Harry quickened his pace as he made his way through the early morning light from Lottie's to Dr. Wright's office. He was silently berating himself for not staying with Jeremy to monitor him during the night. Despite the fact that Candy and Jason had not summoned him during the night, he still had that feeling of foreboding.
When he entered the office, the foreboding feeling became reality. Jeremy was thrashing in the bed, calling Candy's name, and crying out in pain. Jason was holding his legs down while Candy attempted to get a spoonful of the laudanum in Jeremy's mouth. Harry rushed over to help her. In a few moments, Jeremy was calm again.
Jason let out a heavy breath in relief, and Candy burst into tears. It had been a long night. Harry felt that pang of guilt again, but had to quickly shake the feeling off to focus on assessing Jeremy's condition. Harry clicked through the list mentally. Breathing was still rapid and shallow. Heartbeat also still rapid. Deathly grey pallor to his skin. Limbs were still cold to the touch. Harry picked up the pair of scissors and removed the bandage on Jeremy's side. Jeremy moaned at the movement. The stitches were still in place. There was no blood or pus seeping out. The skin around the wound was not red, inflamed, or hot. No signs of infection. Thank God for small miracles, Harry thought.
But there were other complications going on. He had lost so much blood that his body was trying to compensate for that. His blood volume was so low that oxygen was not getting to all the areas of his body. If that wasn't reversed, organ failure would start to occur.
Lottie entered the office carrying a tray laden with a pot of coffee, cups, and plates with bread, slices of ham, and eggs. Jason took the tray from her and set it on a side table. He poured a cup of coffee for himself and Candy, who was drying her eyes and trying to pull herself together.
Harry finished placing a fresh bandage on Jeremy's side and turned to face the others.
"Well, Harry? What's the situation?," Jason inquired for them all.
"I'm not going to lie to you. Jeremy is still extremely ill. It's a miracle that he survived the surgery and last night. Right now my concern is getting fluids in him to offset his loss of blood."
"Does that explain his being out of his head a few times last night?," Candy worriedly asked.
"Very possible. Today, we need to try to get him to drink fluids as often as possible to get his blood pressure up. And keep monitoring him for any signs of infection. Right now, I suggest you two have some food. It's going to be a long day.
Lottie and Harry sat with Jeremy while Candy and Jason tried to eat some food. Neither felt like eating, but they knew they had to keep their strength up to help Jeremy.
Harry helped Lottie put an extra pillow behind Jeremy to raise his head to make it easier for him to sip some water. Lottie raised a cup to Jeremy's lips.
"Jeremy? Jeremy, Honey, I need you to wake up and take a few sips of water."
Jeremy's eyes fluttered a little, opening slightly. He seemed to have trouble focusing, and looked at Lottie in confusion.
"Mom? What's... What's happening? Where am I?"
Lottie swallowed the lump in her throat.
"Jeremy, Honey, you had a little accident, but you're going to be fine. I need you to sip some water to get your strength back. Can you do that for me?"
Jeremy still looked confused, but smiled and said, "Sure, Mom." He took a few small sips and grimaced in pain. "Mom, I hurt. I hurt really bad."
"I know, Honey, but you're going to be all right. I promise," Lottie forcefully responded.
"O.k., Mom." Jeremy's eyelids seemed to get heavy all of a sudden. "I'm so tired, Mom."
"I know you are Jeremy. Can you take a few more sips before you go back to sleep?," Lottie asked. But she was too late. His eyes had closed and he was lost in sleep again.
Lottie looked at Harry, worry written all over her face. He squeezed her hand and said, "We'll try again in a little bit."
Throughout the day, they all took turns tending to Jeremy, alternating between trying to wake him to try to get him to drink more fluids, to giving him small amounts of laudanum when the pain became too much, to just letting him have some restorative sleep. It was a delicate balance. There didn't appear to be any changes in Jeremy's condition, until mid-afternoon.
Candy was sitting with Jeremy, tucking the blankets around him, still trying to warm his ice cold arms and legs. It was about time to try to wake him up again to get him to drink more water, but when Candy looked at his face, Jeremy's eyes were open and focused on her face.
"Jeremy? Jeremy, are you awake? Can you hear me?"
Jeremy blinked a few times, trying to clear his head and focus. He still stared at Candy's face intently. The expression on his own face was one of fear, uncertainty, and determination. Candy realized it was the first time Jeremy appeared lucid since he had been shot. But she wasn't prepared for what happened next.
