“Before
I begin, allow me to introduce myself,” the doctor started. “I’m Dr. Phillip Madden, and I specialize in
neurology. I was called down to the ER
when Nickolas was brought in because it was evident to the ER physician that
first treated him that he had suffered a head injury.”
Brian’s
heart sank. “How bad of a head injury?”
he heard Kevin ask.
Dr.
Madden adjusted his small wire glasses on his nose and took a deep breath
before answering Kevin’s question.
“Well, right now it’s a little early to tell. It will take at least over night, maybe even
a few more days, to determine the full extent of the injury. Right now, he’s in a coma, but many patients
come out of comas and make full recoveries.
However, to be completely honest with you… it doesn’t look very good.”
Brian
sucked in a shallow breath, feeling suddenly light-headed. This couldn’t be happening.
“According
to the police report on the accident, the driver of the car Nickolas’ car
collided with was drunk and was driving on the wrong side of the road. He managed to swerve out of the way when he
saw Nickolas’ car enough to avoid a head on collision, but unfortunately, he
didn’t get out totally of the way soon enough, and Nickolas, unable to stop,
plowed right into the side of the car.”
Dr. Madden illustrated this using his hands. “It was lucky he was wearing his seatbelt;
otherwise he would most likely have been thrown from the car, and to be honest,
be dead right now. The seatbelt managed
to hold him in, but his head hit the steering wheel with the force of the
impact. That’s what caused the head
injury.”
They
were silent a moment, as they took this information in.
“What
about the people in the other car?” Howie asked, always the one to be concerned
about others. “We talked to one of the
girls that was involved, but she never said if they were all okay or not.”
“From
what I’ve heard, there were four kids in the other car. Two girls, two guys. The two girls are fine. The boy that was driving is in jail. Unfortunately, the other boy was killed. He was sitting in the backseat on the side
where Nickolas’ car struck,” Dr. Madden relayed sadly.
Kevin
shook his head sorrowfully. Why was it
that the driver, the one who was responsible for all this, was just fine, while
the innocent people – Nick and the other boy – had to pay? It was so unfair. Life’s a bitch, he thought ruefully.
“Can
we go see Nick soon?” Brian asked hopefully.
“Yes,
you can go now,” Dr. Madden replied.
“I’ll take you down the hall to his room.”
“Thanks,”
Brian said.
Dr.
Madden started down the hall, and Brian, AJ, Kevin, and Howie followed along
behind him. Brian saw a sign on the
wall that read Neuro ICU, and he shuddered.
Dr. Madden led them into the Neuro ICU and down a long hallway, with
doors on each side. He stopped at one
towards the end and opened the door. He
ushered the four men in, then stepped in behind them.
“I’ll
leave you alone with him in just a minute,” Dr. Madden said. “But first, I just
want to explain a few things to you.”
He
walked up to the bed in the middle of the room, where Nick lay. The Boys hesitantly followed, gathering
around their friend’s bed. What they saw
when they got a good look at him was horrifying.
Nick,
who, hours before, had been so vibrant and full of energy, now lay on the bed
like a corpse, his body unmoving, his skin as pale as death. His head was bandaged with white gauze, but
they could see spots of red where blood had soaked through the bandages. There was a hose coming out of his mouth and
an IV snaking into each of his arms.
Little pads were stuck to his head and his chest, connecting to wires
which led to various beeping machines.
Dr.
Madden fingered the tube coming out of Nick’s mouth. “This is a respirator,” he explained to the
guys. “He’s not able to breathe on his
own right now, so this is helping him out.”
Brian
began to tremble slightly. Not breathing
on his own? He knew that had to be a bad
sign.
“These
tubes coming out of his arms are IV’s, as I’m sure you already know. Right now we’re giving him fluids to keep his
body hydrated, as well as some drugs that help to preserve his brain function
and keep his cells from dying,” Dr. Madden continued. “This little pads attached to his forehead
are called electrodes. They’re measuring
his brain activity level. The ones on
his chest are measuring his heartbeat.”
He motioned to a monitor to one side of the bed that showed a green
line, which rose and fell steadily with the beat of Nick’s heart. “Are there any questions?” Dr. Madden asked,
turning back to look at the guys.
Kevin
glanced quickly at the other three, then, swallowing hard, he replied,
“No. Thank you, Dr. Madden.”
“You’re
welcome, gentleman. Just hit this call
button if you need anything, okay?”
They
nodded, and Dr. Madden left the room, leaving them alone with their comatose
friend.
They
all looked at each other for a moment, unsure of what to do. It was Brian who made the first move. He grabbed a chair that was pushed up against
one wall and dragged it up to Nick’s bed, sitting down in it. AJ took the other chair that was in the room,
while Howie and Kevin remained standing.
His
hand trembling, Brian reached out and gently patted Nick’s hand, which lay
motionless at his side. “Hey, Frack,” he
said softly. “Happy birthday.”
***
“We
need to make some phone calls,” Howie said awhile later. A nurse had come by Nick’s room and kindly
asked them to leave so that Dr. Madden could examine Nick again. They were inwardly relieved, for being in
that room with Nick made them all uncomfortable. It was so hard, seeing their friend like
that, in that foggy state between life and death known as a coma.
Now
they sat in a private waiting room down the hall from Nick’s room, pondering
over what to do next. “Yeah, you’re
right,” Brian agreed. “We need to call
Bob and Jane first. Since they’re all
the way out in California, I doubt the hospital could get a hold of them. And I need to call Leigh too.”
They
nodded. “And don’t forget management,”
AJ added. “They need to know too.”
“Yeah. Which reminds me, what are we going to do
about the Superbowl tonight?” Kevin asked, returning to AJ’s earlier question.
They
sighed. “I guess that’s what we need to
talk to management about,” Howie said.
He, Brian, and AJ all looked to Kevin, for as their leader, he was
expected to make the phone call to management for them.
Kevin
nodded. “But first,” he said, “Nick’s
parents. Who’s gonna do it?”
They
all looked at each other again. None of
them wanted the heartbreaking job of telling Nick’s parents that their son had
been in a horrible accident and was now here in a coma, fighting for his
life. But someone had to do it.
“I
will,” Brian finally said, swallowing hard.
The other guys nodded. They had
expected Brian to volunteer, for although they were all close to Nick, Brian
was his best friend.
Brian
pulled out his cell phone and punched in by memory the number to the Carter
home.
***