AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Happy New Year, everyone!
Sorry it took me a bit longer to get this update up. I was so busy after the holidays! Without further ado, though, here's Chapter 5! Enjoy!
Chapter 5
Arizona had just finished her morning rounds on her inpatient fetal cases when her pager beeped. She handed the tablet she was using to enter patient information back to a brunette nurse named Carla before glancing down to see where she was needed next. Expecting it to be a page to the ER, she was shocked to see that the page was from Alex to meet him in Briley's room.
Arizona's mind immediately went to the worst case scenario if Alex was paging her on a peds case, especially one as complex as Briley's. Arizona shoved her penlight in the pocket on her lab coat before sprinting as fast as her standard prosthetic could carry her up to the peds ward.
When she finally reached the charting station, outside Briley's patient room, she found Alex sitting at the desk with his feet up, entering some files into the computer system.
"Alex!" Arizona called, extremely out of breath. "What's wrong?! What happened, is she okay?" Arizona glanced in the window to the patient room, only to find Briley still asleep in bed.
"Dude, chill. Everything's fine," Alex said, taking his feet down from the table and standing up.
"But you paged me-"
"I paged you because her parents were asking for you. Not 'cause she was circling the drain," Alex assured her. "Relax, Robbins."
Arizona let out a sigh of relief before turning around so that she could go see what was up with Chandler and Nicole. As she was about to enter the room, she saw both parents get up from their makeshift beds on the couch and a rollaway cot and make their way to meet Arizona at the door.
Chandler opened the door, holding it open for Nicole to step into the hallway before closing the door behind himself.
"Sorry. Briley's finally asleep, and she hasn't slept very well since she's been at Grey + Sloan. We want her to stay asleep for as long as possible," Nicole explained their current situation.
"No problem! I'm happy she's finally sleeping. Dr. Karev told me you asked for me?"
"Yes," Chandler cleared his throat. "We just wanted to say thank you. For your conversation with Briley yesterday. It really turned her attitude around and made her start seeing the world in a positive light again."
Arizona smiled and her heart sang.
"Oh, that was no big deal. She's a really great kid, and I just want to help her in any way that I can. I was in her position years ago, and I know how I felt when my world was flipped upside down," Arizona nodded sympathetically.
"Thank you. So much. We had a conversation with her last night, and she is now on board with the surgery. You can schedule it whenever you can fit us in," Nicole informed her.
Arizona walked over to the charting station and picked up an unattended tablet. Pulling up the OR schedules, as well as those of her, Callie and Alex, Arizona booked the pediatric above knee left leg amputation surgery in OR 1 at 3 o'clock.
"How does 3PM sound? We can have her out of surgery by tonight. Her recovery time in the hospital will be about two weeks, but that won't really affect anything since she's inpatient for her treatments right now anyways. This is the perfect timing to do it," Arizona told the Lockes.
Looking at each other, both Chandler and Nicole nodded their heads, eager to have their active sixteen year old on the road to recovery.
"Super. It's booked. When she wakes up, just don't give her anything to eat or drink until after surgery. See you in a bit!" Arizona smiled.
"Thank you again, Arizona," Chandler said to the blonde. "We don't know what we'd do without you and Callie."
"Anytime," Arizona nodded, showing that she meant her words sincerely.
As the Lockes turned to go back into Briley's room, Arizona pulled out her cell phone and sent a quick text to Callie and Alex informing them on the new addition to their surgical schedules today.
Arizona slipped her phone back into her pocket as she headed down to the OR for her fetal spina bifida surgery scheduled to begin in fifteen minutes. She knew she needed to switch her focus to that case, but she couldn't help but nervously anticipate the amputation she'd be assisting on this afternoon.
…
Callie violently scrubbed her hands and forearms with the soap bar as she let the water run. Alex had just finished scrubbing in and had gone to assess Briley on the table. She had just gone under anesthesia minutes earlier, and the only thing keeping the surgery from beginning was Arizona's presence.
Though she couldn't see them from where she was scrubbing, she could sense that the gallery was filling up with spectators. Word traveled fast around the hospital, especially when it involved a leg amputation and Arizona… Even though it had been years since the plane crash, no nurse or doctor had forgotten how the disability had limited Arizona at first. No matter how many amputations she had performed over the last fourteen years, she always tended to have a full gallery so that the nosy medical professionals could see if she could handle it or not.
Callie focused on scrubbing under the nails of her right hand when the door to the scrub room flew open. Callie looked over her shoulder in time to see Arizona take a mask off of the container on the wall and begin tying it around her head.
"Sorry I'm late. My last surgery ran long. Complications," Arizona reported.
"Is everything alright?" Callie asked, wondering about Arizona's tiny patient's well-being.
"Yep, Schmitt and I got everything under control in there," Arizona said, reaching for the other sponge. "Is she already under?"
Callie nodded.
"Damn it. I wanted to talk to her before she went down," Arizona huffed at her own time management.
"She'll be fine. This is a routine- dare I say simple- procedure. She'll be fine, and you'll be fine. Everything will be okay," Callie comforted her wife, as she shut off the water and lifted her arms in front of her as she walked into the OR.
"I know," Arizona whispered to herself as she watched the scrub nurse gown and glove Callie.
Arizona tried her best not to let the swarm of butterflies in her stomach get to her as she stopped the water and entered the OR herself. She was immediately met by the familiar smell of what she can only describe as purity- antibacterial cleanser with a faint smell of bleach- when she entered the room, which helped to calm her down some.
Bokhee handed Arizona a towel to dry off her hands before gowning and gloving her. When Arizona was ready for surgery, she took her position next to Callie, but opposite of Alex, who was technically the lead on this case.
Arizona couldn't help but laugh when she saw Alex's handwriting on Briley's left knee: THIS LEG. NOT THE OTHER LEG. THIS ONE! :) While it was standard for doctors to mark up the part of the body that is being operated on so that no mistake is made in the operating room, Alex always went above and beyond to do silly things like this to make the kids smile during dark times.
"Thanks, Karev. I got the message," Callie laughed from beneath her mask.
After requesting the scalpel from the surgical tech, Alex made the first incision, wiping away the blood with a towel as he went.
The surgery progressed very smoothly. Since this was really only a two surgeon job, Arizona mostly observed and held a clamp or cauterized when she was needed.
When it came time for the bone saw, the butterflies reappeared in Arizona's stomach. There really was no turning back now.
"Remember to make the cut as close as you can to the tumor on the femur without leaving any tumor behind. Leaving her a long residual limb, it'll, uh…" Arizona's voice caught in her throat as it cracked. "It'll make it easier for her to use a prosthetic."
Callie nodded. Though the majority of her face was covered by her surgical mask, Callie could see her eyebrows furrowing over her sad eyes. Alex noticed as well, and a feeling of guilt and regret came over him as he saw the pain on Arizona's face. A pain that he caused. The doctor in him knew that she would've died had she kept the leg, but the friend in him still felt guilty for the time he powered up the bone saw when his mentor was the one intubated on the table.
"I'll level off the bone about three inches above the knee, barring any major unforeseen complications," Alex told Arizona. "How does that sound?"
The pediatric-turned-fetal surgeon hesitated for a moment before nodding.
"Good. That's- that's good."
The bone saw was powered up and the sound of the metal blade cutting through bone echoed through the all too quiet OR. When the damage was done, Arizona draped the limb in sterile towels before handing it off to a nurse to be disposed of into medical waste. Callie used the bevel to reshape the end of the bone so that the prosthesis would fit better. After she was finished, Alex began suturing along the incision line. Arizona still studied his sutures to make sure they were clean and even, even though he hadn't technically been her student for over a decade.
Knowing that after the sutures were complete, Callie would help Alex in bandaging up Briley's leg, Arizona stripped off her gloves and excused herself.
"Am I done here? I'd love to go update the parents. I'd rather them hear the final update from me than from an intern."
"Yeah, you're fine," Callie said over her shoulder as she held the leg steady for Karev to stitch up. "Tell 'em that she was a rockstar today."
"I will," Arizona replied as she removed her sterile gown.
…
Arizona walked into the main surgical waiting area where she spotted Chandler and Nicole. Both of their eyes widened at the sight of Arizona coming towards them with a huge super magic smile on her face.
"Everything went great! They are finishing up right now. She should be in recovery in twenty minutes or so!" Arizona reported.
The couple let out a simultaneous sigh of relief at the great news.
"Oh, thank you! That's so great to hear!" Nicole smiled.
Arizona hugged both of Briley's parents.
"Callie said for me to tell you that she was a rockstar in surgery. Couldn't have been smoother!" she told them. "You can head back into the recovery area and wait for her to come out of the OR. It shouldn't be long." Arizona pointed in the direction of the recovery room.
"Thank you again, Arizona. You and Callie are lifesavers," Chandler said, clearly holding back tears.
"Hey, it's what they pay us for, right?" Arizona shrugged with a smile as she parted ways with Briley's parents.
…
It has been two weeks since the amputation of her leg, and Briley was recovering more and more with each passing day. Her incision was healing well and she was showing no signs of edema.
Sofia came to the hospital every day after school to spend time with Briley. Sometimes she brought Briley's schoolwork along and taught her what they'd learned in class that day, but most of the time she was mostly just there to keep her company and keep her mind off of the poisonous chemotherapy coursing through her veins.
Even though she was recovering from surgery, that hadn't hindered her cycles of chemo one bit. Nearly four weeks since her diagnosis of Ewing sarcoma, Briley was halfway through her second round of the treatment and was just starting to see the side effects.
Her normally bronzed skin had turned pale and almost had a grey pallor to it. She had developed dark circles under her eyes and her lips were cracking because they were so chapped. Despite all of this, her famous Briley smile still appeared on her face.
"Hey, you!" Sofia said as she skipped through the door to Briley's patient room.
"Hey!" Briley greeted her friend, delighted to have a visitor to brighten the otherwise boring day. Careful not to unhook any of the IV lines that were administering her treatment, Briley scooted over on the bed so that there was room for Sofia to lay down next to her.
Sofia adjusted the pillows that were elevating Briley's residual limb before climbing up next to her and laying her head on her friend's shoulder.
Neither of them really had anything to say. They had tried to only talk about happy things these last few weeks, but Sofia had run out of distractions to keep Briley's (and her own) mind off of the chemo. They're both sixteen. They know the severity of the situation. And deep down they both also know that there's nothing either of them could do other than to hope and pray and wish that the treatment does it's job. All they could do now is be there for each other because each of them was fighting their own battle.
When Sofia picked her head up from Briley's shoulder, she noticed a tuft of blonde hair on the sheet beside her. Looking up at Briley with concerned eyes, Briley just shrugged.
"It started falling out two days ago. I guess I've gotten to that point in the chemo. It's not really a big deal. It's more a nuisance than anything," Briley shrugged again, but Sofia could hear the hurt in her voice.
Sofia looked around the room, and that's when she noticed the small pile of hair on the floor near the bathroom. Her heart ached for her friend having to lose her gorgeous long blonde locks. Sofia tried to put herself in Briley's position, but she couldn't even imagine losing her hair. That's when she got an idea.
"Oh no…" Briley said, noticing the mischievous grin that had appeared on her friend's face. "What?!"
"I know something that could be kinda fun…"
Sofia told Briley her idea and she was immediately on board. Sofia texted Alex, and he appeared at the doorway to the hospital room minutes later with exactly what they needed: an electric hair clipper.
Alex helped Briley down into the wheelchair she had been using when she wasn't in her hospital bed. He wheeled her chair into the bathroom attached to the room, wrapped a towel around Briley's shoulders, and plugged in the electric razor.
"Have at it!" He said as he left the two girls alone in the hospital room bathroom.
Sofia picked the clippers off of the counter and took a deep breath.
"You're sure about this, right?"
Briley nodded confidently.
"It's gotta come off sometime. Just go!"
Sofia pushed the switch and the tool came to life with an annoying whirring noise.
Sofia put it's tip on Briley's hairline and moved her hand slowly towards the back of her neck. A chunk of hair fell to the ground. Briley winced as she felt the loose hair tickle her back as it detached. Opening one eye, she looked up at Sofia who was smiling so big that her dimples were popping out.
"Okay, I don't want to see until the end, so keep going so I don't look deranged!"
Sofia laughed as she continued to buzz Briley's hair off. When she was about halfway finished, she heard the door to the hospital room open.
"Girls?"
Sofia froze. Briley's hand flew to cover her mouth. Both teenagers got chills from the sound of Arizona's voice.
"Girls, what are you- OH MY GOD!" Arizona jumped when she saw what they were up to in the bathroom.
"Sofia Robbin Sloan-Torres! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" She yelled. She wasn't mad, just surprised.
"Relax, Robbins. I told 'em they could do it. She asked, and I said yes. Let them have a good time," Alex said, coming to the girls' rescue as he peeked his head in the door.
Just then, Callie also entered the room and stood by Arizona's side as she looked into the bathroom.
"Cool! I've always kinda wanted to shave my head. You look great, Bri!" Callie smiled.
"Callie, you're not exactly helping…" Arizona whispered to her wife, crossing her arms.
"Oh! Wait!" Callie's face lit up. If she had heard Arizona's last comment, she didn't care. Callie ran out into the hallway as Sofia wheeled Briley's chair over so that she could see herself in the mirror.
A little stunned at first, Briley's eyes widened as she took in her new appearance.
"I like it…" Briley's voice trailed off. "It's just a little cold."
With perfect timing, Callie returned.
"Briley, this is for you. We all got you a little something…" she said, handing Briley a gift bag.
A smile appeared on Briley's face as she pushed away the tissue paper and gasped when she revealed three warm cotton beanies. Immediately shoving a grey one on her head, she made a soft smile at her reflection in the mirror.
"Much better! Thank you so much. I love them," she said, giving Sofia a hug.
"Good. I'm glad," Arizona said, uncrossing her arms. "Now we gotta get you back in bed, Little Miss. Your leg will never heal if you're out of bed!"
Helping her from the wheelchair, Callie and Arizona both took a portion of Briley's weight as they slowly walked her back into bed. Sofia resumed her position next to Briley as Callie and Arizona went back out into the hallway.
As she closed the door behind her, she heard both girls laugh. She watched them take silly selfies through the window and her heart melted. And it was in that moment that she knew that Briley would make it through this battle, with Sofia alongside her.
I hope you all liked Chapter 5! A little heartwarming end to make up for last chapter's sadness! :) Please leave all of your thoughts and reviews on this story so far for me to read! I love hearing what you all think!
xoxo Arizona Robbins MD