OG | Fix You (S.W.A.T)

Chapter Twenty-One

'Niamh is in the ICU. She had a seizure yesterday and they found her brain is inflamed.' Jim tells them. 'I was at the hospital with her all last night. They've had to sedate and intubate her.'

'Is she going to be okay?' Deacon queries.

'I don't know.' Jim shakes his head. 'It's too early to tell. They can't find a cause so they're working on a treatment plan today. I'm going to head home, have a nap and freshen up then go back up there.'

'You'll keep us updated with how she is?' Luca asks.

'Of course.' Jim nods.

'Let us know if you need anything.' Tan adds. Before Jim can reply, his phone rings. He gets it out of his pocket and looks at the caller ID.

'It's the hospital.' Jim looks up at everyone. He answers the call and puts the phone to his ear. 'Hello?' He listens as the doctors tell him that Niamh has had a few more seizures, a complication, and suggest that he get back to the hospital as soon as possible. 'Erm, yeah I'll be right there.' He hangs up and slides his phone back into his pocket. 'Niamh has had a few more seizures and a complication. They want to meet with me and her social worker ASAP. I gotta get to the hospital.' He tells his friends. 'I'll keep you guys updated.' He turns around and runs off.

.

Half an hour later, Namoi and Jim are in a meeting with Doctor Lindsay Marigold - Niamh's neurologist.

'When you two left, Niamh had three more seizures. We managed to get them under control. We took her for another CT and MRI scan and it shows the inflammation has gotten bigger, therefore, increasing her intracranial pressure. We attempted to administer Mannitol - a medication we use to help reduce intracranial pressure. However, she had an allergic reaction to it.' Lindsay informs them. 'My recommendation would normally be the neurosurgeons taking her into surgery and removing a section of the skull to help relieve the pressure. However, because she's so young, I think it's best that we put her into a hypothermic state. This will cool her body temperature and hopefully allows for the swelling to reduce. It's up to you what we do.'

'Niamh wouldn't want to go through surgery.' Jim shakes his head.

'From what I know about her, I agree.' Naomi nods.

'We will put her in a hypothermic state then.' Lindsay says.

'Have you discovered what's caused all this yet?' Jim questions.

'No.' Lindsay shakes her head. 'We're confident that the type of encephalitis she has is autoimmune encephalitis, which is where we don't know the cause. I'm not going to lie, Niamh might not come out of this. There's more chance of her succumbing to the encephalitis than there is of her pulling through but I promise you, we are going to do everything we can to treat her.'

'If she does pull through, where do we go from there?' Jim asks.

'That will all depend on any complications.' Lindsay states. 'We may bring in a neuropsychologist, occupation therapist, physiotherapist, and a speech and language therapist. It will all depend on Niamh's condition if she wakes up.'

'Right.' Jim sighs. 'Thank you.'

'I will go and get started on Niamh's treatment.' Lindsay stands up and so do Jim and Naomi. 'I will call you both if there are any changes to her condition.'

'Thank you.' Naomi nods appreciatively.

'Before you go, her friend, Will, hasn't left her side all night. He said he didn't want Niamh to be alone. Normally we wouldn't allow this but since Niamh is a minor and in the system, we've bent the rules.' Lindsay tells them. 'Are you two okay with him remaining with her?' Naomi looks at Jim.