Twenty minutes later, Joanne came straight into the doctor's lounge as asked and wrapped her arms tightly around her husband. This was the first time he had ever asked her to come in before being told what was going on with Johnny and it wasn't sitting well at all with her. Sitting down, holding hands, they looked towards Dr. Early.

"So," Jo took a breath. "What's going on with our boy?"

Smiling slightly, glad that Johnny had such caring people as them listed as his next of kin, Dr. Early began laying out what was happening.

"First of all, let me remind you, that everything is sort of up in the air. The brain is still a mystery, but based on previous cases I've had and studied, there is a pattern to what I have found and observed.

"Right now, Dr. Brackett and I are fairly sure that Johnny somehow received a mild to moderate conscious about four or five days ago. That day you said he wasn't acting quite right?" Seeing Roy nod, he continued on. "It appears that he had mild bleeding from that incident based on the x-ray images. The bleeding had caused some swelling, but all that I could see that remained was a hint of it in the area of the old bleed. It was resolving itself and if it wasn't for what happened today, it is likely that Johnny would have recovered. Yes, it would have been a slower recovery time without medical help to make sure that the bleeding didn't cause any more issues, but then again, it wouldn't be the first time something like this has happened to someone without their knowledge.

"However, being knocked around like he was today with that explosion caused his brain to be shaken around a quite a bit. It caused a lot of swelling and more bleeding. The bleeding needs to be taken care of soon as it is causing the swelling to worsen and if it isn't taken care of soon, permanent damage could be done. Johnny also has contusions, or what is commonly known as bruises, on his brain from the head injuries."

"Oh, God," whispered Joanne. "So what does this mean? Will he be okay?"

"Right now, we have him under sedation and we will get him up to surgery soon. After which, we will keep him in a medically induced coma for the next three days as we feel that that is the best thing for him. It will hopefully allow him the rest he needs for his brain to heal. In a few days, we will decrease the sedation rate and get him off the vent to see how he is.

"We will need to put him on steroids for about a week to help with the swelling. Once the swelling has decreased to a certain safe level, John will be slowly pulled off of them to see how he does without them. The first way we be monitoring the swelling is during surgery, a shunt that monitors that internal pressure will be inserted. Since we are just using bur holes to drain the blood and blood clots, it won't be difficult to do so. The next way we will do is x-rays and those will be taken at least once a day for the next four days. After that, every couple of days for a few days after or as needed. We will also be using something called a C.T. or CAT Scan*. This is something new that Rampart has gotten and although it takes several hours to get a picture, it helps doctors see more of a three-dimensional image of the brain and the soft tissue.

"Dr. Brackett is suturing up the cuts and ensuring the burns are treated before the surgery. The burns are minor, mostly first degree with a few spots of second degree and one area of third degree located on his upper shoulder. The rest should heal fairly quickly and are located mostly on the back of his leg. The fourth and fifth rib are just cracked while the sixth is fractured. Johnny's right ankle was fractured, as well as his foot, so after surgery, when the swelling goes down a bit, the orthopedic specialist will put a cast on his foot and ankle. It should heal within six to eight weeks. His other ankle is a bit sprained, but in a couple days should be fine," pausing, Doctor Early steeled himself for what he was going to say next, knowing that it would be the most difficult to hear for Joanne.

"Before he was given the sedation rate, he wasn't sure of where he was, who anyone around him was or how old he was. He thought his parents were still alive and that, with the tone of voice and vocabulary makes us think he was acting around five or six years old."

Closing her eyes, Joanne couldn't even begin to imagine the terror Johnny must have felt at waking up in a strange place to people he didn't know. Considering that her children would either love meeting new people or be terrified of them depending on how they felt on a given day, she could only imagine how scared he must have been. And Roy! The only good thing she could see was that he was a paramedic and used to dealing with the unexpected. Joanne knew that his heart had to be breaking for Johnny though. Those two had to have been connected somehow in a past life considering how close they are.

Choking back a sob, she asked, "What do we do now?"

"What happens if nothing changes when he wakes up?" Roy acts, petrified.

"Right now, the only thing we can do, is wait and pray," Dr. Early said sadly. He hated this situation as well and wished there was something he could do. "Hopefully, once we get the blood removed, the swelling will go away quickly. The bruising will heal over time, just as any bruise would. Unfortunately, the bruising could take a while and this is where we run into a problem."

"Problem?" Roy cleared his throat. What else could go wrong?

"Usually," Dr. Early held up his hand to emphasize this point. "Usually, the swelling or bruising is what causes this age regression. That is because the area of the brain where memories are stored is being compressed, so enough blood and oxygen isn't getting to it. I guess you could kind of think of it like a stroke almost. If it is the swelling, with the medications we would like to give Johnny that should go away in a few days. However, if it is the bruising that is the cause, it could take longer."

"How long?" Roy asked, not sure he really wanted to know.

"It depends on how long the bruises take to heal; if they take too long to heal, the damage could be permanent. It also depends on where the bruise is located as there are a few of them in various areas. Different areas of the brain affect different aspects, such as language, memory or whatnot," Dr. Early explained quietly. "We're not at that point though, so, let's just focus on what's happening right now, okay?"

Nodding their heads, Joanne and Roy asked to see Johnny before his surgery. Allowing it, Dr. Early said that they should get as much rest as possible as he would like Roy in Johnny's room when they started weaning him off the sedation.

Agreeing quickly, the two were shown into the treatment room. Before he was moved upstairs to the surgery, Jo gave him a kiss and told him to hang on, that they would be there. It was going to be a very long three days.

AN:

C.T. Scan's were invented by Godfrey Hounsfield in EMI Laboratories, England and Allan Cormack of Tufts University, Massachusetts. When C.T. Scans first were invented, it would take hours for the scan and days to get the results of the scan. Robert S. Ledley was issued a patent for the CAT Scan on November 25, 1975. Around 1980, when this story takes place (see below for explanation), C.T. Scans were finally starting to become widely used by hospitals even though the images were not always the best and often fuzzy. They were however still useful for looking at soft tissue.