The IV League [EDITING]

Chapter 2

"And the next time you decide to disconnect your heart monitor and sneak off, I will personally handcuff you to your bed." The nurse adjusted the IV drip by his patient's bed.

"Ooh, I never knew you had a kinky side, Nurse Kennedy."

"Joseph, please be serious about this."

The boy raised an eyebrow. "Joseph? Wow, you must be really mad."

Kennedy crossed his arms. "I am."

The boy rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on Ken. I was just having some fun!"

"Well, that 'fun' could kill you. With a condition like yours, you shouldn't be spending too much time in the city, let alone an amusement park!"

The boy stuck his tongue out at the nurse. "Whatever."

The nurse sighed. "Joey, I'm only saying this because I care about you. You're my patient and it's my job to make sure you don't do anything stupid or irrational."

Joey knew he was right. "I'm sorry, Nurse. I won't do it again."

Kennedy heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank you. Now I'm going to go and make sure Dr. Christian doesn't find out about your disappearance."

The nurse left the room and shut the door behind him. Joey was alone, and the only sound heard was the steady beeping of the heart monitor.

Joey had spent the last couple of hours at an amusement park, and given his health, that wasn't really a smart choice. Joey suffered from a disease called Eisenmenger's Syndrome. It was caused by a congenital heart defect. He was born with a hole in his heart, which caused increased blood flow to his lungs, which in turn caused the arteries of his lungs to thicken. The pressure on the arteries of his lungs increased, permanently damaging the blood vessels in his lungs.

The pressure in his vessels was so great that the direction of the blood flowing through the hole in his heart was reversed. Blood with lesser oxygen, which originally flowed from his right atrium to his right ventricle and to the lungs, now flowed from his right atrium to his left ventricles and to the rest of his body. As such, his organs didn't receive enough oxygen.

In short, he had a hole in his heart, but it wasn't looked after, and now he had damaged lungs as well. Since his organs didn't receive enough oxygen, he couldn't go around exhausting himself, and he most certainly couldn't go to amusement parks. The sheer thrill of sneaking out caused an adrenaline rush in his body, which obviously wasn't good for his damaged heart. He could have dropped dead at any moment. And yet, he had never felt more alive.

Life at River View Hospital was pretty dull. Sure, he was a part of the IV League, and blah, blah, but it wasn't particularly exciting. Life of an inpatient did have its perks, Nurse Kennedy being one of them, but he was eighteen. He had at least another thirty years left in his life. He didn't want to spend it all in a hospital.

Joey's family had their own personal doctor, who looked after him when he was a kid. But soon his condition got worse, and he had to be admitted to the hospital. The doctors took good care of him, and he was allowed to attend school. He wasn't really in a bad shape, but it was the summer and he had to live in the hospital. His parents weren't ready to bring him home. Joey figured it was for the best. If he was living with his parents, he could never sneak out.

Joey sighed. His chest hurt from all the travelling he'd done, even though the park was only fifteen minutes away. He was beginning to regret his actions. Kennedy was right. With a condition like his, he shouldn't have snuck out. It was a terrible mistake. He just hoped it wouldn't cost him.

***

"Hey, Sarah, could you do me a favour?"

Carter leaned against the wall next to he nurse who was looking at her clipboard.