Hi everyone. Thanks for reading and giving me some nice reviews. Sorry this is taking so long to finish. I never imagined when I started that it would turn out to be this long. I am having trouble with the transition between a couple of scenes but, I think I may have it figured out so it should be finished in the next week. I hope you enjoy this next installment. Please let me know if you do.
Dr. O'Daly walked in to the waiting room and took a seat. "Good news, the CAT scan was clear. A.J. is being moved back to his room. Why don't we stay out here while they get him settled. The neurologist will be in to evaluate him shortly and help us find the right seizure medication and dosage to give him. Do you have any questions before we go check on your brother?"
Rick shook his head. He didn't want to talk about or be reminded of his brother's seizures. He just wanted to get back to A.J's room.
Rick followed the doctor into the room and was happy to see A.J's eyes open.
Diane pulled the doctor aside and whispered. "I think he may have had a short seizure while we were changing the vent; before he was hooked back up to the EEG." The doctor frowned and moved to the head of A.J.'s bed.
"Let's check you out shall we. A.J., I am Doctor O'Daly. Rick is right here with us. You're still letting that vent do your breathing for you. We need you to start working on that. O'Daly kept up the chatter as he shined a light in A.J.'s eyes. "A.J. I am squeezing your hand. Can you squeeze my hand? Squeeze my hand A.J." A.J. blinked a few times and squeezed the doctor's hand. "Good job." A.J.'s eyes started to close. "A.J. I know you are tired but, we need you to work on staying awake. Can you move your fingers and toes for me?" A.J. complied. "Good!" Rick was surprised and concerned that A.J. was not fighting the ventilator. "Now, when I count to three take a deep breath for me." The doctor was careful to time it with the rhythm of the ventilator. "One, two, three, breathe." As A.J. took a breath he roused enough to become aware of the tube in his throat and started to fight the restraints.
Rick hurt for A.J. but, was also relieved that his brother looked like he was coming around. He moved into A.J.'s line of vision and tried to help calm him. "A.J. I'm right here, relax and keep breathing. Don't try to talk. You're on a respirator. Just relax and breathe, relax and breathe. Breathe with me A.J. You can do it. Breathe with me." As soon as A.J. relaxed he went back to sleep.
Rick looked to the doctor. "That was great Rick. Let's give him a break and watch how he does for the next 30 minutes or so."
Rick sat and watched A.J. breathe; unconsciously holding his breath until his brother took one. Occasionally, the ventilator would have to give him some extra help. After about twenty minutes, A.J. started to struggle against the ventilator and wake up. Rick jumped up to comfort him. "A.J. it's ok, relax." Rick pressed the call button for the nurse.
Diane came quickly into the room, "Oh, he's awake. Great, I'll page the doctor."
Rick kept talking to A.J. while they waited for the doctor to arrive. "I'm right here A.J., you're in the hospital, don't try to talk." A.J. began pulling at the restraints. "Just relax, those will come off soon." Rick could see the fear and questions in A.J.'s eyes. "You are going to be fine, don't worry. I'm staying right here, you are o.k."
Dr. O'Daly walked into the room and went to work assessing A.J.'s condition. "Hi A.J., I'm Dr. O'Daly; are you going to stay with us this time?"
"Can he get that ventilator out now doc?" Rick asked.
"That may be a bit premature." The doctor looked at the report from the ventilator. "This is a great improvement. A.J., let's get those restraints off first." A.J. started motioning with his hands as soon as they were loose. "I know you want it out. But, I'd like it to stay in for a bit longer." A.J. motioned that he wanted it out.
"Is there a reason he can't have it out now?" Rick asked. "I can tell you he will have a hard time relaxing with it in."
"I don't want to take the risk that it will have to go back in." replied the doctor. "We lower that risk by waiting."
"A.J. if I am going to take this out, I want you awake for a bit. If you have trouble we are going to have to intubate you again. Understand?" A.J. nodded. "Do you still want it out?" A.J. nodded again. "Ok A.J. deep breath; breathe out," A.J. coughed and gagged as the tube slid out of his throat. Rick couldn't help but wince at the sound. The nurse handed Rick a cup of ice chips to feed AJ then put a nasal cannula under his nose to give him some oxygen. "I going to let the neurologist know that you are awake."
Rick and AJ were left alone. "What happened to me?" AJ whispered.
"You were slipped some PCP at the diner."
"How's Phoebe doing?" "Oh, no. A.J. doesn't know she was taken." Rick was saved from having to answer when the neurologist walked in.
"I hear you are ready for me Mr. Simon. I'm Dr. Nelson and what I am going to do is just test your reflexes and take a look at your EEG."
"EEG?" A.J. looked around and suddenly realized that he had wires stuck to his head. "Why do I have that?"
"Can we get rid of that?" A.J. asked
"Be good," growled Rick. Relieved as he was to have A.J. awake, he was now going to have to deal with a stubborn, sick brother that would only think about leaving the hospital even if he was too weak to get out of bed.
"Let me check you out first and then I can talk to Dr. O'Daly about it when that can happen."
Rick watched the doctors face closely for signs of concern as he tested A.J.
"Your reflexes are a little slow, but that is to be expected. Can you feel this, this. Good; what about here and here." The neurologist went to read the EEG.
"Rick, what happened, why do I need an EEG?"
The neurologist turned and looked at Rick. "He has only really been fully awake for 5 minutes. I haven't had time to tell him much" Rick explained.
"Well, Mr. Simon, the overdose caused you to suffer some seizures, and to make a long story short, they put you in a drug induced coma. You needed the EEG to monitor your brain so they knew how much medication you needed to keep you in the coma and also watch for seizure activity. Some seizures are easy to miss; they can even happen while you are sleeping. If we miss them, the EEG won't. See here; it looks like you had one for about 20 seconds while you were asleep. I am going to put you on some Dilantin, an anti seizure medication. It will go in your IV tonight but, we will be giving it to you in a pill as soon as you start eating. If..
"I'm having seizures," AJ interrupted alarmed.
"They are a side effect of the drug overdose and we have every reason to believe that they will go away on their own fairly quickly. The most important thing is to protect you from the side effects that can come with seizures. The EEG will have to stay on for now. I'm just going to give Dr. O'Daly a report. I'll be visiting you on rounds again tomorrow morning. Have a good night." A.J. closed his eyes as he tried to process this information in his exhausted state.
"A.J., open your eyes, no sleeping for now." Rick demanded
A.J. sighed, "I'm not sleeping, just tell me everything."
Rick turned away and looked out the window.
"Please Rick."
"Later." "Much later."
Dr. O'Daly entered the room, surprised to see the Simon's looking so sullen. "I just finished talking to Dr. Nelson. Everything is looking pretty good. I am pleased. I know you are probably concerned about the small seizure that A.J. suffered in his sleep but, that won't change his prognosis or our treatment. A.J. I'm going to make you a little bit more comfortable and get rid of some more equipment. Rick you can step out if you like while I remove some of these tubes."
Relieved, Rick took the opportunity to escape to the waiting room.
"Rick won't tell me what happened. Why not?" A frustrated A.J. asked the doctor.
"You both have been through a lot today. I think he believed he might lose you. For now, let's focus on helping you recover enough to go home. Once, I'm done here I am going to send in some food, liquid for now, and then give you some Dilantin in your I.V. It will make you sleepy so you'll most likely go back to sleep for the night."
In the waiting room, Rick was talking to Town on the phone. "A.J. is awake. He is doing o.k. but, can you come see him? He is asking questions about what happened. He asked about Phoebe and we were interrupted but, if he asks again, I won't be able to lie to him. Oh, good. I'll be in the waiting room. Yeah, the ICU, we are still here."
Rick knew he could wait no longer to call his mom and dialed her number. "What do I tell her to keep her from panicking? Once she hears my voice she will know how bad it was." This is Cecilia Simon, please leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. "Thank God, I can avoid this conversation a bit longer." Hi Mom, it's Rick. Are you there? Um, well I guess you are out. Everything is going to be fine but, A.J. is at the hospital. Someone slipped him a drug. The doctor says he'll sleep through the night so no need to come right now. I'll call you in the morning and we can make arrangements to come and get him."
That task finally finished, Rick sat waiting for Town to arrive. As his thoughts became more agitated, his stood and began to pace. Rick had a lot to think about. "Why is it always A.J? I have to admit to myself that I can't always be there to protect him. What if I wasn't there? If he hadn't gotten help immediately he might have died. How long can I keep this up? I don't think I could survive if I lost him. Maybe we should shut down the agency." They had both been in danger many times but Rick almost always felt like he could control the outcome somehow. This time he really thought that A.J. was going to die.
"Rick?" Rick stopped pacing and realized he had to calm down.
"Oh, hi Town, thanks for coming. You can go back. I cleared it with the staff. If you could just sit with him for a while, he is supposed to get some dinner. Just try to find a topic that won't upset him. You can tell him I'll be back soon."
As soon as Town left, Rick sat down and turned on the T.V. "Maybe I'll watch the game."
Town walked up to the nurse's station. "Hi, I am a friend of the Simons, is it ok for me to go sit with A.J. for a bit?"
Diane looked up from her charts, "Oh, yes, Rick told me you would be coming. I am sure A.J. will be glad to have you. We just finished up with him and are going to give him some dinner. Here it comes now. Why don't you come with me?"
As they walked into A.J.'s room Town was glad to see A.J. sitting up in his bed, devoid of much of the machinery that was helping keep him alive in the E.R.
"A.J., I brought you something to eat." Diane gestured to the tray of liquid foods. "We just want to see if you are having any trouble with nausea but, don't feel that you need to eat it all. Just give me a call when you are finished. O.K.?"
A.J. looked up and nodded then smiled when he saw Town standing in the doorway. "Come on in." A.J. whispered and motioned to the chair next to the bed.
"How are you feeling?" asked Town as he sat down.
"I'd feel better if this were a steak" A.J. joked as he motioned to his tray. "O.K. I think, just tired."
"Are you going to eat that?"
"Maybe I'll try just the jello."
"So umm," Town searched for a safe topic. "What do you think the Chargers chances are tonight?"
A.J. and Town, mostly Town, chatted about the football team as A.J. worked at the jello.
Suddenly, A.J. grabbed the railing on his bed. "Town," he said in fear "why is the room spinning?"
"Are you ok?" A.J. slammed his eyes shut and started to hyperventilate. Afraid, Town went to the door and yelled, "Something's wrong."
Diane came running in "A.J. what's wrong?"
"Spinning," A.J. gasped as he started to panic, "I can't breathe."
Diane put the oxygen mask over his face and lowered the head of the bed. "Where's Rick?"
Town ran out to the waiting room.
"Rick, something's wrong!" Startled, Rick jumped up and hurried back to A.J.'s room.
Heart racing, Rick stood in the door of his brother's room and watched Diane try to calm him down.
"It's ok A.J. you can breathe. You are having a panic attack. You just need to calm down. Breathe into the mask." Diane looked up and motioned to Rick. "Can you come help me with A.J.?"
"Hey little brother, you are o.k.?" Rick said as he touched A.J.'s shoulder.
A.J. opened his eyes. "Ca..can't breathe" A.J. choked out. Rick was alarmed at how much A.J. seemed to be struggling.
"Rick, he is fine, he is having a panic attack. Here," she placed one of A.J.'s hands on Rick's chest. "Hold his hand here. A.J., slow down your breathing. Breathe with your brother."
Rick looked into his brother's eyes that were full of fear and pleading and Rick was taken back to when they were children. Rick saw that look many times, especially after their father died. Until they were older teens, A.J. thought Rick was strong enough to fix anything and Rick tried to live up to that. He hadn't seen that look in over 20 years and was just as afraid now as he was then that he couldn't be enough for A.J.
"Close your eyes little brother. Just feel me breathing." Rick forced himself to slow down his breathing. "Breathe with me. In. Out. In. Out." Slowly A.J.'s breathing became less labored and he started to keep rhythm with Rick.
"Rick, your doing great," Diane encouraged. "Just hold this mask with your free hand; I'll be back in a minute."
Rick was surprised to see Town's hand take hold of the mask as he moved to stand where Diane has just been. "Let me hold that for you Rick." Rick looked at Town questioningly as he handed him a tissue. Town pointed to his face and Rick reached up to find his face wet. He didn't realize that he had been crying. Rick hastily wiped his face as Diane came back into the room.
"A.J. can you open your eyes for me now?" Diane asked as she took the mask from Town and removed it from A.J.'s face. A.J. tentatively opened his eyes; realized the room was no longer spinning and gave them a tired smile. "I have some medication for your I.V. Once I put it in it you will probably go right to sleep."
A.J. closed his eyes and Rick continued to watch his brother's face until it relaxed into sleep. He realized that he still held his brother hand to his chest. Rick gently placed his A.J.'s hand under the blanket. "Town, can you wait for me out in the waiting room? I'll be right out."
"Diane, what happened to him?" Rick demanded.
"You brother got dizzy and started to hyperventilate. It could have been caused by small amounts of PCP still in his system or just the amount of trauma he has endured today. He was afraid and started to have a panic attack. Once he calmed down, he was fine." Diane explained. "Look, A.J. should sleep through the night and you look like you could use some rest. Why don't you go home and we will call you if he has any problems during the night."
"I just want a moment alone with him and then I'll go." Rick stood by A.J.'s bed gripping the railing as he tried to get his emotions under control. He knew in his head that A.J. would be fine but, his heart was trying to play catch up. Rick knew he couldn't do anything to help his brother just standing by his bed. He left A.J.'s room determined to help him the best way he could.