The DeSotos waited another half-hour once Johnny fell back asleep, neither of them willing to leave his side. Despite the fact the restlessness was barely there, both Joanne and Roy felt the need to protect him. For Roy, he had a hard leaving as his mind kept going back to how these injuries were gained.
How do we even know that some part of him isn't aware of what took place to cause these injuries? Roy worried. Even if he isn't aware, are the meds really blocking out all the pain and fear? How am I supposed to leave him knowing how vulnerable he is? Sure, others here are watching out for him, but I seem to be the one he can trust at least somewhat. How could I abandon him even for short amounts considering this?
Joanne too was having similar thoughts and worries, although hers were not just about Johnny. For her, she wasn't sure how to help her husband.
All she could think was, how am I supposed to ask Roy to divide his time between Johnny and our other family members when Johnny needs him so much? Yet, at the same time, the kids need the reassurance that even with all the changes, their dad will still be there for them. And how do I convince Roy this wasn't his fault?
Sighing, Joanne knew there were no easy answers or fast ways of dealing with this. Instead, like the times when her worry would threaten to override common sense whenever Roy was sent to a brush fire for days at a time or there were news reports about firefighters being trapped during a rescue, she would have to take things one moment at a time.
Even though Roy has experience dealing with the worries and fear that comes when Johnny is injured, I know this is a whole new level of anxiety and fear. I guess it will be up to me to show him how to cope when the unknowns threaten to topple your daily world, Jo resolved.
Standing up, she gently kissed Johnny on the forehead.
"Come on honey," she told Roy as she came around to the end of the bed. "It's almost one already and we need to pick up the kids in a couple of hours. We should grab something to eat while we can."
Nodding, he gave Johnny's hand a quick squeeze before standing up and following Jo out the cubicle. Before leaving the ICU ward, Roy informed Nurse Northstrom that they would be at the cafeteria in case anyone needed to find them. After assuring both Jo and Roy that she would look in on Johnny a bit more often while they were gone for the next hour, the DeSoto's left in search of food.
Neither Roy nor Jo spoke a word as they traveled down the elevator to the first floor or went through the lunch line. Both were just feeling too mentally drained at that point that having a quiet lunch was a welcome reprieve. Near the end of their lunch, Doctor Brackett came out and asked if he could join them for a bit.
"Sure, doc," Roy agreed. "Is something wrong?"
"No, no," Dr. Brackett hurriedly assured him and Jo. "I just wanted to discuss a few things with you two as well as get the paperwork signed that you requested."
"Ahh, ok," Roy drank the last of his milk before wiping his hands to take the papers being handed to him. "So, have you figured out exactly where to send them or…?"
"Unfortunately, no. That's why there is a bunch of forms. I figure that I will send one to the local school district, the county social service, the local clinic, the local fire department and the local police department. I also found there is a Baptist mission located there, which isn't all too uncommon, so I included a form to see if they had any information regarding Johnny or his family. I also am going to send a request to a few of their local work unions that were around the time he was born to see if we can find out about his father, what type of work he did, etc. Finally, I have a form that will be going to the cultural center. I don't believe it was around when he was born, but I can't be certain and I figure at this point, it will be better to try to cover all the possible bases at once. I'll be sure to fax the paperwork to the local postal office and ask that they airmail the information the various places have so we can have the information in a few days.
I would like you to contact his aunt, see if she could send you any and all information she has about Johnny." Doctor Bracket asked. "I have a list of what I am going to be asking for as well as what I would like you to ask for from his aunt. I am not sure if his school or medical records after his aunt took over his care will help, but I'm hoping it will give us more of a complete picture of his childhood, just in case."
"Just in case of what?" Roy wondered. "I mean, isn't asking for all this a bit much? I can understand some of this, but what if he does recover? He wouldn't be happy about us knowing all of this. You know how private he is about his past."
"I know Roy," assured the doctor. "That's why you are not going to see any of this and I will only tell you what I believe you need to know. However, we need to prepare for anything that may happen, whether it is that Johnny stays the age he is or if he recovers partly and thinks he is older than he is right now, but not his true age. It will be much easier to get all of this now rather than getting some now and some later if needed. I hate the idea of invading his privacy as well and if there was a different way of helping him, I'd do so.
"It's just that this head injury is taking away a lot of our options right now and there are too many uncertainties at this point in time. Unfortunately, even with all the technology and resources available, as doctors are bound and we can't do anything but wait and see. This is basically the only way I know how I can help you so that you can help Johnny," Dr. Brackett said with frustration clear in his voice.
Reaching out to take his hand, Joanne softly told him, "I guess we forgot how much you care for him and how hard this is for you. We do appreciate everything you're doing."
Squeezing his hand, Jo backed off, sensing the high emotions at their lunch table. Clearing his throat, Doctor Brackett blinked rapidly.
"Well, umm, yeah," he stuttered and stumbled over his words, uncertain how to deal with things. He was also highly embarrassed to be caught showing his caring and vulnerable side.
For goodness sake, I'm a doctor. It shouldn't matter that I am friends with Johnny or Roy or their families. I should be able to maintain the distance and not be so emotionally involved. I cannot do my job if I get too caught up in the fact that I care more about them than I would most patients. Besides, what on earth would people think?
Going back to a topic he was clearly more comfortable with, he pointed out to Roy where to sign.
"As soon as you sign these, I will just get these faxed."
Signing the numerous paperwork, Roy let out a deep breath. Dr. Brackett took the sheaf of paperwork and pulled out more.
"More?" Roy exclaimed under his breath.
"These are different," Doctor Brackett said, clearly uncomfortable. "I talked to my lawyer a couple days ago about this situation. I knew you two had more than enough to deal with and well, honestly, I wasn't even sure what to do about this situation. I knew that considering that it will take at least a couple of months to find out how much Johnny will recover, someone will need to take care of things for him as far as finances go. Things like rent on his apartment, any car payments or other bank payments he may have. Someone will need to be able to cash his disability check and so on.
"I asked my lawyer what happens when a person who is rendered unable to do these things because they are mentally incapable due to a head injury. I needed to know if the person with the medical power of attorney and the next of kin have the ability to do these things.
I was told by my lawyer, Steven Larsen, that those two documents doesn't cover all those areas. What you need to do is file with the court documents from two physicians stating the injury, the effects of the injury and the possible duration of the injury along with a request for temporary guardianship. In cases like this, Steven said that it is almost always granted if you ask for a reasonable time period, such as two months in this case. The time period can always be extended. If worst comes to worse, and this becomes permanent, than a third doctor who wasn't involved in the initial care and treatment would need to do an evaluation before permanent guardianship is granted.
"I wanted to bring this up now because even if for some reason it is felt that your home isn't the best place for Johnny, someone would need to have guardianship over him," shifting in discomfort at what he was going to bring up next, but knowing he was legally obligated, Doctor Brackett continued. "Of course, you don't need to go through this process at all. If you choose not to, someone from social services would be assigned as his case worker and take over the responsibility of managing his money, where Johnny lived and any other needs he may have until he is able to manage on his own."
Joanne and Roy looked at each other in shock.
"Doc, you should know me better than that!" Roy practically yelled.
"There is no way on this earth that anyone is taking care of Johnny, but us," Joanne stated firmly.
Smiling, the doctor simply said, "I figured you both would feel that way. I had to tell you anyway, but knowing you two, I brought the paperwork that you will need to fill out. I recommend you to take your time and fill it out so you know everything is filled in correctly. It will take a couple days for us doctors to fill out our portion of the paperwork. Your end is fairly simple, just names, address, stuff like that."
"Thanks," Roy said gratefully.
"I am so glad you did this," Joanne agreed.
"Not a problem," Doctor Brackett said truthfully. "I am just so glad John has you two on his side. I got to get back to work now, but let me know if you need anything at all."
"I think we're good for right now," Roy let him know. "By the way, you were right. I think having Doctor Druthers on our side will help and our kids will get along with him."
"I'm glad. Now, let's just hope that when the crew meet him, he doesn't lock up Chet for a 72-hour hold," Dr. Brackett joked.
"I didn't know they were going to meet with him," Jo was surprised.
"Me either."
Rising from his chair, the doctor informed them, "the fire chief thought it would be a good idea for a psych consult considering how close all of you are and since everyone wants to help you succeed in bringing Johnny home, he agreed to my suggestion to seeing Dr. Druthers. I think it will be a group meeting and then, if needed, individual sessions. This is in addition to the trip to New Horizons."
"Ahh, thanks again," Roy said as he too got up.
Joanne also rose, stating, "I can't tell you how grateful I am that you watch out for my extended family."
Blushing a bit, Dr. Brackett looked at his watch.
"I really have to get back to the ER. I'll see you guys later."
"Yeah, we'll be bringing the kids here in a couple hours if you want to stop by later," Jo offered.
"I just might do that. Take care," he told them as he left.
Grabbing their plates and glasses, Roy stacked them on a tray and bused them.
"It looks like we have about an hour before we have to get the kids."
Taking her husband's hand, Jo said, "let's go see that third child of ours. Make sure he is doing alright."
Smiling, the two of them went back up to the ICU.
AN: Fax machines were first used in 1924, although they weren't capable of doing much. By the late 1970's, when this story takes place, there were a lot of companies who were involved in making and selling of fax machines, making them cheaper and better than their predecessors. Therefore, it is logical to assume that during this story, even a smaller reservation may have been able to afford one.
According to the research I did on the Seminole people and the reservation, the mission Baptists were the ones who often came to a reservation. They were typically the only church who came to the reservation from what I could find in my research. If I am incorrect in this, I apologize.