Raising the Limit-Book 1 - 18. Chapter 18

David smacked blindly at the annoying buzz of his alarm. He slowly pried his eyelids apart, then tried to stretch, discovering that he was firmly enclosed in TC’s embrace. The larger man nuzzled his neck, tickling the skin with his beard.

It felt good and David allowed himself to be cuddled for a couple of minutes and then sighed. He slowly extricated himself and sat up, rubbing the remnants of sleep from his eyes. He gave TC a smile and a quick kiss before heading toward the bathroom. TC joined him after he stepped into the shower gently washed him from head to toe, neither of them realizing in the moment how much TC was involved in taking care of David.

After drying off and getting dressed David grabbed his phone and saw a text that had just come in from Jen saying that Lyssa had been moved to ICU and was settled in. He immediately called Renee to see if they were almost ready. Renee said to give them five minutes.

They ended up opening their doors at the same time. Together the five of them made their way to the elevators and headed outside for the short walk back to the hospital. The air was nippy and a brisk breeze added to the cold feeling. David was thankful it was a short walk. He wasn’t used to cold temperatures.

Once at the hospital they made their way to the surgical ICU unit. Jen was still there, she had told them that she only worked three days a week, but they were twelve hour shifts. It gave her more time to spend with her family. She was getting ready to leave, but she made sure to introduce them to the evening staff that would be responsible for taking care of Lyssa.

Lyssa had responded well when they initially woke her up while still in recovery. After her move they had given her more pain medication and a light sedation. They could go in and see her, two at a time.

TC and Mike both insisted that David and Renee go in together. They stopped to wash their hands thoroughly at the direction of one of the new nurses. Neither of them really knew what to expect and were relieved to see Lyssa looking better than they expected. She was hooked up to several monitors, most of which were covered by the blankets keeping her warm. Her left leg was elevated by a pulley that was attached to the end of the bed. The leg itself was covered by another blanket, its shape odd due to the fixator attached to it.

David leaned down and kissed her forehead and brushed a strand of hair back from her face. Renee pulled up a chair, planted her own kiss on Lyssa’s cheek and sat down, carefully taking her daughter’s hand. David stood on the opposite side, holding her other hand. Silent tears ran down both of their faces.

Other than a few scrapes on her face, Lyssa looked like she was sleeping. The soft beeps of the monitors were reassuring in their steadiness. David spoke softly, letting his little girl know that they were all there for her and that she was going to be OK. Renee whispered her own reassurances and before they knew it their time was up.

David wiped the tears from his face before going back to face Owen and TC. Renee did the same. Putting on a brave front to cover the fear that they really felt, David took Renee’s hand as they walked back to the ICU waiting room. TC deferred to Mike and Owen, saying that he would go with David in the morning. David quickly recapped how she looked and TC’s mind was somewhat put at ease.

When Mike and Owen came back, Owen was still crying softly. For all the shit they gave each other, the two of them were solid. Owen didn’t know what he would do if anything happened to his other half. This was hitting him hard. David took his son in his arms and held him close. They all felt a sense of relief at seeing her in person.

Lyssa’s nurse came in to give them the latest update. She told them that all of Lyssa’s vital signs were strong and she would be out for the rest of the night. In the morning they would take her off of the light sedation and let her regain consciousness so they could do a full assessment of her mental capacity. No one anticipated any problems. She would be monitored closely throughout the night, their biggest concern being infection setting in to her wound on her calf or any of the incision sites from the surgery. She gave them the direct number for the nurses’ desk and told them to call at any time to get an update.

She also informed them that Dr. Bradley would be in between five and six in the morning to check on her and they could come by anytime after seven to see her. There would be a team meeting later in the morning and David and Renee would be informed of what time so they could attend as well. The initial team meeting would give everyone an idea of what the immediate treatment plan would be and what the long-term goals would look like.

In the meantime they were instructed to go get something to eat and then get a good night’s rest. The nurse, Maria, told them point blank that they all looked like crap and needed to sleep.

Owen finally had composed himself and said, “She’s right. We’re all hungry and tired. I, for one, am starving and getting cranky. I need food and sleep, in that order. Lyssa’s in good hands for the night and Maria or whoever will call us if there’s any change that you need to know about right away. Can we please go get something to eat?"

David smiled at his son’s point blank statement, no mincing words with him. He answered, “That sounds like a good idea.” Then he addressed Maria and thanked her for everything she was doing for them.

The five of them walked out of the hospital and went to a sports bar restaurant down the street. Being a Friday night the restaurant was busy, but not packed. They managed to get a table after a short five minute wait.

David looked over the menu and quickly decided on a grilled chicken sandwich. He didn’t think that his stomach would take a greasy burger very well. He asked for a baked potato and broccoli instead of fries and coleslaw. It was as healthy as he could get under the circumstances. TC nodded his head in approval, something that didn’t escape Renee’s notice.

David noticed too and his brow drew together in a frown. He still had things that he needed to discuss with TC regarding their relationship, but once again it would be placed on the back burner so he could get through this crisis. In the back of his mind however, he wondered if he would have reacted to this whole situation the way he did if TC hadn’t been back in his life. He was starting to question himself and his confidence. That wasn’t sitting well with him, but now was not the time to try to figure it out.

The restaurant was noisy, several different games were being shown and the crowd was typical Boston rambunctious. David was grateful for the noise. It was enough of a distraction that his mind didn’t dwell on the events of the past twenty-four hours. They were still able to hold a conversation, but none of them were really talkative.

TC subtlety took care of the check while the other three adults were engrossed in a conversation. They had all finished their meals and Owen was practically asleep in his seat. The brisk air managed to wake everyone up enough to pick up their steps on the walk back to the hotel where they branched off and separated in front of the two rooms, agreeing to meet in the breakfast area downstairs at six o’clock when it opened.

David was beyond tired, even with the short nap he had taken. TC wasn’t much better off. When David looked at the time and saw that it was almost nine o’clock he realized that he had been awake for all but four of the past forty-eight hours. It was no wonder he and everyone else were exhausted. He managed to stay awake long enough to brush his teeth and pee. TC was right behind him and he remembered to set an alarm on his phone before sliding in next to David and scooting over to spoon him. Both of them were asleep within a minute or two.

David slept fitfully, TC ended up moving over to give David some space to toss and turn. His dreams were disconcerting, a mix of Halloween scenes, car crashes and visions of himself in a hospital searching for something, but not recollecting what he was searching for.

When TC’s alarm went off, David was already awake, still tired. TC rolled over after shutting off the alarm and wrapped his arms around the groggy man.”Hey, it’s going to be OK. Lyssa’s going to be OK. She’s a tough girl. She has the strength and stubbornness of her Dad.”

David kissed him. “Thank you for being here. I really do appreciate the support and I’m sorry if I seem distant. This whole thing had been shocking to say the least.”

“David, you’re entitled to deal with this however you see fit. If you need to withdraw a bit and keep quiet, it’s alright. You do what you need to do to cope. I’ll always support you, no matter what.” TC told him.

David let his words soak in, not realizing the true significance of them until much later. Taking a deep breath to help dispel the cobwebs from his brain, he gave himself a mental shake and resolved to stop leaning so much on TC. He had never been dependent on another person to take care of him and he didn’t want that to change.

TC instinctively knew that David needed some space so he let him shower first and then quickly took one of his own. They left the room a little after six and Renee, Mike and Owen were already at the breakfast room, having found a table to accommodate all of them.

Breakfast was buffet style and everyone seemed to have a better appetite this morning. Owen went back for seconds, loading up on fake scrambled eggs and bacon. David stuck to a light breakfast, still not trusting his digestive system to handle grease. He had some scrambled egg, toast and fruit. Coffee was a must even though it was too strong for his liking. A stop at Dunkins would be needed on the way to the hospital.

By six-forty they were pulling on their jackets and heading out of the hotel. A quick stop for some real coffee only took a few minutes and David sighed in relief as the taste of non-burnt coffee hit his tongue.

The morning security guard greeted them and issued new badges for the day. They arrived at the nurse’s station on the surgical ICU floor just after seven. Jen was back on and smiled when she saw them. She led them to the family waiting room and gave them an update.

“Dr. Bradley was in this morning and was pleased with the overnight reports. She remained stable all night and pretty much slept the entire time. We took her off of the sedation and woke her up while Dr. Bradley was here. She responded appropriately to all of the questions so we’re confident that there was no brain damage. We set the team meeting for eleven o’clock, but it’s limited to parents or guardians only, so just Mom and Dad, the rest of you can either wait here or leave if you have other things to take care of. The meetings are normally an hour or so. The physical and occupational therapists will be in to do an assessment this morning and Dr. Bradley will order a psychological evaluation in a day or two as well. She’s gone through a major ordeal and we were told that one of her friends didn’t survive. It’s your call as to when you think she should be told. She hasn’t asked yet, but if she does and you don’t want her to know yet we’ll just tell her that we’re not sure about the other girls, but we’ll find out. You’d be surprised how well that works. She will eventually find out and that’s part of the reason Dr. Bradley wants a mental health professional available to her. So any questions before you go see her?”

None of them could think of anything at that moment, their focus was on seeing Lyssa, hopefully awake. Renee graciously let David and TC go first, as TC still hadn’t seen her for himself. Besides, she still needed to get her emotions under control as she had tears running down her face nearly the whole time Jen was talking.

David and TC stopped to wash their hands at the sink in the hallway before going into Lyssa’s room. This morning she was propped up in bed farther than she had been the night before. Her eyes were closed, and when David stood by the side of her bed and took her hand, they fluttered open, blinking several times before focusing on David.

“Daddy?” she croaked out, her voice raspy from being intubated during surgery.

David leaned down and kissed her forehead, brushing back her hair that had fallen over her face. “Hey Punkin. You gave us quite a scare little Alleycat.”

“Sorry Daddy. Hey, you look funny.” Lyssa giggled a little. “Your face is all wavy. Did you put on makeup?”

Son of a bitch. His little girl was higher than a kite on pain meds. He watched as Lyssa stared at his face and waved her hand that didn’t have an IV in it in front of his face. All of a sudden she realized someone else was in the room and said “Hey! CT, how’s it hanging Tap Cot?”

TC laughed at her predicament and whispered to David “I think you might want to mention weaning her off of these pain meds at your meeting. This is too funny.”

They watched as Lyssa tried to grab at nothing, whatever she was seeing in front of her face invisible to them.

“Umm, Lyssa baby, what are you grabbing at?” David asked, trying not to laugh.

“The purple fairies.” Lyssa stated, matter of factly, pinching together her thumb and forefinger in front of her nose.

David turned to TC and said “Renee’s going to shit a brick.” laughing at his daughter’s antics.

Jen came in to tell them their time was up and David asked “Is this normal? She’s trying to catch purple fairies.”

Jen giggled and replied “Be glad that there’s no giant pink gargoyle in the room. One of the other patients screamed for twenty minutes straight a couple of nights ago. Don’t worry, part of her treatment plan is to switch her over to a less hallucinogenic painkiller. I’ll make sure that they explain everything to you in the meeting. This won’t last long, we’ve already adjusted the dosage so hopefully she’ll come down from her high soon. The first day is usually pretty rough and we try to alleviate the pain as much as we can.”

David chuckled as he watched Lyssa try to snatch another ‘fairy’ out of mid-air. “Thanks Jen, that makes me feel a little better. I’ll warn Renee before she comes in.”

TC leaned down to kiss Lyssa’s cheek as he said good-bye. Then David leaned in and told Lyssa, “I’ll see you in a little while Alleycat. Make sure you get all the fairies.” He was smiling as he kissed her again.

TC took his hand as they walked down the hall and commented “That was hysterical! Are you sure you want to warn Renee?”

David replied “You want me to live?”

“Touche.” answered TC.

Renee stood up as soon as they went into the waiting room. David smiled and told her “She’s awake and trying to catch purple fairies.” He laughed at the confused look on Renee’s face. “They gave her a pretty potent painkiller this morning. She’s higher than a kite,” as he explained her condition. “One thing’s for sure, she is feeling no pain whatsoever.”

Renee rolled her eyes and Owen cracked up at the thought of his sister high on painkillers trying to catch invisible fairies. “This I’ve GOT to see!” he said, eyes looking a t Mike pleadingly.

Mike smiled and cocked his head to the side and told him “Go, I can wait until she’s come down a bit.”

Renee and Owen headed down the hall and they heard Renee tell Owen “No! You may not video your sister!”

David, TC and Mike all looked at each other and burst out laughing, all of them knowing that Owen would find a way to thwart Renee’s order.

They had calmed down by the time Renee and Owen returned, Owen looking smug as he held his phone over his Mom’s head. Renee looked to David to back her up and he avoided her dagger throwing gaze, as did Mike when she looked his way. Even TC pretended to be interested in what was on the TV.

With a loud ‘harumph’ Renee knew she was outnumbered. She did make Owen promise not to post it on social media and David and Mike both backed her up on that one. Owen agreed, having been told hundreds of times that things that were posted could come back to haunt you years later.

They hung around the waiting room, going back in to see Lyssa when they were allowed to. She gradually regained her faculties and the last time David went in she had been sleeping peacefully.

As eleven o’clock approached, TC and Mike said they would take Owen and go do a little sightseeing to distract themselves. David promised to text when they were finished so they could meet somewhere for lunch.

Jen came to get them and took them to a room that reminded David of a boardroom, just not as ornate. A large table that could seat twelve took up most of the space. There was a credenza along the short wall that held a coffee maker that was filled with a fresh brew, along with the cups, creamer and various packets of sugar and sugar substitutes. There was a small refrigerator as well stocked with bottled water and some juices. Bagels and cream cheese had been provided as well.

There were two people that neither Renee nor David had seen before sitting at the table, both with coffee in front of them. David figured they must be the physical and occupational therapist. Jen confirmed his thoughts as she made the introductions and told them to help themselves to coffee and bagels.

David poured coffee for himself and Renee and spread some cream cheese on a cinnamon bagel, giving half to Renee. Breakfast had been five hours ago and he was a little hungry and knew Renee must be too. She thanked him and they took seats next to each other at the large table.

Shortly after Dr. Bradley walked in with two other people that he introduced as the rest of the care team. One was a psychotherapist and the other was a social worker.

Once everyone was settled Dr. Bradley thanked everyone for being there and explained to David and Renee the purpose of the care team. In cases such as Lyssa’s where her injuries would necessitate a prolonged hospital stay, the care team would be responsible for managing her treatment and monitoring her progress.

He started with her most recent physical assessment and they were all in agreement in regards to weaning her off of the strong painkillers that had her chasing invisible fairies. She was gaining clarity and they wanted her to be switched over to a self-dispensing pain pump. This would allow her to give herself a dose of a less potent concoction and the pump was designed to administer only specified amounts within a specific time frame. So, in other words, she could hit that button as much as she wanted, but once she reached the maximum dosage the pump wouldn’t give her any more medication until enough time elapsed.

David had a few questions about what kind of drugs she would be given and was reassured that even though the most common painkillers they used could be addictive, she would be monitored closely and the dosages and types of drugs would be adjusted as her body demanded. The goal was to have her off of the heavy duty stuff within the next forty-eight hours and switch over to oral painkillers.

Next, Dr. Bradley set his sights on her therapy goals. The physical therapist, Josh, had done an initial assessment and had reviewed the surgical notes. He wanted to focus on maintaining her mobility and strength in her good leg, as well as her upper body. She would need that once he started her doing therapy on the injured leg. He would reassess her after the external fixator was removed. After that he could begin to work with her doing things like sitting up on the side of the bed and transferring to a wheelchair, or chair.

The occupational therapist was younger, probably late twenties. Her name was Kali and she had also done a preliminary assessment and said she would be working with Lyssa to help her relearn how to do simple things like get dressed and going to the bathroom. Once she had the fixator removed she would be non-weight bearing for eight to ten weeks. Lyssa would need to learn how to do everyday tasks from a wheelchair. She would then need to cope with only being able to bear partial weight until her leg healed and strengthened enough for her to put enough weight on it to walk. Until then, doing common tasks would need to be approached from a different angle and both therapists were there to help her navigate what would be new territory.

Dr. Bradley told them Lyssa would be in the hospital for another two weeks, give or take a day or two, provided everything went well. After the fixator was removed and they monitored her for a couple of days she could be transferred to their step down rehabilitation unit. She would be there for roughly another week, until she was ready to go home. She would then have a combination of outpatient and home therapy until she progressed to the point where she could walk with crutches and maneuver without hurting herself. There was a rehabilitation facility in Portland that they had worked with before that was well equipped to handle what she needed.

David and Renee were both overwhelmed by all of the information. David had been taking notes and had five pages of information he had written down.

The psychotherapist was a thirty-something gentleman named Stephen who said that he would assess Lyssa tomorrow and asked what their thoughts were on telling Lyssa that her friend had died. Renee wanted to wait, while David thought they should tell her, but only if she asked. After discussing the pros and cons they decided that Lyssa could be told, but only if she asked and only if either David or Renee was there, preferably David. Renee had been closer to the girl who died and didn’t think she could hold it together if she had to break the news to their daughter

The social worker was the last one to speak about what her role was. She was an older lady, maybe late fifties, named Patti. Patti let them know that she was the liaison between all of the services, She would work with the therapists to make sure things went according to plan and she would also be the advocate with the insurance companies and the hospital’s billing department.

David carried health insurance for himself and the kids, but because the accident happened in a vehicle, the insurance policy on the vehicle would be responsible for the majority of expenses, up to the maximum allowed. David couldn’t imagine that Emily’s parents carried a large liability coverage on a nearly twenty year old car. This had the potential to turn into a shit storm. Whatever the case may be, final dollar amounts and coverages would most likely take years to get sorted out. He made a note to keep track of every single bill and to ask for itemization of charges whenever possible. He had heard plenty of stories of insurance companies refusing payment because of services overcharging. If he started keeping track now it would only benefit him later on.

The meeting wrapped up with a quick recap, making sure there were no more questions from anyone. David and Renee stopped in to see Lyssa. She was still sleepy, but had stopped trying to catch the elusive purple fairies. Jen let them stay nearly a half hour. When they were shooed out of Lyssa’s room David ended up calling TC to find out where they were.

TC told them they were at Quincy Market and he and Renee decided to meet them at the main food court. Renee was more familiar with Boston than David so she led them through the T, which was the subway system in the city. It was only a few stops and they didn’t even need to change trains, getting off at Haymarket and walking the rest of the way.

David spotted TC’s dark curls at a table near the window and TC stood up as he caught sight of them. David was mentally drained and welcomed TC’s warm hug. Mike did the same for Renee and Owen merely looked up from the plate of food in front of him. TC had waited to eat until David arrived and Mike had gotten a salad for Renee. David and TC walked the length of the building before deciding on a couple of slices of pizza. TC got two slices of sausage and mushroom while David got a slice of veggie and a slice of sausage and pepperoni. He was tired of catering to his sensitive stomach. It would just have to deal with things like the rest of him.

While they ate, David and Renee recounted the meeting and the tentative timeline for Lyssa’s recovery. Owen paled a little when he realized his sister might not start walking again for three or four months. When David mentioned that Renee and Mike would need to find a way to accommodate Lyssa on the ground floor, he couldn’t help but notice the glances they gave each other.

“OK. What gives?” he asked them both.

Mike looked slightly guilty as he admitted “Well, on Wednesday I accepted the job offer that Renee told you about. They were willing to accept my request to be based out of the Tampa area. We were going to tell the kids this weekend.” He gave an apologetic look to Owen, who had stopped eating at the announcement. “Now, I’m not sure what we should do.”

David looked at Renee and said “Well,this may actually work out better. If you move to the Tampa area I’ll be able to help out with getting her to and from appointments. I'm sure we can find a doctor and therapist for her down there. I guess you two have a lot of decisions to make, but all I ask is that you keep me in the loop with anything that involves the kids.”

Renee took his hand and gave a light squeeze. “Thanks. When we discussed things with the kids prior to Mike accepting the offer, they decided that they would rather move mid year, rather than have to start their senior year not knowing anyone. This way it would give them a chance to make a few friends during the last half of this school year. It’s too soon to make any decision now, but we’ll have to discuss everything again when Lyssa is closer to getting out of here.”

They tabled the discussion for a later date and after everyone was done they walked around Quincy Market for about an hour, giving themselves a mental break before heading back to the hospital, where they stayed for the remainder of the day, visiting Lyssa according to hospital policy. They left when visiting hours ended and stopped for grinders on the way back to the hotel.

Late Sunday morning Dr. Bradley approved Lyssa’s transfer to a room in the orthopedic unit. Because of her open wound, they would be giving her a private room to lessen the chance of infection. They were planning on closing the wound at the same time they removed the fixator, as long as it remained infection-free. Lyssa was much more lucid and she was also more awake. They kept her company for the remainder of the afternoon.

During dinner that evening, this time at a quieter Italian restaurant, they discussed the next steps. Mike decided to return to Portland the next day. Owen needed to go back to school and keep up his normal routine. TC decided to book a flight back to Florida on Tuesday, while David was going to stay until after Lyssa’s next surgery. He and Renee extended their stay at the hotel, keeping their own rooms. Mike and Owen would be back Friday night and stay through the surgery as well. They were hopeful that the surgery would take place at the end of the week, but Dr. Bradley had assured them that it would take place no later than the following Monday. It had been an exhausting weekend but now that it looked like Lyssa was out of the woods, they could all breathe a little easier, and for that David was thankful.