edutainer2022 asked: For Whumptober No. 30: RECOVERY /Hospital Bed / Holding Back Tears / "What have I done?"
Characters: Scott, Virgil, John, Grandma
Warnings: Medical treatments
'John, call an ambulance!'
'FAB, Virgil.'
Virgil paid no attention to John's voice as he ran back to the kitchen to grab the Medscanner from the emergency first aid kit and ran back.
Yellow, yellow, yellow…Virgil swore under his breath…RED…broken bones, a s***-ton of bruising and a ruptured spleen. And accompanied internal bleeding…
There was nothing Virgil could do but get ready for the ambulance. He threw some clothes into a bag for both himself and Scott and called down for security to make sure the way was cleared for the EMTs.
And not a moment too soon – as he finished speaking there came sirens and then screeching tires, and thank goodness for Dad and his need for speed because the executive elevator that led to their apartment at the very top of Tracy Tower made the 68 floors in 32 seconds flat.
He stood back as the two EMTs swarmed over Scott as he filled them in on the signs and symptoms, what he knew had happened over the last week.
They carefully rolled Scott onto the stretcher before attaching the ECG machine, the blood pressure cuff and the oximeter to his index finger, plus a full oxygen mask rather than the nasal cannula.
One of the medics activated a cool pack and placed it carefully over Scott's spleen in an effort to slow any bleeding and then they were off.
Virgil sat to the side and watched closely as the EMT continued to work on his brother, reaching into one of the overhead lockers and pulling out a prepped syringe. Curious, Virgil leaned over to try and work out what the woman was doing.
Noticing him looking, the EMT flashed him a quick grin before showing him the syringe.
'This is a special type of wound foam. Designed to be injected at the site of internal bleeding, it will cause the blood to clot and hopefully seal the bleed, at least temporarily. You probably know this…'
Virgil gave a brief, mirthless chuckle. It was one of the medical aids that he and Brains had designed together to help rescue services. The foam would definitely help stabilise Scott until they could get to the hospital.
The journey passed both quickly and excruciatingly slowly, and Virgil was relieved when they pulled into the hospital grounds, the doors were flung open and people swarmed to get Scott out and into theatre.
Climbing down, Virgil knew he'd not be allowed to follow Scott, so he took the moment to breathe before deciding he needed coffee – he couldn't believe that less than half an hour ago he was still asleep – and since they were still in the heart of Manhattan he knew exactly where to grab one. The hospital knew them, they were regulars unfortunately even before iR, so Virgil knew he had enough time before there would be news.
John, relieved to be talking to Virgil even though he'd been monitoring throughout, told him that Kayo was already on her way in Two with the rest of their family, including John. Virgil upped the coffee order for everyone and added a jasmine tea and two sodas. He added another 20 cups for the staff that would be on duty and asked for them all to be delivered in half an hour, when Two would be touching down.
Returning to the hospital Virgil checked in with reception and was pleased that there was news waiting for them. Scott had been taken directly into surgery to remove his spleen and to stop the bleeding. There was no news of how the surgery was going, but Virgil knew John would be watching it.
The rest of the family arrived with Kayo in the lead, and the second she arrived she and John disappeared into the hospital with the intent to set up in the guest suite they had been given with all the computer tech needed to monitor Scott both in surgery and throughout his recovery.
Five minutes after they arrived the drinks did, and Virgil, Gordon and Alan set about handing them out to the delight of the staff before Gordon took Alan and their soda's in hand and disappeared to the 'observation lounge' as Gordon always called them, leaving Grandma and Virgil to wait for the surgeon.
As he waited Virgil looked up information on Scott's procedure to see what he'd be dealing with.
Splenectomy could be done either by laparoscope or by the open method. Given that this surgery wasn't planed it was highly likely that the surgeon would be using the open method. The information said that the surgery would take 3-5 hours and that they could expect Scott to be kept in for 4-7 days.
Virgil snorted. If they could keep his brother in for more than two days it would be a miracle. He didn't need to show their Grandma, as a trauma surgeon she more than knew this stuff and Virgil knew she'd keep a close, tight eye on Scott. As they all would.
There was going to be a long road of recovery before Scott now.
Four hours later a smiling surgeon gave them the good news that Scott had survived surgery without any blips. It had been a little tricky stopping the internal bleeding at first but Scott had held his own and was now in recovery. They could see him once he'd woken up.
Sally and Virgil smiled at each other; they knew this part of the drill all too well. While Sally chivvied her youngest grandsons out and they followed Kayo to the hotel they customarily booked when they were all together in New York – the penthouse only had room for three Tracys – John and Virgil waited for Scott.
Eventually he was cleared to be moved from Resus into the private ICU room that John and Kayo had already ensured was prepped for him. Now all they had to do was wait. It wouldn't take long, they both knew Scott's freaky metabolism would have him awake at least a couple hours earlier than most people.
The two men were quietly chatting when Scott's eyes opened for the first time. He just watched them, puzzled for a moment, until a dry cough made them both aware that he was awake. Virgil fed him a couple of ice chips while John summoned the nurse to check him over, but he was asleep again before the nurse even arrived.
Over the course of the next couple of hours Scott woke and fell asleep several times, but each time he was awake for longer, until at last the nurse had checked him over, declared himself happy with Scott and used the bed to help Scott sit more upright, carefully.
Scott looked at both his brothers and they smiled back. For some reason he felt that he didn't deserve those kind looks. Had he done something? What had he done?
…oh crap.
Memories came flooding back to him – the stumbling onto this new kind of therapy, the fights, the release of feelings he got…almost like a high…but that last fight…Durden had gone all out on him since it was going to be his last one, and boy was that man nuts! Obviously he'd done more damage than anyone realised, including himself.
He'd been such an idiot.
And yet his brothers sat here smiling at him as he lay in his hospital bed.
Scott didn't deserve them.
Not after whatever it was he'd put them through earlier.
Or for the last week. Or for…for ever really.
He slumped back, trying to hunch in on himself only for the pain of whatever operation he'd undergone to make itself known. Scott stared distastefully at the PCA even though he could see Virgil was about to offer him the button.
'Scott. You're gonna be in pain for a while. Please, take the pain relief.'
'No, I don't like how it makes me feel. You know I don't trust it.'
They did know, and they both sympathised, but Scott had just had surgery and so Virgil put his medic hat on to try and persuade his stubborn-ass brother. Eventually Scott huffed a sigh and caved on the proviso that it would be only this one, and Virgil and John watched the painful expression drain away from Scott's face.
As Scott became drowsy his expression morphed into something else entirely – and he began to show exactly why he hated these meds.
It became evident that he was barely holding back the tears even as he began to drop off again. Both John and Virgil strained to hear his last utterance as sleep claimed him again.
'What have I done?'
(PCA: Patient Controlled Analgesia)
