What a Pain! - Chapter Five
As he slapped the x-rays of Mike's skull onto the light box, Dr Early consulted with Dr. Brackett. "Damn, just what I suspected, Kel. Looks like a fair-sized hematoma. Let's get him up to surgery right now."
Dr. Brackett nodded his agreement. "I'll get up there and start scrubbing up. I'll get them ready for surgery in 10 minutes."
"Great. Dixie? Could you ask Roy and John to come back in here, please?" Dr. Early knew the men of Station 51 would all be there and worried about Mike, but he wanted to give the rundown on Stoker's condition to the two who could explain it best to their friends.
Dixie left and walked quickly to the waiting area where she found Mike Stoker's worried crew. As if on strings, their heads all looked up at the same time. Five pairs of eyes were wide with concern.
"Fellas, Mike is going to have to have surgery in just a few minutes. Roy, Johnny, could you come with me, please?"
"Uh, sure, Dix." Johnny said. "Guys, we'll be right back." The two paramedics walked back into Treatment Three to find Dr. Early getting Mike ready to be moved to the surgical floor.
"John, Roy, I'm sure you know that this is a delicate procedure, but unfortunately, it is necessary. Mike's hematoma is of a size that can't be treated with blood thinners. The pressure has to be reduced surgically. We'll shave off this portion of his hair," he said, pointing to the left side of Mike's head, just behind his ear. "then I'll make a small incision and insert a drainage tube to release the collected blood. Once we get a look at how much blood there is, we'll know if it's an acute or sub-acute hematoma. We're hoping it's a sub-acute, then chances are much better for a complete recovery. Kel went up to get things ready and we'll be going up in just a few minutes. Do you know if Captain Stanley called Mike's next-of-kin?"
Roy, still getting used to the idea of Mike needing brain surgery, replied quietly, "Yeah, he did. Mike's mom can't drive, but his sister is flying in from Oregon on the red-eye. She'll pick up his mom early tomorrow morning and be here as soon as she can."
"Very good. Now, why don't you two go relay all this info back to the others. I'm going to get up to surgery. I won't know how long this will take, but I'll try to send out updates if I can." Dr. Early shook both John's and Roy's hands and left the room.
Not 30 seconds later, two orderlies and Dixie came to bring Mike up to surgery. Johnny walked alongside the gurney, holding on to Mike's hand. "Mike, man, I don't know if you can hear me right now, but hang in there, okay? We're all here now and we're gonna be here to see you through it all too. Just...hang in there." His voice cracked a little and he could tell his resolve was weakening. Roy patted Mike's uninjured shoulder, unable to speak. Seeing their engineer, the stereotypical strong and silent type, so badly hurt and with an uncertain outcome, was shaking them to the core. Cap had come up behind Roy and Johnny, wanting to...to what? Offer strength to his friend? Show support? Say...goodbye? No! He'd never think that. Cap only had time to place a hand on Mike's knee and tell him to be strong before his engineer was whisked away.
When the doors to the elevator closed, Roy put his arm around John's shoulder. "C'mon, Junior, let's go tell the guys." He noticed his Captain wasn't immediately joining them. "Cap? You comin'?" he asked.
"Yeah," Cap replied with a quiet, gravelly voice. "Yeah, I'm coming." Together, they would rejoin the rest of the crew and together they would wait for news.
Back at Mike's house, poor Sir Pain-in-the-butt was not used to being inside and not able to get outside. He wandered from room to room, mewing and sniffing, trying to find either his human friend or a way out. Finding neither, he paced back and forth on the windowsill, occasionally bumping his nose on the glass, hoping that maybe this time, it wouldn't be there. Deciding it was time to take matters into his own paws, Sir Pain jumped down and padded across the living room to the kitchen. Hopping up to the counters, he intended to get a drink from the sink. Mike had vomited in the sink earlier and once Sir Pain caught a whiff, he most definitely wasn't going to try there! He trotted over near the cabinet and found the bag of bread that Officer Belton had used to make toast that morning. With a deft claw, he peeled away part of the plastic and had some whole wheat for lunch.
Next stop was over to the fish tank and he entertained himself by watching Larry, Moe and Curly swimming around. They had water, surely it wouldn't be too hard for him to get some. He hooked a claw under the tank hood and after several unsuccessful attempts, he finally achieved his goal of sliding the cover off the tank. He carefully dipped a paw in and removed it quickly, then sat there, licking the water off. Where there's a cat, there's a way! He pushed the cover over further so he could lick directly from the tank. The water wasn't what he was used to, but it was wet and served its purpose. After his lunch and a good washing of his face and paws, Pain resumed his search for Mike. Finally, he decided that Mike's bed was the place to be to wait for his return, so he curled up in a fuzzy gray ball and slept.
Mike's friends, knowing it would likely be hours before they heard any news, had gotten lunch at the cafeteria, then solemnly trudged up to the surgery waiting area. Slowly, one by one, they all dozed off, with the exception of Cap. Marco's head fell forward and rested on his chest as he snoozed, Chet's leaned to the side, cushioned by a rolled up magazine. Johnny was curled in a corner on the floor, with his head lying on the edge of a chair. Roy sat upright in his chair, his arms on his thighs, and had it not been for his head flopped backwards, mouth hanging open, and the slight trail of drool on his cheek, he'd have appeared to be still awake.
Cap, however, couldn't or wouldn't allow himself to relax. This was Mike Stoker, his second in command, his confidante, his stalwart engineer, undergoing brain surgery! He guessed he'd always thought Mike just seemed untouchable by chaos- calm and confident in all situations. Those were just a couple of reasons why Cap admired the man. Of course in his eyes, Cap's entire crew was the best, but Stoker just had that...whatever it was, that made him different. Anyway, the thoughts racing around in Cap's head, combined with three cups of astonishingly strong coffee, were not going to allow him to relax anytime soon. He'd keep watch, instead.
When everything was ready in the O.R., Dr. Early began the delicate procedure of removing the blood clot from Mike Stoker's skull. He'd performed this particular type of surgery many times before and was confident he could do it again. Carefully, he made the first incision and prepared to insert the drainage tube. He just hoped and prayed that it would not be a larger clot than he thought it was. If it were, it would most likely end this man's career. Large blood clots, in addition to needing a far more invasive operation, often left the patient with brain damage, permanent weakness, seizures or speech problems. If only there were an x-ray that could see such blood clots closer and in more depth, then he would know beforehand what he was facing. He had heard that a new type of x-ray, called a CAT scan was being used in some large teaching hospitals, but he hadn't been able to see one up close. Perhaps, if CAT scan units became as useful as he heard they were, Rampart would get one too. What an enormous help that would be in diagnosing brain injuries! Until then, though, he'd just be sure to be as precise as he'd always been and pray that the Man Upstairs would take the lead.