After what felt like an eternity, though it had probably been half an hour at the most, we reached the hospital. I was looking away from Bandit, out through the open window, feeling the cool dusk air as it ruffled the fur on my face. Bandit drove the little red SUV into the parking lot, past the ambulance entrance, and right up to the curb.
"Alright mate, you go on in," Bandit said as he pointed out the window towards the sliding doors of the Ipswich ED, "I'm going to park the car, and then I'll join you." I gave no response, but I nodded my head as a sign of understanding. Then I began the arduous task of getting back out of the car. I opened the passenger door and carefully slid off of the seat, being incredibly careful to not disturb my tail, which still rested in my hands. Horrible curiosity was filling me regarding the kink in the middle of my tail, but I dared not touch it. Thanks to Bandit, I knew what that felt like already. As I made it out of the car and onto the curb, the little red SUV quickly pulled away to find a parking spot. The air was cool, bordering on cold, and the last of the day's sunlight was dwindling away in the distance. The sky was a rich mixture of reds, blues, purples, oranges, and black. Taking a deep breath, I stepped through the automatic doors and into the Ipswich ED. It was exactly what you'd expect. Straight ahead was a main desk with a few nurses mucking about. On the left and right were rows of seating, meant to service those whose injuries were not of immediate concern. I sighed, knowing one of those seats would soon be mine until a doctor found the time to see me. At the front desk was a beagle wearing nurse scrubs. The woman was typing away at her computer but when I got to her.
"How can I help you?" she asked, barely looking up at me.
"Uhm...I hurt my tail," I managed to stammer out, "And I'm pretty sure it's broken." By this point, the pain in my tail had subsided to a dull throbbing. Broken bones are a weird kind of acute pain. They hurt like nothing else initially but calm down over time. It's like your body initially goes "What the?!" before eventually getting used to it. The nurse stood up and glanced over the counter at the ruined tail I held in my hands before nodding and going back to typing on the computer. I was sort of confused and unsure of what to do, but I wouldn't have to wait very long. A few seconds later the beagle spoke up again,
"Name?" she prompted, having paused her typing.
"Oscar Cattle," I responded. Instantly, as if a switch had been flicked, her entire demeanor changed. She all of a sudden started showing genuine concern towards me. She leaned over to the red phone on her desk and pressed a few buttons in rapid succession. It was very obviously a practiced move that she had done many times before.
"Brandy told me you'd be here," the beagle said, "She's working right now, but I've gone ahead and paged her so she should be here soon. Since she's your legal guardian, I'll leave the paperwork to her. You can go ahead and take a seat anywhere you'd like." I nodded to the woman and made my way to a set of seats on the right side of the room, halfway between the front desk and the sliding doors, which were now opening to allow Bandit's entrance. He stepped inside and took a quick glance around the room before laying eyes on me. I carefully took a seat as he came over.
"How ya feeling now mate?" he asked with that same concerned look on his face.
"Better, but still not good. It really hurts," I said.
"I know," the blue heeler sighed, "I'm sorry this happened to you. It's some rotten luck." A short silence followed, during which I thought about the afternoon's events. Why did this stuff always happen to me? Why do other people always have to take care of me? Why am I such a burden?
"No, I'm sorry," I said, breaking the silence.
"What do you have to be sorry about?" Bandit scoffed.
"You should be home eating dinner with your family, but instead you're here," I muttered, "because of me." Guilt had been wracking my mind. The poor guy had just spent his entire day working, only to then turn around and take care of me. He should've been playing with his daughters and nieces, not sitting in a boring ED with a kid he'd only known for a week. It wasn't fair. The blue heeler's face softened upon hearing my admittance, and looked like he was about to respond, but didn't get the chance. At that exact moment I heard my name being called loudly from the direction of the front desk, and looked up to see Brandy hurrying towards the two of us. She was wearing her nursing scrubs, a plastic ID card hung from the neck hem, a couple pens were snuggly lodged in her breast pocket, and she was holding a clipboard in her left hand. The red heeler was looking rough, like she'd just spent the last half hour having a panic attack right before running a marathon. Somehow I knew my quick evaluation wasn't far from the truth.
"Chilli rang and told me what happened," Brandy explained as soon as she was within speaking range, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," I reassured her, "I'm alright. It just hurts."
"Oh you poor thing!" the red heeler cooed as started examining my tail herself. At least she had the decency to not touch it, which I deeply appreciated. Once she had finished, she sighed and sat down next to me, opposite of Bandit. She proceeded to hand me the clipboard she had brought as well as one of her pens, "I already filled out everything I can, but the rest is up to you. Once you're done just bring it back to the front desk, okay?"
"Are you not staying?" I asked, slightly surprised." She gave me a sad look as she stood up from the seat.
"I'm really sorry sweetheart, but we're short staffed as it is, and I don't get off for another few hours," she lamented, "but I promise I'll come get you again as soon as I can. Hopefully someone will get around to you within the next hour or so." Brandy gave me a quick hug, carefully avoiding my tail. Then she was gone. I wasn't mad of course. How could I be? She was doing important work helping people, but still, I couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed. Bandit seemed surprised too considering she hadn't spoken a single word to him. I looked down at the clipboard she had left in my hands. Most of the information was filled in already: Name, Date of Birth, Guardian's Name, etc. The symptom/complaint section was empty, but was soon filled with the tale of my tail (see what I did there?). Once I had finished filling out the form, Bandit offered to take it up to the front desk for me, which I greatly appreciated.
"You know you have nothing to be sorry for," Bandit reassured me once he'd returned to his seat, "This wasn't your fault, and even if it was, you still wouldn't have anything to be sorry for. These things happen mate." I knew he was right, but his words still didn't quell the deeply unnerving feeling in my gut. The destructive cycle of self-blame is an easy one to fall into and I'd trip into it quite often. I didn't say anything back, but I nodded my head a sort of acknowledgement, which Bandit seemed to accept. Then, the waiting game began. No book, no MP3 player, nothing to take my mind away from that white walled, tile floored, drop ceiling waiting room. I took a look at the wall clock opposite from where we were sitting, and read the time to be 9:17 PM. The kids were probably fast asleep already, and honestly I wished I could sleep too. I was close to it, but the throbbing pain that came from my tail like waves on a beach kept the sandman away.
After probably another hour, Bandit's cell phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket and Chilli's name flashed up on the screen. He quickly stood up from his chair and answered the call, setting his phone up against the side of his head,
"Hey babe," he greeted. Though I could only hear about half the conversation, I got the general gist based on Bandit's responses, "He's doing alright... yep, we're still waiting... That's good! I was worried the putdown would be rough... Oh, I see. Is she alright?... Ah Muffin will get over it. Those kids have a way of bouncing back... Yeah, I'll get home as soon as I can... No babe! You don't have to wait for me... Alright... Love you, Bye." He put away his phone and sat back down with a small sigh.
"You know you don't have to stay right?" I said, "I'll be okay here. It'll probably be a while yet before I'm seen. Brandy can take me home."
"Are you kidding me?" he asked in surprise, "You really think I could just leave you here by yourself? What kind of uncle would I be if I did that?"
"Well I'm not sure about that," I responded, "but I'm sure you'd be a good husband."
"Don't worry about that mate," he reassured once more, "We've been through worse than this. Chilli was stuck in the hospital for days when we discovered Bingo's Celiac disease."
"Well, if you're sure," I responded. His Bingo example had served to calm me down a little, but I still couldn't help but think it was unfair to him. Bingo was their child, so of course a couple days in the hospital were warranted. Though the family had accepted me way quicker than I expected, I was still basically a stranger. It felt weird to have someone this keen on being there for me. Most injuries I'd had in the past had been ignored or met with a "Walk it off," though in fairness they were never as serious as a broken bone.
Finally, after another couple hours, a terrier in a white coat entered the waiting room through one of the locked doors that lead to the back end of the hospital. His fur was a grey and black mix with white undertones around his muzzle and hands. His coat had a plastic ID card much like the one Brandy carried and he had a stethoscope around his neck. He held out a clipboard and called out my name. Bandit patted me on my back and I carefully stood to go and meet the doctor. He gave me a warm smile as I approached and greeted me as I got to him.
"I'm Dr. Isle," the terrier said.
"Oscar," I introduced myself, though I realized pretty quickly how silly it was to tell him my name after he'd just said it. He nodded and gestured for me to follow him. He scanned his ID card at the door and a loud CLICK Was heard as the electronic lock disengaged from the door. Dr. Isle stepped inside and started down a long hallway while I followed closely behind. It had the same aesthetic as the waiting room, white walls, tile floors, and a low drop ceiling. On the left and right we were passing various doors, each with a label next to them. Some said "Supply Cabinet" while most said "Examination Room" with an ascending number next to it. All the doors I could see were closed, save for one up ahead on the left. Its label read "Examination Room 12."
"Here we are," the doctor said as he gestured for me to enter the room. Once I'd done so he came in after me and closed the door. I stood awkwardly in the center of the room while the doctor sat down on the black rolling stool. He rolled over towards me as he put on a pair of blue plastic vinyl gloves, "Alrighty, let's get ourselves a look." I carefully let go of my tail, which at this point I'd been holding for quite some time. It drooped down as it had before, with the kink in the middle still obviously out of place. The doctor, who apparently got his medical degree from Bandit, started running his hands down my tail, the same way you might check for knots in a rope. He carefully slides his hands down, carefully squeezing and pinching in a few places. I could feel him checking each and every vertebrae. Eventually, he reached the kink in my tail and gave it a quick squeeze, sending yet another shock of pain up my spine. It wasn't nearly as bad as the original break had been, but the pain was real. I involuntarily yelped in pain, and the doctor gave a quick apology before continuing his examination to the tip of my tail, "Well, it definitely feels like a break. We're going to have to run some X-rays to see the extent of the damage."
"Great," I sighed. X-Rays, another thing to do before I'd get to go home.
"You can take a seat on the exam table," he said, "Someone will come by to collect you shortly." I did as he asked, hopping up onto the exam table. The doctor nodded curtly and left the exam room, leaving me by myself. It always mystified me why those exam tables are so high off the ground. My feet only just barely touched the floor despite my height. A few minutes later the door opened again and Brandy came in. To be honest, it was a relief to see her, and she looked as though she felt the same. We shared a quick smile as I hopped off the table. She walked over to me and gave me another quick hug.
"I'm really sorry I left you high and dry in the waiting room honey," she said. She looked at me with those black eyes of hers as she cupped my face in her hands. Normally I don't like it when people touch my face, but this was different. Though I hadn't known her for long, the red heeler had this aura of comfort surrounding her. As embarrassing as it is to say, I enjoyed the attention she was giving me. It was something I hadn't experienced in a very long time, but there was a sort of a bittersweet feeling. I could tell she cared, but I was still feeling a lot of guilt at having caused her an obviously large amount of distress because of my situation.
"It's alright Brandy," I reassured her, "Really! I know how important your work is." She beamed at me when I said this, and her tail wagged a few times as she embraced me in yet another hug. I enjoyed the moment, but we had stuff to do,
"X-rays?" I asked in a sort of teasing tone.
"Oh, right!" she exclaimed as she pulled away and recomposed herself, "Come on!" She grabbed my hand (still not sure how I feel about that) and led me out of the exam room and down the hall. After about 10 metres she took a right and led me through another door labelled "Imaging." This new hallway was much smaller than the one before it and contained significantly fewer doors. All the doors here were labelled with different imaging techniques: X-ray, MRI, CT, etc. Brandy led me into a room labelled "X-Ray 3." It was a fairly small room, containing only a table and a wall-mounted X-ray machine. It was the kind you'd expect to see at the dentist. She directed me to the table and had me lay on my side facing the wall, so my tail would be resting behind me. Brandy walked to the other corner of the room and grabbed a large lead vest. She draped it over me so it covered my torso and arms, leaving just my head, legs and tail visible. Then she grabbed the end of the X-ray machine from its position on the wall and started manoeuvring it, using the pivoting arm of the machine to place it directly on top of my tail. It was about 10 cm away, pointing directly down towards the table,
"Okay that should do it. Just stay still for me, okay?" She said as she exited the room. From my position on the bed I could hear a small CLICK, signifying that the machine had completed its job. Brandy re-entered the room and repositioned the arm so it was pointing at my tail from a different angle, then exited the room to take another image. This process repeated a couple more times, gathering various images at different viewing angles. Once she was satisfied with her work Brandy took the lead vest from me and hung it on the wall where it had come from. I sat up on the table and watched as she worked on the computer in the corner of the room, likely viewing the images and saving them to my patient file. She visibly grimaced as she pulled up the first picture, stealing a glance towards me. Then, as quickly as she'd sat down, Brandy stood and once more gestured for me to follow her. I carefully stood from the table, taking my tail in my hands again as I did so, and went with her out of the room. She led me back out of the imaging hall and into the same exam room we'd been in earlier. "Alright, it'll be just a few minutes before the doctor shows," Brandy said as I sat back down on the exam table. The two of us sat in silence for a short period of time before the door opened again and the same terrier doctor entered the room.
"Okay Oscar," he said as he sat down on the stool and rolled to the computer, "Let's take a look at these images." He logged into the computer and did some navigation that I didn't see, then opened a file containing multiple X-ray images, "Oh yeah. Definitely a break." He turned the screen to show me. From left to right you could see the vertebrae of my tail descending in size. Right in the middle, one of the vertebrae was visibly disrupted. It looked as though it had split down the middle, forming two jagged pieces.
"Wow," I remarked, amazed by the extent of the damage, "That...looks pretty bad."
"It's certainly not good," Dr. Isle responded as he scrolled through the images, "But it's not as bad as it could be. As far as I can tell there are no separated fragments of notable concern, so this should be a fairly quick fix."
"That's good," I said, "So what's the next step?" I was curious as to how something like this would be fixed.
"Well, I'm going to reset the bone, you'll have a cast on for a few weeks, then it'll be good as new!" He explained as he started pulling on another pair of vinyl gloves. Brandy walked over to me and directed me to lay on my side the same way I had during the X-ray. I was facing the wall with my tail hanging off the side of the table limply. Behind my back, the doctor grabbed a cart from the corner of the room and opened the top drawer of the counter. He pulled out a small syringe full of anesthetic, a razor, and some rubbing alcohol. Then from the middle drawer he took out the materials needed to make a cast. He rolled over to where I was laying, taking the cart with him, "Alright, I'm going to have to shave a spot here on your tail so I can see what I'm doing, then I'll give you a local anesthetic before resetting the bone." The doctor very carefully began shaving an area of my tail. He was very careful to not disturb the broken piece in the middle, but that's a hard thing to avoid. I grimaced slightly as he bumped it a couple times while using the razor. Once he was done, he took some of the alcohol and wiped my skin around the area of the break, once again forcing another grimace onto my face. At this point, Brandy cupped my left hand in both of hers and leaned down towards my ear,
"You're gonna be alright. This'll be the worst part, then it'll get a whole lot better," she whispered. It was a comfortable reassurance. I'm lucky I never had much of a problem with needles, or this next part would've been a lot worse. The doctor removed the cap from the needle and checked it for air bubbles,
"Okay, here we go," he said as he pinched a bit of the skin on my tail and quickly inserted the needle. It hurt a lot more than I thought it would. Imagine the pain of getting a regular vaccine and then multiply it by 50x. There's not a whole lot of flesh on the tail, so any injections down there are pretty much needle on bone contact. The skin pinching only marginally improves the experience. I let out an involuntary yelp and struggled a little as the needle was inserted. The doctor gave another quick apology before depressing the plunger and removing the needle. He quickly disposed of it in the sharps bin attached to the wall and walked back over, "We'll give the anesthetic a couple minutes to take hold before we try resetting that bone," he said. Brandy leaned down again towards my ear,
"Good job. I've seen guys twice your size brought to tears by that," she whispered.
"Well I'll let you in on a little secret," I said with a slight tone of sarcasm, "I'm pretty close." It wasn't a lie, that needle almost hurt as much as the initial break. Though I hadn't cried yet, I felt pretty close. I was doing that thing where you scrunch your face and bite your tongue to stop yourself. Brandy noticed my obvious discomfort and started stroking the fur on the top of my head, but it did little to remedy the situation. After a couple excruciating minutes, I finally started to feel some relief. It seemed the anesthetic had finally started pulling its weight. I breathed a sigh of relief as the pain started drifting away, and after another minute or so I felt none at all. Dr. Isle checked his watch and came back over,
"Okay, that should be enough time," he said as picked up my tail, "Tell me, do you feel this?" He jabbed my tail with the tip of his pen.
"Nope, nothing," I responded.
"Great," he said, "Now I'm going to try resetting the bone. You're going to feel a whole lot of pressure as I do this, but it shouldn't hurt. If at any point it's too much you can let me know and I'll stop." I nodded my head in understanding and the doctor set to work. He grabbed the end of my tail and started pulling with a good amount of force, providing traction to the break site. The pressure was huge, but I still did not feel any pain. I can't imagine what it would've been like without the anesthetic. While still pulling with his right hand he reached up and felt the break site with his left. In a moment of fairly deep concentration, he worked on manoeuvring the two broken pieces of vertebrae into place so that the ends met as they were supposed to. With a satisfying POP the pieces seemed to slot back into place. The terrier stopped pulling at my tail and checked to see his handiwork, holding my tail carefully so that the pieces would not come apart again, "Alrighty! All done. Now we cast it and you'll be on your way!" Brandy let go of my hand and went to assist the doctor. She took my tail from the terrier's hands and stabilised it while the doctor began wrapping my tail in stockinette. Once the fabric was applied he started applying a layer of padding. Finally, he applied the plaster, which hardened and formed the outer shell of the cast. Dr. Isle declared his work complete and I sat up on the bed. The cast started about a quarter of the way down my tail and continued through the break site until about 5 cm from the end, obscuring most of my tail. I stood up from the table and stumbled a little bit.
"Woah!" I said as I stabilised myself.
"Yeah that's gonna take some getting used to," the doctor remarked, "The tail plays a pretty important role in keeping your balance, and now you've effectively got a brick hanging from you. Just be careful and take it easy. I'd recommend not trying to run or jump while you're in the cast."
"Okay," I responded as I took a few more wary steps. It wasn't that walking was particularly any more difficult, it just felt weird!
"If you don't mind me asking," the terrier interjected, "How did this happen in the first place." I explained the situation to the doctor, who listened and nodded in understanding. He cocked his head slightly as I mentioned Muffin's involvement, "That's weird. I wouldn't expect a clean break like that just because of some rough housing." He thought for a moment before continuing, "It's possible there was a preexisting injury that allowed the break to happen. You said you fell on your stomach so it probably wouldn't be that. Can you recall anything happening to your tail in the last few weeks?" I pondered for a bit, searching my memory to recall any injuries. Then one came to mind,
"Oh! A few weeks ago my band was practicing for the regional marching competition. I was backpedaling during one of our sets and I tripped backwards," I explained, "I tried to break my fall while also protecting my saxophone, and I landed sort of funny on my tail. It hurt for a few days, but I thought nothing of it."
"That might explain it," the doctor said, "That sounds to me like a nondisplaced fracture. It was probably incomplete, which allowed the pieces to stay in alignment, and your cousin was the straw that broke the camel's back. Anyway, keep the cast on for 10 weeks, then you can go to your primary care physician to have it removed. We'll fax over the information." The terrier stood from his seated position and held the door open for Brandy and I. We stepped through, myself first and the red heeler right behind me. When we got back to the waiting room Brandy stopped and gestured for me to continue,
"You go on ahead and wait with your Uncle Bandit," she directed, "I've just got a couple things to finish up before we can go." I did as she said and went to wait by Bandit who was scrolling through his phone while Brandy and Dr. Isle disappeared behind the heavy door separating the waiting room from the rest of the hospital. The blue heeler looked up as I made my approach and gave me a smile,
"Well?" he asked, "How are you feeling mate?" He glanced at my casted tail.
"A lot better thanks," I responded, "I gotta keep this on for 10 weeks though."
"A small price to pay," Bandit said with a laugh as I took a seat next to him. I glanced up at the clock once again and saw that it was a little past midnight.
"Oh man it's late," I remarked, "You know you really don't have to stay now. Brandy said she just had to finish up a couple things then we'd be out of here."
"That's alright," he responded, "I've got some stuff I got to talk to her about anyway." I was slightly intrigued by this response but decided against pressing further.
"So..." Dr. Isle said once the door had closed, "Brandy and Oscar Cattle huh? When did that happen?"
"Just last week actually," Brandy remarked with a smile, "I've been in the process of gaining approval for over a year now, and I finally got him last Friday."
"Well that's just wonderful!" the terrier responded, "He seems like a good boy, a perfect fit for you." Brandy nodded curtly and went to take care of her remaining tasks. All she had to do was finish logging her rounds and clock out. In less than 10 minutes she was entering the waiting room where she saw her brother in law and adoptive son waiting for her. Bandit stood up as soon as he saw her and went over to meet her,
"Heya Brandy," the blue heeler greeted, "Can I have a quick word with you before you go?" Then he leaned in really close, "Alone?" Brandy was surprised at the request and quite curious as to what Bandit would want to discuss, especially without Oscar present. Oscar, who had just now reached the two heelers seemed just as confused.
"Oscar," Brandy said, "Why don't you go to the car? We're in the faculty parking to the right." She pulled out her keys and handed them to the German shepherd. Oscar gave a slow nod and took a look between the two heelers, said goodbye to Bandit, and turned to head out to the parking lot. Brandy watched the boy leave before turning back to Bandit, "So what's up?" Bandit scratched the back of his neck before responding,
"Look, I wanted to apologize about what happened while Oscar was under our watch," he said.
"Is that it?" Brandy asked, still slightly confused, "You don't need to apologize. It was an accident, and it didn't sound to me like you could've avoided it either way."
"I appreciate that, I really do, but there's one more thing," Bandit said, "You might want to have a word with Oscar. The kid's got a really good poker face, but I can tell he's feeling really guilty about this whole thing. I tried to talk some sense into him, but I think he needs to hear it from you as well."
"Okay, I'll be sure to do that," Brandy responded with an understanding nod, "Thank you for telling me." The two exchanged goodbyes and went their separate ways.