Chapter 27

“He’s out,” Dr. Shannon announced as he knelt on the floor beside Joey who was holding a now unconscious Lance in his arms. Dr. Shannon helped Joey wrestle Lance’s limp body into a better position against his chest. He then grabbed one of Joey’s hands and pressed it against the pressure bandage that was being used to staunch the flow of blood coursing freely from a deep gash on Lance’s forehead, right below his hairline.

“Keep pressure on that bandage Joey…don’t let up on it,” Dr. Shannon said as he stood up. “Charlotte…call downstairs. Have them set up trauma room 3. Mike…I need a c-collar. Jessica…call X-ray and have them set up for a CT Scan…Sherry…I need a gurney up here stat.”

Dr. Shannon’s words caused a sudden wave of action in the already overcrowded hospital room. Nurses were running in and out of the room, carrying various items over to Dr. Shannon. The sudden activity caused Jan to decide that remaining on her cot by the door was a good idea. She wanted to stay out of everyone’s way. She glanced over at Chris and saw that he had made his way to Justin’s side. He had sat down with his back turned to the activity going on behind him, effectively blocking Justin’s view if he happened to wake up.

“Chris…is Justin awake?” Dr. Shannon called over his shoulder.

“No sir,” Chris replied. JC quietly groaned and feebly raised his hands to his face.

“What’s going on?” JC once again asked.

Dr. Shannon looked up at the movement on the bed above him then pointed at Jan and whispered, “Keep JC’s busy.”

Jan nodded and quickly made her way over to a very confused JC, who had come to when the action had begun.

“Aunt Jan…what’s going on?” JC asked groggily. Jan noticed that the effort that JC put into speaking seemed to take what little energy he had, but he was beginning to try to move his head in the direction of the frenzied activity. She calmly took JC’s face in her hands and turned it so that his gaze was brought over to her face. She did not want JC to become anxious by the commotion going on the floor beside his bed. For the moment, Jan was finding it difficult to keep from becoming too alarmed herself. There was so much blood on the floor…on Lance…on Joey…on Dr. Shannon. She took a deep breath and then answered JC’s question in a light voice.

“Oh…Lance had a bit of a mishap, but he’s going to be just fine,” Jan answered with a slight smile on her face. “Dr. Shannon is taking good care of him…don’t worry.”

JC wearily grinned and nodded his head at the news then blinked his eyes several times as if they were becoming too heavy for him to keep open.

“Feeling sleepy, hon?” Jan asked as she gently ran her hand up and down JC’s cheek in an effort to keep his attention directed at her.

JC again simply nodded his head as he continued to wage a battle against his drooping eyelids.

“Why don’t you just close your eyes and get some rest.” With Jan’s words, JC allowed his eyes to slowly shut. With JC’s eyes closed, Jan dared to glance at what was happening on the other side of his bed and had to steel herself not to give away her dismay and fear over what she was seeing. She quickly looked back down at JC and saw that his eyes were still closed…his facial features relaxed…he seemed to be sleeping once again. Jan gently grasped his hand and pushed a few stray hairs off his forehead. When neither movement caused him to awaken, Jan let out a silent sigh of relief.

“Joey…don’t let go of him yet,” Dr. Shannon quietly ordered as he was handed a cervical collar by one of the many nurses in the room.

Jan saw that Joey’s face was almost as white as the sheets on JC’s bed as he continued to hold a limp and bloodied Lance against his chest. Jan could only guess that seeing the c-collar had caused the seriousness of the situation to take on a new meaning for Joey as it did for her. He nervously glanced up at her and she gave him a small smile and mouthed to him, “You’re doing fine.”

Her words seemed to give Joey a small boost of confidence, but she could tell that the boost would not last too long. He nodded his head at her then dropped his gaze back down to Lance.

“Keep him still,” Dr. Shannon said to Joey as he approached the pair. “Support his head for me, Joey.”

Jan watched as Joey placed a shaky hand under Lance’s head and pulled his body slightly away from him so that Dr. Shannon had better access to Lance’s neck.

“Is this really necessary?” Joey asked as his face blanched slightly when Dr. Shannon slipped a c-collar around Lance’s neck before gently guiding Lance’s body from Joey’s arms down to the floor.

“I’m sure that he didn’t hurt his neck or spine, Joey,” Dr. Shannon answered in a reassuring tone. “This is just more of a precautionary measure. Don’t worry…he’s okay.”

Joey drew in a shaky breath and glanced down at his blood-covered hands, and then he slowly began to wipe them off onto his already bloody shirt and jeans. His movements were slow and deliberate…almost mechanical.

Jan’s thoughts were interrupted by a noise behind her. She turned and saw that a gurney had been pushed just inside the door and two orderlies were approaching, carrying a backboard over to Dr. Shannon.

“It’s too cramped in here for us to push the gurney in doc,” one of the men said as he pointed at the backboard.

“That’s fine,” Dr. Shannon answered. “Joey, I need you to move over against the nightstand for me so that Jarvis and Mick can get in here.

Joey stopped rubbing his hands against his shirt and looked up at the doctor. He blinked and then numbly nodded his head before he scooted over to the corner that Dr. Shannon had indicated, pressing his back against the wall. Jan watched Joey as he drew his knees tightly against his chest in order to give more room to those that were helping Lance.

The two orders joined Dr. Shannon and knelt down on either side of Lance. Dr. Shannon moved to Lance’s head and grasped it firmly in his hands as the orderlies quickly picked Lance up then placed him on the backboard. Straps were quickly fastened over Lance’s body then the board was lifted and carried to the gurney.

“We’re taking him downstairs,” Dr. Shannon quietly informed Jan, Joey and Chris. “Why don’t you stay up here and I’ll call up once we find out what’s going on.”

“That’s fine,” Chris answered. He quickly got up and crossed over to the gurney that Lance was lying on. “See you in a little while Poofoo,” he whispered as he held Lance’s limp hand.

“You’ll stay with him doc?” Joey asked from the floor. “Don’t let him wake up by himself…please.”

“I promise that my ugly mug will be the first thing that he sees, Joey,” Dr. Shannon said with a slight chuckle.

“Now that’s a scary thought,” Chris said to the doctor with a small laugh. He turned back to Lance and gently placed his hand back at his side. “Take care of him Dr. Shannon. Remember, I told you that Mississippi albinos are a rare breed.”

Dr. Shannon gave Chris’s back a quick pat and then motioned the orderlies to push the gurney out of the room.

“Be back soon,” he called over his shoulder. He made room for Charlotte who was entering the room carrying a set of scrubs.

She motioned at Chris to follow her and he walked with her over to Joey, who had not yet moved from his corner by the nightstand.

“Hey Joey…the nurse has some clothes that you can change into,” Chris said as he knelt beside the still figure.

Joey looked down at his shirt and pants with a surprised _expression on his face. With a tiny laugh, he slowly stood up and reached for the scrubs that the nurse had handed to Chris.

“No…Joey, I’ll carry them for you,” Chris said as he motioned at Joey’s hands. Joey looked down at his hands as he spoke.

“I guess I didn’t notice how bad I looked,” he quietly commented. “Where can I change?” he asked Charlotte.

“Why don’t you come to the nurse’s station. You really need to shower off before you change your clothes.”

“Sure…thanks,” Joey answered quietly. “Chris…can you…”

“I’ll keep you company Joe,” Chris answered. “You’ll be okay Jan?”

“Yes…go ahead,” Jan reassured them.

“Be back in a few minutes,” Chris said as he followed Joey and the nurse from the room. The door quietly shut and Jan finally allowed herself to express her feelings. She sat down in a nearby chair and quietly wept.

“How’s the shower coming?” Chris asked Joey. Joey had stepped into an empty shower stall almost 10 minutes ago to wash off Lance’s blood before changing into a pair of surgical scrubs that one of the nurses had given him to wear.

“It’s going okay,” was Joey’s soft reply. “Uh…Chris ?” 

”Yeah,” Chris replied from the bench that he was sitting on across the room from the shower stalls.

“Is there some sort of scrub brush out there…I can’t seem to get the blood off my hands,” Joey said quietly as he thrust his hands out from around the shower curtain for Chris to see.

Chris stood up and walked over to see that there was no blood on Joey’s hands. Chris took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Thinking quickly, he spoke.

“I don’t see one. Why don’t I go ask one of the nurses if they know where one is.”

“I’d appreciate that man,” Joey answered as he pulled his arms back behind the curtain.

“Be back in a minute, Joey.”

Chris left the changing room and immediately went to the nurse’s station.

Minutes later, once Chris had explained the situation to the nurses, Charlotte and Mike followed him back to the changing room. Once inside, the trio could see hot steam billowing from the stall that Joey was still showering in. Chris watched the two nurses exchange concerned looks. He quickly turned back around and walked toward the showers.

“Hey…Joey…brought some help,” Chris called out, but didn’t receive an answer. With a questioning glance at the two nurses, Chris moved closer to the stall and called out again.

“Joey…still in there or have you melted away yet?” Chris heard a small sound from behind the curtain and spun around and gave the nurses an alarmed look.

Both individuals quickly came to the stall and began speaking to Joey.

“Joey…this is Charlotte and Mike. Can you come out of the shower for us?”

“Yes ma’am,” was the quiet reply. The water was turned off and a hand reached up to the curtain rod and pulled down the towel that was hanging there.

A minute later, Joey pulled the curtain to the side and stood with the towel wrapped tightly about his waist. Chris was horrified to see how red Joey’s skin was.

“No matter how hard I scrubbed, I couldn’t get the blood off my hands,” Joey slowly commented to the trio as he held his hands out for them to see. Chris had to quickly look away when he saw that Joey’s hands had been rubbed almost raw. Joey didn’t seem to notice Chris’s reaction. He simply continued to stand in the shower stall, looking down at his hands.

Charlotte made the first move. She reached out her hand and grasped Joey’s elbow.

“Let’s get you in those scrubs,” she said in a quiet, calm voice. “Then we’ll go back to JC’s room so that you can lay down.”

“Okay,” Joey quietly replied. Chris grabbed the scrubs from a nearby bench and handed them to Joey who took them back into the shower stall to change. Briefly, he came back out of the stall dressed in the blue scrubs.

“Ready?” Charlotte asked. She and Mike stood on either side of Joey holding him at the elbows.

“Chris…we’re going to make a quick stop at the nurse’s station before we bring Joey back to JC’s room. Why don’t you go ahead and go on to the room and we’ll be in there shortly.

Chris nodded and watched as Charlotte and Mike led Joey out of the changing room out into the corridor. As the door closed, Chris drew in a deep, shaky breath then sat heavily on the nearby bench. With his head in his hands, Chris allowed silent tears to flow from his weary eyes.

Twenty-Eight