Chapter
30
By Julie
When I awoke
again, I found Kevin sitting beside my bed.
"Hey
cuz!" Kevin said brightly when he saw that I was awake. I tried to smile
up at him, still unable to talk. I wanted to tell him so much, but couldn't,
and it was frustrating me. Kevin must have noticed my frustration because he
said, "Your doctor mentioned something about taking that tube out of your
throat today. Do you want me to go see if he can do that now?"
I nodded
gratefully. Kevin flashed me a smile. "Be right back," he said and
left the room, leaving me alone. Then I remembered that I was sharing a room
with Nick. I turned my head slightly so I could see him. What I saw made me
shudder. Nick didn't look any different then he had the night before. He was
still and pale, and the only sound in the room was the steady beeping of both
of our heart monitors and the hiss of the respirators. Tears came to my eyes as
I watched him. Just then, Kevin came back into the room, followed by a doctor.
"Hi,
Brian, I'm Dr. Collins," the doctor said, smiling down at me. I managed to
smile back up at him, blinking back the tears that had started to fill my eyes.
"Do you want me to pull this breathing tube out now?" he asked. I
nodded eagerly. "Ok, then, on the count of three, I want you to take a
deep breath, and then blow out slowly, ok?" Dr. Collins explained. I
nodded again. "Ready, 1...2...3," Dr. Collins said. I took a deep
breath and let it out gradually, while Dr. Collins pulled out the tube. At
first, I gasped for breath, but eventually, I was able to breathe fine.
"Thanks,"
I tried to say, but my voice sounded weak and hoarse from not using it, and my
throat was very sore.
"You're
welcome," Dr. Collins said. "How are you feeling?"
"Okay,"
I said. "I'm pretty sore, but I guess that's from the surgery."
He nodded.
"Yeah, it is. Don't worry, you'll feel better in a few days hopefully. But
right now, why don't I let you two talk alone. Just hit the call button if you
need anything," he said.
"Thanks,"
Kevin said as the doctor left. Then he turned to me. I was eager to talk.
"So,
where is everyone else? How are you doing? Are Howie and AJ okay?" I
asked.
"Whoa,
one question at a time, Rok," Kevin said, chuckling. "Most everyone
is down in the cafeteria eating breakfast. I am fine. I had a pretty bad
concussion, and they made me stay in this place for the night, but they
released me this morning, so I could come visit you. And Howie and AJ are doing
fine," Kevin answered.
"That's
good," I said. "So they found help okay?"
"Yeah,
they had some minor problems, but they made it okay," Kevin said, smiling.
"What
about Nicky?" I asked.
Kevin suddenly
looked uncomfortable. "Bri, I don't know how much you were told about
Nick, but he is in a coma right now, and they put him on some new experimental
drug yesterday, but it doesn't look like there has been any change so far. Dr.
Collins said it might take some time though, since Nick has one of the worst
cases of pneumonia he has seen," Kevin told me honestly.
I nodded
sadly, not sure what to say. I just turned away from Kevin and stared at Nick's
motionless body in the bed next to me.
Suddenly, his
body started twitching, slightly at first, then more violently.
"Nick!" I screamed. Kevin's eyes widened when he noticed Nick's
convulsing body. He leapt up and slammed his hand against the call button. I
felt so helpless, for there was nothing I could do. Only moments later, a whole
posse of doctors and nurses, including Dr. Collins, ran into the room. They ran
to Nick's bed.
"He needs
dilantin, right now!" Dr. Collins shouted. A nurse ran out of the room and
was back in a few seconds with the medication, which she injected into Nick's
IV. But the seizure didn't stop. I watched in horror as Nick kept convulsing.
"BP's
slowing!" a nurse cried.
"Give him
some more Dilantin, stat!" a doctor called. The nurse injected Nick with
more Dilantin.
I could hear
the beeps on the heart monitor growing farther and farther apart, yet the
seizure continued. Suddenly, the line on the monitor went flat, and the beeps
droned into one long whine. Nick stopped convulsing and lay flat on the bed.
"Crash
cart!" Dr. Collins cried. I was terrified. Suddenly, I began to gasp for
air. I felt dizzy and nauseated, and couldn't catch my breath. Luckily, Kevin
noticed me struggling to breathe and leaned over me, his eyes wide with fear.
"Bri, are
you alright?!" he shouted. I couldn't respond. "My cousin needs
help!!" Kevin shouted to the group of people hovering over Nick.
A doctor
turned and hurried over to my bed. "I think he's hyperventilating!"
Kevin cried.
"Take a
deep breath," the doctor instructed me. I tried to, but the breath was
shaky, and my chest hurt. Suddenly, I went limp and everything went black.
***
"Brian!"
Kevin cried.
"Don't
worry, he'll be okay," the doctor said. "He just needs some
air." The doctor put an oxygen mask over Brian's mouth and nose.
"Give him a few minutes. He should regain consciousness soon," he
said. Kevin nodded and turned back to Nick. Dr. Collins was shocking his chest
with the paddles. Kevin watched as he did it three times. Finally, the heart
monitor began to beep unsteadily. Kevin let out a breath he didn't realize he
had been holding. He wanted to ask what had happened to Nick, but he said
nothing.
"What do
you think caused this?" one doctor asked.
Dr. Collins
studied Nick. "I think he is allergic to that new medication we gave him.
There's a rash right here," he said, pointing to Nick's bare chest.
"Give him some Benedryl right away." A nurse got some Benedryl and
injected that into his IV.
Finally, Kevin
got the courage to speak. "Is he going to be okay?" he asked
nervously.
Dr. Collins
took a deep breath. "I hate to tell you this, but we think Nickolas was
allergic to the experimental drug we gave him, so we can't use it
anymore."
"So, how
will you make him better?" Kevin asked.
"I'm
sorry, but there isn't anything we can do," Dr. Collins said gravely.
"We'll keep giving him antibiotics, but they didn't work before. I'm
afraid his pneumonia is too far progressed. There is a good chance he will
die."
***
