Life and Limb
Chapter Twelve – "Life Sucks"
By: purpleu
"Those bottles are all unmarked," Chase said. "Where the hell…" House glared at him.
"Weren't you paying attention?" House said holding up the key ring. "Or was your mind too busy playing footsie with Nurse Ratchett?"
"So he lied to me when he said he hadn't traveled out of the country," Lydia said.
"And you think I'm mean, cynical and nasty when I say that everybody lies," House said smugly. "Here an unbiased person proves me right." He held his hand up for a fist pump; when he got no takers, he switched to a high five, but still no one would validate House's victory. "Sore losers."
"So, that drug is illegal in the U.S., and that's why he bought it in Mexico."
"Not illegal; just not FDA approved," said House
"But…how did he know what to buy if he just picked it up at some store?" said Lydia looking puzzled.
"He didn't," House said. "He was probably desperate for some relief from the aches and pains from the fall; the infection hadn't even started yet. Our patient walked into…" House examined the bottle he held. "…'Bodega de la Sol' …and asked the guy behind the counter for something for pain. The shop keep offers pills, our guy says no and he's offered the magic potion."
"He could have been sold poison, for God's sake," Lydia said. "You can't assume the safety of something when it's not even labeled."
"Probably peeled the label of before crossing back into the U.S.," said Taub.
"He might as well have been sold poison," Thirteen said coming over to the group. "We pulled another blood draw from him about an hour ago," she said to House. "His white cell count's dropped even further." House took the sheet from Thirteen and looked at the numbers; he was both mad at the guy's foolishness and concerned for his well-being.
"The moron probably took his last dose right before coming to the hospital," said House. Taking a deep breath, he knew what had to be done. "Get a hold of Ellis; tell him he's got some chop work that can't wait. Tell him not to worry about Wilson; I'll keep him from running away…"
"House, we don't have the healthcare proxy paperwork here. We can't take him into surgery; we can't even prep him until we have it," Foreman pointed out.
"Fine, then you can explain to our patient and his wife that we have to wait for a piece of paper that we know exists, but just don't have in our hot little hands, and that's why we're going to have to cut his leg off above the knee which will guarantee that he'll never climb a ladder again….including the one at the playground with his kid," House said blasting back at Foreman.
"Greg?" House rolled his eyes and looked behind him to his left. Annie was at the door of Wilson's room. "James says he's getting a lot of pain in his stomach and he's slightly nauseous. He's asking for plain crackers or bread."
"What he wants, but is not going to get, is a steak dinner; at least not yet," House noted. "He must be desperate. He knows he can't have any solids before an MRI with contrast." House shook his head. "Hey, Blondie!" he called to the young nurse he had encountered earlier. "Get her a pitcher of water, not too much ice. Wilson's stomach is probably cramping enough already."
"I'll bring it in Annie," Chase offered. "You look like you're not doing too well yourself; are you alright?"
"I think I'm as empty as James. You wouldn't think so with all that wonderful food we had available, but I…I think I just need something solid to eat."
"Go sit down," Chase said. "Tell Wilson I'll be right in." Annie nodded and went back into Wilson's room. The nurse had gotten the water while Chase and Annie were talking.
"You were so nice to that woman," the nurse said.
"Well…I never mind rescuing a damsel in distress," said Chase as the two exchanged flirtatious looks.
"If you don't stop, I'm the one who'll be up-chucking; and you'll clean it up," House said pointing at Chase. "Get that into Wilson. And call Ellis," House yelled over his shoulder.
"House…" Foreman said warningly.
"Susan said there were copies of the healthcare proxies at the firehouse," said Lydia. "If that's the case, she can call them and have a copy faxed over; it doesn't matter which copy as long as we have one on hand."
"It'll matter if a decision has to be made on the patient's behalf; we either have to make sure we have the wife's copy here or the best friend and his copy," observed Foreman.
"And every minute you stand here arguing formalities, is another minute you condemn him to a life of hell!" House said nodding his head toward Kevin Sheeler's hospital room.
"OK…OK…great see you in a bit." Chase ended the call and addressed House. "Just spoke to Ellis; he was on his way up here even before I called him. We can get things going after he sees the patient."
"Not according to the half-Dean of Medicine. He still thinks the world, including the patient's raging infection, is going to wait around while we stand here with our thumbs up our noses hoping for the 'necessary' paperwork to show up," House said sarcastically. "Maybe we should go ask the other half of the Dean of Medicine team what he thinks we ought to do. At this point, at least he'd say what he was really thinking."
"If you asked Wilson right now what we ought to do, I don't think you'd like his answer," Foreman said.
"I'd get the answer I'd want if I leaned on his right hip as I asked the question," House replied.
"Both copies of the healthcare proxies will be arriving here in the next five to ten minutes; as will Robert Sheeler, Kevin's father and fellow firefighter from his volunteer firehouse, and Jose Menendez from his city firehouse." Everyone turned to see Lydia standing in the doorway of the patient's room with her arms folded. "I thought that while you two were busy playing 'King of the Hospital' with each other, I'd go do something productive that might help the patient." House didn't let his guard down; he didn't let anyone see that he was mad at himself for wasting time arguing with Foreman. Foreman, unlike House, did nothing to hide his embarrassment.
"You…spoke to Mrs. Sheeler? Just now?" Foreman asked, not making eye contact with Lydia.
"No, I knew it was what you wanted to hear, so I made all of that up on the spot," she replied. "Of course I spoke to her." House inwardly smiled; Lydia was slowly sounding more and more like him when dealing with Foreman.
"Hello, everyone." The voice came from a few feet down the hall. It was Ellis arriving to have a look at his patients.
"Dr. Ellis," Foreman said shaking Ellis' hand. "Thank you for coming up here so quickly." House rolled his eyes as he watched Foreman try to regain his position of authority.
"You don't have to thank him; he was on his way up here, anyway," House said. Ellis shot House a look; he could feel the tension between the two men, and decided to subtly take sides.
"Dr. Chase gave me a brief outline of your patient's situation," he said to House. "I'd like to take a look at him and his chart and we can get things going. Time is certainly of the essence." House liked the way Ellis was handling the situation. He could have easily kissed Foreman's ass. But Ellis knew this was House's patient and gave him the respect and courtesy of addressing him on matters pertaining to Kevin Sheeler.
"I agree," House said shooting a look at Foreman. "Even though he denies making the trip, at some point he went down to Mexico and got these." House held up the unused bottles of medicine that Kevin had purchased. "Of course, nobody gave him proper care and operating instructions for Metamizole, so now he's suffering from suppressed bone marrow besides an infection from Vibrio which has led to gangrene."
"His immune system crashed from Metamizole?" Ellis asked. "How low is his WBC?" Thirteen handed him the copy of Kevin's most recent blood work. He let out a low whistle. "Damn! This is not good."
"I never thought I'd be treating a patient who suffered bone marrow suppression due to Metamizole It's an excellent and generally safe anti-inflammatory and analgesic…if used properly under initial, thorough doctor's supervision," commented House. Thirteen had gone behind the counter and brought out Sheeler's chart.
"Here you go," Thirteen said as she handed Ellis the binder. He flipped it open, and began reviewing the information.
"So he told you about his fall, but not what he was doing about it," Ellis said.
"Yes, in fact, when he came in to the clinic, he acted like the poison ivy was his biggest concern," Lydia noted. "But when he seized on me, it was obvious that there was something else going on." Ellis looked at Lydia.
"He seized on you? I didn't know the head of Insurance relations was also a doctor; although with all the paperwork you have to read through and understand, you really should be. Care to fill me in?" he asked as he continued to look at Kevin's chart. Lydia gave a condensed version of how she came to be working with House's team and her class over at the New Jersey Medical College. "That is wonderful. Are you going to go for the white coat?" Lydia laughed.
"I haven't decided yet. My children are still very young, and while I have a great support system," she said looking at House and the team. "I'm just not sure yet."
"Well, good luck to you," Ellis said. "I'm just going to make a quick stop in at Mr. Sheeler's room, say hello to Dr. Wilson and make sure everything is OK with him; then I'll go down to prep for surgery."
"You can't operate or prep him just yet," Foreman said. "His healthcare proxy paperwork isn't here yet, although Ms. Strohman has assured us it's on its way." Ellis looked down at the chart and flipped some pages.
"It says here he's married and that his wife is with him in his room," noted Ellis looking at the door of Kevin's room. "Is that true?"
"Yes, but she doesn't have a copy…" Foreman began.
"Dr. Foreman, I cannot imagine an instance where a husband and wife aren't each other's healthcare proxies. I don't need a piece of paper to confirm that for me."
"But…"
"Dr. Foreman!" Ellis said, sounding quite annoyed. "I will take personal responsibility for proceeding with the operation without that damn piece of paper being here. Now, let me see what I'm working with." With that Ellis walked past Foreman without even looking at him. "Ms. Strohman, since he is your patient, I'd like to have you in the room with Dr. House and me." Lydia tried not to show how pleased she was that a doctor other than House and his team treated her like a colleague. She was far from being even close to working on the same level as them, but Ellis treated her as an equal. House meanwhile, tried not to show how pleased he was at how well Ellis stuck it to Foreman. Thirteen, Chase and Taub weren't sure what to do, so they stayed back by the doorway of Sheeler's room; Foreman stood behind them. Susan Sheeler rose from her chair when the three entered the room, nervous as ever.
"Susan, this is Dr. Christopher Ellis; he's an orthopedic surgeon," explained Lydia. Susan came over and shook Ellis' hand.
"Please…please tell me that you can save as much of his leg as possible," she begged.
"That's always the goal, Mrs. Sheeler," Ellis said as he put on exam gloves. When he lifted the sheet to look at Kevin's leg, there was some movement from Kevin. Ellis picked up his leg and examined the deteriorating tissue. For now, all of the toes had turned to a purplish black color, as had the top and bottom of the foot approximately two inches from the toes. There was lighter discoloration, almost like a bruise coming closer to the ankle.
"We're going to be getting him into surgery as quickly as we can," Ellis said addressing Susan. "To err on the side of caution, I'm going to say we have to take the leg off just above the wound from the poison ivy since that's the entry point of the bacteria that caused the infection. The good news is that is still significantly below the knee. Your husband can be fitted with a prosthetic that will keep him as mobile as he was before all this happened."
"He'll have to be recertified for field work," a voice from the doorway said. Two men entered the room: Robert Sheeler, Kevin's father, and Jose Menendez, his friend and co-worker. "It can't just be assumed that he can handle the work," Mr. Sheeler said grimly. "It's not fair to the public, his fellow firefighters or himself." A moan came from Kevin.
"Dad…I'm sorry. I never meant for this to happen…for me to be like this…"
"Take it easy, son. Right now the important thing is to get you well so you're ready to be a dad to my first grandchild as soon as it's born," Robert said. "But you do know there are going to be questions of what the hell happened on the training seminar. You were allotted six days…is the paperwork going to prove that you were there all that time or is there going to be a problem?"
"Mr. Sheeler, excuse me for interrupting," Ellis said. "But I'm your son's surgeon, Dr. Ellis. I have to quickly see a patient in the other room, and then prep for Kevin's surgery." Mr. Sheeler nodded.
"Oh, who do I give these to?" he asked holding out a folder. Foreman stepped forward, took the folder, and looked over the contents. House, Ellis and Lydia all exchanged looks.
"Everything seems to be in order here," said Foreman trying to sound authoritative. "We'll put these into the patient's chart in case any questions arise."
"I'll give them to Cassie," Chase offered.
"You know her name?" questioned House. "It won't have to be just 'Oh, baby' in the heat of passion?" Chase looked annoyed; busting his chops with just the team around was one thing. In front of the patient's family and a fellow surgeon…Chase took the folder and silently left the room.
"If you'll excuse me," Ellis said as he left to go to Wilson's room. He removed his exam gloves and headed into Wilson.
"Do me a favor: don't reveal any secrets of the bottles while I go with Ellis to check on his other patient," House said as he went to Wilson's room. House wasn't happy by the sight that greeted him. Wilson's parents had awakened and were fawning over him, which Wilson was not happy about either; Annie looked a bit green around the gills and was holding one throw-up basin while Wilson held the other. Ellis was standing back trying to take the scene in as he pulled a fresh pair of gloves out of the supply box on the wall.
"You toss your cookies yet?" House asked as he took the lead and came over to the bed.
"No, but I feel like I'm going to," Wilson replied.
"I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to your girlfriend. She looks worse than you do at the moment." House looked down at Annie. "What's with you?" Annie shook her head.
"Like I said in the hallway, I barely ate any breakfast; I was more concerned about James getting up here. I think I just need something to eat," she replied.
"I told James he should have some warm cola or ginger ale, but he said that he couldn't," Mrs. Wilson said. "I thought at least…"
"Claudia, leave the man alone! Do I have to remind you he's a doctor? He knows what he can and can't eat at the moment," Mr. Wilson admonished. Ellis was amused by Wilson's parents, but he could see Wilson was not.
"Mr. and Mrs. Wilson? I'm Dr. Ellis, Dr. Wilson's surgeon. Along with some members of Dr. House's team I did the artificial hip replacement on your son." Henry Wilson stepped forward and extended his hand; Claudia Wilson followed him.
"We can't thank you enough for what you've done for James," Henry said. "We…among other people," he said smiling at Annie. "Are very grateful for the care you've given him."
"It was my pleasure, believe me," Ellis said. He reached up and started to pull the curtain around the bed. "If you'll just pardon us for a few minutes…"
"I'll sit outside of the curtain," Annie said. "I'm not usually squeamish, but right now, I'm not doing too well."
"After this, go get something to eat," Wilson said. "And take them with you," he whispered indicating his parents who had moved out into the hall.
"I thought you liked her, not just loved her," House said. Annie was heard to be dry heaving on the other side of the curtain.
"I feel like she sounds," Wilson said. "I hate to prove my mother right, but maybe a little ginger ale would help." House looked at his watch as Ellis pulled back the sheet, and moved Wilson's gown around so he could get a look at the wound.
"You came off the anesthesia about nine hours ago," House noted. "In half an hour, you're having an MRI with contrast. No can do."
"House, I promise," Wilson said. "I'll be more concerned with the results of the test; I won't even be aware of my head spinning. Besides, I've played guinea pig for Sam with MRIs, including those with Gadodiamide used as contrast. I've never had a reaction."
"You unfortunately reacted to Sam," House noted.
"House, please…
"Wilson, don't beg; it makes you sound like more of wimp than you already are." Ellis gave House a look; House could tell what he was thinking. "His favorite group is ABBA and his favorite song is 'Dancing Queen.' It's my ringtone for him." Ellis tried so hard not to laugh, but failed miserably.
"For your information, my favorite song is 'Fernando,'" Wilson said indignantly. "You've heard Annie play it."
"I take it you're a musician?" Ellis called to Annie as he lifted the bandage up on Wilson's hip. "Looks good," Ellis said looking at House. As much as he wanted to agree, looking at the wound made House feel like he had been sucker punched; it was the way he felt the first time he looked at his leg after the surgery.
"Taub did a good job of closing," House said dully. He had no enthusiasm to offer right now.
"I'm sorry, Dr. Ellis; I was drinking a little water. Yes, I am a musician; I play cello with the Philadelphia Philharmonic."
"She also teaches at Jersey State and performs with local orchestras and classical groups," Wilson added in. "She sings beautifully, too."
"You seem to have all the fan club you need right here," Ellis said. He looked at Wilson and saw the pained expression on his face. "Does the hip hurt?"
"No, but the thought of that thing being in there does," Wilson admitted. Ellis laughed.
"I take it you don't want to look," he said.
"No, I'll take a look." House watched Wilson as Ellis moved the sheet and gown at little more so Wilson could see things from his perspective. No matter how well Taub did, the wound was still raw and nasty. House could see that Wilson was getting upset.
"Nice to know Taub's good at something besides boob enlargements and tush lifts," House said. He was hoping his remark could at least get a smile out of Wilson; it did.
"Dr. Taub is an excellent surgeon," Ellis said. "Dr. House, could I impose on your team to replace the bandage on Dr. Wilson? I'd like to go prep for Mr. Sheeler's surgery."
"If I can tear Chase away from his latest conquest-to-be, I'll have him do it. Or Taub. Don't think either you or Annie would be too thrilled if Thirteen did it," said House to Wilson.
"I'm not exactly Thirteen's cup of tea," Wilson noted.
"She bats from both sides of the plate," House said. "And she's single at the moment." Ellis looked back and forth between House and Wilson.
"The things you learn about people you work with when you put down the scalpel and visit the floors," he said shaking his head. He stopped for a moment and took a look at Wilson's groin area. "Has Dr. Rayner been up here yet to check his part of the Wilson reconstruction project?" House shook his head.
"Haven't seen him; don't care if we do. My team can check and make sure everything is good there. He's an excellent doctor, but acts like a jerk."
"Sounds like someone else I know," commented Wilson.
"I knew you two were friends, but I was surprised when Dr. Foreman said it's been about twenty years; that's quite a while."
"We've been through a lot together," Wilson admitted looking at House. "But nothing like this." Ellis seemed surprised.
"I would have thought that you two knew each other when you had the surgery on your leg, Dr. House."
"We did; Wilson was on honeymoon two or three when it happened," House said grimly.
"Two," Annie said from the other side of the curtain.
"She knows better than either one of you," Ellis commented as he removed his exam gloves. "Well, everything looks good here; has the therapist stopped in yet? Mr. Wilkinson, I believe is handling the case."
"He's going to let Wilson get through the MRI, then play torture games with him," quipped House. Ellis nodded.
"Sounds excellent. Dr. Wilson…I will check on you again tomorrow." Ellis extended his hand to Wilson.
"Dr. Ellis, thank you…thank you so very much," Wilson said gratefully. House pulled the curtain back so Wilson could see what little of the floor there was for him to see. Annie was still sitting in the chair, looking a bit better than before.
"Take care, all," Ellis said as he left the room.
"So what happens next?" Wilson asked as he tried to turn to see the IV bag. "Can we get this MRI going? Because I'm going to…start gnawing on my arm if I don't get some food soon."
"Make a deal with you," House said as he eyed up the IV infusion. "I'll have them give you a little ginger ale and a few crackers if you quit whining and complaining while I hear the sordid story behind my other patient's rapidly disappearing leg. Someone from the team will fix your bandage and bring you the food. Then we'll head down to see what treasures your body holds."
"Thanks. I think we'll both be a lot happier when we get this test over and done with," Wilson said.
"Me too," chimed in Annie.
"You want to help out?" House asked looking at Annie. She seemed surprised, but quickly nodded her head. "Take Ma and Pa Wilson down to the cafeteria. I don't care if they eat, but get some food into yourself. Green may be your favorite color, but right now it's not particularly becoming on you." Annie laughed and stood up.
"I accept the challenge," she replied. "Can we see the MRI being done on James or…"
"There's no reason why you wouldn't fit in the viewing room," House said. "But since you'd have no idea what was going on and by that point I'd be too cranky to answer a lot of questions…"
"House, you're always too cranky to answer questions," Wilson noted.
"Only the stupid questions make me cranky; if Songbird's in the room, your parents will be there, too. Need I say more?"
"I'll have Lydia come with us; she can handle most of the questions…can't she? I always feel like she understands so much."
"Fraulein knows a lot; it takes a hell of a lot more to be a doctor. Just wish she'd make her mind up to go back," House said with a frown.
"I remember the look on her face when she realized she couldn't even finish her undergrad work," Annie said. "She'll become a doctor." Annie came over to the bedside. "I'll be back in a little bit." She gave Wilson a kiss and met up with his parents in the hall.
"Let me go set things up," House said as he left Wilson's room. He looked to the nurse's station and saw all of his team except Foreman standing there. He glanced to his left and saw Lydia in Kevin Sheeler's room. Probably doing her diplomatic thing as usual House thought. "Wilson has been experimented on with Gadodiamide for the benefit of his first ex-wife; he can have some ginger ale and a few crackers. His IV bag is almost empty, so let's get the word out that he's next for an MRI, everyone else has to wait. Order the contrast from the pharmacy tell them to get it up here stat. Get the saline bags that are going to be hung after the scan. And his bandages have to be replaced." House glanced at Sheeler's room. "I'm going to go hear the tale of Harold and Kumar in Mexico." He entered Kevin's room and was greeted by Kevin and Susan Sheeler crying. At least no one else was, but House still didn't have a good feeling about this.
"Obviously this is a not a happy story I'm about to hear," House said sitting down. "But I'll at least find it amusing when I hear what idiocy prevailed on this little journey." Lydia gave House a disapproving look, but said nothing.
"Well, we got down to Louisiana, got settled in at the various houses of the firefighters who were putting us up and just hung out that night," began Jose.
"Boring!" House interjected. "Get to the part where he went playing in the briny sea." Jose was obviously made very nervous by the stares of Susan Sheeler and Kevin's father; House did not help the situation either.
"By getting up early each day and continuing past the usual cut-off time, which is total of nine hours, we finished the training course in four days instead of six. My uncle owns a fishing company out of New Orleans, and he invited us to take a trip to Mexico."
"How the hell did you get into Mexico without passports?" Robert Sheeler demanded.
"I had…tipped the guys off beforehand that the trip was a possibility; so everybody knew to bring their passports along if they had one."
"And if they didn't?" House asked. "How many guys did you have hiding in the head?"
"None," Jose said. "Everyone had passports."
"Too bad; that would have made the story really interesting if you had to sneak human cargo back and forth."
"Dr. House," Lydia said. "Would you please let the man tell the story you so desperately want to hear? They're probably going to be ready to take Kevin down to surgery shortly."
"Remind me to have you call me Doctor House again later," said House moving his eyebrows up and down in a lecherous manner. The comment only got a dirty look from Lydia and confused looks from everyone else. "Continue."
"So we get on the boat and head to Mexico. Not too far away from where my uncle docks his boat is a beach. We pile into my uncle's van, stopped to get food, and we had a cookout on the beach. Well, the water was kind of choppy because of the tropical storm out at sea. As we're hanging out, we hear this lady screaming; turns out the riptide pulled her son out away from the beach. Me and Kevin got down to the water first and dove in. We snagged the kid, kept his head above the water. The easiest thing to do was to head to the fishing dock nearby where the guys lowered a rope and helped us pull the kid up. He was OK, just swallowed a little bit of water."
"The same water that did that?" Robert Sheeler said pointing to his son's leg.
"The kid didn't proceed to trash his immune system after he emerged from the water," House said. "Where does the joy juice come in?" Jose swallowed hard.
"We slept on the boat that night, and went back to the beach for a while during the day. My cousin was there, and he wanted to go to a club in town that night. Everybody was on board with the idea…except Kevin. He said he was going to sample some more of the local food and not drink so he could be a designated driver."
"Strip club?" House asked. Jose looked startled and slightly embarrassed to acknowledge where they went in front of Susan and Kevin's father.
"Yeah," Jose admitted. "But…But Kevin didn't go in," he reassured Susan. "I don't know where he went."
"I just walked around for a bit," Kevin said picking up the story. "Stopped in at a tappas bar, but didn't drink." He took several deep breaths. "I was heading back to the van figuring I'd catch some rest there. I must have walked further than I thought, because my whole body just ached."
"What had you been taking before this for the damage done by playing Humpty Dumpty?" This was the part House wanted to hear about.
"Over the counter pain killers; Advil, Aleve, anything. It started to get to my stomach. So then I started taking antacids like crazy. I got near the van, and saw what appeared to be a convenience store. The guy behind the counter spoke English, so I asked him if he had something for pain. He pointed to these bottles on the counter with droppers. I'm thinking it's baby medicine or something. He tells me no, it works really well. He didn't know the name of the stuff, but he said I couldn't get it in the U.S." Kevin shook his head. "I tried everything else I could get my hands on in the U.S., so I figured I try this stuff."
"Didn't it occur to you to go to a doctor and get something more appropriate for what you had going on?" Robert Sheeler asked his son.
"Dad…you know how it works." Kevin said closing his eyes. "I go to the doctor, it becomes a workman's comp case and I have to stay off the job for weeks until I go through the whole load of bureaucratic BS. I couldn't afford to do that to us with the baby coming. We already lost Susan's income due to her pregnancy complications."
"All you had to do is ask for help," Robert said. "Your mother and I would help you out any way we could. That's what parents do." Kevin dropped his head down, shaking it back and forth rapidly.
"I just wanted something, anything to make it better." Kevin lifted his head up, tears flowing down his face. "I never felt pain like this." Susan came over, put her arms around her husband and started to cry.
"I know it hurt you so much; you even whimpered in your sleep," she said wiping her tears. "You were doing OK in the first few days after you had the fall; but after we came back from the camping trip, it really flared up."
"Camping trip?" House inquired. "When was the trip?" His interest was piqued.
"I had the fall on Tuesday, we left on Saturday," Kevin said. "I felt sore, but not in pain…"
"Where specifically is the pain?" asked House.
"All over…"
"Is it mainly in your joints?"
"Yeah."
"Put 'em on," House said handing Lydia a pair of exam gloves. He put a pair on himself.
"Excuse me," Lydia said to Susan who was still standing near her husband. Lydia wasn't sure what House wanted her to do, but he had that certain look in his eyes; he was on the hunt. House grabbed a hold of the draw sheet under Kevin and lowered the head of the bed.
"Turning him toward you," House said. Lydia nodded.
"Kevin, fold your arms across your chest; it will make turning you easier," she said. Both she and House were strong, but Kevin was a big guy.
"Count of three," said House. "One, two, seven!" House pulled the draw sheet, rolled Kevin slightly to the right, then got his hands on Kevin's back to get him on his side. Lydia placed her hands on Kevin's torso to steady him. House began the examination with the back of the head and slowly made his way down Kevin's back.
"May I ask what you're looking for?" Robert Sheeler asked.
"Something that will prove that your son's even more of an idiot than he's already shown," replied House. Lydia saw by the look on Mr. Sheeler's face that he was not pleased with House's answer.
"I believe Dr. House is looking for evidence of Lyme disease," she said. "Where did you go camping?"
"Northeastern Pennsylvania; that's where we've gone since we've been kids. No one has ever had a problem with ticks," Kevin said. "Wouldn't I have noticed it on me when I showered?"
"Not if it's on your back…"Lydia began
"Even less likely to be seen if it's hidden in the folds of skin under your butt," House said. "You must have knocked the tick off during showering, but not before he bit." House gestured for Lydia to lean over. "Take a look." Sure enough, there was the classic red bull's eye that everyone is told to check for if they feel sick after a prolonged period outside. Kevin was not fat, but with the way he was built, the bottom of his tush hid it nicely.
"Lyme disease is treatable, isn't it?" Susan asked.
"Extremely treatable," House said as he and Lydia got Kevin repositioned. Lydia used the bed controller to bring the head of the bed back into a comfortable position. "In fact, if he had come into the clinic four weeks ago, instead of self-medicating with an unknown substance, we'd putting a bandage on his leg instead of cutting part of it off." House took his gloves off with a snap. He started to take a few steps toward the doorway.
"I just wanted it to stop!" Kevin Sheeler cried out. "I just wanted the pain to stop! You don't understand what it's like living with that intense pain every single day, all day long! I wanted to enjoy life again! I wanted the pain to stop…" Kevin dissolved into tears as his father, his wife and friend came over to his bedside. Even House, who spent most of his life struggling to hide his emotions, found his limits tested by Kevin's words.
I just wanted the pain to stop! I wanted to enjoy life again!
How many times did House have those words, or similar ones scream through his head over the years? More than anyone should endure.
"I understand you," House said holding up his cane. "All too well." House left Kevin's room, thankful that his team was in attending to Wilson. The only other person around was the blonde nurse and House was sure she was terrified of him.
"Dr. House?" House turned and saw Lydia coming out of Kevin's room. "I was going to get word to Dr. Ellis about the new development with Kevin. Should I tell him it's been confirmed or just suspected until we do the blood work?"
"Tell him it's strongly suspected; tell him about the bull's eye mark. Damn!" House said throwing his cane on the counter. "If he had just gone to a doctor…"
"He did. The doctor said if the aches continued he should see a physical therapist. The outcome would probably have been the same." House had rested his hands on the counter, his head bent down as he took deep breaths.
"No one should ever have the type of outcome he did," he said quietly, but firmly. "No one." Lydia knew he would pull back if she tried to comfort him now.
"I was wondering…considering the further drop in his WBC, should we add in another antibiotic before he goes into surgery? Say…Levofloxacine?" House kept his eyes on the counter, tapping his fingers up and down.
"You want to give him Levofloxacine?" he said.
"Yes, he has no allergy to any medicine and…"
"Ms. Strohman," House said turning his head to look at Lydia. "If you don't stop with this wimpy 'I don't know if I'm going to be a doctor' bull, I am going to put you over my knee and spank you." Lydia couldn't help smiling at House's comment.
"You always threaten…" she began.
"Dr. House?" It was Cassie, the nurse. "Dr. Chase asked me to order the contrast dye and the extra bags of saline. I just need a signature from Dr. Wilson's attending, and that's you."
"Really?" House asked. "I wondered why everyone was bugging me with so many questions." He glanced at the paper and put his scrawl across the page.
"Thank you. Oh, and I called down to the MRI room and told them Dr. Wilson would be down there in the next ten to fifteen minutes and he had dibbs on the machine." Cassie said. House gave the nurse a hard look. Maybe he had been too rough on her earlier; she was young and trying to make sure she did her job right. Even considering that, House wasn't going to cut her any slack; he didn't want her to think he was a pushover. He'd leave that for Chase.
"It'll probably be more like five minutes, but I'll release the brakes on the other stretchers and get him to the head of the line," said House.
"Excuse me…Cassie?" asked Lydia. "We need to order Levofloxacine for Mr. Sheeler," she said pointing to Kevin's room. Cassie looked a bit confused.
"I'm sorry, Dr….."
"Strohman," House said. "She's working with my team. Pharmacy may not recognize her name, so put the request under mine."
"Sure," Cassie said still not knowing what to make of Lydia's presence. House picked up the contrast and one bag of saline.
"Keep the other one back there for when he returns to the floor," House directed. Cassie took the bag and laid it on top of Wilson's chart. House grabbed his cane and made his way into Wilson's room.
"Ready to see if you really have a brain?" House said holding up the contrast.
"I am so ready, I'll even deal with your insults right now," Wilson replied.
"What was the deal with our fireman?" Taub asked as he took the contrast pouch from House and attached it to where the saline bag had been. House related the story Kevin and Jose told, then the discovery of the red mark that indicated Lyme disease.
"Damn!" said a voice from the doorway. "Why the hell didn't he go to a doctor?" Slick walked into the room followed by Foreman.
"He did go to the doctor," Lydia said. "For a fall from a ladder. No one had any reason to question the aches and pains. Until Susan Sheeler brought up the fact that they went camping." Slick looked confused.
"So a guy tells you he falls off a ladder, tells you he went camping, and is still really hurting a few week later…and from that you looked for Lyme disease?"
"No, I was looking for the tick that might have been on his body still," House said. "If we knew what kind of tick, we'd have a better idea of the treatment needed. It was most likely a deer tick and since Lyme is a common, ongoing disease…not my problem." Slick shook his head. He turned his gaze over to Wilson.
"I haven't seen you since you headed into recovery. How are you doing?" Slick and Wilson shook hands.
"Everybody tells me I'm doing well," Wilson said. "Right now I want to get this MRI over with so I can eat some real food."
"Let's get things going," Chase said as he looked out in the hall and saw two orderlies with a gurney.
"Dr. Wilson?" one of the orderlies asked as he stepped in the room.
"Present and accounted for," Wilson said as he raised his hand and smiled. Even with House feeling as tired and as cranky as he did, he was happy to see Wilson be so enthusiastic. Wilson was bound to crash later on from all the energy he was spending now, but maybe that would be a chance for House to get some more rest.
"We're going to have to be careful about moving him," Chase said pointing to Wilson's hip. "He just had a replacement put in." The first orderly nodded and moved some things away from the bedside.
"Just to make sure we keep him as comfortable as possible, could I ask for two more people to help with the transfer?" the second orderly said.
"I can give a hand," Slick said moving over to the gurney. The orderlies looked at him questioningly.
"It's OK; he's an EMT…and a doctor," Chase said stepping over to the gurney as well.
"I don't think that's…"Foreman started to say before House interrupted him.
"If you're going to say that's not a good idea, then get over there and help out. But since you're obviously more concerned about your five-hundred dollar suit…" House said locking eyes with him. Before Foreman could say another word, the orderlies, Chase and Slick had moved Wilson over. The orderlies readjusted Wilson's position and did what they could to make him as comfortable as possible.
"Um…where's Dr. Wilson's chart? Still at the desk?" the second orderly asked.
"Yeah," House replied. "Got to make a note that the contrast was hung. The chart will be down there before you get him on the table of the machine." The orderly nodded and they started to head out the door.
"Guys? Hold up a second," Thirteen said. "Wilson, I have to go to an ophthalmologist appointment. I've been having some trouble with my eyes…and it's beginning to affect my work," she said looking down at the floor. "I should be back before the test is done, but I wanted to wish you good luck." Wilson was concerned.
"Does this have to do with your migraines or…"
"Hopefully just the migraines." Thirteen took a deep breath. "But there have been some other changes, too." She looked around and was made uncomfortable by the looks everyone was giving her.
"If you need time off…or someone to talk to…" Wilson offered.
"No, thanks. I'll be fine. I'm just glad that Slick could come over and take me to the appointment." Thirteen started to walk away, but found her way was blocked by House.
"Who did the exam on him?" he said indicating Kevin's room. "The exam when he was admitted."
"Chase and Taub," she said. "I was the one writing in large capital letters, remember?" House nodded and stepped out of her way.
"Good luck," Slick said to Wilson. "See you in a little bit." Then he and Thirteen headed down the hallway. The orderlies started to move again followed by House's team.
"I want to use a fresh vein for the Levofloxacine," House said to Lydia. "Either Blondie or one of the other nurses can do the setup and hang the bag when it gets up here." He leaned his elbows on the counter.
"Oh, Dr. House…here's the Levofloxacine for Mr. Sheeler," Cassie said. "Are we piggybacking it or using a fresh site?" House pulled his head back a little and looked at the nurse.
"How did it get up here so quickly?" he asked.
"When I called it in, I told them I needed it stat and they said it would take at least twenty minutes, which I thought was ridiculous, so I went down and picked it up." House looked at Cassie and slowly shook his head.
"If you're trying to get on my good side, don't bother because I don't have one. Use a fresh site; set it for the same rate as the other two antibiotics." House turned to Lydia. "I might as well notate both charts while I'm at it." Cassie had stepped out from the counter and had gone into Kevin Sheeler's room; the other nurse on duty with her was hanging an IV bag on a patient across the hall. House went behind the counter and pulled out the two black binders. He started to make note of Wilson receiving the contrast dye.
"Greg!" Lydia whispered. "That's not James chart!" House looked down at the binder; sure enough, it was Kevin's.
"I guess I'm more tired than I thought," said House as he started to write in the other book.
"I know James is probably going to be exhausted pretty soon; he still has to do a little work with Tom. I don't care where you do it, but promise me you'll try and take another nap." House let out a sigh.
"Took the thought right out of my head. I'll make a deal with you: I'll even eat something." House reached into his pocket and pulled out a twenty. "Get some kind of lunch for the two of us. Don't make it too healthy or I won't enjoy it. Hell, I won't even eat it. Which will defeat the purpose of you getting me the food in the first place." Lydia smiled and took the money from him.
"You must be tired; I didn't even have to argue with you about this."
"Why don't you head to the elevators? I just need a minute to finish the notes for him," House said indicating Kevin. Lydia grabbed Wilson's chart and started down the hall to the bank of elevators that lead both to the lobby and the MRI area in the basement. Cassie came back over to the desk.
"His veins didn't want to cooperate, but I got good backflow, so Mr. Sheeler's all set." House nodded, closed Kevin Sheeler's binder and headed into his room.
"Just here to make sure the voodoo needle was properly placed," House said as he walked in. He went over to the far side of Sheeler's bed; Cassie was right. The setup she did looked good.
"Dr. House, how long before they come to take Kevin into surgery?" Susan asked. There was some metallic banging noises coming from the hall. House stepped over and saw a gurney headed to Kevin's room.
"They're here now; eight operating rooms, no waiting." House left the room and hurried, as much as his leg would let him, down to the elevators. He found Lydia there waiting patiently.
"The creaky crate still running slow?" asked House.
"No, I've let several cars pass by. I wanted to wait for you." House managed a slight smile. "If I see Annie and Mr. and Mrs. Wilson in the cafeteria, should I bring them down?"
"If you can leave the silver foxes there, it'd be much better. But I suppose that's not happening." The elevator arrived and the two entered.
"Not very likely," Lydia admitted as she pushed the buttons for the first floor and the basement. "But I'll use all of my diplomatic skills available and give it my best shot." When they arrived at the lobby, she quickly leaned over and gave House a kiss before the doors opened. "I'll be down there in a few minutes." She handed him Wilson's chart and hurried to the cafeteria. The elevator continued on and arrived at the basement where House stepped out. He zigzagged through the maze of hallways to the room where the MRI was. As House entered the viewing room, they were just about to move Wilson on to the table; he let out a cry as he was moved. They had lessened the epidural on him as well as the morphine, but House knew it wasn't just true pain from the hip; it was phantom pain too. The hip that was no longer there was sending his brain pain messages, just as House's missing muscle did the same to him. The contrast bag still had a little ways to go, but by the time his team got everything set up, the timing would work out fine. House pulled out his cell phone and looked at it; he had it set on vibrate and when he was still up in I.C.U., his phone went off. Just what he dreaded: it was Virginia calling. House went out in the hall and moved several feet away from the doorway. He took a deep breath, pushed some buttons and returned the call.
When Lydia rounded the last corner on her way to the MRI room, she was surprised to see House standing in the hall. His head was dropped down and she could see that he had pushed something on his phone. He had a very tense look on his face; Lydia couldn't tell if he wanted to scream or cry.
"Hi, hon. What are you doing out here? Everything OK?" Lydia looked over her shoulder at the room where Foreman, Chase and Taub were; they seemed to be in a good mood, so she was puzzled as to why House was out in the hall.
"Got a call from my mom's cardiologist. She's had two more incidents of arrhythmia. They only had to zap her once, but they're concerned that the incidents are continuing. A more aggressive approach would probably be best, but they don't think she'd do well if they did a catheterization on her. I called Bell, talked to him and my mother." House shook his head. "She says she's not in pain, she seemed alert, aware of her surroundings…she even asked me how my patient and Wilson were doing. And if I had eaten and gotten some sleep." House turned toward Lydia. "She seemed capable of understanding what was going on and making her own decisions about things. Mom wanted to know my professional opinion; I told her I wanted to hear her personal one." House had been leaning against the wall; he now moved and started pacing a little. "She said she was fine for now and wanted to wait it out. She said she's still hanging on for me." House stopped and closed his eyes. "I told Bell to call me if anything happened; I told the both of them we'd be down there sometime later tomorrow. I figured at that point, Firefighter Frankie will be back up in I.C.U., Wilson will have the MRI finished, taken a few steps…and I can get down to my mom." Lydia smiled and came over to where House stood.
"That's a good game plan. You'll feel better knowing that everyone is on the road to recovery, and you can come home and get a good night's sleep, so you'll be ready for tomorrow. I can talk to Ben and Elise, make arrangements for people to watch them and take them to school. You can stop here, check on everyone, and then we can get on the road by…I'd say ten or eleven." House nodded.
"I'll go into the storage room and get out your suitcase; mine reminds me too much of Mayfield."
"I already got it out and started to pack when I went home earlier. I also took out my garment bag and put a pair of dress slacks and a blazer in there for you and one of my business suits," Lydia said shifting the tray of food she held from one hand to another.
"Thanks," House said as he headed into the observation room. Lydia followed him and set the tray on a counter away from the equipment.
"You have a cheeseburger, chips and a bottle of Coke," Lydia said taking the items off the tray. "The fryer wasn't working, so they didn't have fries."
"When isn't the fryer broken?" House complained. "It almost burnt the hospital down right after you moved back here."
"And that's the day I met your team," Lydia said smiling at Chase, Foreman and Taub. House had taken several bites of his burger and went over to the microphone.
"Ready?" he asked Foreman.
"Ready," Foreman replied. House clicked on the microphone.
"OK, Wilson, ready for a test of your self-control?" House asked.
"You…you of all people are asking me that?" Wilson questioned. "Wait…House, are you eating?"
"Yep. It's only food from the roach palace that resides in this place, but it's real food," House said as Annie and the Wilsons entered the observation room.
"You know I'm starving," Wilson began. "How…how can you be standing there…downing food of any kind when you know I'm in here desperate for food?"
"The real question is how desperate am I that I'm actually enjoying the food from this place at the moment?" House teased. "Stay still and let's get this over with." Foreman started the test. Lydia stood back near Annie and the Wilsons explaining what the machine was doing and what it was looking for. There was only one time she had to double check something with House and since it wasn't a stupid question, he didn't mind answering it. The entire test took about twenty-five minutes, but to all concerned, it was the longest twenty-five minutes of their lives.
"House?" Chase said, motioning for him to come closer to the monitor. House looked and nodded his head. He left the observation room, walked over to the MRI machine, and pushed the control to slide the table out of the machine.
"Wilson…you have 48 hours to continue speaking without blame. After that, the swelling will have gone down and you can go back to being overly nice again." Wilson had a huge smile come across his face.
"No bleeding?" he asked.
"No bleeding," House confirmed. He walked back into the observation room to see Mr. and Mrs. Wilson hugging everyone they could get their hands on. He managed to avoid them, but took a quick hug from both Annie and Lydia.
"I'll give the orderlies a call so we can get him back upstairs," Foreman said.
"I'll call Tom and let him know Wilson will be ready for him soon." Chase said.
"Call dietary," House said. "Tell them to send up whatever they're passing off as food. We can go out and get Wilson real food after he's up on his feet…literally."
"House, I just noticed that there was no chest x-ray done on Wilson when he was admitted," Taub said looking through his chart.
"I think we were a little more concerned with the blood that was spurting out of him and the fact that his heart stopped. We're down by radiology; tell them to fit him in for a quickie." Taub left to make the arrangements for the x-ray, as House looked into the other room at Wilson. Annie had gone in and was talking to him; both were crying. House almost wished he could allow himself to release his emotions that way, but he knew he couldn't allow that much vulnerability to be exposed.
The x-rays were done quickly, and House decided to let the radiologist read them and place them in Wilson's chart. The guy was a stickler for protocol, so rather than let the guy get himself in a twist, House decided to let him handle it. Wilson was quickly settled into his bed when he returned to I.C.U.; Tom was already waiting there for him. The food hadn't arrived yet, so Wilson and Tom felt it was best to get the physical activity out of the way so Wilson could enjoy eating.
"OK, you've got the extra gown around you so you can have a touch of dignity," Tom said bringing a walker to Wilson's bedside.
"I feel like I lost that when I first got here," Wilson said.
"Sorry, we tried not to laugh too loudly," Thirteen said as she and Slick walked into the room. She was wearing a pair of tortoise frame glasses that looked really good on her. "I take it the test was good?"
"Yeah, if I want to get you back for that last remark, I only have two more days to get it in," Wilson said with a smile.
"House, if you could kneel on the bed behind Wilson and play spotter," Tom said as he put the walker directly in front of Wilson, who was sitting up. "We'll be all set." Wilson was shaky at first; he was unsure of the new piece of equipment in his body. But he did well, walking just past the end of his bed and back to a Geri-chair in the corner.
"Would you like to sit up in the chair to eat?" Tom asked. Wilson's eyes lit up.
"Would I? I don't know which I'll enjoy more: sitting up or the food."
"Sitting up," House said coming in carrying Wilson's food tray. Tom brought the bed tray around and set it up in front of Wilson. "Don't blame me if this stuff makes you feel like you've been shot," Everyone in the room groaned and gave House a dirty look.
"Lydia, where are your children? I thought they were coming in," Mrs. Wilson asked.
"They were supposed to, but one of Marianne's students had free time and offered to keep an eye on them over at the college," Lydia said. "They'll come with her when she visits tonight."
"Um…excuse me. Dr. House?" Never had House had his name called so many times in one day. He turned to see the radiologist in the doorway. "I just wanted to show you Dr. Wilson's chest x-ray." They guy was overly cautious; he had the x-ray tech do the shot twice. House disappeared out to the hallway where there was a viewer for test images.
"So this food is just to get something into you. Where do you want me to get some real food from?" asked Annie. Wilson laughed.
"Let me see how well I get this slop down, we'll go from there," he said.
"I like your glasses, by the way," Lydia said to Thirteen.
"Thanks; I like seeing clearly," she said. House walked back into the room carrying a large manila folder holding Wilson's x-ray film. Lydia didn't like the way he looked. She knew how he looked when he was tired, but this wasn't that look.
"You still have that flashlight we used to look at your nephew's films?" House asked Slick. He nodded in reply.
"What's the matter? Is my heart three sizes too small?" Wilson said.
"In your case it'd be too big," Annie said. Slick had taken out the flashlight.
"Stand there," House said positioning him opposite Wilson. House took the film out and held it up to the light for Wilson to see. Wilson looked up at the film; at first he couldn't comprehend what he was looking at.
"No…No. Not after all this…no!"
"That's why they took the second picture," House said. "They knew we'd question it." Lydia moved over next to Wilson; her eyes popped out when she saw the film. She looked over at House; she could see he was struggling to keep it together.
"What are you looking at?" Annie asked as she came and stood on Wilson's other side. "Oh…Oh my God!" she said as she looked at the x-ray and saw the same white mass that House, Lydia and Wilson saw. "Is…is that tuberculosis?"
"No," said Wilson. "It's cancer."