day four - head injury
The doctors in the emergency department at Gaffney Medical Center were waiting by the ambulance bay for the ambulances carrying the members of Squad 3 to arrive. They first heard about a car accident involving firefighters when Ambo 57 arrived with the delivery driver. At first, they assumed it was just another unfortunate weather-related accident but that all changed when the medical team learned the driver was drunk and caused the accident.
More and more information came out in the minutes that followed as the paramedics filled them in with what they knew. Goodwin also received a call from Boden at the scene, which gave the doctors more insight into what to expect. They were as prepped and ready as they could be to help their friends and fellow first responders, it was now just a waiting game for them to arrive.
Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, the sound of sirens could be heard closing in on the hospital. It was go time.
… … …
Stella followed Kelly's gurney for as long as she could. She listened as Violet and Brett fired off their assessment and detailed their care of Kelly and the precautions taken during and after extraction.
Stella stayed as close to Kelly as she could, watching as the doctors and nurses began examining him until Maggie gently steered her out of the room with the promise to update when she could. Brett and Violet tried to get Stella to go to the waiting room, but she pivoted when she saw Cruz get rolled in, Capp and Tony walking in behind him.
"Hey," Stella said, walking over to them. "How we doin'?"
Cruz's arm was wrapped against his ribs and he had some butterfly bandages on some cuts on his face. Capp and Tony had similar bandages on their faces, some bigger bandages on their arms where the glass cut them, and Stella could see bruises already forming on all of them.
Cruz shrugged his good shoulder. "Pain meds have helped. How's Severide?"
Stella shook her head. "Still unconscious. There's definite head trauma, we just don't know how bad yet."
The uncertainty and fear in her voice was unmistakable. Stella Kidd was usually unflappable on calls and in the aftermath, even with the worst calls, but Kelly Severide was her kryptonite. When he was hurt or in danger, she struggled to maintain her cool.
"I'm sure he'll be fine Lieutenant," Tony spoke up. "Severide's tough."
"Yeah," Stella said quietly. She threw Tony a small smile, knowing he was trying to soothe her nerves.
"Let the doctors check you out," she said, directed to Capp and Tony. "We'll be in the waiting room. Cruz, I'll call Chloe and let her know what happened."
"Thanks Stella."
… … …
Stella, Brett, and Violet were waiting in the waiting room for almost an hour by the time Chloe joined them. It took her a while to find a babysitter for Javi and Otis so last minute but Stella had had kept her updated and reassured until she could get to the hospital.
The rest of 51 arrived shortly after Chloe, having finally gotten the scene cleared up. There wasn't much of an update anyone could give them since none of the doctors had been out to speak with them yet. But it was only a few minutes later when Capp and Tony entered the waiting room.
Boden rose from his chair. "Capp, Tony, what's the verdict?"
"No concussions, nothing broken, just bumps, bruises, and some stitches on some of the deeper cuts." Tony answered.
"Won't even have to miss a shift," Capp added with a small smile.
"Glad to hear it," Boden said genuinely. "With the Squad truck out of commission, Headquarters is working on an action plan moving forward until the truck can be replaced."
Capp and Tony nodded and grabbed a chair with the others to wait for news on their teammates.
Dr. Ripley came out about 30 minutes later with an update on Cruz. They were going to keep him overnight to monitor his concussion and make sure his bruised ribs didn't cause any complications with breathing. His dislocated shoulder had been reduced and was safely back in its socket and he'd need some PT to strengthen the ligaments that had been strained.
Cruz would be off work for a few weeks, but he'd make a full recovery. Dr. Archer took Chloe back into the ED to see Cruz before he was moved upstairs to a room.
With good news on three of the four members of Squad 3, the members of 51 settled back into the waiting room chairs to wait for news on Severide.
… … …
It was another hour before Dr. Archer and Dr. Abrams entered the waiting room with an update on Severide.
Dr. Archer looked at Stella. "Do you want to speak privately somewhere?"
Stella shook her head. Speaking privately usually meant bad news and Stella wouldn't be able to handle that on her own. "We can talk here. They can hear whatever you have to say."
"Alright, we'll start from the bottom and work our way up. His right leg is swollen with deep bone bruising from where the metal had pinned him in the truck. X-rays show nothing's broken, but we'll take updated images when the swelling reduces. He has some concerning bruising on his abdomen and we're keeping a close eye on any internal bleeding but so far, there's nothing to be concerned with." Dr. Archer started with the breakdown of Severide's injuries. He saw everyone's faces grow more concerned with each update he gave, and Dean was dreading telling them the more serious issues their friend was facing.
"A few of his ribs are broken but we've wrapped them and we'll have one of our Respiratory Therapists work with him. His right humerus is broken as well. By some miracle, it's a clean break and should heal perfectly without surgery. All spinal scans came back clear of any injury, but we'll continue to take spinal precautions until he's awake and we can run more tests."
"He's still unconscious?" Stella asked, her voice fearful. It'd been a while since she'd used her paramedic training but she knew Kelly being unconscious this long wasn't a good sign.
Dr. Abrams stepped forward. "He is. He has a skull fracture just above his right temple. It's linear, which is the best-case scenario, but it's caused quite a bit of swelling and pressure. We're monitoring his ICP closely and we have him on medication to help reduce the pressure and swelling. We'll be moving him to the Neuro ICU for monitoring and we will be ready if more intervention is needed."
"Intervention as in brain surgery?"
"Yes, if necessary. We're hoping to avoid that, but should we need to intervene, we're prepared to do so." Dr. Abrams answered.
Stella was panicked at this point and everyone could see it. Brett grabbed onto her arm to comfort her and Boden walked up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Is he going to be okay?" Boden asked, his voice thick.
Dr. Abrams and Dr. Archer were quiet for a moment and shared a look. Neither of them wanted to break the news.
"At this point," Dr. Abrams started slowly. "It's unclear. The bruising, the broken bones…they'll all heal with time. Neurologically? Until he wakes up and we can do more testing, we won't know."
Stella was unable to hold the tears back any longer. She appreciated the doctors being straight with her but she hated what they were saying. Kelly would be okay. He had to be. "Can I see him?"
"He's going to be taken down soon for updated scans and then he'll be moved up to the Neuro ICU. Once he's settled, you'll be allowed to see him." Dr. Archer confirmed. "It should take a few hours so I recommend going home, changing out of your turnouts, maybe grabbing some food before you come back here."
Stella opened her mouth to say something, but Boden cut her off. "Thank you, Dr. Archer. You too Dr. Abrams."
The doctors nodded. "When you get back just go straight up to the Neuro ICU waiting room. A nurse will take you back as soon as they can." Dr. Abrams added before he and Dr. Archer returned to the ED.
Boden moved around to stand in front of Stella. "Stella, go home. Get changed, pack a bag, eat something. Then, you can come back here."
"But Chief—"
"But nothing. I know you want to be here for Kelly but you need to take care of yourself too. It's been a hard morning, take a minute to breathe and regroup."
She didn't like the idea of leaving the hospital without seeing Kelly, but Stella knew Boden was right. Kelly was going to need her, and she needed to be ready. She nodded, but a fresh round of tears filled her eyes.
Brett wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Come on, I'll take you home."
… … …
Stella was back at the hospital after just an hour. She showered, packed a bag (including some of Kelly's things in there), and scarfed down a quick lunch before heading back to the hospital.
Not surprisingly, she was the first one back at the hospital. Stella checked in with the nurse behind the desk on the Neuro ICU floor and Kelly was still not back from his scans. She tried to wait it out in the waiting room but her nerves were too bad to sit there by herself.
She texted Chloe for an update on Cruz and decided to visit them after Chloe sent her his room number. Cruz was looking significantly better, even after a few hours, and it was clear he was feeling better as well.
Stella was able to update him on Capp and Tony but when it came to updating him about Kelly, she faltered. The update Dr. Abrams and Dr. Archer had shared with her earlier still rang clear as day in her ears and she didn't think she could get through repeating them without completely breaking down.
But Cruz idolized Kelly and was a good friend to them both. He deserved to know.
"Kelly is uh…he's in bad shape." Stella's voice cracked. "The doctors don't know what his outlook is. They won't know until he wakes up and they can run more in-depth tests."
"He's still unconscious?"
Stella nodded.
"That's not good, is it?"
"No, it's not," Stella shook her head and sniffled."But they're doing everything they can for him. They're going to keep him in the Neuro ICU to monitor him and hopefully, once his body has some time to heal and the swelling goes down he'll wake up."
"Have you gotten to see him yet?"
"Not yet. They sent us home while they took him for more scans. Once he's settled in his room we'll be able to see him."
Cruz nodded, then smiled to try and lighten the mood. "When you get to see him, tell them they had to cut up his beloved Squad jacket. That'll wake him up."
Stella laughed but her smile didn't reach her eyes. "Yeah, I bet that'll do it."
She hung out with the Cruzes for a few more minutes before Brett texted her and informed her that Kelly was in his room and ready for visitors. Stella quickly said her goodbyes and hurried back to the Neuro ICU floor.
By the time Stella made it back to the floor, only Boden, Brett, Mouch, Violet, and Carver had made it back to the hospital. Once Stella joined them, the nurse escorted the group of six down the hall to Kelly's room. It was the closest one to the nurse's station, another insight into just how serious his condition was.
Boden and the others stayed outside while the nurse escorted Stella into the room.
They'd cleaned all the blood off of his face and stitched up the wound on his temple, just a few inches above the birthmark she loved so much. His right arm was splinted to keep the bone in place and she imagined he had similar wrapping on his ribs below the hospital gown.
The most unnerving thing was how still and quiet he was, and not in his usual brooding way.
"Dr. Abrams will be in later to go through the results of the scans, but the swelling in his leg has already started to go down. It looks like the meds are doing their job." The nurse, Emily according to her name badge, said. She touched Stella's shoulder in passing before she left the room. "Hang in there."
Stella dropped her bag in the corner and moved to Kelly's side, pulling up a chair. She grabbed Kelly's hand and held on tight. "I love you, Kelly Severide. Come back to me. Please."
Boden and the others lingered outside the ICU room, giving Stella a bit of privacy and time with Severide before they went in to see him. It couldn't have been more than a few minutes….then suddenly Stella shot up from her chair, alarms started blaring, and Severide's body began to shake as nurses ran in.
"Kelly!"
to be continued (for the last time, I promise) tomorrow!