As soon as Roy heard Johnny begin to wake up the morning after surgery, he hurried over to the bedside and sat down. Holding onto his hand, Roy gently encouraged him to open his eyes while pressing the call button.
"Is he waking up?" asked Nurse Andrews, who had arrived early for her shift to be there for both Roy and Johnny.
"He's trying at least," Roy replied with a small grin. "I'm not too sure he's completely sure about it or not."
"I'll page Dr. Early and Dr. Morton. I know both were coming in early as well," she said, slipping out the door.
While waiting for the doctors, Roy continued rubbing John's left shoulder and reassuring him that everything was alright. Soon, his eyelids began fluttering more and more.
"That's it," Roy encouraged. "Let's see those eyes of yours."
Groaning, Johnny tried forcing his eyes open, but only got them part way before they seemed to sink close on him.
Feels heavy, he thought lazily.
Roy had seen the flash of brown eyes and spoke a bit louder, "That's it, time to wake up now. We need to see how you are doing."
Groaning again, Johnny forced his eyes open and blinked rapidly until they stayed open.
"Thatta boy," praised Roy. "How do you feel?"
"Tired," he slurred. "Hurt. 'Ungry."
Trying unsuccessfully to hold back his snickering, Roy assured him, "You will feel less tired soon. Aunt Jo will be here with our breakfast soon. Is the pain really bad?"
Johnny's face scrunched up as he thought about the question.
"No, just little hurt. Odd more," he said.
"Doctor Early said that would be how it felt. If it gets worse, let someone know, okay?"
Nodding slowly, Johnny looked up when he heard the door to his room open. Seeing both Doctor Early and Morton enter along with his day nurse, he was unsuccessful at hiding his distaste at seeing them.
"It's good to see you up!" Joe cheerfully greeted, ignoring the look and hoping that his exuberance would rub off. "How do you feel?"
Befuddled, Johnny looked towards his Uncle Roy for help.
"Doctor Early wants you to tell him how your body feels and if the pain is bad. Just tell him like you told me," Roy encouraged.
"Why didn't he say that?" came a cranky question before a hand went over his mouth.
"It's okay to ask that and be upset that I didn't explain what I meant," Doctor Early apologized. "You just need to tell us if you don't know what we ask or say.
To cover his embarrassment, Johnny quickly told the doctors what he had told Roy before.
"Sorry cranky, Uncle Roy," Johnny apologized, unaware of how he had addressed Roy.
"I forgive you. I know you will struggle with how you feel for a while," Roy told him, choking up a bit when he heard Johnny acknowledge him as his Uncle for the first time without thought. To him, it was a bittersweet moment.
After allowing some time to pass, Dr. Early cleared his throat and went on with the exam with Dr. Morton's help. As he was making notes in John's chart and making sure the nurse knew what medications Dr. Early wanted, Joanne entered in with Chris and Jenny.
"Just in time," Joe smiled. "I've been hearing a couple of stomach rumbling since I've stepped in here."
Blushing, Johnny started to open his mouth, when Mike interrupted, "Don't worry, we're glad you're hungry. It's a very good sign. It means you are healing. Now, before we can let your Aunt Joanne feed you, however, Dr. Early does need to tell you what will be happening today."
"I have to see someone at a hospital a couple hours away, so Doctor Morton is going to be looking out for you today, okay Johnny?" Seeing the nod of acceptance and very little fear or worry in his eyes, Joe went on, "Like Dr. Druthers told you yesterday, there are some people who are going to be coming to meet you. There is going to be three of them. Doctor Morton, Uncle Roy and Aunt Jo will be here when they are here, so you have nothing to worry about.
"They are just going to be asking you some questions. Ones like I have asked you before. I don't know if you remember them?" Joe asked. Seeing the uncertainty, he went on, "That's okay, there is no right answer to the questions. Two of the people will also be seeing how well you can move on your own. They might help you move as well. Before anything is done, Doctor Morton will make sure the people explain to you why something is being done."
"Will hurt?" John asked, as he knew even not moving could hurt at times.
"Some of what they do may not feel right or hurt some, but if it hurts a lot, tell us. Our goal is to help make you able to move better, make your muscles stronger so you can get out of bed, and be able to do as much as you can on your own. That way, you can leave the hospital and go home with your family," Dr. Early explain. "You may need to come back here to work on some things, but these three people will come up with a plan to get you there."
"So, persons who come help me get strong? Get out of here?" Johnny queried.
"Yes. It may take a bit and it will be hard work, but we are doing this because we care about you. All of us here want you to go home with your aunt and uncle as soon as you are able," Joe assured him.
"Okay," Johnny sighed, still feeling worried and scared.
"Try not to worry, honey," Joanne told him. "Uncle Mike is taking over for me today so I can be here with you and Uncle Roy when you meet these people. I won't let anyone do anything that I don't think is good for you."
Nodding, Johnny looked up at her, "Can I eat now?"
Everyone chuckled at that remark and Mike told him, "Yes, you may. Dr. Early and I will get out of your way so you can eat. Take a nap before lunch if you can. I'll see you after lunch."
"Thanks, Mike," Jo said as the doctors and nurse cleared the room. "Alright, let's get this set up. Roy, mind grabbing the card table I left in the hallway?"
Following his wife's directions, soon breakfast was set up and eaten. Both Jenny and Chris, normally not morning people, were glad to have had some time to talk about their summer activities with Johnny. Although he didn't say much, all the DeSoto's could tell he was beginning to relax around them. By the time Mike Stoker showed up at 8:30 am to pick up the kids, Johnny actually looked disappointed to see them leave.
"Don't worry, Johnny," Jenny told him. "We'll be able to see you tonight and have supper with you, okay? Today I'm learning about how to dive off a platform so I'll tell you about that, alright?"
"And I'll be sure to tell you how the practice soccer game goes," Chris promised as their Uncle Mike herded them towards the door.
Smiling, Johnny watched as they left and snuggled down into his blankets, full and content.
"Are you ready to try napping yet?" Joanne inquired. Seeing Johnny shake his head no, she then asked, "Well, are there any books that you enjoy reading or games you like?"
"Dad teached ma and me game with squares. Black painted on. Red circles, black circles, moving them," Johnny thought back, smiling sadly at the memory. "Fun. Hard. No books. Just school ones."
"Well, I brought over some books I thought you might like to look over," Joanne pulled out a bunch of brightly colored books.
"These are ones that are rhyming ones," she said as she pointed out the Dr. Seuss books. "And these are some of my favorites that I love reading to my kids."
"Monkey!" Johnny smiled as he spotted Curious George.
"Yep, Chris and Jenny loved that book a lot. Would you like to look at it?" Roy asked. "These are all books that are yours."
A look of astonishment came over John's face as he looked over the stack of perhaps a dozen books or so.
"Mine?" he squeaked out. "Real?"
"Yes," Jo squeezed his hand. "These are all yours. This one here is actually a coloring book and I have crayons so you can color if you want. In your bedroom at home, there are some more books and coloring books. We haven't changed much in your room at home since you came, but we hope you will tell us soon what you like so we can make the room your own."
Looking up at her eyes, Johnny could see she was telling the truth. Turning towards his Uncle Roy, he saw that the same thing in his eyes.
I can't believe they wanna know what I like so the room is like mine, Johnny thought in disbelief. And they said all these books are mine? And there is more for me?
Both Jo and Roy saw the tears welling up in John's eye. Reaching over, Joanne held onto Johnny and tried to comfort him and assure him that they wanted to do these things for him. Slowly, the tears stopped and before Joanne or Roy knew it, John had slipped back into sleep.
"I guess this was a bit much for him," Roy said, his voice rough with his own unshed tears.
I never thought of what it would be like not having more than just the basics, or I guess in some cases, less than the basics, Roy shuddered at the thought before vowing to figure out a way to make sure Johnny never felt he lacked for anything, no matter what.
"Yeah, I guess so," sighed Jo.
Digging out their own reading material, the two of them allowed Johnny the sleep he obviously needed, as he didn't even move much when Nurse Andrews would come in for vitals check. When it was nearing noon, however, Joanne nudged Roy as he had dozed off as well and mentioned they had better set up for lunch since the therapists would be there in an hour. Nodding, Roy helped Joanne heat up the lunch and grab the cold drinks from the lounge that she had stored there. As she set up the food, he went Johnny to wake him up. He knew it wouldn't take much as the smell of the food alone was bringing him around.
"Some things never change," Roy chuckled as he motioned his head towards Johnny.
Laughing herself, Joanne just shook her head, "Good afternoon, sweetie. Time to eat lunch."
"'K," Johnny said, pushing himself up as Jo raised the head of the bed and Roy stuck more pillows behind him while holding Johnny carefully.
Within a half-hour the lunch disappeared. Not long after, Dr. Morton stuck his head in and seeing that lunch was gone, entered.
"Hi, Johnny, did your aunt make a good meal for you?"
"Yeah," he said enthusiastically.
"Good," Mike smiled. "Now, the three people are just outside if you are ready to meet them."
Nervously, Johnny looked at Roy and then Joanne. Gripping their hands, he nodded slightly. Mike went to the door and pushed it open. Two men and a woman stepped inside.
"I know this may be hard and you may not remember everything we talk about today, but don't worry," Dr. Morton told Johnny. "Just ask your aunt, uncle or someone else if you want to know something. These people here can also answer questions. If you forget their names, just ask."
Again nodding, Johnny waited for what would happen next.
A short, balding man with dark brown hair sprinkled with white stepped forward, "Hello, John. My name is Shawn Warrens. I am a speech therapist. Today, I will listen while you talk with the other two therapists. After, I may ask you some questions, but nothing too hard. Does that make sense?"
Johnny remained mute, but nodded that he did in fact understand. Giving him a small smile, Shawn stepped back and sat in a chair that was furthest from the bed. Next, the woman who appeared to be in her mid-thirties with reddish-blonde hair and a small stature came forward.
"Hi, I'm Ms. Scarlett Palmer and I am the occupational therapist," she said, practically bubbling with energy. "My job is to help you learn how to do things to the best of your ability and help you relearn task. I know you have been working on using forks and spoons to feed yourself, which is great and that is something that I can make sure you continue to do well with. Today, I will figure out what else you may need help with and I will come up with fun ways to work on those areas."
"Don't get," Johnny confessed, his head lowering down.
"It's okay, I'm not sure I totally get it either," Roy admitted.
Smiling, Scarlett tried to clarify, "I'm here to try and help John learn how to do the daily activities he needs to do. Not just feeding himself, but also taking care of his own hygiene, making sure his coordination is as good as it can be, things along these lines. I'll also be working with the physical therapist to determine if there are any specialized equipment that may be helpful to reach the goals your family and John has, as well as help Davis with the physical therapy part. I know it is not easy to understand, but I think it'll be easier to explain and understand once we get through the test and I come back with the results, okay?"
With this remark, a gentleman who had good size muscles and was almost as tall as Johnny stepped forward.
"I'm Davis Cook, you can just call me Mr. Davis or Mr. D. I know I may look scary, but my four kids aren't scare of me at all," he announced in a low voice. Seeing a quick smile, he went on. "I'm what is called a physical therapist. It just means I will help you learn how to move and build up your muscles since you haven't been moving for a bit. I can't say that it won't hurt some, but I want you to tell me if I ever hurt you a lot, okay?"
"I can say?" Johnny perked up, relieved that the others were right about being able to say something if something hurt too much.
"Yes, my goal is to get you better and if you get hurt or are hurting, I can't do that," he assured John. "Plus, it makes me feel bad."
"Ok," Johnny acknowledged, still unsure if he could speak up.
Smiling, Davis asked if everyone was ready to begin the evaluation. When everyone had replied in the affirmative, he and Scarlett began by slowly manipulating different parts of Johnny's body. After each time, notes were written down and Johnny was asked questions. Once that first part was done, Scarlett took the lead and asked John to begin moving in certain ways. Again, Johnny was asked questions and notes were taken after each movement. She then began administrating a test similar to the one Dr. Early had performed each time he wanted to assess how well John was doing. Once finished, close to two hours later, Davis and Scarlett turned to see if Shawn had any questions or comments. Saying that he had none, the three left to confer over their notes and develop a plan.
"So, how you doing, Johnny," Roy asked wearily ten minutes later after Dr. Morton checked Johnny over.
Almost growling, John just glared at him.
"Yeah, I don't blame you, that took a long time. At least it's over with," he pointed out in an attempt to placate Johnny.
"Not care, hate, want go," John humphed, crossing his arms.
"I'm sorry, but right now, here is what is best for you," Dr. Morton said. "You aren't well enough to go home yet. Hopefully, when the three of them come back in, they can give you an idea when that may happen."
"Why it mess me it," frustrated, John couldn't get out the words he wanted.
Stupid, can't talk right, hate all this, why it happened to me? he wondered angrily.
"Calm down," Roy said a bit sharply, noticing his heart rate spike a bit. "I would be upset too, but I don't know why this happened to you. It just did."
Imitating Roy, Johnny took a few deep breaths before asking, "Why like this?"
"Why are you having trouble so much?" Roy asked in return. Seeing the nod and hearing the heavy sigh, he said, "Your brain got hurt. When it got hurt, your brain got bruises on it. Those bruises are why things are not working how they should."
"Bruises?" Johnny wondered.
"Bruises." Roy confirmed. "The doctors are doing all we can to help you out, we just have to…"
Roy was cut off by a knock on the door. Being the closest, Mike opened the door to let in the group of therapists. As soon as everyone was settled into chairs, with Jo and Roy on each side of John, Shawn began.
"I don't see much speech problems. John, you are doing great. You can say the words well and know what others say too. The one area of concern comes from the nurses who saw when John gets upset or confused. At that time, his speech becomes mixed up. Roy and Joanne, if you can help him slow down during those times, correct him if he forgets a word, I think he should be fine since he has been making progress as time goes by. I'm hoping that since you are doing so well with your sentences now Johnny, that as your brain continues to get better, so will how well you talk. However, if things stay the same, let me know and I'll reevaluate.
"I know it is somewhat risky to wait a while, but right now, John is at least speaking clearly and is being understood so I feel it is a minor risk. Yes, I do realize this could backfire and could cause John's speech to remain the same as it is now, but like I said, from where he was when he woke up to where he is now is a big difference. It is up to you though," Shawn nodded his head towards Roy and Joanne.
"Well," Roy began slowly. "I guess I worry that the connections for speech may be damaged and waiting could mean that those connections are either lost or it will take longer to reconnect if done at a later time."
"It is possible that it could take longer to improve John's speech if we wait," Shawn conceded. "Or it could mean that his speech doesn't become much better. I honestly don't believe though that the connections would be lost. Right now, they are temporarily harder to access due to the swelling and bruises. From what I was told, the speech area is affected and in my opinion, trying to access those connections and rush the speech along is very plausible. Possible…yes, but not likely. It is a risk, but as I said before, I do believe it is a low risk. Again, you and Joanne do have the final say and you need to weigh the benefits of this taking place now, as well as the fact John will be involved in physical and occupational therapy."
"As well as trying to adapt to a new situation, new people and dealing with the aftermath of his injuries," Mike Morton pointed out quietly.
"Tell," Johnny pleaded, his eyes turned to Roy with confusion painted on his face.
Sighing, Roy took a breath and explained the best he could, "We know you will need to work with Ms. Scarlett and Mr. Davis so you can move and do things on your own like before. You know, things like working on making yourself strong again to walk, learn how to do feed yourself better, do games so you can have fun with our family. But Mr. Shawn hears how you talk and wants to know if Aunt Jo and I want to wait to work on how you talk or not. We know what you say and you are doing better."
"Know it funny," Johnny agreed.
"It's okay though," Jo told him. "You are doing great and doing better each day."
Looking at one another, Roy and Jo silently communicated with one another.
"I think that for right now, we're going to wait," Roy decided. "It'll give us time to work on other areas. I know you hate being in bed all the time, Johnny. But remember, it doesn't matter to any of us how long it takes, you are family and we will be here for you, okay?"
Seeing the nod, Scarlett took over, "I did find some muscle weakness and trouble with coordination. I can start working on trying to help you with that Johnny, although as things heal inside your head, I am hoping it will get easier for you. A lot of the things we do will be fun and if you would like, you can do some of these things with your family. Games such as Operation, Battleship or puzzles are great ideas. Coloring books, pick up sticks, we have all sorts of different fun things I will be bringing."
"What those? And that work?"
"That is work," Scarlett smiled at him. "I'll make sure to have the games in your room here and tell you about them. As you get better, if you still have some trouble, I'll even tell your aunt and uncle to play baseball and basketball with you once you are up and moving. I'm sure Chris and Jenny will be helpful in making sure you win."
Giggling at the thought, Johnny blushed.
"What I will be having you do isn't so fun," Davis apologized. "I'll be coming in during the morning and working with you to stretch out your arms and legs. We also will start you lifting some light weights so you get stronger. In a couple days, I'll have you sitting with your feet hanging over the bed. If that goes well, the next day, you can try to stand."
"But leg is heavy," Johnny pointed out.
"Yes, it is in a cast, but I can bring a walker so that you can lean on it," Davis promised. "The stitches in your back will be coming out before you stand, so don't worry about that. Both Ms. Scarlett and I will make sure Dr. Early knows what our plans are."
"Any idea when Johnny will be able to come home?" Joanne asked hopefully.
"Ideally, I'd like him to be able to transfer to a wheelchair with help and walk a bit steps with the walker. I want to see him strong enough to be able to make it to the bathroom and back as well, which means he has to lose the Foley first and eat solid foods, not just soft foods," Davis said. "Until the cast comes off his leg and the strength is better, he will need to use a wheelchair most of the time. Depending on how well his coordination is, Johnny may need to use a walker or some type of cane after that."
"For me, I need to know that Johnny is able to take care of the basic needs, such as toilet care and washing up. I'm sure he will need help bathing for a while," she paused, seeing both Roy and Joanne blush. "I believe a nurse is volunteering to come in when that is needed, so don't worry."
"Who?" Jo wondered out loud.
"A Dixie McCall," Scarlett read from her notes.
Understanding and relief lit both Roy and Joanne's faces.
Dr. Morton interrupted their thoughts to detail what was needed on the medical end of things, "Johnny is going to need IV antibiotics for another two days and then he shouldn't need them anymore. We'll take him off the IV, but leave the port in until he leaves, just in case. We also want him on the monitors for another three days at least. If his latest CT Scan comes back good, Dr. Early plans on disconnecting everything. The Foley will be taken out as soon as he is strong enough to transfer and after it's taken out, John will be watched for infections or problems for a couple days. So, on our end, after he can get out of bed, at least two to four days."
"And we," Davis said for him and Scarlett. "Are thinking perhaps at least two weeks before he is ready to be sent home. Of course, the one factor that may delay it is Dr. Druthers report."
"Two weeks?" Jo asked. "That's it?"
"It could be longer," Mike interjected. "Dr. Druthers will be going to want to make sure that everyone is prepared for when John is released. You'll have to ask Karl about his timeline and goals. The only thing I know for sure is that we will get working as a team in here. That, and Dixie is bringing up supper for everyone tonight so Johnny can be introduced to her."
"Long time," Johnny groaned, unable to focus on anything else.
"Just hang in there," Roy patted Johnny's shoulder. "We're going to be here for you every step of the way."