lot more effective than what he'd originally hoped it could be, he was eager to get the surgery to get the implanted version and the specialist was quietly confident that they could at the very least stop the damage from getting any worse, for at least the next 10 years, a permanent fix was out of the question the doctor had said to Luca as soon as he saw the scans, the best they could offer him was to get the pain issue sorted and try to preserve and strengthen the damaged area for as long as possible, in the hope that medical science would eventually catch up with creating an artificial spine implant that would not need replacing as often or carry the risks, sure if Luca was in his 60's or 70's then trialing a replacement might be an option, but the best guarantee that doctors could give him was 15 years, at most, and there was no guarantee that a second surgery would hold, Luca was only 34, he'd most likely need another 2 rounds of surgery, and it was no easy procedure to recover from, so they wanted him to hold out as long as possible
"If it does, you've got a plan I take it" Jason asked
"You know we're more than happy to have Zah for the week if needed" Ray said offering for Zalie to stay with him and Naima for the duration of it was needed
"Or she can crash with Stella and I" Clay added knowing that Stella would be more than happy to have the little girl stay with them as well
"I know and thanks for the offers, we'll work something out, I think Jay was talking about Simona and Salvatore coming over if it happens" Luca said feeling appreciative that both Ray and Clay were willing to open their houses up for Zalie if it was needed
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"Cuddle bug, you coming down, everyone is waiting for you" Luca asked as soon as he stepped into their room
"It feels weird" Jess said pressing on one of the areas of her body that was completely numb now
"I know, you'll get use to it, at least the pain has stopped" Luca said moving in closer towards her, Jess was sitting on their bed a drawing pad sitting beside her
"I know" Jess said with a small smile on her face, the sensation was interesting to say the least, but it certainly wasn't unpleasant by any means, Luca now sat down on the bed close to his wife
"The drawing is interesting" Luca said noticing the design on the paper was made to resemble a crop top
"Just something I'm playing with" Jess said not really giving anything away on what the design was
"It's pretty, you getting it made into a crop top" Luca asked curiously
"I'm thinking of doing something else with it actually" Jess said cryptically
"Care to share Cuddle bug" Luca asked now intrigued with what Jess was thinking
"How would you feel if I got it turned into a tattoo, or another design, across here" Jess asked as she indicated to where her breasts had been removed and replaced by thin red scars, he'd read about some women choosing to get the area tattooed after undergoing a mastectomy, especially when reconstruction wasn't performed, that it made the women feel complete as there was now something there to look at, instead of emptiness, the scars were incorporated into the designs to hide them, so all that people would see was some intricate designs, not scars left over from what had been lost, it was a symbol of moving forward with the recovery process, not remaining stuck in the past he'd read, if Jess was wanting to get this done, Luca wouldn't stop her, he'd do what he could to make sure it looked amazing, even if it meant flying somewhere to get a specific tattoo artist instead of just getting someone local
"If that's what you want to do, I'll support you, you know that, you want a jacket for downstairs, it's a little cold" Luca said wrapping his arms around her before getting up of the bed and heading over to their walk in wardrobe, he had a feeling he knew what jacket Jess would want but he wanted to be sure
"My snugglepac one, doesn't matter what colour" Jess said as Luca quickly put his hand on the first of the big thick puffer jackets Jay had designed and manufactured, they were effectively a wearable sleeping bag in the form of a jacket, something that Jess was all to happy to have in her wardrobe, especially when her dad had based the construction of the really thick sleeping bags designed for below freezing temperatures, it kept her feeling really comfortable and snuggly when she had it on, hence the name snugglepac, Jay's next challenge was creating the same jacket with kevlar plates built in so that it could be warn by Jess on low vis operations, that way it wouldn't be visible that she was wearing added protection
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"So Brock, what's the big news" Jason asked after everyone had gathered together on the patio, Laura was sitting on Brock's lap and they both turned to look at each other grinning like kids
"Well" Brock said taking a deep breath as he held up Laura's left hand, everyone could clearly see there was now a ring on Laura's ring finger
"When did this happen" Ray asked excitedly
"A few weeks ago" Laura said happily
"More like nearly 6 weeks ago" Brock said smiling
"What took you so long to tell us" Trent asked looking at Brock, they were probably the closest out of the team, he felt at least Brock could have told him about getting engaged
"Other stuff happened, and we wanted to tell you all together" Brock said looking at Trent, this was what the barbeque they'd planned earlier was for, to announce their engagement
"You have to let us take you dress shopping" Stella said excitedly
"Definitely, when are you having the wedding" Naima added, they had both been keen to go shopping with Jess, but things hadn't worked out in their favour as Jess had had her dress designed privately
"Wedding date hasn't been set yet, but Brad has offered for us to have it out there on his property now they've expanded, there's some spare guest houses for us to stay in, big open barn and some nice gardens and pastures" Laura said knowing that a venue would often dictate when the wedding would be held, using Brad's property meant they could keep an open date
"And the horses won't be stressed out as it's a familiar environment" Brock added his smile still firmly planted on his face
"Wait up, the horses are going to be there" Sonny asked wanting to make sure he heard right
"One thing she's putting her foot down on from the beginning, right Laura" Brock said looking at his future wife, Cerbs and Pepper being there was a given, but horses were considerably larger than the 2 shepherds
"Yep, the bridal party will be arriving on horseback, don't care how the rest of you turn up" Laura said firmly, it was clearly not a topic she was willing to bend on
"How are you going to ride a horse in a wedding dress" Stella asked curiously
"Correction, how are you even planning on getting on a horse in a wedding dress" Clay asked curious as to how Laura would manage that stunt
"You'll have to just wait and see" Laura said not wanting to give everything away straight up
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"You're pain is bad, isn't it" Jess said concerned as she felt Luca flinch as he moved, the medication trial was now over, Luca was booked in for the surgery, he just had to wait
"I've had worse, bring on the surgery next week, so they can start me on that new medication" said Luca as he snuggled in closer to Jess
"You going to be able to last today sitting at the pool" Jess asked concerned about the possibility that Luca would be in to much pain to last through Zalie's swimming competition today
"I'll be fine, are you going to manage having treatment next week without me being there" Luca asked, neither he or Jess were eager to move from their bed
"I'll be fine, dad is no stranger to chemotherapy, and I'm sure Alie has given him a list of instructions on what to feed me and not to feed me, and Laura is going to be fine looking after Zah, Brad's got his twins going with them, Alie has been cooking like mad to stock them up with meals for why they're visiting the other rescue" Jess said assuring him that they would be fine, she knew that Luca was struggling with the idea of being away from both her and Zalie for the week why he was working on getting his back sorted, especially knowing that Jess was having another round of treatment in the hospital, and Zalie would be in a whole other state, he was struggling a bit with the idea he wouldn't be there if they needed him, he'd grown quite accustomed to being there all the time, but would have to get use to the idea now of stepping back, especially when Jess returned to duty, or maybe Luca was struggling with the fact that Trent was back on duty, and couldn't be there this time, leaving Jay to be the support, Jess didn't know
"How many trailers are they taking I wonder" Luca asked changing the subject to Laura's trip to help the other rescue
"I'm sure there will be at least 3 going" Jess said trying to work it out, Laura would be taking hers with the attached living quarters for her Zalie and Cerbs to stay in, Brad and Rylan would be taking there main one with the built in living quarters for themselves and the twins to stay in, then Jess strongly suspected that there would be a third trailer, knowing full well that there were plans to take some of their own horses to help with the starting process, Laura had been busy making sure the horses had the necessary paperwork and were already at the boarding stables in Tennessee doing their quarantine, and would be collected on the way through, and that there was most likely going to be extra horses coming back from Tennessee with them, they wouldn't be able to safely travel with the Kirkman horses, and depending on how handled the horses coming back would be, a stock trailer would be a better transport for some of them over the more expensive trailers that had the living quarters added, it would depend on willingness to load and how well they traveled
"Mummy, daddy, wake up we need to get ready to go to the pool" Zalie screamed with excitement as she came running into her parents room and jumped on their bed followed closely behind by Cerbs
"Relax Zah, we've got plenty of time, you need to calm down, you don't want to be sick, now have you got your bags packed" Luca said trying to convince the little girl to settle down
"Yes" Zalie said still excited but not as eager as she was before as Jess started rubbing her back to try and encourage her to breathe
"All 3 of them" Jess asked sceptical about whether they'd actually been done
"Aha, Boompa helped me" Zalie said confirming that they'd all been packed
"Cerbs gear" Luca asked now quizzing his daughter
"We packed it last night, didn't we Cerbs, yes we did" Zalie said giving her best friend a scratch around the ears
"Nonna and Boompa awake yet, and aunty Laura" Jess asked now trying to find a task to distract Zalie, they didn't need to be at the pool for another 4 hours, there was no way the family would need 4 hours to get up, ready and on their way to the pool, it would take 2 hours at most, there was another 2 hours to spare easily
"I think so" Zalie said stopping to think if the rest of the house was awake yet
"Why don't you go and check, then you've got to have breakfast, then maybe you can do your homework and get a head start on your classes for next week, while we'll get up and ready to go" Jess said hoping that Zalie would finally settle down if she knew that the adults were all up and getting ready
"Okay, come on Cerbs" Zalie said happily as she hopped of the bed to go and make sure the other adults were awake
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