"Johnny, settle down, its okay, shhhh," Nurse Fitz cooed. "I just need to…"
Sighing, she saw that any attempt at touching him was just upsetting him more. Five long hours had passed since the DeSoto's had left. It seemed with each passing hour, Johnny fought the medication designed to keep him calm and his blood pressure was also going up as well. She had even volunteered to work overtime because Johnny couldn't accept the change in nurses. When she had tried to introduce him to Nurse Northstrom, the nurse who would take over for her, he had become so scared, they had to call in Dr. Early. Now, it looked like she would have to call him again.
At least he's still on shift for a while, she thought with relief as she headed out of Johnny's cubicle. That means I won't have to make a call to his house.
Within five minutes of the page going over the speakers, Dr. Early met up with Nurse Fitz. Knowing already what the page meant, he gave her a tired smile.
"Call down to x-ray and have a portable sent up," he ordered. "While you're doing that, I'd like to borrow one of your nurses."
"Yes, doctor. Cindy Northstrom is free, just look in the break room. And don't worry, her break is over in a couple of minutes, besides, we have a few extra people on tonight," Meggie told Dr. Early.
Nodding, Doctor Early went to enlist Cindy's help while Nurse Fitz made arrangements with x-rays. As she was finishing up, the two of them had returned.
"How long until x-ray arrives?" Dr. Early asked.
"They said it shouldn't be more than ten minutes, so usually that means about fifteen minutes," Nurse Fitz knew that it almost always took about five to ten minutes longer than predicted for x-ray to make it to the ICU ward.
Making notes on Johnny's chart, Dr. Early asked for 10 mg of diazepam. "I am hoping to just use 5 mg, but if need be, we will use all of it. What I need of you two is to be ready to hold him down and get the restraints on him if necessary."
Nodding their heads yes, both nurses readied themselves for the grim task ahead.
"Should someone call Roy?" Nurse Fitz asked while Cindy went to get the diazepam.
"Not yet, I'd like to see what the x-rays show. If they are the same, we'll just continue monitoring him. If need be, we will switch his maintenance sedation to something a bit stronger. I don't like the idea of his b.p. remaining at this level or the possibility of it going higher. Are you two ready?" he asked.
"Yes," both replied as they followed Dr. Early into Johnny's room.
Almost immediately upon entering, the three of them saw Johnny start to tense up and try to get up. The two nurses and doctor were prepared, as well as faster. It helped as well that any movement, especially sudden ones, sent Johnny's head spinning. His whole body reacted to his failed escape attempt. First, there was just a slight shudder before he started shaking. It felt as though his whole body was vibrating. Sinking back on the bed and hoping that the blackness just on the edge of his eyesight would swallow him, Johnny didn't even notice as the two nurses gently put the restraints on his arms and another around the unbroken leg. He didn't even see Dr. Early inject all 10 mg of the diazepam into his IV. Johnny did finally gain some of his senses back a minute later, although his head was still spinning and his body still not only felt like it was vibrating but also disconnected from him. Just before he gave into the sleep, he noticed that the three strangers were looking down at him with something akin to pity and fear.
Fear of what? Johnny wondered as he slipped into the blackness that to him represented warmth and safety.
"He's out," Nurse Northstrom announced quietly, so as not to disturb Johnny. To witness this once vibrant and seemingly fearless young man reduced to this was unsettling to the seasoned nurse. In her thirty years of nursing, she had seen a lot, but nothing quite like this. It didn't help knowing who her charge was either.
"His b.p. is now 190/110, pulse is 140 and respiration's are 25," Nurse Fitz reported. "It looks like his pulse is dropping a bit more as are his reps."
"I'll take what I can get," Dr. Early said. "Hopefully, it will drop more if he can sleep some more."
Noticing the technician coming in, Dr. Early asked, "I'd like a full skull series stat. I'll wait up here if you don't mind, delivering the results here."
"That's no problem," was the reply.
Leaving the tech to his work, Dr. Early and the nurses gathered around the ICU desk. Sitting back in a chair, he thanked both of the nurses for their helped.
"Speaking for both Meggie and I, we don't mind in the least. I just hope Johnny gets well soon," Nurse Northstrom stated. "Now, if you two will excuse me, I need to go check on some patients."
"She's right, Dr. Early. You know my brother is a fellow firefighter, just in another county, and I am just doing what I'd like any nurse would do for him."
"Still, he's special, not just to me," Dr. Early said quietly.
"I know, he's family around here."
Clearing their throats, Dr. Early and Nurse Fitz became silent and lost in their thoughts for some time before Dr. Early moved on to a new topic.
"I'd like to change his medication to diazepam, 5 mg every two hours and drop the dexmedetomidine to .03 mg/kg per hour IV," he informed her as he made notes on Johnny's chart. "If that doesn't help him sleep, just page me and I'll bump it up. I'll be sleeping here tonight."
Nodding her head yes, she noticed the x-ray technician had returned.
"Looks as though the x-rays are back," she told him.
"Thanks," he said to both of them.
Standing up, he headed to the consultation room to view the x-rays. There, he noticed that aside from the injuries already noticed, the swelling was a bit more pronounced than it had been that morning.
I wonder if this is due to the increase in blood pressure, he wondered. It could be, or it could also be a sign that there is bleeding there, but we just can't see it yet. The blood pressure could be an indicator of bleeding, as well as the mood. However, considering that Johnny has been upset all day and his b.p. has been climbing as it has gotten worse, tends to indicate that the swelling is more likely due to the blood pressure issue than a bleed. His blood pressure did reduce after the diazepam.
Deciding what to do, Dr. Early headed back and sought out Nurse Fitz, who had just finished another vitals check on Johnny.
"What is his blood pressure now?" he asked.
"180/110," Meggie smiled as she delivered the news. Yes, the numbers were slowly going down, but at least they were going down. That in itself was a minor victory.
Mirroring her smile, Dr. Early felt that the numbers reinforced his decision.
"That's great," he said. "I did see some additional swelling, but I do think it is because of his blood pressure. Hopefully, it will continue to go down and the swelling will as well. I would like an x-ray repeated at five this morning. When that's done, just have someone page me and I'll review it to see if things are going well. Page me, however if the blood pressure goes up or anything doesn't go well. I'm not going to call Roy unless I have to as I know he hasn't been sleeping well and I'd hate to disturb him."
"I will," Meggie promised.
With that, Dr. Early went to catch some sleep in one of the on-call rooms while Nurse Fitz settled into her station. Since she was pulling volunteer over-time until Roy could be with Johnny, her supervisor told her that unless there was a dire emergency, that her only responsibility was Johnny. That may make her night seem longer as she had no other patients to check on, but then again, as she knew first hand and had just seen, Johnny also liked to keep the medical staff on their toes.
AN: I wanted to take the time to thank all of you who are so patiently waiting for me to write. I also want to thank everyone who has encouraged me to keep going (thanks crokettsgirl!). I also am extremely thankful for those of you who have pointed out issues in my chapters-things that needed to be fixed, spelling or grammar issues, etc. I am grateful for that, as than I can polish up the chapter and become a better writer. Again, thank you for your patience and willingness to come along on my first fan fiction writing journey!