Hope and a Prayer
Chapter 6
The ride to the hospital was the longest in the Duke's history, even with Rosco driving them in his patrol car and going at least ten miles over the speed limit. The anxiousness only grew when the family finally arrived at the hospital and was told that they would have to wait for the doctor to talk to them. This answer didn't sit well with them, Luke especially, and it took all of Jesse's authoritative strength to keep the younger man in line. But after waiting for another three hours, even his patience was wearing thin.
The small family stood when they heard their name called and quickly took in the balding, middle aged doctor dressed in scrubs. "I'm Jesse Duke and this is my nephew Luke and my niece Daisy. How's Bo?"
"Come with me first," the doctor smiled tiredly at the group and motioned them to follow him into a more private room where he closed the door and leaned against the edge of a small desk as he looked at the family. "First off, my name is Doctor Morris and I'm sorry that it took so long to get to you but your son was being quite challenging to say the least."
"Ya mean my nephew," Jesse answered without even thinking.
"Nephew?" Morris questioned.
"Yes, Bo's my other nephew but that's beside the point. How is he? How's my boy?"
Morris saw the concerned look on the older man's face and nodded in understanding. "Well, we were able to stabilize him and the worst of his injuries appears to be hypothermia from being in the cold water for so long and the bullet wound to his left shoulder."
"Bullet wound? Ya mean Bo's been shot?" Luke yelled out, his fear growing.
"I'm sorry, I thought you knew about his injuries," the doctor replied in confusion.
"Only that he was swept down river and nearly drowned," Jesse answered as he gripped Daisy's hand a bit tighter. "We didn't know that he'd been shot too."
"Again, I'm sorry, I was told that you knew. Well, the bullet missed any major arteries but it did lodge itself deep into the tissue. We surgically removed it but I'm afraid his shoulder will be quite painful for awhile. He also lost quite a bit of blood but we're replacing that as we speak. He has a moderate to severe concussion that looks like it is mostly due from being thrown around in the water and hitting his head in a couple of different places. His other injuries are also consistent with being swept down the river, scrapes, cuts, contusions, injuries of that nature, plus like I said earlier, he is also suffering from hypothermia, which we are treating with warming blankets and heated IV's. We also have him on some strong antibiotics for any bacteria he may have picked up while being in the water and to help avoid any lung infections such as pneumonia because of the water that was found in them."
Jesse hung his head at the news about his youngest but it was Daisy that asked the question that was on his mind. "Is he gonna be alright?"
Doctor Morris sighed as his expression took on one of sorrow. "I'm afraid because of the combination of the head injuries and the blood loss, Beauregard has slipped into a coma."
"A coma?" Luke cried out as he stood up, fear swamping over him. He felt Jesse's hand on his arm and a light tug as his uncle quietly commanded him to sit back down.
"It's a light grade coma and one I'm hoping he'll come out of very quickly. With all that his body has been through the last few hours, the neurologist that I conferred with feels it's his body's way of trying to regain its strength and heal itself."
"How long will the coma last?" Daisy asked, her voice breaking slightly.
"I can't tell you for sure but he's being moved to a room on the surgical floor where he'll be monitored closely for the next few days. Right now it's just a matter of making sure we keep any infections at bay and to build his strength back up once he wakes up."
"But he'll be okay, won't he?" Everyone could hear the fear in Luke's voice when he asked that question.
"From the results of the tests he's been given, we don't foresee any complications from the concussive blows he's received but like I said we'll still be monitoring him closely until he does wake up. As for his other injures, the bruising and swelling will eventually dissipate over time but his shoulder is going to cause him some pain for awhile and he'll most likely need some physical therapy to help build up the damaged muscles. In other words, he's going to be feeling sore for quite some time."
A sigh of relief went through the room. "Considering the alternative, that's great news, Doc," Luke replied. "When can we go see him?"
"Follow me up to the surgical floor and let me check with the nursing staff. He should be out of recovery by now and into his room." They all quickly stood and trailed the doctor to the third floor.
Making their way into Bo's room, the three of them were stunned at how their youngest family member looked. His right hand and lower arm which weren't covered by the thick warming blankets, showed numerous bruises and scrapes, while butterfly bandages dotted Bo's cheeks, chin, and forehead. A dark bruise also marred his right jaw and cheek as another bandage hid the stitched cut that was on his temple. Even though they couldn't see it they knew that his left shoulder was wrapped in a tight dressing and his arm was in a sling to prevent Bo from moving it.
They stood there listening to the sounds of the heart monitor and the hissing of the nasal cannual that was supplying Bo with oxygen while taking in the tubes that were snaking into and from various parts of the youngest Duke's body. It was the IV that was providing the much needed blood that frightened the family the most, knowing that things could have turned out so much differently. They did take comfort, however, at the strong and steady heartbeat that showed on the monitor.
Moving to the sides of the bed, Daisy sobbed as she gripped her Uncle tightly. "Oh Uncle Jesse, I thought we lost him for sure."
"It was close," Jesse answered as he held her tightly, "it was too close." Looking over to his oldest he saw that he was standing back as if afraid to come any closer. Jesse sighed knowing that Luke was feeling guilty about how he had treated his cousin earlier this morning and how Bo did everything he could to protect Sue Ann. Jesse let go of Daisy and reached out and pulled Luke closer. "Come on, son. Ya know Bo could never stay mad at ya for very long. Besides, ya weren't the only one that gave him a hard time this mornin'. Seems ta me we all owe him an apology or two."
Luke nodded as he stepped closer but still could not bring himself to look at Bo. "I shouldn't have yelled at him for not fixin' the General."
"You're right," Jesse answered and smiled slightly at Luke's surprised look. "I shouldn't have yelled at him for lettin' Maudine escape either."
"And I shouldn't have hit him with the fryin' pan. Wasn't his fault that Maudine escaped and ran inta the clothesline."
"So like I said, we all owe him an apology or two," Jesse replied as he turned to look at Bo. "And thank the Lord that we at least get the chance ta tell him how sorry we are.
01 01 01 01
The next day, many visitors came to check in on the family including Boss Hogg, Rosco, Lulu, and Enos. All were worried about the youngest Duke boy being in a coma but were comforted at the fact that he hadn't gotten worse overnight. Enos informed Jesse that he and Cooter had taken care of the morning chores for them, at least the feeding and watering of the animals and a few of the other chores they knew of that needed to be taken care of, and that Cooter would be by later on after he stopped by his garage.
It seemed that everyone that came by to see them also made the offer of helping them out any way they could. The small family was taken aback by how much everyone was willing to help them in their time of need, but Jesse being Jesse couldn't push his stubborn pride to the side and insisted that he be taken back to the farm, at least for a few hours so that he could inspect what had been done.
Anyone that didn't know Jesse would have thought that he was abandoning Bo in his hour of need but those that did know him knew that wasn't the case, but that he was having a hard time coping with the fact that his youngest had been so severely injured and that there wasn't anything he could do to help him. Luke knew that when Jesse and Daisy left with Enos to head back to the farm, it was just Jesse's way of feeling like he was doing something and that his uncle and cousin would most likely be gone two hours at the most, just long enough to freshen up and get a quick bite to eat, totally ignoring what was going on with the farm.
And that's just what happened too. Enos and the two Dukes arrived at the farm only for Jesse to take a cursory glance around before heading inside to quickly wash up and to change into some fresh clothes. He silently waited for Daisy to also freshen up but he didn't have to wait long as she was done almost as soon as he was. Together, they climbed into the truck and headed back down to the hospital, making sure that they thanked Enos before they left, with Jesse feeling better now that he was in his own truck and didn't need to rely on anyone else to drive them around.
Cooter arrived shortly after they did and after staying in the room for a while, he could see that Luke was looking like a man who had gone without sleep for quite some time. Figuring that Jesse and Daisy at least caught a couple of cat naps overnight, the mechanic knew that his friend would force himself to stay awake for as long as possible before literally crashing. Cooter finally strong-armed the oldest Duke boy and dragged him down the cafeteria for a bite to eat. Luke had to admit that he did feel better after eating a hamburger and drinking some coffee but he was still upset with his friend for making him leave Bo's side.
Daisy told Cooter earlier about how they had all treated Bo before he left to do the banking for Uncle Jesse and the mechanic could see his friends' guilt, but Luke's especially. Cooter placed another steaming cup of coffee in front of Luke, who sat at the table just staring out the window at the parking lot. Sitting down again, he gave Luke a quick shove to break him out of his concentration.
"Huh? What's wrong?" Luke asked as he blinked in surprise.
"What's wrong is you mopin' around here and bein' quieter than usual," Cooter answered as he took a sip of his own coffee.
"Oh," Luke said as he finally noticed the cup sitting front of him. "Sorry Cooter.
"Don't be sorry just tell me what's wrong."
"Ya know what's wrong," Luke angrily replied.
"Yeah, I know all about Bo, but there's more to it than him just bein' hurt."
Luke sighed as he stared into the dark coffee, knowing that Cooter wasn't about to let him leave this table until he told him what was bothering him. "I guess I'm feelin' kinda guilty about the way I treated him yesterday. I had no call ta yell at him like that."
"Uh huh," Cooter answered nodding his head. "What else?"
"What else?" Luke asked with a puzzled look on his face but Cooter could still tell there was something more going on.
"That's right, what else? I know ya too well for ya ta be able ta hide something that big from me."
Luke stared out the window again while taking a deep breath. "It's just that…"
"What?"
"I'm scared, okay?" Luke yelled back, his eyes blazing with anger. "I'm scared that Bo's never gonna wake up and I'm scared that he's never gonna come back home. I'm also scared that he's gonna di…" He choked at the last word hoping with all his heart it wouldn't come true. "The doctors were hopin' that he'd wake up by now but since he hasn't they've scheduled more tests for him this afternoon. Doesn't look like it's gonna be a very Merry Christmas this year."
Cooter sighed to himself as he removed his hat to scratch his head, wishing he were better at these types of conversations than he really was. "Luke, I know you're scared and ya got every right ta be, and I ain't gonna tell ya that Bo's young and strong and that he'll make it because of those reasons alone 'cause I don't know if I'd be lyin' ta ya or not. All I can tell ya is that ya just gotta have faith that he is gonna make it."
Luke snorted in disgust at the comment. "Now ya sound like Uncle Jesse."
Cooter grinned at the comment taking it for the compliment that it wasn't meant to be. "Well, I do believe them are the nicest words ya have ever spoken ta me, Lukas." The younger man looked up at the smiling mechanic and shook his head. "Now I know ya didn't mean that the way it sounded, but the truth is, you're uncle is right. I know you, you're feelin' helpless 'cause there's nothin' for ya ta do but just sit around and wait for Bo ta wake up. But ya got ta remember, this is Bo's fight, not yours. He's the one that's gonna have ta win this battle and the only way he will is if he knows that everyone is on his side and prayin' for him."
"How can ya believe that?" Luke asked in total confusion
"Lukas, I may not be the most religious man on this earth but I have seen a miracle or two in my days," the mechanic answered as he sat back in his seat. "I once had an aunt that was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. She saw so many different doctors in hopes of findin' one that could help her but all of them told her the same thing, there was nothin' that they could do for her. Finally, she went ta see this one doctor who also told her he couldn't help her but he did give her this one bit of advice. Pray. Give your illness to the Lord and He'll do miracles for ya."
"What happened?" Luke couldn't help but ask.
"She did just what that ole doctor told her ta do and headed over ta her church and asked her pastor ta pray with her. The next doctor's visit she had, they found that the tumor had shrunk and after a few more months, it was gone. There was no doubt about it, it had disappeared."
"And you're expectin' me ta belive that story?"
"Believe what ya want but it's true," Cooter said as he stood up and threw his paper cup into the trash. "I'll tell ya this though; this good ole boy is gonna say a prayer for that cousin of yours and believe that a Christmas miracle will happen."
Luke sat there and watched as his friend headed out of the cafeteria doors not quite sure what to make of what he was just told.