The next day Jess woke up to the sound of retching coming from the bathroom. She climbed out of bed stumbling towards the ensuite. 'George, are you alright?' She asked through the door. When no response came, she opened the door to find her husband leant over the toilet bowl, his face covered in a light sheen of sweat and his face growing more and more pale. She crouched beside him, gently rubbing his back, as he continued to throw up. 'What's brought this on?' She asked.
'I don't know' George whispered flushing the toilet and relaxing into her arms. 'I feel awful' he mumbled.
Jess helped him stand up and took him back to bed leaving a bucket beside the bed. She took the babies downstairs and phoned her uncle.
'Jess, this better be good, I'm in the middle of watching the latest football game' Cal muttered.
'Sorry, it's George, he's throwing up and he's really ill, I don't know what to do, I've sent him back to bed but he's in a bad way' Jess explained.
'Alright love, I'm coming, can you get him something to drink so that he doesn't get dehydrated' Cal instructed. He grabbed his things and hurried over.
'How's he doing?' Cal asked as he entered the house to see a flustered Jess juggling two babies.
'Not great, he's been sick again, he can't see straight and his head is spinning, he keeps throwing up after drinking anything and he's getting worse' Jess explained.
'Alright, I'll get him some fluids and then examine him. Your mum is on her way, she'll take Abigail and Matthew to hers so that they aren't at risk of catching the bug' Cal assured her.
He stormed up the stairs to find George huddled up under a blanket shivering violently. Cal put his bag down and approached him carefully before perching on the side of the bed. 'Jess rang, she said you were feeling a bit under the weather, are you alright?' cal asked softly, noticing George rubbing his temple.
'Head hurts, dizzy, feel sick, everything is spinning' George mumbled as he shivered.
'Alright mate, I'm going to need to check you over, I'm going to ask Jess to help' Cal explained. Jess sat down beside him. 'Right, can you check his pupil dilation whilst I get his pulse' Cal instructed handing her a small torch. He took Georges wrist and pressed two fingers to it. 'Pulse is high' he stated.
'Pupils dilating but slightly sluggish' Jess told him.
'Right, Jess can you listen to his chest for me, I'm just going to pop downstairs and grab some water' Cal told her.
Jess took her stethoscope and placed it in her ears, she placed the end on her husband's chest. 'Alright can you take a deep breath for me' she instructed. 'Yeah, your breathing is a bit shallow, I think you might be dehydrated so I'm going to start you on some fluids' she told him. She delved into her uncle's bag and grabbed some equipment.
George was still shivering violently. Jess wrapped a blanket around his shoulders. 'You just sit back and try to relax, don't worry I'm just going to insert a cannula and then we'll give you two units of saline, I will be as gentle as I can' she assured him. She cleaned his arm gently whilst still keeping a steady stream of conversation to reassure him. He barely noticed that she had inserted the cannula and had set up the IV. She slipped her hand around the back of his neck and carefully lowered him onto the pillows and pulled the blankets over him. 'You get some rest now, and try to sleep, you'll feel better once you have slept' she told him, kissing his cheek.
'You're bedside manner is incredible. How is he doing?' Kate asked her daughter from the doorway.
'He's quite dehydrated, I think Uncle Cal wants to examine his abdomen as well, just incase there is something going on' Jess told her as she put the stethoscope around her neck.
'I'll take the kids to mine, Jenny is going to look after Ethan until you are settled, then we'll take things from there. You just take care of him and yourself and keep me posted' Kate told her daughter.
She heard a groan coming from the bedroom and Jess ran in. George was writhing on the bed in complete and utter agony. His face was covered in sweat, the veins in his neck and head were engorged and his face was turning bright red. 'Uncle Cal, I need you in here quick' Jess yelled, sitting on the edge of the bed stroking her husband's hair gently to try and calm him.
Cal hurried into the room. 'Oh my goodness, what's going on?' He asked the look of worry evident on his face.
'He's in pain, I think its his stomach, he has a high temperature and his breathing is getting shallower and more erratic' Jess told him whilst still focusing on her husband.
'George, mate, can you tell me where it hurts and on a scale of one to ten how badly it hurts' Cal asked.
'Stomach, 10, help me' George groaned.
'Alright baby, we're here, we're going to help you' Jess whispered. Suddenly George rolled over, lurching forward and throwing up across the sheets. The sheets were dyed a dark crimson colour as the blood dribbled down his chin. 'George?' Jess cried.
'Right, Kate, call an ambulance, Jess get him on his side and into the recovery position' Cal ordered as he drew up a syringe of medication. 'George, I'm going to give you some pain relief to try and relax you and to make you comfortable. It's going to make you feel a bit drowsy but just try to relax' He told him. He placed an oxygen mask over his mouth and began injecting the morphine through the cannula into his arm. George slowly stopped writhing and began to relax.
The ambulance arrived a few minutes later. Jess showed the paramedics into the bedroom where Cal was cleaning George up. 'Uncle Cal, the paramedics are here' Jess told him from the doorway. She didn't want to go into the room, she couldn't hope with seeing her husband in such a bad way.
'Alright, why don't you fetch some things that you might need at the hospital, some clothes for George and then we can go' Cal suggested.
Jess fetched her bag and then accompanied her husband in the ambulance. They rushed him straight to resus where they hooked him up to various machines to try and monitor his condition. He continued throwing up. Jess held his hand tightly to try and comfort him. 'Right what have we got?' Connie asked as she entered the room.
'This is George Thompson aged 28, woke up with a high fever, nausea, shallow breathing. He was given 2 units of saline and two units of morphine. He started vomiting blood about twenty minutes ago and has been complaining of severe abdominal pain.' Jess told her.
'Right, we'll conduct a primary survey, then I'd like an ultrasound, endoscopy and we'll take some bloods, LFTs, U and E's, Clotting, Group and Save' Connie announced, sending some of the nurses to fetch equipment.
'Okay, George, can you try to keep still for us, and we'll try to do this as quickly as we can' Connie told the young man as he writhed in distress. She checked him over as best as she could before he started throwing up and fidgeting again. 'Alright George, we'll send you for some scans and see what is going on, just try to relax and keep calm' Connie told him.
'How bad is it?' Jess asked her aunt.
'I can't be sure but it looks like some gastro problem, I'm going to send him for an endoscopy first and see what is going on, try not to worry, we'll sort it out' Connie explained.
Jess sat down beside her husband, gently taking his hand in hers and holding it close. He groaned, momentarily before relaxing and calming down. Jess whispered soothing words to him to try and keep him calm whilst they booked him in for the procedure.
'Right, we'll take him upstairs for the endoscopy now, we'll give you some pain relief to make him comfortable as possible' Connie told them as she administered the medication.
They took him to the procedure room. Jess stayed with him, holding his hand as they did the procedure. He groaned and gasped as they fed the long tube down his throat. He squirmed uncomfortably, gripping Jess' hand tightly. She leant forward and wiped his tears away and kissed his temple in a desperate attempt to comfort him.
She could hear the doctors mumbling different things but she focused her attention on her husband, who was trying to stay calm despite the tube that was being forced down his throat.
'Only a little bit longer baby, you are doing really well' Jess whispered.
They discovered an ulcer that had burst in his stomach lining. They managed to fix the problem and to repair the ulcer.
Once the procedure was over, they took him back down to resus where he was allowed to get some rest. George was exhausted but he couldn't sleep. Connie and Cal cleaned the sheets and administered some pain relief.
Jess tucked him into bed and dimmed the lights in HDC where George was left to rest. 'You get some rest sweetheart, and I'll be right here when you wake up' she whispered kissing his cheek.
'I-I'm sorry' he groaned.
'You have nothing to be sorry for, you're not well and you need some sleep' Jess told him. She sat down beside him, holding his hand in hers. Their wedding bands shimmered in the dim lights a reminder of everything they had been through and everything they had accomplished together.
The next morning George was awake and feeling a lot better after their eventful night. When he opened his eyes he realised he was alone, his wife had vanished. He started panicking. He thrashed and kicked, his breathing became shallow until one of the monitors screeched to life alerting the doctors to his condition. Cal hurried into the room, looping his stethoscope around his neck. 'Calm down mate, it's alright, just calm down' Cal soothed, trying to pin him down. 'Can I get some help in here please!' he bellowed.
Connie hurried into the room and placed an oxygen mask over his face. Several nurses rushed in, doing everything they could to help. Jess was in the staffroom feeding Abigail and Matthew. She saw the staff running into HDC where her husband was so she joined them. 'What's going on?' She asked her uncle.
'He's having a panic attack, don't worry we'll sort it' he assured her.
Jess approached the bed, minding her husband's flailing limbs, whilst juggling her two babies. 'George, sweetheart, calm down, you're alright' she whispered. Abigail reached her tiny hand out and grabbed her father's hand.
Suddenly he stopped. His breathing slowed and deepened. He held his daughter's hand in his, gently stroking it with his thumb. Jess noticed this and gently lay her daughter on her husband's chest. George wrapped his arms instinctively around Abigail, gently cuddling her. His eyes flickered open.
'Hello sleepy head' Jess whispered with a smile.
'Hello' he mumbled.
'How are you feeling today?' she asked him.
'Hmm better now you're here' he replied hoarsely.
'Uncle Cal said that they'll keep you in for observation for a couple of days and then you can come home, I've arranged for you to have a side room down here since you are part of our team' Jess told him.
'Can't we just go home, I feel a lot better' George told her as he tried to get up. Cal hurried forward, pushing him back into the bed.
'You have to stay put and rest, you might feel better but let your body heal. Jess will come and visit with the kids and we'll keep an eye on you. If you rest as much ass you can now then you can go home tomorrow' Cal told him, helping him lie down.
The door swung open and a pair of tiny footsteps approached before a small Ethan launched himself onto the bed. 'Hello!' He shrieked.
George couldn't help but chuckle. 'Hello buddy'.
Jess shifted Matthew in her arms. 'Ethan, would you like to meet your new brother and sister?' She asked with a smile. Ethan couldn't contain his excitement.
She lifted Ethan onto another chair before placing Matthew in his arms. 'Hello' Ethan giggled as Matthew fidgeted.
Matthew reached up and grabbed at Ethan's hair. 'Mama!' Ethan cried.
'I think someone likes their big brother' Cal commented from the doorway. Jess took back Matthew as Ethan jumped from the chair and launched himself at Cal.
'Hello Ethan' Cal whispered scooping the young child up and cuddling him.
Two days later, George was finally at home resting. He was doing a lot better but Jess refused to let him get out of bed until she was sure that he was 100% better.