Chapter 50: Cockroach Eggs!
By morning, Daniel was ready to be tried on going three hours between breathing treatments, and they were also using a variety of gadgets to encourage the boy to take deep breaths and cough, in order, explained the nurses, to loosen up the thick mucus that was clogging his lungs. The kids all slept past their normal time for a school day, and Jack let them, deciding to keep all of them out of school that day since it had been a long night and they were all exhausted from it.
After breakfast, Janet appeared, a young, brown haired woman in tow. Janet introduced the young lieutenant, and explained that the nurse had previously worked in a pediatric ward before joining up with the Air Force. The doctor further went on to explain that while they didn't have any formal teaching on hand, Lieutenant Skinner had done a little research that morning and pulled together some learning materials similar to what she'd used in the past.
And so began their education into what asthma was, what triggered the attacks, and how to prevent it. Daniel was fascinated by the drawings representing of the insides of lungs and the terminology, like bronchioles and alveoli. "They look like grapes," explained Lieutenant Skinner, and they learned that those tiny airways where oxygen exchange took place could become closed off by inflammation, thick cloying mucus, and spasms.
They moved on to discussing asthma triggers, things that would cause an attack, like pollen, dust, changes in temperature, or having a cold, which evidently was why Daniel had had his. Then the Lieutenant mentioned something that had Sam and Daniel both exclaiming "Eeewww! Gross!" simultaneously.
Jack had to force himself to remain seated. "I do not," he said with emphasis, "Have roaches in my house!" He was vehement, and scowled to further send his message across.
Skinner's eyes twinkled behind her glasses. "Well, you see sir, we have to include that one because some people have," she coughed, "that particular problem, and you see, the eggs can actually be laid inside the neb chamber and be nebulized. Which is why it's important to keep the equipment clean."
At that explanation, Daniel started making immature gagging noises and Sam pretended to examine Daniel's mask for bugs. Teal'c looked slightly disturbed by the prospect, since he had been watching all the teaching with interest.
They had to take a break for a while until the kids settled again, but that was fine with Jack, who took the opportunity to wash up and change into fatigues, having left his clothes behind in his haste to get Daniel to the base. He'd wondered what to do about the kid's, when Janet had showed up that morning with a bag containing clothes for all three. She'd taken the liberty of using the spare key he'd given her and picked them up that morning on her way in. She'd even brought Sam's teddy bear and a few things to keep the kids amused.
Hammond stopped in around lunchtime, looking relieved to see that Daniel was much improved, even spending time out of bed playing a board game with Sam and Teal'c. The General was even coaxed into a game of Monopoly Jr., and Jack secretly smirked when the man lost spectacularly to the kids. After lunch, they continued in their education and learned about the signs of asthma, and Jack realized Daniel had been showing mild signs of attacks off and on for the last week or so. The teaching also included what to do, and an explanation of the various medications that Daniel might be placed on. Jack's mind boggled over the list, but the Lieutenant assured him that she'd be there tomorrow, and would help draw up a list of which medications Daniel would be on and when to take them. Jack was relieved; he'd gotten to like the nurse.
It was decided to space Daniel to treatments every four hours and to keep him overnight. If he did well, they would switch him over to the little inhalers that Jack was more familiar with and send him home. Jack was now stuck in a dilemma, and wasn't sure what to do. The infirmary staff had graciously allowed him and all the kids to stay the previous night during the emergency, but now that Danny was doing much better he doubted they'd be so accommodating. And their old on-base quarters had been reconverted into a bit of a lounge, so they couldn't stay on base nearby. So that left him torn between taking Sam and Teal'c home, and leaving Daniel on his own.
So it was with immense relief, that Janet appeared, and volunteered to take Sam and Teal'c home with her, allowing Jack to spend the night again. Jack gratefully accepted and the doctor promised to swing by his house and gather the kid's backpacks and lunches, and make sure they got to school the next day. Jack scrawled out quick excuse notes for Teal'c and Sam explaining their absence from school and made another for Teal'c to bring in for Daniel, and started to list out some instructions and advice for Janet. He stopped when he realized that Janet was smiling at him indulgently. She had, after all, acted much in the same overprotective manner on more than one occasion with Cassie after all!
Daniel watched his psuedo-siblings leave wistfully, Sam's teddy bear left behind and in his care for the night. The bear now sported an oxygen mask and bits of tape and gauze to simulate the various monitor probes, as well as the now battered bandage cast. The little bear was starting to look careworn since it was going on all sorts of adventures, and looked as tired as Jack felt. Still, Jack could only grin, and ruffled the boy's hair. "So, Danny-boy, it's time I told you about a few things guaranteed to keep you occupied while stuck in the infirmary," he started, while Daniel looked on wide-eyed.
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They went home the next day, toting a long list of instructions, several charts he was told to fill out everyday, various medications, a few new gadgets, and the warning to call if Daniel should start to feel worse again. Jack carefully avoided meeting the gaze of one of the nurses, who had obviously been told the story of the monitor prank. Maybe he shouldn't have told Daniel that one, but it had seemed so innocent. How was he to know he'd send every nurse running and a doctor too when Daniel had moved the oxygen sensor and pulled off the particular lead that measured his breathing, making them all think he'd stopped?
Jack kept Daniel home from school the next day as well, despite the boy's protests. (Apparently they were studying something really interesting in History that week.) Daniel was only slightly appeased when Teal'c came home bearing his assignments for the days he'd missed. At least he could keep up with class work. That is the class work that interested him. He'd discovered that Daniel needed a lot of coaxing to work on the subjects that didn't interest him, while he took off in those that did, proving that there was a deep intelligence under the shy and sometimes bitter exterior. Jack suspected that if Daniel were to only apply himself with the same enthusiasm he held for certain subjects across the board, than there'd be no holding the boy back.
The rest of the week went quietly, and Daniel's asthma was worked into their daily routine. He had a special inhaler called a controller that he took in the morning and before bed, and the other one, the Albuterol, was called the quick reliever. After the first few days of using it around the clock every six hours, they had been told to use it only as needed. He had an extra one to send to school, as well as an extra of the clear plastic tube called a spacer, that let Daniel take his inhaled medications at his own pace without losing any. In the morning, Daniel also took some steroids with breakfast, but the dose went down every few days and soon he'd be off it completely. He was also put on a medicine for allergies and asthma that he took at bedtime.
Daniel did great with the new regime, taking his medicines every day, and Jack was pleased he was so cooperative. In fact, sometimes Daniel seemed to know more about his medications than Jack did! Jack also had a meeting with the school nurse about Daniel's asthma, and she assured him that she was more than familiar with the condition, and promised to let him know if Daniel ever needed to come in and use his inhaler. She also promised to speak with Daniel's teachers and let them know what to watch out for, but Daniel wasn't the first kid at the school with asthma, and likely wouldn't be the last.
A/N: Happy Thanksgiving, to those of you celebrating. Well, finally found the cats' stash. 13 foam balls, 2 stuffed mousies, 1 fur mouse, and a stuffed reindeer. Tucked neatly under the hutch. (A very large piece of furniture.) I already caught Sammy (who's in cat heaven with the reappearance of all his favorite toys) trying to put one of the stuffed mice back under there. They'll likely have to move the stash now. They used to keep stuff under the stove, til I kept fishing it out. Then it was the treadmill. (You know, the coat rack thing in the corner) I didn't even realize the spaces at the bottom of the hutch were large enough for the toys. The only thing I wonder is how they got some of the non-rolling toys to very back middle. They certainly don't fit under or behind, unless they've been taking stuff back there since they were smaller. And most of the balls were in the back too. Cats.