An Unfortunate Mix-Up ✔️

Chapter 45: No Feeling

"Fuck!" Jay lets out as they wheel him into the hospital, catching the attention of the doctors and nurses in the emergency department. With how often the Chicago PD detectives were making rounds - whether to investigate stuff, or unfortunate cases of pain, their voices never went over without being noticed. Jay was extra special on that list, too, considering his connection to certain individuals.

"What do we got?" Ethan Choi questions as he makes his way over, taking charge of the situation immediately. He had heard the ambulance was on route, with an officer and a gunshot wound. He felt a bit of a release in hearing a voice, but yet knew it could be worse than it seemed.

"I'm going to get Will," Natalie says quietly as she runs the other direction, knowing Will would want to be notified if his brother was at the hospital - having learned from previous cases it was better to tell immediately than try and hide. 

"He can't feel his legs..." Hailey comments, her voice trembling in the process as she felt her stomach in her throat in seeing the agony that Jay was experiencing. If he was complaining, it had to be major as he didn't normally complain about pain of any kind.

"37 year old male....." Gabby starts, her voice trailing off as her and Ethan locking eyes together told her those details weren't needed right now. "Shot in the lower back wearing a bulletproof vest, vest did it's job as Detective Ruzek pulled the slug out. Complaining of severe back pain, muscle spasms, twitching, and worst of all he cannot feel his legs." 

They then lift him from the stretcher to the bed, carefully sliding out the backboard as they do so. Gabby slowly took a series of steps back, tears threatening to roll down her cheeks as she wrapped an arm around Hailey's shoulders to offer comfort in the sight before them.

"I'll get Dr. Rho-" Maggie starts, knowing it was Connor that treated him just a month ago for muscle and nerve damage due to the electrocution courtesy of Derek.

"Not necessary," Connor cuts her off as he walks into the room, slipping on a pair of gloves as he does so. "He had lower nerve and muscle damage in his back a month ago - which still gave him the odd spasm due to a couple severed nerves. I am thinking that the bullet hit there, even if not penetrating and caused further damage." 

"NCS?" Ethan questions in regards to which tests to begin with, earning a nod in response. 

"Immediate NCS and then we'll give him a nerve block to help - no matter how much he protests the needle." Jay makes a face in response, as it was well known to all the doctors how much he first of all hated hospitals, but hated any sight or needle touching him more. There were very few people in his life that he'd allow get close to him with one. "Then let's go with x-rays and MRI to get a full view of what we're dealing with." 

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It felt like hours went by - seconds feeling minutes, minutes feeling like hours. But yet it had only been three hours since he heard the bullet leave the chamber, feeling it against his back and sending him down on the ground.

Now he laid in a hospital bed, hooked up to another series of monitors, just like a month ago - a feeling he wished was not happening. Even with the pain and feelings he was having, he wished for anything to not be there. His brother could take care of him from his apartment.

The constant beeping of the heart monitor filled his ears. 

The pain in his back felt like it was ready to cut him in two, thankfully diluted courtesy of the morphine. That only caused his eyes to drift to his arm where the IV was, saying a couple curse words under his breath, the same ones he muttered at Connor originally when inserted. For once in his life, he knew he had to be okay with the pain killers as if he had to experience what he was feeling earlier, he would be screaming right now.

He glances down at his legs, taking a deep breath as it seemed they weren't attached to him by what he was feeling. It felt like nothing was down there. He had even taken his hand and punched them a couple times, in hopes of feeling something, but yet nothing was the name of the game right now. That scared him more than anything - more than the pain, more than any bullet would ever. What if he was unable to do his job? What if he was unable to walk ever again? What if he was unable to do anything? 

"So it is what I suspected....." Connor comments as he stands at the bottom of the bed, his eyes locked on his patient. "The nerve that we discussed that would give you problems because of how severed it was took the blunt of the bullet. The damage is almost to the point that I'd recommend surg-"

"Please no...." Jay begs quietly, knowing his tolerance for the situation and being in the hospital was already at it's maximum. If they added anything, it'd almost be like suffering a life sentence.

"I'm not going down that road - yet." That didn't offer some comfort as any percentage of possibility meant it could still happen. "If it starts to heal in the next 48 hours, then we will continue the course of treatment we're headed down - which is basically just patience in waiting for it to heal. However, if it doesn't, then we both know what has to happen. I'm sorry. As the nerve heals, the feeling in your legs should come back - and then once it's back, we'll get you up out of the bed and walking slowly, one foot at a time. For now, morphine and ropivacaine on a regular basis to control the pain and help healing. I want to do the injections of ropivacaine right in the back where the nerve is to give you the best chance. It's going to kill and hurt like a bitch when I do it, though, so be prepared to scream, cry, everythin-"

"I can handle it. Anything but the surgery, please...." Connor nods his head, accepting, knowing that was going to be the response from previous experience.

"We'll run a nerve test - NCS - tomorrow, followed by another the day following to see if there's any progress that way. I'm doing what I can, Jay." 

"I know."