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Chapter 24
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Two doctors entered the room with Nurse Peters. They were wearing expensive business suits, neither wore hospital coats. Just by looking at them Lewis would have never guessed they were doctors.
"I'm Dr. Cavendish chief surgeon of Radcliffe," the tall dark skinned man introduced himself. "And this is our orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Wilkes." He turned to the dog and gave her a huge smile, "Hello Mindy. I heard you helped James. Good girl." He praised the dog and gave her a crunchy biscuit treat.
Mindy wagged her tail vigorously and held the treat in her mouth. "Go ahead, Mindy eat your biscuit," the doctor gave the well trained dog permission to eat. Mindy sat in a corner of the room crunching on her dog biscuit.
Everyone introduced themselves and Dr. Cavendish gestured for them to have a seat. "How's James doing," eagerly Lewis questioned the doctors.
"He's stable," Cavendish gave the standard response. Lewis was about to protest the lack of information when the doctor explained more. "James had a rough time during surgery. His cracked femur was the easy part."
The doctor opened a laptop and started a power point program of the surgery. The point point showed pictures of sketches and drawings of the human skeleton with the injuries James has. The visual slide show helped to explain what happened during surgery and why James had to have so much repaired.
"Apparently when the pile of metal collapsed on James, some of the rebar shifted his sternum up, causing more damage. Fracturing the sternum, several ribs were broken or fractured, left clavicle broken, scapula cracked and manubrium also cracked." Dr. Cavendish paused. He could see the growing alarm in their faces. He knew James' friends would be shocked by the large list of broken and cracked bones.
"All the broken bones have been repaired," Dr. Wilkes encouraged. "The damaged done to his sternum is no worse than what a surgeon has to do to a patient during open heart surgery." He hoped the comparison eased their minds.
"Dr. Wilkes is the best orthopedic surgeon in Europe," Cavendish boasted about his colleague's talents.
"Any other damage, Dr. Cavendish," Laura knew there was more.
"Yes, there was, Dr. Hobson," Cavendish worked on the computer and started another power point. "Mild traumatic brain injury, I know this sounds bad but he is stable. CT showed no bleeding in the brain. We are keeping a close eye on James. Dr. Anderson is right here in our hospital, he's the best neurosurgeon, just in case."
Lewis started to pace. He knew what a brain injury could do to James' career. He knew what that would do to James. "When will you kn...," he choked back tears. He could not finish the question.
"When James wakes up, which can be any minute to days," Cavendish could only give them a vague answer. "I'm sorry, but with head injuries only time will give us the answers."
"Anything else?" Lewis was loosing temper. He was mad at himself and at the doctors for not knowing more.
"No, that is about all. Nurse Peters will take you in one at a time," Dr. Cavendish and Dr. Wilkes stood to leave. "Mr. Lewis, I wish I could give you more encouraging news. James could have been much worse. He was and still is a very lucky man. If you have any questions Nurse Peters will be at your side."
"When will he be released from the hospital," Innocent was already planning a replacement Sargent to work with Lewis.
Dr. Cavendish turned in the doorway, "Again, time will give us a more accurate answer, however James will be in the Critical Care Unit for at least three days. Then a week in the hospital and another six weeks of rehab," the doctor counted on his fingers. "So, a good guess would be, two months at the earliest before he can return to full duties. He might be able to do light duties before, but only time can tell. Take care of that dog, Mindy is an angel. You can take her in to see James when he's in his own room."
"I'll be right back to take you to see James, Mr. Lewis," Nurse Peters stepped out of the room. She quickly grabbed James' personal belongings bag. "Sorry, I wanted to give you this before it was misplaced." She handed the bag to Lewis.
He sat the bag on the floor and started toward the door. "Can I see James?" he was not about to take no for an answer.
"Right this way," Nurse Peters led him up the hall and through a set of security doors into the Critical Care Unit. The place was eerily quiet. Lewis could hear someone crying as he passed a room. He could see a man praying and holding a cross as they passed another room.
Finally the nurse stopped at the door of the third room. She put her hand on the door handle and paused, "Prepare yourself Mr. Lewis. James has a lot of bruising, swelling and cuts to his whole body. There are several machines monitoring his vitals." She looked into his eyes seeing if he was prepared to see his friend. "Ready?"
Lewis nodded his head and slowly stepped into James' room. He gasped, nothing could prepare him for the of his injured friend laying on the bed unconscious with a several of machines wired to him.
Nurse Peters gently encouraged Lewis to sit in the chair next to James. "We have James on a ventilator support machine to give his bruised lungs time to heal," she pointed to the ventilation machine. "This screen is monitoring his heart rate. His heart is steady and strong. The way we like it. We have him on IV drips to ease his pain and fight infections. And we also are keeping him hydrated with is bag."
Lewis watched the nurse point and explain the functions of the different machines and IV bags. He was bewildered by all the tubes going in and out of James.
"Nurse," Lewis he softly spoke for fear of disturbing James.
"Peters, call me Faye, Mr. Lewis," she smiled.
"Robbie, please. What are the doctors not tell us, Faye?" he watched James' chest move as the ventilator gently pushed air into his lungs.
Faye hesitated, "With any type of surgery there is always chances of infection, blood clots, any number of things." Lewis looked at her alarmed. "James was trapped in a dirty rusty building for several hours. He had an open chest wound that could become infected in the next few hours. We can only hope and pray." She put her hand on Lewis' shoulder. "The best medicine for James are his friends
"Talk to him, Robbie," Faye nudge him to talk. "I'm sure he can hear you. I'll leave you two alone." She left the room and quietly pulled the door closed behind her leaving Lewis alone sitting quietly watching the machines.
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Nurse Peters returned to the CCU Family Suite filled with James' friends. She always wondered why beds were put into the rooms, no one ever slept in them. Families of patients always paced the floors and sat on the chairs. They never went near the beds.
Laura greeted the nurse, "Any changes?"
"No, I'll let Mr. Lewis have some time with James then someone else can go in to see him," Faye sat in a chair near the door. She watched James' friends deal with their worries in different ways. One absentmindedly toyed with Mindy's ears, one leaned against the wall with his arms folded across his broad chest, another one talked quietly on the mobile and Dr. Hobson quickly flipped through the pages of an old magazine.
"Laura, have you eaten?" she noticed how thin the pathologist looked. Laura answered with a shake of her head. "Then let me order everyone something from the canteen." Faye stepped out of the room letting the door close behind her.
She quickly returned with an assortment of sandwiches, crisps, biscuits, chocolates and a bowl of cooked minced beef. "This is for Mindy," Faye place the bowl of beef on the floor. "Eat, I can not let you see James with your belly's grumbling." They all reluctantly chose a bag of crisps and a sandwich.
Someone softly tapped on the door and push it opened a bit, when Dr. Small noticed everyone eating he pushed the door open wider and entered with Drake and Randell Bell. They had taken the time to shower and change clothes.
"Good to see everyone eat," Small cheerfully chatted. "We'll pop back in later to check in on James. Right now we have to go and debrief. The usual boring stuff."
Laura stood up and gave each of the ERT members a tight tearful hug. "I don't know how we can ever thank you," Laura tried to talk but the tears got in her way.
"I'm glad we were training in Faringdon or we might not have been called out," Drake stated.
"Hey little brother, where's my car," Randell cornered his little brother.
Rowan could only swallow hard. He did not know what to say to him.
MacGim gladly explained, "Well, Big Bell, it's like this. Your car will be back on all four tires in no time. I'm having my brother, Marcus and his friends do some minor repairs."
"Repairs?" Randell snapped. "What repairs? The car was perfectly fine when you stole it, Brother!" He glared at Rowan.
"My brother is a professional mechanic. He works for a Formula One team," MacGim bragged about his brother. "They all ready picked up your car and it should be back in a day or two. Don't worry Big Bell."
Randell thought for a minute, "A winning F1 team?"
MacGim tugged at his chin and thought hard, "You know, I really don't know." He smiled big and clapped Randell hard on his back as they shook hands. "Oh, here's your ignition key, Marcus had his own," MacGim handed Randell the straight screwdriver he used to start the small subcompact car.
"Dr. Small," Laura stopped the doctor before he left. "What about Crush Syndrome?"
"James didn't have any weight directly on him," Small explained. "We were covered by a heavy metal box. The box must have fell over James when the building first collapsed, saving his life."
"What's Crush Syndrome?" MacGim wanted to know.
"Technically it's major shock and renal failure that occurs after someone has been buried alive under heavy weight," Small clarified. "We see this after earthquakes or bombings."
"James doesn't have this crush thing, does he?" MacGim wanted to make sure.
"Thankfully no," he replied. "We'll stop by later. Until then, bye." Small, Drake and Randell left. Laura hugged them again and kissed each one goodbye.
Mindy darted out the door as it closed. Rowan started to chase after her but Nurse Peters was already out the door and up the hall in pursuit of the runaway.
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Lewis sat in the chair next to James holding his hand. Thinking, he laid his forehead on their hands, "I'm sorry James," he whispered. "I should have been there for you."
He did not know how long he had his head down he just listened to the machines. Lewis was jolted from his meditation by a sudden movement. James was gasping for air and he was starting to struggle. The machines beeped and alarms sounded. The more noise the machines made the more James fought and struggled against the life saving machines. Two nurses entered the room, one adjusted the ventilation machine while the other tried to calm James.
"Mr. Hathaway, try to relax," the nurse hoped he would listen. "James you have a tube down your throat to help you breath. You need to relax and let the machine do the work." She rubbed his forehead trying to calm him, but James continued to struggle with the machine.
The nurse signaled the other nurse and she moved toward the door. Suddenly the door pushed open and Mindy bolted into the room. She leaped onto Lewis' lap startling him.
"What the..." Lewis grunted as the lab sheppard mix dog jumped on him. She started to lick James' hands.
The nurse approached the dog intending to remove the hairy animal from the room, right at that time Nurse Peters entered the quiet room. The machines' alarms were no longer sounding.
Without a word the nurses and Lewis looked at James, he was calm and alert. His eyes were wide opened and Lewis could see tears streaming down James' face.
"Hey," Lewis pushed Mindy off his lap onto the chair and stood so James could see him. "Glad to you're back with the living."
Nurse Peters leaned over looking at James' eyes. Both pupils were equal and reacted to the light she shown into his eyes. "Hello there," she cooed to her patient. "You have beautiful eyes, nice to see them open."
She turned to one of the nurses. "Tell Dr. Cavendish," was all she needed to say, the nurse left the room but paused to look at the dog. "Don't worry about Mindy." The nurse left.
"What happened?" Lewis worried. "Is he going to be all right?"
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The pain was still there, he could feel his chest burn. He also could feel the soft comforting touch of something on his hand. James ceased his struggling and concentrated on relaxing and concentrated on the softness touching his hand. He tried to move his head to see what was there, but pain shot through his body. Tears welled up in his eyes and flowed freely down his face.
He blinked several times, but his eyes would not completely focus. A bright light flashed before his eyes then it was gone. James tried to focus again this time on the face before him. He saw what he thought was the familiar face of his friend.
When he tried to speak to Lewis his chest burned and again he could not breath. James then felt a cold wetness touch his hand again calming him so the machine could breath for him. He closed his eyes and forced himself to relax.
James heard Lewis talk, his words were muffled or Lewis was mumbling. Again he blinked several times but his world stayed blurry. He had so much to tell Lewis. But he was unable to talk and unable to move, the pain was too powerful and too strong for him to ignored. All he can do is squeeze his eyes closed, scream in his mind and let the tears run wild.
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Dr. Cavendish entered James' room, he was a little surprised to see Mindy in CCU, but he did not mind if she helped his patient. He read the chart Nurse Peters handed him. "Excellent," the doctor smiled. "Excellent," he repeated. "Fighting with the ventilation machine can be a good sign," the doctor hoped James' lungs were stronger than he thought.
"James, open your eyes," the doctor pinched James' arm hard. No response, the doctor pinched harder and finally James moved, but he did not open his eyes.
James felt pain in his arm he cringed trying to ignored the new pain. Again, he felt the pain and he could hear someone mumbling. Ignoring the pain was not working, he could feel the pain worsening each time. The pain finally stopped, but move. He felt like something bite him hard on the neck. James forced his eyes open, fighting hard not to panic.
Not receiving the response he wanted from James, Dr. Cavendish pinched his patient hard on the neck. "Ah, I thought that might get your attention," the doctor smiled.
He steady James' face gently and looked into his eyes with an ophthalmoscope. Through the scope he could see James was having visual trouble. "Faye, get an eye wash kit," he requested. "Let's see if we can get more of that grit out of your eyes, Mr. Hathaway."
A bright light blinded him and then moved away. Once again James tried to block out the blurry world by closing his soar eyes, but he could not. Someone pried open his right eye and poured water over the eye. They held the eyelid open and continued to pour water. James felt like he was drowning. He tried to move his head but someone held his face. He was beginning to panic, but then he felt a gentle touch on his hand again.
"After you wash both eyes, Faye, put in some ointment and tape the lids closed for about ten minutes," the doctor scribbled notes into James' medical chart. "I'll be right back."
Lewis continued to talk to James. He could not tell if his friend was listening, but talking made him feel better. "James, I'm not going anywhere. You're safe," Lewis talked aimlessly. "Remember you still owe me a pint."
The doctor returned. "Excuse me, Mr. Lewis," the doctor needed to stand where Lewis had been. "I wanted to check James' ears. I wonder if he's having trouble hearing or is he just ignoring me like my kids do." The doctor bent over with an otoscope searching James' ear.
"At least the light doesn't go through to the other side," Dr. Cavendish joked. "Wash the ears out, Faye, when you're done with his eyes."
"Mr. Lewis, why don't we return to family waiting room and we can talk there," the doctor directed him toward the door. "Keep an eye on him, Mindy. You know what to do if James causes any more trouble." The dog thumped her tail and licked James' hand.
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MacGim took over pacing while Lewis was gone. Laura was about to tie him down, with each step he took MacGim's shoes squeaked. The noise was grating on her nerves.
Laura was also annoyed at the constant low chattering Chief Innocent was doing. Since she arrived all Innocent had done was talk on her mobile, type on her laptop or groaned in annoyance.
At her wits ends Laura wrenched opened the door to leave, but was startled when she bumped into Dr. Cavendish who was bringing Lewis back to the room. Fearing bad news she could only look at the doctor with questioning eyes.
"He's all right, Dr. Hobson," Dr. Cavendish answered her unasked question. "Sit. Sit everyone, relax I'm not the bearer of bad news."
Everyone relaxed after hearing the doctor joke. Innocent closed her mobile and laptop, she sat back relieved. MacGim sat on the arm of the chair Laura was sitting in. Bell sat feeling out of place not really knowing James and only being on the job for a few months.
"We will be taking Mr. Hathaway off the ventilator as soon as Nurse Peters is finished flushing his eyes and ears," the doctor sat on the untouched bed. "If James is breathing comfortably on his own we will move him to a private room."
He watched their faces light up with the encouraging news. "I'll have someone fix a bed for Mindy. I don't think we can keep her away from him," the doctor smiled. "If James does not develop any infections, he should be out of here and in rehab in a week to ten days. Keep your fingers crossed."
The good news took a few minutes to sink in. They all were too stunned to talk even to say thank you to the doctor.
"I'll let you know when we move James. In the mean time eat," he took a bite off a sandwich. "You won't do James any good if you're sick from lack of nourishment. Later Laura," the doctor gave her a quick good bye peck on her cheek. "Eat you're too thin, my mamma likes her daughter's plump and healthy," he teased.
She swatted at him as he left, "Flirt."
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James could feel someone taping his eyes close. Something he was beginning to hate. He was trying hard to concentrate on relaxing, but he was loosing the battle.
The battled was lost when he felt warm water being squirted into his ear. He struggled with the growing panic boiling up inside him. He wanted to scream for help. He wanted to push away from whomever was trying to drown him.
"Oh stop PLEASE STOP!" James pleaded in his mind. "I hate water in my ears. Don't touch my ears, my eyes. Just don't touch me. STTOOOPPPP!"
Then he felt something lick his hand, a familiar feeling he had before. He reached up with his hand and started to pet the face of a dog he wanted to see. A dog that was always there when he needed help.
"Where am I? Who's doing this to me and why?" James' mind shouted, but nobody heard his pleas, except for the dog she understood what he was feeling.
"Don't leave me, puppy. I need you," he scratched at the dog's ears. "Please make them stop."
Mindy barked softly. "I'm almost done, Mindy," Nurse Peters worked on James as quickly as she could, trying not to make a mess. "Now, how's that Mr. Hathaway?"
"I can hear!" He wanted to open his eyes to see who was talking. James tried to move his head but something was wrapped around his neck. He wanted to tell her he heard.
"Done Nurse Peters?" Dr. Cavendish returned.
"I heard you. Let me talk," James waved his hand.
"Good. Now Mr. Hathaway," the doctor slowly explained. "I'm going to take you off the ventilator. If you're doing good then we'll remove the endotracheal tube from your throat. Do you understand?"
Understanding James waved his hand. "No, but I'll agree to understand anything if you remove this damn tube," he wished he could say.
The ventilation machine was removed and for the first time today he could breathe when he wanted to. The air caused his lungs to burn and ache but felt good at the same time. Excited, he breathed harder and more rapidly.
"O2 stats holding," the nurse reported. Dr. Cavendish nodded to his nurse to precede.
"Now, James, the doctors on TV always tell their patient's to blow out when the tube is being removed, but we're not on TV," the nurse teased as she removed the tape holding the endotracheal tube in place.
James could feel the tape being peeled off his face. "I won't need to shave after she pulls the hairs out," he sarcastically told himself.
"What they don't tell you when the tube is being removed it's going to feel like I'm ripping broken glass out of your throat," Cavendish warned. "Just take a deep breathe in and breath out quickly."
Nurse Peters gently pulled on the endotracheal tube causing James to cough and gag. He rolled his head back and took in a deep breath of air on his own and free of obstructions.
"Thank you," he croaked. His throat dry and soar from the tube. James was grateful when Nurse Peters placed a piece of ice to his lips. Clearing his throat he tried talking again. "Where.." was all he was able to speak before his voice cracked.
"I'm Dr. Reginald Cavendish. You're at John Radcliffe Hospital," the doctor checked James' ears and throat. "Can you tell me your name?"
"James Hathaway. Where's Lewis," he whispered and started to cough causing pain to shoot through his body. "My chest," he hissed through the pain.
"You've had a rough couple of days, Mr. Hathaway," satisfied with his patient's ears and throat the doctor wanted to check the eyes. "I'm going to remove the bandages from your eyes. I want you to keep your eyes closed until I tell you to open them. Do you understand?"
James responded and the doctor started to remove the bandages covering his eyes. "Nurse Peters, the lights please," the doctor wanted the room dark giving the eyes time to adjust.
"Now open your eyes a small amount, James," he ordered. James opened his eyes a little. All he could see was fuzzy dark.
"Nothing but fuzziness, Doctor," he whispered.
Cavendish flashed a color light before James' eyes. "Now?" The doctor hoped.
"A fuzzy red light," James started to worry. "Why can't I?"
Dr. Cavendish had the nurse turn on the side light to illuminate the room with soft light. "Tell me what you see," the doctor waved his pen before James' damaged eyes.
"Shadows. A dark fuzzy shadow moving left to right," his voice broke with fear. "Why?"
Disappointed, the doctor dropped his head to his chest. "You had a lot of foreign matter in your eyes when you arrived, Mr. Hathaway," Cavendish tried to explain. "I'll have Dr. Moore, our resident ophthalmologist, visit you later on today. Nurse Peters' going to bandage your eyes again. This will give them time to rest."
Faye cleaned around James' eyes and re-bandaged them. "I hate this," James grumbled. He was trying hard not to get too upset, but his mind raced with all the "What if" questions.
"We'll get you settled in your new room, James," Faye cheerfully tried to soothe him. "Then your friends can visit."
Mindy nudge James' hand causing him to flinch. "That's Mindy, she led Mr. Lewis to you," she introduced the dog to James.
"Why?" he was tired and in pain. "It hurts."
"Here's something to help ease the pain," she upped the pain meditation on the intravenous pump. Two orderlies came into the room, "James, we're going to move you to a private room. Mindy will be with you the whole time." She ruffled the dogs ears.
"Why?" James repeated.
"Why Mindy?" She asked, James tried to nod his head and whispered yes. "She saved your life. She won't leave until she' ready. Besides, Mindy's good for you."
"Why?" repeating the question.
"You're starting to sound like my grand-baby. Why why why. Why what?" she adjusted the bedding around James. "Why we let Mindy stay or why Mindy saved you?"
"Both," he replied.
"Because Mindy knows you need her," Faye explained. "And she needs you."
The orderlies unlocked the wheels of James' bed. The sound startled him. "Just unlocking the bed so we can move you to another room, Mr. Hathaway," one of the orderlies explained.
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James stroked Mindy's ears in their new room. He felt alone and was beginning be get scared of the dark. Mindy gently crawled next to him and licked his ears.
James could not see her but he felt safe when she was around. "Thank you, Mindy," he whispered. She licked his earlobe to tell him she heard and understood.
"Excuse me, James Hathaway, I'm Dr. Moore," the eye specialist approached the bed. "This must be Mindy. Everyone in the hospital is talking about her. She's a very special dog." He tousled her ears.
"When will I be able to see again, Dr. Moore," James was almost afraid to hear the answer.
"I need to take a good look at your eyes and do some test," the doctor placed some equipment on the table in front of James. "I'm going to remove the bandages. Keep your eyes closed until I tell you to open them."
"I'm beginning to know this routine," James fussed. The doctor started removing the bandages, cleaned and flushed the eyes.
"That's what most of my patients say," the doctor joked. Nurse Peters quietly entered not wanting to interrupted them. "Hello, Faye, come to give me a hand?"
"Of course," she teased. "That's what they pay me to do."
"I understand you can't sit up," Moore held the optic diagnostic scope in his hands. "So, I hope you don't mind if I lean over you to take a good look."
"Why can't I sit up?" No one ever told him the extent of his injuries. He was curious why he could not turn his head nor move his arms or left leg.
"I'll tell you when Dr. Moore is done," she squeezed his hand. "Mindy and I will be right here to help if you need us, James." James smiled, feeling a little better, but not much. More questions crept into his foggy mind.
The doctor looked into each of James' eyes. He added some drops and looked again. He then dilated the eyes and looked again. Never saying a word, just mumbling.
The doctor's movement shifted and wiggled the bed making James feel uncomfortable. He squeezed the nurse's hand each time the movement caused discomfort. She reassuringly squeezed his hand back gently.
Finally to his relief the doctor climbed off the edge of the bed. James could not hear what the doctor mumbled, but he heard someone writing and writing a lot.
"Well?" He could not wait for the doctor. "Will I be able to see again?"
"I'm going to put some antibiotics in your eyes and re-bandaged them," the doctor placed the ointment in James' eyes. The medication burned causing his eyes to tear he inhaled sharply as the burning continued. "Give your eyes time heal. Say, for about three to five days. Then I will check them again. I didn't see anything serious. Keep your chin up, Mr. Hathaway, before you know you will be looking at Nurse Peters beautiful eyes." He smiled at the nurse.
James felt like crying he wanted to see, not to be trapped in the dark. He wanted to see the dog that gave him so much comfort. He wanted to see the face of the nurse with the kind soothing voice. He wanted to see his friends.
"I'll return in a few days. In the mean time I'm prescribing an anti inflammatory to help reduce the swelling around the optic nerves," Dr. Moore packed his optic scope, James could hear the him leave.
Nurse Peters straighten the bedding around James, "Now, how does that feel?"
Annoyed James twisted his lips, "He's gone, tell me why I can sit up, move my arms, move my leg why does my chest hurt so much? Why?"
She moved the chair closer to the bed. "You arrived here with a lot of broken and cracked bones. Most of them in your chest. We have to keep you still giving the bones time to start to mind," she looked at her patient, studying his face. She could tell he wanted more details, more answers.
"I don't know what happened when you were trapped," she continued. "But, you arrived here with your chest cracked, ribs broken and cracked, leg fractured, broken shoulder and mild traumatic brain injury," she mentally listed the injuries.
"Is that all?" He tried to joke.
"The doctor will check your chest in a few days, maybe then you can sit up and start walking," she explained. "The first few steps will be the worst, but the faster you're back on your feet the quicker you'll heal."
She saw he was feeling down. "I'll bring in your friends," she started to leave.
"I don't want to see anyone," James pouted.
"No, your friends have been through a lot," she scolded. "They need to see you as much as you need to be with them." She chose her words carefully.
He sighed heavily and let his head relax back onto the pillow. "Whatever," he mumbled.
Nurse Peters left James and Mindy alone. She hoped his friends could lift his spirits. Depression could kill just as easily as an infection.
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