Beth had just left the hospital so she could go home and change clothes when her cell phone rang.
"Yes?" She asked nervously. "She's awake? No, I'll be right in."
Beth called out to the taxi driver.
"I need to return to the hospital. Please hurry and get me there." She said
"No problem." The cabbie replied in broken English.
It was a matter of minutes before they were back at the front doors of the hospital. Beth quickly paid the cabbie and rushed up the steps to the doors. She waited impatiently as the elevator doors opened, and then an agonizing few moments as she made her way up to the ICU. Once the doors opened she rushed up the hall into her daughter's room.
"Alex!" She cried out, "Thank you God! You're awake"
They still hadn't removed the tube because the doctor wanted the results of a chest X-Ray before he would take it out.
Beth took her daughter's hand.
"You had us all scared baby." A tear of happiness fell down her cheek. "But you're okay now. You're going to be okay now."
Kim and Carlos wheeled their stretcher into the ER.
"44 year old male involved in an MVC, minor tenderness to the abdomen." Carlos said
They took their patient into the trauma room and transferred care over to the nursing staff. They were wheeling the stretcher out of the trauma room when Nurse Mary Proctor rushed over to him.
"She's awake." Mary said
"Mary, we just brought in a guy." Carlos replied
"No, no! Taylor, Alex is awake." Mary said excitedly
"She's awake?" Kim asked
"Yeah, about 15 minutes ago." Mary replied
Suddenly Carlos and Kim left their stretcher and rushed towards the elevator
The doctor walked into the room.
"Mrs. Taylor, Alex's X-ray looks good. So we're going to see how she does breathing on her own." Dr. Wagner said
Beth smiled.
"Okay, Alex, on the count of 3 I want you to exhale as forcefully as you can okay? But I don't want you trying to talk too much once I take the tube out. You're throat is going to be really sore. Can you do that for me?" Dr. Wagner asked
Taylor shook her head.
"Okay, good. Now on my count. 1…2…3" He counted and slid the tube out.
Taylor coughed once the tube was out, but she was thankful to be able to breathe on her own. Dr. Wagner wanted to do an exam so he pulled out his penlight and tested her pupils, satisfied with the results he then walked to the foot of the bed.
"Okay Alex, I want you to push on my feet with your hands. Don't let me push you." Dr. Wagner said
He put the palms of his hands against the soles of Taylor's feet. He applied a little pressure.
"Okay Alex, push against my hands." He said
She struggled for a few seconds before shaking her head side ways. Dr. Wagner paused for a moment, looking at Taylor and Beth.
"Can you feel me touching you?" He asked as he moved his hand to her ankle
Taylor's eyes got wide and scared.
"Oh my God!" Beth exclaimed, "You can't feel him touching you can you?"
Taylor shook her head sideways again.
Dr. Wagner did a quick assessment. He placed his hands on her hips, though he knew it should hurt after the surgery. She shook her head again.
He placed his hands in hers.
"Squeeze my hands." He said
Taylor's hands barely moved.
She panicked.
"Alex, just relax. This could be a temporary thing. You can still move your hands a little, so I don't think it's Quadriplegia. Let's give it a little time." Dr. Wagner said
Taylor's panicked eyes looked to her mother.
Kim and Carlos reached the doorway as the doctor was leaving. He smiled slightly at them.
They walked in the room.
"Welcome back!" Kim laughed
"You had us all scared." Carlos said
Suddenly they noticed the lack of excitement and they saw the pain in Taylor's face.
"What's wrong?" Kim asked
"They think that she may be paralyzed." Beth said solemnly
"Damn it!" Carlos said as he brushed his hands through his hair.
"Is there any way it's only temporary?" Kim asked
"They don't know." Beth said
Kim went over to Taylor's bed.
"Hang in there. You can beat this." She said
Taylor could only manage a slight nod.
Kim and Carlos walked out of the room.
"We should call the house and let them know." Carlos said
"Yeah." Kim said preoccupied with thought
Carlos pulled out his cell phone.
"Don't tell them that she's paralyzed and tell them to stay at the house." Kim added
DK answered the phone.
"Squad 55." He said
"DK, it's Carlos. Is Lt. Johnson available?" Carlos asked
"Just a minute." DK turned, "Yo Lieu, Carlos is on the phone for you."
"I'll take it in my office." Lt. Johnson said as he walked into his office with his coffee in hand. "Yeah Carlos?"
"Taylor's awake." Carlos said
"That's great news." Lt. Johnson celebrated, "I'll tell the guys."
"Wait." Carlos urged
"What?" Lt. Johnson asked
"There's a problem." Carlos said
Lt. Johnson closed the door. "What's the problem?"
"She…" Carlos paused, "Taylor's paralyzed."
Lt. Johnson felt like a bag of bricks hit his chest. He wasn't prepared for that news. He hung up the phone and sat back in his chair. He took in a deep breath. He thought about what to say to his squad. After a couple moments he opened the office door, took a deep breath, and walked into the kitchen where they were all seated.
"What's up Lieu?" Jimmy asked
"Taylor woke up this afternoon." Lt. Johnson announced
"That's great! Let's go see her." Lombardo suggested
"I think we need to give Taylor a little time to rest. I mean she's had 3 major surgeries this week, let's give her a little time before we go in." Lt. Johnson replied
"You're right Lieu." DK said, "Let's give her a little time to heal."
Lt. Johnson nodded and returned to his office. The guys moved into the lounge to watch TV. After a few moments Walsh got up and walked to Lt. Johnson's office. He quietly knocked on the door.
"Come in" Lt. Johnson said without looking up
"Can I ask you something?" Walsh asked nervously
"Sure Billy." Lt. Johnson said
Walsh closed the door behind him.
"What are you hiding from us?" Walsh asked
"What do you mean?" Lt. Johnson asked
"You closed the door to talk to Carlos. Carlos didn't just blurt it out on the phone to DK-he asked for you. And you just didn't seem right when you came out to tell us." Walsh pointed out
Lt. Johnson sat forward in his chair.
"You're right." He said, "But what I tell you right now stays between us."
Walsh nodded his head.
"Taylor's paralyzed." Lt. Johnson said and before he gave Walsh time to react he went on. "She woke up this afternoon. But she's paralyzed."
Walsh looked on in disbelief.
"Is it permanent?" Walsh asked
"I hope not." Lt. Johnson said, "I hope not."