What Goes Around (Bulldogs MC #3)

6: That's Not Banjo

^^ Skids ^^

When we reach the hospital, Skids and Pest are sitting on chairs outside Banjo's room, and I panic for a moment as I approach them with Smiler and Jay.

"Why are you out here?" I ask.

"The nurse is giving him a sponge bath. She said we had to respect his privacy and wait out here," Skids explains, rolling his eyes.

"Is it the cute one from yesterday?" I ask, raising an eyebrow and grinning when they both nod. "Oh man, he's gonna be so pissed he slept through it!" We all laugh, until the door opens behind us and said nurse gives us permission to go in again as we all try to look innocent. I turn back to the guys and frown. "So I've been feeling really guilty about forgetting Ash and Mel were moving today. Nothing's going to be happening here for ages. Why don't you guys go and help them out, and I'll call you as soon as anything changes?"

They all look at each other before nodding and saying their goodbyes. I enter the room and lean down to kiss Banjo's forehead. "Wow!" I whisper.

I jump when the nurse asks, "What?" with a smile on her face.

"His face looks so much better already. I can actually tell it's him now," I say with a smile.

She nods and points to one of the tubes. "That'll be all the anti-inflammatories we're giving him,"

"So, hopefully, they'll be doing the same for his brain, right?" I ask.

"Yes. The pressure inside his skull has been gradually coming down overnight, and he's doing almost ninety percent of the breathing himself now. Everything looks good to reduce the sedation later. The doctors are doing their rounds so they'll be here soon to talk to you,"

I thank her and sit down holding his hand as she busies herself with the machines around him. I must doze off in the chair, 'cos I jolt awake when footsteps approach me. I open my eyes and look up to see Dr Ryan and the brain doctor standing there smiling. "I'm sorry," I say, rubbing my eyes and hoping I wasn't drooling everywhere.

Dr Ryan grins. "It's fine. It's weird how exhausting just sitting in a hospital can be, right?"

I nod and stretch, looking at the brain doctor. "I'm so sorry, I've completely forgotten your name!" I tell him, embarrassed.

He laughs. "Dr O'Brian. So, Benjamin is doing really well. I don't see any reason why we can't start reducing the sedation now and see if we can get him waking up,"

I nod. "Okay. What should I expect, 'cos this is all new to me," I wave a hand signalling the machines.

He pulls a chair around and sits next to me. "We don't expect anything to happen for a couple of hours as we reduce the sedation. Once it's stopped, he can wake up at any time, really. It's usually gradual, and he will still be groggy for a while because of the pain relief he's on. Once he's showing good signs of waking up, we'll take him off the ventilator. That comes with risks in itself,"

I sigh and close my eyes for a moment. "What risks?"

"Sometimes patients struggle to breathe on their own when they come off the vent. He may need some oxygen to help him, and in some cases, we have to replace the ventilator, which isn't always as easy the second time around,"

I drop my head into my hands. "Oh god!"

I feel him squeeze my shoulder and look back up to him. "This is all just possibilities, it won't necessarily happen, but we have to tell you the risks,"

I nod and look back at Banjo. "What about when he wakes up? What happens then?"

"Every patient is different. Benjamin suffered a traumatic brain injury. There's a risk that there may be permanent damage. This could be anything from memory loss, motor control, speech, sight, hearing, or personality. It's a very varied thing that we can't predict. There may be no damage at all, or there may be deficits that are only temporary. I know it sounds terrifying, but it's one of those situations where we have to deal with things as they come up,"