Chapter 7
Dr. Shannon exited the elevator and made his way
down several hallways that eventually would lead him to his office. He was deep
in thought about the events that had taken place this afternoon. He always
hated to see young people come into the ER or Trauma Center, but seeing JC and
Justin in his stomping grounds was almost too much for him to bare. He had
grown attached to both boys along with their friends ever since he had met the
group almost a year ago. They seemed like such a closely-knit group of boys at
the time and with each subsequent visit they had, for various ailments, to his
family practice, he could see their closeness growing stronger. Never in his
wildest dreams would Dr. Shannon have thought that he would be seeing any one
of those boys lying on a stretcher in the Trauma Center during one of his
rotations. Dr. Shannon shook off the memory as he finally reached his office
door.
Quietly,
the doctor opened the door and slipped inside the room. He took in the sight
around him with a shake of his head. Joey was laid out on the small love seat
that was under a window across the room. His head to his bottom was on the
cushions of the couch, but his legs hung over one of the armrests. Joey had his
right arm flung across his eyes and the left hanging awkwardly off the side of
the couch. Inwardly, Dr. Shannon groaned, knowing that if he ever attempted the
same position, he would be paying for it for days. The doctor’s gaze then
traveled to the couch at the opposite end of the room. Lance had made himself
right at home on it, lying on his right side, facing the back of the couch and
softly snoring.
“I
wonder what Lance had to do to get the good couch?” Dr. Shannon quietly said
with a chuckle.
Then,
finally, Dr. Shannon brought his gaze to the beanbag that he kept in his office
for any children that happened to come with parents to his office for
consultations. Sitting in the beanbag was Chris in the classic beanbag pose.
His legs were spread apart, as were his arms, and his head was lolling to the
side as it rested against the back of the bag.
“Hate to
break this party up, but here goes…”
Dr.
Shannon first made his way to the nearest couch, which happened to have Joey on
it. He grasped one of Joey’s knees, giving it a light squeeze as he quietly
spoke to the young man.
“Joey?
Joey? Wake up son.”
“What?”
Joey said in confusion as he brought his arm up from his face and opened his
eyes to see Dr. Shannon standing over him.
“Doc?”
“Good
nap?”
“I’ve
had better. How’s JC and Justin?”
”They’re doing fine and we have them in a room.”
“That’s
great news doc. Thanks.”
“No
problem. Let’s wake up the others.” Dr. Shannon gestured at the other sleeping
figures as Joey nimbly sat up, rubbing his face with his hands in the effort to
wipe away the sleep.
“Sure.”
Both Dr.
Shannon and Joey walked across the room and roused Chris and Lance from their
naps.
After
giving the boys a moment to settle down on the couch that Lance had been using,
Dr. Shannon began telling the boys of JC and Justin’s conditions.
“They’re
both doing just fine. They’re settled into a large suite that also has beds and
pullout sofa beds for the rest of you.”
“That’s
good but, we would have slept on the floor just to be with them if we had had
to,” said Joey.
“I know
that and that is why I had them put in that particular room.”
“How are
they?” asked Lance with a bit of impatience in his voice.
“I’m
getting to that Lance. Justin is still sedated and will remain that way for at
least another 3 or 4 hours. We have an IV on him and some oxygen through a
nasal tube.”
“Why the
oxygen?” asked Chris with concern in his voice.
“We just
want to make sure that he rests comfortably and with the sedation, sometimes
the oxygen prevents nausea.”
“Oh.
What about JC?”
“He’s
also on an IV and we’re administering antibiotics to help prevent infections
that can be common in near drowning victims from the water that is inhaled. The
antibiotics will also help fight the possibility of pneumonia. We have him
hooked up to a heart monitor and he’s on oxygen, but with a mask. He has a
minor concussion so he’s going to be pretty confused about the whole afternoon.
Don’t be surprised if he has a memory lapse similar to the one that you had,
Lance.”
Lance
nodded his understanding. Dr. Shannon’s first meeting with the boys some 10
months ago had been due to a slight concussion that Lance had sustained when he
had tried to awaken Joey from a nightmare.
“I
remember being pretty fuzzy the next morning. It was kinda scary.” Lance’s
green eyes held understanding and compassion for what JC might be going
through.
“When
can we see them?” asked Joey anxiously.
“If
you’re ready, we can go now. I do want to suggest though that after you’ve had
a chance to see them that one of you go home and get some things that might
make your stay more comfortable.”
“I’ll
go,” volunteered Chris.
“Well,
let’s go,” said Dr. Shannon as he rose from his seat and made his way to the
door. With the others following him, the doctor led the way to the elevators
and used a special key to send the car up to the top floor of the hospital
facility.
“Penthouse?”
asked Joey with a slight grin.
“Almost.
This floor has been reserved for dignitaries, celebrities, and the like. The
key is an extra security precaution. I’ll be giving you some passes and a key
to use once we reach the receptionist area.”
Once
they reached the floor, the doctor handed out passes and 2 keys to the boys
before making their way down a long corridor to the special suite that held JC
and Justin.
Joey,
Chris and Lance were anxious to see their friends. They each could not erase
the horrible memory of how JC’s face was covered in blood from his head wound
and how his body had taken on a blue tinge from the lack of oxygen before they
had started CPR. The memory of Justin’s pasty white features was also still
fresh as was seeing the youngest member of the group simply collapse into one
of the paramedic’s arms. The doctor opened the door to the room and allowed the
boys to enter ahead of him.