Slowly, over the next few days, Johnny began to be able to stay awake more often without prompting. Encouraged by this, Roy would describe his life as a paramedic firefighter, the people he worked with and his family. Every time Joanne stopped by to visit after spending time with their kids or dropping them off at various places, she would take over for Roy and describe their family to him. Neither were sure how much Johnny was able to understand at this point as he would drop off to sleep without warning and at times, would wear a confused look on his face for no apparent reason. What was worse however, were the times when he began to panic and would struggle to escape the confines of his bed without warning. Only when a sedative was given would the crying and whimpering from pain stop.
"At least this is happening less and less," Jo said softly and let out a sigh of relief after the latest episode Johnny had experienced. "I just wish he would let us know what he was thinking. It breaks my heart to see him go through this each time."
"I know," Roy agreed, frustrated. "I just wish we knew how to help him, but…"
"Honey, he just doesn't trust us yet. He wants to, you can tell just by looking in his eyes, but it will take time. For now, we just have to be patient and continue doing what we are. You heard what Dr. Early said. It is helping. Now, I better get going, I got to pick up Jennifer from swim practice," Jo told him as she stood and kissed him. "I'll see you in a couple hours for dinner?"
"Yeah," he smiled up at his wife. "And I'll pick up Chris from Chet's on my way home, so don't worry about that."
"Just make sure you pat him down this time," Jo said wearily with a small smile. "I don't need a junior phantom running around the house again."
Smiling, Roy watched Joanne walk out the ICU cubicle.
I must be the luckiest guy to have such a sweet, caring, beautiful wife, Roy thought. Not many would put up with my kind of job, let alone allow their co-workers to become family. Let's just pray that Johnny will remember on some level this type of love and loyalty and allow us in again.
Sighing, Roy sat around for another hour before getting up to leave. Stopping by the nurse's station, he let them know he was leaving, but that both he and Jo would be back in time for Dr. Early's evaluation tomorrow.
"Alright, Roy. We'll probably keep Johnny asleep until tomorrow considering it will be a stressful morning for him," Nurse Fitz told him. "But, don't worry, we will call you at home if there are any problems."
"Thanks," Roy gratefully said, knowing that the people working with Johnny were going above and beyond their job description to make things easier not only on Johnny, but on him and his wife as well. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Have a good night," she said, picking up Johnny's chart to check in on him.
At nine the next morning, Joe came in with a stack of papers. Seeing the doctor again, Johnny begins to squirm a bit.
"I see you remember me," Dr. Early says gently, as he had picked times when John was asleep to exam him.
Nodding his head slowly, John thought, Scary person. What you going to do? Make head hurt more.
"Johnny," Joanne said slowly and gently so as not to startle him. "Dr. Early just wants to ask a few questions."
"I will tell you why things are being asked of you as well," Joe assured him. "If you don't understand or get something, you can tell me."
Looking suspiciously at the doctor, John didn't say anything. Having more information on Johnny's background, Joe understood the fear and anxiety Johnny must be feeling.
"I promise," Dr. Early said, softly. "You can ask questions, you can say you don't know something, you can speak up. The three of us in this room will not get mad at you. Isn't that right, Joanne and Roy?"
"That's right," Jo said.
"I promise," Roy said. "You can always talk to anyone at any time about anything."
"Real?" Johnny said.
"Yes," Joanne reiterated. "And you know, you can call us Uncle Roy and Aunt Jo, if you want."
Dr. Early smiled and nodded discreetly at this, glad she had reminded him. One thing the two of them had brought up to him this morning was the fact he never addressed them and wouldn't talk to them unless a question was directed towards him. Joe was hoping that by repeating the fact Johnny could address the two of them by family titles that they would like him to talk and ask questions, that it might help Johnny begin to communicate.
Letting the silence grow for a bit, Dr. Early asked, "Do you think you could do that Johnny? Call them Uncle Roy and Aunt Jo? If you can't, you can say so."
Thinking hard, Johnny felt confused.
Why call them that? he wondered.
"I dunno," he finally said with a deep sigh.
"That's okay," Roy reassured him.
Joanne rubbed his hand and told him, "I am just happy you let us know that. If you can't right now, that's fine. We can always talk about this later. Why don't we listen to Dr. Early now, alright?"
Nodding carefully, Johnny sighed again.
Although the evaluation was much the same as the previous time, Joe asked a few more questions, such as how his head was feeling and different parts of his body. For Johnny, he was just glad because when shown pictures and objects, he could recognize them. After a long few hours and a painful exam of how he could move his body, Dr. Early finally announced he was done.
"No more?" Johnny asked hopefully.
"Not today," Dr. Early told him, glad Johnny was finally speaking up. "I will need to do this again in three days. For now, if you want to, you can just rest, okay?"
Processing that, John slowly drifted off to sleep as Joanne held his head. Make sure he was sleeping deep enough, Dr. Early pointed with his head to indicate that the three of them should leave. Once they were in the same conference room as before, he sat down and pulled out a file that looked old and battered.
"Yesterday afternoon, Dr. Brackett got information from Konawa, Oklahoma, the city where Johnny grew up. From what we gather, it was a place that was fairly well off as oil had been found there, but where John grew up wasn't exactly, well," Dr. Early paused, unsure how to word the information that had been uncovered. "Well, basically, his house was from the early 1900's and not modernized much. From what the records show, there was no electricity yet in that part of town yet. Water was usually done by a pump.
"His father, Charlie Roderick, had a job with the oil company, but he was on one of the lower, if not the lowest, job positions there. There wasn't even a job title for him, so it could be that he just did whatever job was required by his employers. The pay he got was below what the majority of people got. The only reason it is noted in the files here is because the Seminole Council is starting to look into make sure that all are treated equally."
Looking at one another, Joanne and Roy were shocked. Neither one could imagine why someone would be treated like that, or why they would put up with that.
Speaking up, Roy asked around a lump in his throat, "Why on earth would a company do that to someone? And how come John's father would put up with such treatment?"
Looking up from the papers with a deep sadness in his eyes, Joe offered a guess, "At that time, it probably wasn't that unusual. You have to remember civil rights were just being fought for those black community in the 1950's and 1960's, which is when Johnny was living there. It was the same case for the Native Americans as well. Since Charlie married someone outside his own race, which was rare at that time, I am guessing others didn't take it well and the racism John's mother faced was also turned onto Charlie.
"As for why he put up with it and why the family didn't move, there could be a lot of reasons," Dr. Early said. "It could be that they knew there was a good possibility that no matter where they went, they would face the same problems, maybe even worse. Perhaps they felt a measure of protection because of the location where they were."
"Kind of like, better the devil you know, than the one you don't," Jo muttered.
"Exactly," Joe said. "Also, and this is just a guess, but I have a feeling that sharing the Seminole culture with Johnny and his sister was very important to both parents."
"So, Johnny did have a sister?" Roy asked as he sighed, scrubbing his face with his hands.
"Yes, she died around 11 months from a cold virus. John was about five and a half at that time, which is why he remembers her, but not very much," Joe concluded.
"Anything else we should know about Johnny's background?" Roy was almost afraid of the answer.
"His parents were killed when he was six years old. From the little information that was reported, it appears a tire blew out on the car, it spun out of control and went over the edge of a hill. It happened in early April, so Johnny was likely in school. From the date of the accident and the date of his parents' marriage, it is likely they were out celebrating their anniversary. Anyway, after that, he was sent to live with missionaries on a ranch for a few years until his aunt was located. At that time, she was given the responsibility of raising him.
"Honestly, I really don't know much about his time on the reservation, although his medical records show do show a broken arm during that time. That doesn't worry me, as it is only one instance. At first, I was concerned about the fact that there was so little medical information, but I called last night and was informed that until a health clinic for Native Americans was built in the mid-60's, for the most part, they took care of their own," Dr. Early explained. "If there was a need, they could go to the hospital, such as when Johnny broke his arm, but for the most part, those who were Native American weren't welcomed and given the bare minimum of care even when they had life-threatening illness. I suspect that it may be why John's sister died of such a simple virus."
Shaking their heads, Roy and Joanne felt pain for Johnny.
He had to have known that he wasn't welcomed in the hospital. I bet that's why he hates going to them even today and tries to deny he doesn't need to go, Roy speculated.
Joanne on the other hand realized that if the adults acted that way, the child must have as well.
"I'm guessing that school wasn't easy for him either, am I right?" she asked.
"He got fairly good grades for the most part," Joe said, leading with the positive information. "But his report cards also state he was a trouble maker. I can't quite believe it the teachers though, considering they make it sound as if he is the one responsible for starting a lot of fights and arguments with his peers. I do believe the part where he has a great deal of trouble sitting still and concentrating however."
Smiling, Roy laughed, "Yeah, that'd be him."
"Anyway, I honestly believe except for Johnny having trust issues, he was pretty much normal," Joe stated. "A bit hyper, but that's all."
Moving on to the exam, Joe explained what he had found on the second round of testing.
"I found that either the fact that I tailored the evaluation to what he should know according to his background helped or his memory has improved, so that is just something I'd like you two to keep an eye on until the next time I evaluate him," Dr. Early mentioned. "Things are moving along as well as can be expected with this level of injury. Although I am concerned about the fact he struggled more than I would like with sitting up by himself and with moving his arms and legs as well, I am hoping that will improve between now and the next evaluation. His coordination has gotten slightly better, which is a positive sign. The muscle tone is also improving a bit, but I am concerned about the muscle weakness he is experiencing. His speech is getting better and so is the clarity of his speech, though I am sure you notice it still takes a bit for him to process information and he mixes up some words. Some words are also left out."
Moving on, Dr. Early began explaining the goals for the next few days, "What I would like to do now is start getting Johnny off of the feeding tube and onto clear liquids. He will need help doing so considering the tremors he is still having, as well as the muscle weakness and trouble moving by himself. We will have to start slowly, but if he does well, in a few days, we may be able to move onto soft solids. Once he is on solids, we can take out the NG tube."
"Again," Joe cautioned. "This is just an outline of a plan. As you can see, as Johnny progresses and wakes up more, things may change in our plan. Do you guys have any questions or concerns? Or have you noticed anything that you think I should be aware of?"
Jo and Roy once again looked to one another in silent communication.
Speaking up, Jo said slowly, "I think the only thing we notice, even though Johnny hasn't said anything, is that he is still experiencing fairly bad headaches and dizziness. Roy and I can tell by how his face pinches in certain areas."
"That's not uncommon," Joe assured them as he made a note in the chart about that. "Unfortunately, right now, there isn't much we can do for it. It should hopefully start clearing up over time, although it may take a few weeks, just like any concussion. I'll keep monitoring it and if it gets worse, we can decide whether to add another pain medication. I would rather not go that route however, considering the various medications he is on at this time.
"Speaking of medications, his magnesium level is almost back to normal, so I was able to reduce to 2 g in 1 L of dextrose 5% solution over three hours. I also was able to reduce his Carbamazepine dosage by half again. Hopefully, in a few more days, the Carbamazepine won't be needed as a safeguard and John can just be on a maintenance dosage of magnesium."
"That's good," Roy smiled at the news.
"Very good," Joe told him and Jo. "I had hoped that things would be stabilized by now, but at least we are headed in the right direction."
Looking over his notes and Johnny's chart one final time, Dr. Early asked, "Is there anything else that we haven't covered? Or any questions?"
"No, I think that's it," Roy said as he looked towards Joanne.
"Okay, then," Dr. Early said smiling. "I'll be back to check on Johnny later today. When he wakes up again, just let the nurse know so she can bring him something."
Leaving, Dr. Early headed back down to the nurse's station while the DeSoto's went back into Johnny's cubicle. Seeing he was awake, Jo slipped out to let them know he was awake. A few minutes later, a tray with a cup of chicken soup was brought up for John. Helping Johnny sit up, Roy explained what the doctor wanted him to try.
"Dr. Early wants to get the tube out of your nose that has been feeding you," Roy informed Johnny as he adjusted the pillows around him. "By eating this, in a couple days, we can then start getting you to eat other food. It may take a bit, but I bet you'd rather eat than have that tube."
Nodding, Johnny tried grasping the spoon. It took him a few frustrating tries, but he finally got a hold of it. However, after trying to lift it to his mouth, he started getting upset when he couldn't figure out how to get the soup to stay on the spoon.
Knowing they had to be patient and hoping he would tell them what the issue was, Joanne and Roy waited as John tried a second, than a third time to get things right. Each time he failed, it was more difficult to not reach out and help.
Finally, after the fifth attempted, Johnny sighed.
"Can't. Help, peas?" he asked, looking towards Roy.
Nodding, Roy tucked the napkin more securely around Johnny's neck.
"Sure, junior. I'll be glad to help," he said gently.
With that, he began to slowly feed the chicken soup to John. After a little less than half was gone, John began yawning and his eyes lids began staying shut longer and longer.
Seeing how tired he was, Roy removed the napkin bib, took away the tray and rolled away the tray as Joanne gently wiped Johnny's mouth. Together, the two of them helped him lie down and tucked him in. Holding his heads, they waited for him to fall asleep.
Just as they thought he was finally asleep, they heard, "Good aunt, uncle. Thank."
"You are welcome, sweetie," Joanne said with tears in her eyes. "Sleep, and know you are safe and loved."
With that, John sighed softly and sank into his first peaceful sleep since the accident.