The next day, the Wild Boys had just finished their classes when Roland's phone started ringing. "Is it Dr Hayley?" Chris asked. "Yeah," Roland said before answering his phone. "Hello?" "Hi Roland, are you and your friends done with school?" Dr Hayley asked. "Yeah, what's this all about?" Roland asked while walking through the halls. "I wanna give you guys updates on Roger's condition and his prognosis as well along with what we'll do as soon as he recovers," Dr Hayley said. "Wait, I thought mito has no cure," Roland said. "I'll tell you guys more once you reach the hospital, is that okay?" Dr Hayley asked. "Uhh sure, no problem, we're about to leave anyway," Roland said. "Okay, see you there," Dr Hayley said before hanging up.
"Is this about Roger?" Chris asked. "Yeah, but we need to reach the hospital to get actual updates," Roland said. "Do we have to keep our stuff in our dorms first?" Kate asked. Everyone agreed so they made a stop at their dorm rooms first to keep their stuff. After that, they went back to the bus station to go to the hospital again. "I feel like this is routine again, every time someone in the team gets sick," Martin said. "I'm sure it won't happen again and that we'll just have to live normal lives as British, American and Canadian teenagers," Dave said. "I hope so," Bryan said. The bus later arrived as the Wild Boys hopped in. "Are you gonna vomit again?" George asked. "What? No, I'm getting used to riding between Basildon and the city," Roland said.
"That's one thing you have to get used to whenever one of us gets sick," Curt said. "Just wondering because I brought pita bread with me just in case," George said. "Can I have some, though?" John asked. George took out a piece of pita bread and gave it to John. "Go ahead," George said as John took bites of the pita bread. "I really want to eat it but my stomach's too weak for solid food," Andy said. "Maybe we could turn it into bread sauce for you to eat it," John suggested. "Nevermind, that's disgusting," Andy said as Jim patted him. The bus later arrived at the terminal so the Wild Boys had to switch buses in order to reach the hospital. "We're switching buses again?" Nick asked. "Yup, because the bus we took heads straight to the terminal because we're outside the city," Simon said.
"Do you remember the bus that would take us to the hospital?" Jon asked. "Because of our frequent visits, we do," Chris said as he went ahead to find the bus only to hop into the wrong one. "Chris, slow down, we want to see Roger and get updates on him but what if that's not the right bus?" Roland asked. "Oh shoot, this isn't the right bus, lead the way, Roland," Chris said as he hopped off the wrong bus. "That is the right bus, let's go," Curt said as he pointed in the other direction. The Wild Boys hopped into their bus and are now on their way to the hospital. "Can't believe we're doing this again," Andy said. "I know, bub, I know," John said. "But we just wanted to see our friend who's very sick right now," Fletch said. "Yeah, I can't bear the fact he needs a trach to breathe because his lungs are very weak and is on respiratory failure," Chris said.
"He's also suffering from sepsis and his digestive system shut down," Kate added. "I just don't want to see him suffer, it hurts seeing the person you love the most on that bed with multiple machines attached to him," Chris said. "But he'll get better and be able to go home, I promise," Maddy said. The bus arrived at the hospital as the Wild Boys hopped off. They then entered the hospital to meet up with Dr Hayley. "Dr Hayley, any updates on Roger?" Chris asked as he saw the doctor. "Yeah, but please follow me," Dr Hayley said. The Wild Boys just followed Dr Hayley to the children's intensive care unit. They went to Roger's room where he's still asleep, not much has changed about him as he's still on trach and multiple IV lines and machines.
"Roger's respiratory failure is caused by multiple pulmonary embolisms or blood clots in his lungs," Dr Hayley said. "That's as worse as pneumonia," John said. "Yeah, and last night, I injected the alien DNA into him in order to mutate his DNA and get rid of the mitochondrial disorder DNA and reboot his organs," Dr Hayley said. "And what now? He's asleep and we just wanna know the prognosis," Curt said while looking at Roger's sleeping form. "Once the DNA kicks in and alters his DNA, he can start doing physiotherapy but he needs to be off the ventilator first. So that's why we're gonna start a trial next week where we'll cap his trach and he'll have to breathe in through the nasal cannula," Dr Hayley said. "Does that mean he'll need it 24/7 from now on?" John asked.
"Until he is no longer on respiratory failure, he can get off the nasal cannula unless he's sleeping or doing activities," Dr Hayley said. "At least we have a tubie buddy now," John said. "What about his feeding tube and all the IVs and lines?" Simon asked. "We'll have him off by the time he's released," Dr Hayley said. "Poor kid," Bryan said. "Even with the nasal cannula, does he have to stay in the ICU or move to the patient's ward?" Curt asked. "I have a feeling we'll have to keep him in the ICU until he's well enough to go home," Dr Hayley said. "Why can't you just transfer him?" Nick asked. "He still needs continuous nutrition, hydration and medication from his IVs, that's why," Dr Hayley said. "It just sucks seeing Roger, who was once healthy, very ill," John said.
Chris entered Roger's hospital room and sat next to his bed. Roger was still knocked out from the alien DNA and is fast asleep with the ventilator helping his chest rise and fall. Chris brushed some of Roger's hair away from his face only to realise how warm he is. "Dr Hayley, he's warm," Chris said as Dr Hayley entered the room. "He's running a fever because of sepsis and that's one of the side effects of the alien DNA. But it's not a big deal, it should subside in the next week or two," Dr Hayley said. Chris sighed and put his face on his hands, not knowing what to do when his boyfriend is very sick. "I know it's difficult for you to accept this new reality but consider this a new normal," Dr Hayley said. "I've seen 3 of my teammates chronically ill but I didn't expect my boyfriend would end up like them," Chris said.
"Mito is a lot worse than pulmonary fibrosis or even gastroparesis, when you have mito, your cells cannot regenerate and your organs are in failure because the mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell. Without it, your cells cannot function properly so that means your organs can't recover," Dr Hayley explained. "But Curt and John's lungs scarred, John had it worse because he had asthma," Chris said. "But that doesn't mean their cells are still capable of regenerating, even though their lungs are scarred," Dr Hayley said. "People with mito can't have their cells regenerated and they'll be in organ failure throughout their lives," she added. "I know how much you care about your boyfriend, my girlfriend and I had multiple miscarriages and even I was worried about my girlfriend's health because she had pregnancy issues," De Hayley said.
"Really?" Chris asked. "Yeah, I learned that we were both infertile and the only way we could gain kids is adoption but I wasn't sure about being a parent, until I met you and the other Wild Boys. You guys are practically my kids while your family's away in different places," Dr Hayley said. Chris looked at Roger for a bit, hoping that he could wake up and breathe without any support. Or eat and digest something instead of having tubes connected to him in order to do so. "He'll be off the ventilator soon, we'll do a trial where his trach is capped next week and have him breathe through a nasal cannula," Dr Hayley said. "We know, you told us earlier," Chris said. The rest of the Wild Boys except Curt, John and Andy entered the room. "He's knocked out right now and has a fever because the DNA is doing its job," Dr Hayley said.
"His trach will be off, right?" George asked. "Yeah, we're gonna do a trial where he'll breathe through a nasal cannula instead of the ventilator while the trach is capped next week," Dr Hayley said. "You kids really need a break, one of you can't always end up being sick," Alex said. "Anne and I lost our kids because we were infertile and we can't risk losing you guys too, you're our kids," Alex said. "Wait, you guys are dating?" Maddy asked. "Isn't it obvious? We are dating, we're just keeping it a secret from everyone else because of the AIDS pandemic," Alex said. "Now I see why you guys have chemistry," Roland said. "Just make sure you don't tell anyone," Dr Hayley said. "We won't, not even our parents know we're homosexuals," Martin said.
After a while of talking to each other, it's time for the Wild Boys to go back to Basildon. Dr Hayley and Alex couldn't help but worry about Roger. "Do you think he'll make it until next week?" Alex asked. "Let's hope he can, which reminds me. Chris has healing powers which might help with Roger's recovery," Dr Hayley said. "Really?" Alex asked. "Yeah, even though his powers can't prevent Curt or John from having scarred lungs, it managed to make the process of waking Andy up and wearing him off the sedation quicker," Dr Hayley said. "Ah I see," Alex said. "Now we have to wait for some progress next week," Dr Hayley said.
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Stuck In The Box: A New Normal
Gizem / GerilimA few days after John, Curt and Andy were released from the hospital, the Wild Boys had since continued their education. While catching suspicions of an alien invasion, Roger had fallen ill with appendicitis. After being rushed to the hospital and n...
