Never Flick a Tick

Unexpected Complications

The medical staff was divided up into shifts that would move in and out of the clinic every 4 hours with Bob, Jared and Bert each taking 8 hour shifts. Those who weren't in the clinic would take care of any outside needs that might arise while there'd be at least 4 of them, at one time, watching over Ant and Dec throughout the night and well into the next day. Things seemed to be going fairly well until about 1 in the morning and that's when it got very interesting for them all.

While Ant had been able to rest, once the right combination of antiemetic medications had been administered to take care of his severe nausea and vomiting, Dec was beginning to show the medical crew that some medicines just aren't meant to be combined then administered into his system.

When he had been on the trail, an epipen with a benadryl chaser had been administered to combat the allergic reaction he had been experiencing from his tick bites. He had been fairly out of it when brought into the clinic and barely aware of what was going on...but still exhibited enough anxiety at the notion of the cut on his head being stitched up that a small dose of valium was administered to calm him sufficiently so that that the work could be done. There had been a need for some pain relief and that's when things took a turn in an unexpected direction.

Things had been fairly quiet in the dimly lit observation room for the last hour, or so. Ant's severe nausea had been settled a few hours earlier and he was getting some much needed rest, lying on a gurney on his left side, facing the wall. He had been covered by a mound of blankets and started to quietly snore but that didn't seem to be disturbing Dec at all, who was busy doing something else all together. He was sitting up on his gurney with a bright smile on his face, his legs crossed, and left arm extended as far as he could reach without falling over the bedrails.

"Come ere...ye...daft beasty..." he whispered, his speech slurred and very difficult to understand. With a small growl of frustration, he struggled with the bedrails before dropping his shoulders in resignation...he couldn't move them. He glanced to his left with a mournful expression and explained his situation to the four-legged figure that only he could see.

"I...I can't...get em...down..." he said before frowning deeply. "Not...a numpty! Take...that...back...you...beasty!" His voice slightly grew louder then he heard a few noises off to his right and Dec sluggishly put his index finger up to his mouth. "Shhhh...you'll wake...him..." he whispered as he tracked the moving figure with eyes at half mast. He was clearly up to his eyeballs from the medications had been given to him.

Dec decided on a new tactic and began to slide himself down to the end of the gurney only to stop short when the tug of the IV in his left arm pulled painfully. With a frown, he glanced down at his arm, seemingly surprised by what he saw...as if seeing it for the very first time. He paused to consider what needed to be done before sticking out his tongue then, using shaking fingers, he clumsily began to peel away at the tape holding the cannula in place. Moments later, the tubing had been discarded and a puddle of IV fluid was growing on the floor. Dec was then free to slide off his gurney and  was now standing at the end of it, slightly swaying and totally ignorant of the blood streaming steadily down his arm. Once again, he reached out toward what only he could see and, with shaking steps, he walked out of the observation room and down the hallway, leaving a bloody smear on the wall as well as a blood trail on the floor.

At the same time, the medical staff was working quite frantically on a crew member who had been brought in exhibiting signs of a heart attack. Bob and Jared, both men between shifts, were kneeling over the figure right outside the clinic, where he had collapsed, while others were bringing out equipment and making the necessary calls for an ambulance. For the most part, it was all hands on deck and everyone available were doing all they could to save his life...meaning, there were no eyes on the boys, which would soon become a problem for Dec.