Chapter 113
Kate gave a sigh of relief. "Looks like scar tissue only" she said scratching around. "I'm taking a sample now" she said and retracted the pliers with the sample out of the tube in Tegan's mouth. "Get this one to the lab so long... put a rush on it I want to know what we're dealing with before we get out of here" she said. She moved on carefully to the next one. Tegan's heart monitor gave a few weird beeps. "Talk to me Joe" she said stopping in her tracks. "Mmm... she just threw two or three PVCs... we're back to normal" he said not sounding concerned. "Pressure?" asked Kate. "95, 65" he reported. "Let's get her started on a dopamine drip... titrate to a systolic of 110... thank you" said Kate. The nursed mopped up her forehead again just before she reached the second spot. "Same thing here... it doesn't look malignant but sometimes they don't right" said Teddy. "Let's make sure" said Kate taking a sample. "Okay... last lap" she said breathing out deeply and moving her head from side to side. "You need a sec Kate?" said Teddy. "I'm good... moving on" she said. She reached the spot in the other lung without much difficulty but couldn't find anything. "I don't see it... am I missing something?" she asked. "Dr Altman can you check the CT please... am I in the right place here?" she said confused still searching. Altman checked the images and placed the echo probe on Tegan's chest. You're in the perfect spot" she said looking at the echo screen. "Then where the fuck is it?" she said. "Keep going" said Altman. "It's not here... must be on the outside of the lung. Altman take over here please" she said. "Do you want me to retract?" said Altman. "Yes please... I'm doing a thoracoscopy... let's just see what we find on the outside of the lung" said Kate. "Turn her on her side. Prepare her chest please" said Kate as she moved around the table. "Jesus it feels as if I can't breathe" she mumbled. "Nurse, can you get Dr Morgan some fresh air please" said Altman calmly while looking at the screen. Kate didn't object as the nurse put a tube with some air into the side of her mask. "Okay let's go" said Kate. "Take a minute Kate" said Altman. Kate gave her a death stare and turned her head to get rid of the tube with air. "Deflate the right lung... good... Ten blade" she said holding out her hand. She felt the scalpel break Tegan's skin on her chest and plunge through her chest wall. She made another two small incisions "I'm in, scope please" she said. She guided the camera into Tegan's chest cavity. "There it is... hmmm... Dr Altman your thoughts?" she said. "I don't know... looks okay but..." she trailed off. "I'm removing it" said Kate. "Don't you want tot biopsy it first" said Altman. "I'm not taking chances... it's out of here" said Kate. She successfully removed the small tumor through the hole in Tegan's chest. "Sats are dropping" reported the resp tech. "Almost done in here" said Kate. "Sats down to 70" said the tech. "Okay inflate the lung again and up the O2. Come on Tee take in the air" said Kate and ordered some drugs to open her airway. "She's crashing... Sats still dropping... 64, BP down to 85, 55" said somebody. "Adjust the vent for fuck sakes" yelled Kate. "Manually bagging with 100% O2" said a nurse. "She's throwing PVCs again" reported the anasthesiologist. "Pressure's dropping off a cliff... 55, 35" said somebody. "Hang in there Tegan" mumbled Kate.
Lindsey was exhausted but the adrenaline coursing through her veins kept her going. She lay back in the recliner trying to calm herself down. She tried not to think of her Tegan in that cold and sterile operating room but she couldn't help herself. She was so scared. Sara walked back into the room looking drained. "Any news?" she said. "Nope" is all Lindsey could get out. "Guess what Erin... I just ran into Carmen outside" said Sara. "Carmen?" said Alex. "The girl... the one that... the one we helped off the roof" said Sara. "Really... how's she doing?" said Erin. "She's doing well it seems. She's been in the psych ward up till now but they're sending her home tomorrow. Apparently she's not a danger to herself anymore" said Sara. "That's good to hear" said Erin. "Sounds as if they want to call her to testify in the trial too" said Sara shaking her head. "I wish it was next week this time" said Erin looking nauseous.
Kate yelled out drug orders. "We have a bleeder" she said. "I need suction please" she said calmly. "Pressure still dropping 50, 30... heart's not liking this" said Teddy sounding panicked. "No no Teetee... hang in there. More suction please I can't see a thing" mumbled Kate. "Okay I have the bleeding under control" she said just as Tegan's heart monitor started wailing. "Dammit she's in A-fib" screamed somebody indicating that Tegan's heart was in an undesirable rhythm. "Kate felt as if she was going to have a heart attack herself any second panic overcame her. "Do we have a pulse with that" she said. "Yes... Barely" reported a nurse. "We need to cardiovert I don't want her stroking out. Paddles please... Now... charge to 100" said Kate breathing fast. A nurse exposed the rest of Tegan's chest. "Okay we're charged... clear" said Kate loudly. Tegan's body jumped. "We have a pulse but she's still in a-fib" said Altman. "Again... 150 please" said Kate looking at the monitor. "Clear... Shocking" said Kate "We're back in sinus" reported Altman. Kate handed back the paddles and held onto the side of Tegan's bed to steady herself breathing heavily. "She's stabilising... pressure up to 90 over 70" said a nurse. "We've got it Kate" said Altman. "Not yet... I'm waiting for those pathology results. Get that pressure up more" said Kate. She glanced at the clock on the wall. "Well... while we're in here we may as well have a look at her heart" said Kate. "Joyriding are we Dr Morgn" said Altman shaking her head. Kate shrugged as she guided the camera towards Tegan's heart. She looked at the image on the screen. "Look at that... never get tired of seeing it" she said sounding calm for the first time during surgery. "You've got a beautiful heart Ms Quin" she said softly. Kate inspected Tegan's chest cavity and lungs thorougly. "The rest of her lungs and her heart looks just great... nice work Tegan" she said. After a few minutes Karev came in "Path's back" he reported. "Give it to me" said Kate anxiously.
Sara was pacing up and down inside Tegan's room. She could tell it was annoying the rest of the group but she couldn't sit still so she moved outside and was still pacing nervously. Her phone rang and she answered after the first ring. "Hey mom... she's still in there... I don't know... It's taking longer than expected and that scares me to tell the truth... hang on... mom, I'll call you back I see Kate" said Sara and abruptly hung up when she saw Kate walking towards her in the distance. She walked towards her fast and stopped in her tracks when somebody pushing a trolley crossed her path. She looked up at Kate desperately. Kate smiled her magic smile and gave Sara two thumbs up. Sara felt relief flood over her and fell into Kate's arms. "She's okay Sara... she's just fine" whispered Kate. "Thank you... Thank you" is all Sara could manage through her tears. She took Kate's face in her hands and kissed her repeatedly while laughing. They were getting a few weird looks but Kate didn't care. She was so happy, relieved and in love.
Kate took Sara's hand and led her into Tegan's room. Everybody jumped up simultaneously. Kate smiled and Lindsey let out a sob of relief. "She's okay guys... she's okay" said Kate also becoming emotional. "What happened... where is she... can we see her?" asked Lindsey. "Slow down... let me just bring you up to speed first" said Kate sitting down on a chair. She looked completely drained and Sara noticed that her scrub cap was drenched in sweat. She put her hands on her shoulders and rubbed them. "We found the first two spots quite easily and I'm happy to report that they were benign scar tissue from previous pulmonary trauma. We did biopsy them just in case and the results confirmed our suspicions. Those are nothing at all to worry about. It will not have any negative effect on her health going forward" smiled Kate. "Got a good look at a lot of lung tissue going in and everything looks fine. There's obvious trauma to the lungs and they still show it just a bit but all in all it's looking great" said Kate. "And the third one" said Sara suddenly looking pale. "Well... we could't find the third one inside the lung so we had to do a thoracoscopy... basically we put our tools and cameras inside her chest cavity through three holes in her chest. It's way less invasive and traumatic than opening the chest completely like we did last time but it's still a big deal" said Kate. "Fuck..." said Sara staring at Kate. "I'm going to keep it short... we found the node and I decided to remove it. Pathology came back and confirmed that it is in fact also benign but I didn't want to take chances with it becoming something else. Tegan had a bit of a rough ride in there for a few minutes but we managed to stabilize her relatively fast. She came through the procedure like a champ. I'm ecstatic with how it went. The third node was a bit of a challenge but this is a really good outcome" said Kate. Lindsey was in tears and everybody else gave a sigh of relief. "Tegan's in post-op right now and I suspect she will be for a few hours. This was still quite a big surgery and considering her history we want to keep a very close eye on her for the next 24 hours but right now her prognosis is excellent. I'm going to go and take her breathing tube out now after which you guys can see her. She'll want you close when she wakes up" said Kate. Lindsey pulled Kate close and hugged her tight for a long time. "Thank you Kate... you're my hero" said Lindsey. "Just doing my job" smiled Kate shyly.
Sara had a few minutes to update her parents and were now waiting outside the post op room with Lindsey, Erin and Alex. "Hospitals still make me queezy" said Lindsey. Kate led them into the room where Tegan was lying on a bed surrounded by monitors. She was still out cold and was covered up to her chin with thick blankets. She looked pale but peaceful. She had some kind of electrode on her forehead and an oxygen mask on her face. "What's this?" said Sara pointing at the sticker on her forehead. "It's just a core temperature monitor, we're having a bit trouble heating her up after surgery. It's a normal side effect of anesthesia though" said Kate squeezing Sara's hand. Lindsey kissed Tegan's cheek softly. "My brave angel" she whispered. Tegan's eyes fluttered open. "Hey baby... there you are sweetie" she whispered as Tegan looked around confused. "You're just fine my love... everything went well... everything's okay" said Lindsey. Kate replaced the oxygen mask with a nasal cannula. "Heeeeyyy" mumbled Tegan. "Hey you" said Sara smiling. "Where... am I?" said Tegan groggily. "You're in the hospital baby... you had an operation but you're fine" said Lindsey. "Yoouu aree sooo cuute" said Tegan, her words slurring. She seemed totally baked. "You're even cuter" said Lindsey. "It's spinning... and turning... pretty lights" said Tegan with a massive smile on her face. "You're going to be a bit groggy and trippy for a while Tegan" said Kate. "You... did you... whaaaa did you dooo to me?" said Tegan. "We just checked out your lungs buddy" said Kate adjusting some drips. "I'm... throw up" said Tegan looking anxious suddenly. Kate and Abby quickly turned her on her side as she threw up into a bowl. Kate suctioned her mouth and throat and offered her a drink of water. Tegan rolled the water around in her mouth before spitting it out and taking another sip. "Throat hurts... Sleepy" mumbled Tegan. "I know Tee... just try and stay awake for ten minutes then we'll let you sleep again okay" said Kate. Tegan sighed and shivered. "Sasa... why are we in... Canada?" asked Tegan still slurring. "We're not in Canada Tegan we're in LA" said Sara. "We're... in Canada" repeated Tegan. "No Tee" said Sara. "Canada" said Tegan closing her eyes. Sara frowned at Kate. "She's pretty high on pain meds and she's still coming out of the anesthesia Sar... humor her" said Kate. "Where's mom..." said Tegan. "Tegan Mom's in Canada" said Sara. "Buuuu... we're in Canada... Canada" said Tegan. "Why do you think we're in Canada Tee?" asked Sara stifling a laugh. "It's... sooo...fucking cold... this must be... Canada" mumbled Tegan, very serious. Everybody burst out laughing. Kate pulled the blankets up around Tegan's face. "Abby get a heating blanket please. This is LA... there's no need for Tegan to be this cold" she smiled. "Core temp's only 96.3" said Abby as she lifted the covers and put a heating blanket on Tegan and replaced the covers. Tegan was shivering uncontrollably now. "Just relax Tee we're going to get you nice and warm soon" said Kate. Tegan lay in silence looking at Lindsey, her eyes rolled around in her head every now and then but she stayed awake. "I love you Tegan" whispered Lindsey but Tegan still seemed pretty out of it. After a few minutes she seemed to be more comfortable and her shivering subsided. "Okay core temp is up to 98.7... Feeling a bit warmer Tegan" asked Kate. "I'm toasty as a... a...piece of toaaast" said Tegan still high as a kite. Everybody laughed. "Ima... gonna marry you" said Tegan sounding drunk as a skunk. Lindsey chuckled. "You've already married me baby" she cooed stoking Tegan's hair. "Whaa... I did?" said Tegan sounding confused. "Yeah... you're all mine now" smiled Lindsey. "Score! Did I knock you up?" Tegan laughed weakly. "You did indeed" said Lindsey. "Cooool" said Tegan closing her eyes still smiling. "Where am I?" Tegan started up again. "Remember you're in the hospital sweetie" said Lindsey patiently. "Oh yeah... did they... what about those fuckers" said Tegan slurring. "Well we removed one fucker and the other two weren't fuckers after all" said Kate. Tegan lifted her hands out of the blankets. "Sasa... I want mommy... where's mommy" said Tegan becoming emotional and sounding like a five year old. "Hang on Tegan I'm getting mommy okay" said Sara. She fiddled around with her iPad as Tegan moaned some more for her mother. Sara Skyped her mom and talked to her for a minute before walking up to Tegan's bed again. "Look sis... it's mommy" said Sara holding the iPad in front of Tegan's face. "Mommy" said Tegan putting her hand up to touch the screen. "Hi Tegan... It's mommy and daddy" said Sonia. "Mommy... it hurts" said Tegan. "They said you did so well in surgery Tee... I'm so proud of you. You're going to feel better reeally soon okay. Just hang in there for me... I'll see you soon okay... we love you so much" said Sara. "Love you" mumbled Tegan before closing her eyes again. Kate shook her shoulder after a minute. Tegan was in a weird, agitated mood sudddenly. She was still tripping balls. "Sara... we need to go now" she said. "No Tegan you need to stay here for a while" said Sara holding Tegan's hand. "No we're late for the show" said Tegan. "Tee.. we don't have a show today... just relax" said Sara calmly. "We do you said so" said Tegan confused. "No Tee" said Lindsey. "Sara said so" said Tegan becoming more agitated. Her heart monitor sped up fast. Sara took Tegan's face in both her hands. "Tegan... I've got this okay... we cancelled the show. It's okay... we have the day off" said Sara. Tegan visibly relaxed. Kate nodded at Sara. Tegan turned to Lindsey and looked into her eyes. "You're hot" she giggled, suddenly playful. Lindsey just smiled and shook her head. "My wife's a hottie... I feel so... gooood right now" mumbled Tegan. "I'm glad to hear that Boo" said Lindsey. Tegan opened her eyes fast as she uttered "Boo" as if to scare Lindsey. Everybody just about hosed themselves. Tegan looked at the IV in her hand and then at the pulse ox on her finger. "What the fuck is this" she said suddenly confused again. "What are they doing to me... they're going to drug me... I want to go home... take this off" said Tegan trying to remove the pulse ox. "No Tee... just leave this on it's checking your heart and your lungs for us okay... and this is just giving you some medicine to get you better soon" said Kate calmly softly taking Tegan's hand. "No they're going to take me for more surgeries... they just want surgeries... they're gonna cut me... they want surgeries" said Tegan. "We're all done with the surgeries Tegan... you're going to be just fine... we just need to keep you here for a while okay. No more surgeries... I promise" said Kate softly. "Heeeey... are you even a doctor?" slurred Tegan. "You look too... young to be a doctor" laughed Tegan as if on weed. "I am a doctor Tegan... and you are very good for my ego" said Kate stifling a laugh. "Oh yeah... you're... sleeping with my sister... I'm onto you... are you old enough for that?" laughed Tegan. After a minute of giggling she calmed down. "Hungry" she mumbled. "What do you want to eat Tegan? After your superstar performance in the operating room I'll get you anything" said Kate. "Pancakes" mumbled Tegan pulling up the covers as if cold again. "That's easy! You've got it" said Kate and turned to speak to a nurse. Tegan pulled up the blanket and looked down. She seemed perplexed. "I'm naked down here... This... gown isn't covering... me enough... no, no not nearly enough... perverts" she said blushing. "You feel a bit exposed under there Tee?" said Lindsey. "Yeah... like... a lot" said Tegan rolling her eyes. "Is it normal to be this baked after surgery?" asked Sara. "Completely... some more than others" said Kate shrugging. Lindsey pulled Tegan's gown up and pulled the blanket higher. "There you go... all covered up. You're body is for my eyes only" said Lindsey winking. Tegan seemed to finally be coming down slowly from her trip and she closed her eyes. "Tegan stay awake for me for a few more minutes please... pancakes coming remember" said Kate. "Uh huh" grunted Tegan but closed her eyes. "Tee... come on brother" said Sara. Tegan just grunted again. Sara pulled up Tegan's hand to keep her awake. Tegan pulled it away. Sara repeated this a few times. "Fuck off Sara" said Tegan opening her eyes looking annoyed. "I'm telling mom" said Tegan "In Canada" she trailed off. "Tegan I know you're really tired just a few more minutes" said Kate. She listened to Tegan's chest with her stethoscope. "Pressure's dropping... 95, 65" said Abby. "Titrate dopamine to a systolic of 110" said Kate. "Core temp dropping again" said Abby. "Switch the blanket back on" said Kate. "It's been on all along" said Abby. Tegan was shivering again. "Linds... can you help us rub Tegan's arms... Sara, Erin... would you mind grabbing a leg each" said Kate. "Well it feels a bit weird rubbing my sister's leg but okay" said Sara. "It's a medical emergency Sara" said Kate shaking her head. "I don't feel so good" mumbled Tegan. "Talk to me Tegan" said Kate. "Hurts" whispered Tegan. "Okay I'm going to up your pain meds after you've had something to eat. Let's just get you warm" said Kate rubbing Tegan's arm. "Pressure's coming up again after the dopamine" said Abby. "Good, up her O2 to 15 liters" said Kate. After what seemed like ages Tegan's temperature returned to normal. She wrinkled her nose. "Why... my nose itching" she said groggily. "Just the meds Tee. Hey look here's those nice warm pancakes you've ordered" said Kate. "Is this restaurant any good?" said Tegan. "Yeah they're not bad" smiled Kate bringing a piece of pancake on a fork to Tegan's mouth. "Open up for the choo choo" smiled Kate. "Ahhh" said Tegan and Lindsey laughed. She held the piece of pancake in her cheek for a while. "Okay baby swallow now" said Lindsey. "Hmmfff" breathed Tegan and swallowed. This led to a bit of a coughing fit that sent her monitors into a frenzy. "There we go... nice deep breaths" said Kate. "This hurts like a motherfucker" said Tegan scrunching up her face. "I know buddy... few more bites and we'll send you to dreamland okay" said Kate. Tegan managed a few more bites with great difficulty. "Say goodnight Tee. You've done so well today... you're going to be fine my superstar patient" smiled Kate. "Goodnight guys... I'll go home tomorrow... just a bit... tired now" slurred Tegan. "I love you guys so much" she said with her eyes closed. "I love you to the moon and back Tegan... sweet dreams angel" said Lindsey kissing Tegan's forehead. "Love you Tee..." said Sara, Erin, Alex and Kate. Tegan closed her eyes. "Go home Linds" she said softly. "Okay baby" Lindsey lied, she had no intention of leaving Tegan's side tonight.
A/N: Phew! Tegan's fine! Review please!