What a Pain! - Chapter Nine
Johnny and Cap both smiled at Mike's description of his cat. It was a rather 'mushy' side of their engineer that they were rarely made privy to. Mike was trying hard to chat, but the pounding in his head was made worse with sound or movement, so after a few more minutes, he decided to just close his eyes for awhile.
The door opened quietly, and two women entered. One appeared to be in her early thirties, the other perhaps around the age of sixty. The elder one walked with small, slow steps and held tightly onto the younger one's arm. Cap and Johnny stood up as they introduced themselves as Mike's mother and sister.
Captain Stanley graciously pulled the chair out for Mike's mother. "Thank you, Captain, that's very kind of you."
"Not at all, Mrs. Stoker. I imagine you've had a long morning."
"Call me Dorothy, please, Captain, and yes, it's been a bit of drive. I have severe arthritis, as I imagine you can tell, and I don't drive any longer. Nor do I make a good passenger for very long, either, I'm afraid. My daughter Jeannie here, picked me up this morning." She smiled tiredly as she turned her attention to her son, who appeared to be napping again. "How is he, Captain? I've been so worried when Jeannie told me about his accident. It's...hard to have to wait for someone to drive me places when I'd much rather jump into the car and drive myself here."
Jeannie stood at her mother's shoulder and gazed at her "little" brother. The bandages and bruises on his face were startling to be sure, but the actual thought of what he'd been through nearly brought her to tears. She moved over to gently place her hand on his unbruised cheek. Using her childhood nickname for him, she whispered, "Oh, Mighty, what have you done to yourself?"
Mike opened his eyes and gazed up at his sister. "Jeeeeneeee?" He smiled as wide as he could before the pain made him draw back. "Yyoooo caaaame...heeeer?"
She looked with concern to Dr. Early, who had been standing off to the side. "It's okay, Miss, I fully expect his speech to return completely in time. The nerves have been very irritated by the surgery, so he may have some difficulty for awhile."
Jeannie felt relieved hearing that, and turned back to her brother. "You wouldn't be able to keep me away, Mighty. You're my little brother," she said with a watery smile, and leaned down to kiss his face. "Mom's here, too, just a second..."
Jeannie helped their mom stand up and guided her to her son's bedside. It had been months since he'd seen her, and it was great to have her here, even under less than pleasant circumstances.
"Hiiii, Mommm," Mike said, with love in his voice.
"Oh, Michael, sweetie! I'm so sorry you had to go through this!" her voice cracked as she fretted over her son. "All alone...and...surgery...oh, my..."
"Mommm, Iiiiii'm noooot aaalone...Iiii haaave," his eyes moved up to Johnny and Cap, "th-th-the guuuys." Speaking that much was quite an effort, but well worth it. His mom smiled, reassured that her son's friends and coworkers were there to help, and his friends smiled, knowing Mike knew he would not have to face this trial on his own.
Cap cleared his throat, "Uh, I think maybe there's too many people in here. How about you and I take off for now, Johnny, and leave Mike here with his family?"
"Sure, Cap. Hey, uh, Mike, we'll see you later on, okay? Take care, bud," Johnny smiled. "It was nice to meet you, Mrs. Stoker, and you, Jeannie."
Mike nodded slightly and looked back to his mom and sister. It did wonderful things for him to have them near. Ever since his dad died when Mike was twelve, his mom and Jeannie were his whole family. Then Jeannie was married and eventually gave Mike two nephews and a niece, who always made him smile. He liked her husband and understood why they moved to Oregon for his job, but he missed them terribly. Having them there made him very happy.
Dorothy and Jeannie stayed the rest of the morning, visiting Mike every other hour, as his shift-mates were also there to visit. Each time Dr. Early or a nurse checked on him, they reported he was doing well. By lunch time, they all decided to let Mike rest for awhile in the afternoon, so Johnny showed them the way to the cafeteria.
"Um, where are are you staying, Mrs. Stoker? Mike has a spare bedroom or two. I, uh, I stayed there last night to feed his cat and fish, but there's plenty of room. The mess is all cleaned up, I mean, not that it was messy or anything, but I...I do have an apartment of my own..." he stopped talking and blushed deeply when he realized he was babbling nervously.
Dorothy chuckled, "You're so sweet, John, but Jeannie and I have a hotel room across from the hospital. It's on the ground floor, you see. I'm afraid it's just too difficult for me to get up the steps at Michael's house anymore. Not without lots of help or my wheelchair, anyway. But, did you say Michael has a cat? I didn't know that...I wonder when that happened."
"Well, I don't know when he got the cat, but it's a pretty amazing animal, Mrs. Stoker. Mike would probably like to tell you the whole story when he's able, but let's just say that kitty has definitely earned his keep," Johnny told the ladies.
"Well," Jeannie added, "I hope he'll be able to come home soon. I'm able to stay for two weeks, but my husband's mother is watching the children while I'm gone, and well, she tends to let the monkeys run the zoo, if you know what I mean. Two weeks at a time is enough for them to be off their schedule."
"I understand," Johnny snickered. "I imagine that's what it would be like if we let Chet be Captain for a day."
He made sure the ladies knew how to find their way back to Mike's room, then decided to leave for awhile. He'd get something to eat, then go and check on Pain.
In Mike's room, Cap, Roy, Marco and Chet were just leaving, and Mike had fallen asleep again. They had been there since ten and it was now past two. It was good to have him talking, but everyone knew he needed rest above anything else, so they would wait and come back in the evening. They were hungry, plus there were errands to run as it was their last day off before going back to work in the morning.
The room was empty and quiet aside from the ever-present sounds of the machines, when Mike's hands began to tremble. His legs followed suit and started to shake, slightly at first, then increasing. His head began to shake as well, causing intense pain and making Mike cry out.
A nurse came running in, then called out to the hall to Dr. Early, who rushed in. "Nurse! 2cc's diazepam IM, stat!"
Normally, a seizure can resolve on it's own, but since Mike was vulnerable from the surgery, they couldn't risk letting him ride it out; they had to get it under control immediately. Soon, the medication took effect and Mike's body relaxed as the seizure ended. Dr. Early attached the EKG leads to check Mike's heart rate, then unwound the bandages to check the incision. Mike wasn't completely conscious, but neither was he aware of what just happened. He moaned quietly and Dr. Early imagined the pain in Mike's head must be tremendous. He was grateful that the man's family and friends hadn't been present to witness the seizure or Mike's obvious distress after.
Fortunately, no damage was done, and the bandages were replaced. Of course Dr. Early knew seizures were common after this type of surgery, but he was truly hoping that this particular side effect would not occur. Time would tell if the seizures would dissipate completely or become a permanent part of Mike's life. Intermittent or not, Mike would need medication to keep the seizures at bay, at least for awhile, and there was no way he could be a firefighter in that case.
Early made certain his patient was comfortable again, and left the room, hoping that this event would be the first and only one.