Fix My Feet When They're Stumblin'

Chapter 41

    Settling into her seat next to Ronnie and Olivia, Tana looked around the table at the large group of people gathered in the hospital conference room. So many different types of doctors for one patient...I didn't realize so many people would be needed to take care of Brandon.

     Some she recognized: Dr. Mavis, the neuropsychologist; Dr. Johnston, the neurologist; Mandy and the dark-haired nurse who chiefly shared Brandon's care; and lastly, Ernie and Ryan, Brandon's occupational and physical therapists. Many others she only vaguely recognized, and she found herself reading their departments and titles embroidered neatly onto their coats or printed on name tags.

     Finally, after more than three weeks in Saint Luke's hospital, they were ready to discuss plans to discharge Brandon, and she was brimming with excitement and relief. Maybe a new beginning awaited them outside the walls of the sterile, stuffy hospital. A touch of trepidation lingered still, though, as she perused the thick binders of educational material they had been given. They've done so much. In addition to general information, each doctor and therapist had written up personalized recommendations - things for Brandon's caregivers to keep in mind, and how to treat him. There was also a section specifically for Brandon, then a third directed toward the children, written in a way that they could understand.

    The neurologist, Dr. Johnston, shuffled a stack of papers and cleared his throat, then looked up as the room quieted, all eyes on him. "Alright, we have Mrs. Flowers, and...I'm sorry, who are you two?"

    Tana opened her mouth to introduce Ronnie and Olivia, but Mandy was faster: "This is Ronnie Vannucci, Brandon's friend, and his wife, Olivia. Ronnie was hiking with Brandon when the accident happened, and they plan on moving in with the Flowers family to help take care of Brandon once...once he's sent home."

    The doctor's lips thinned until they disappeared. "That's one thing we need to address right off the bat. Mrs. Flowers, with such an injury your husband is considered incapable of making his own medical decisions at this time. As his spouse, you have advance directive - you can make his decisions for him, and you have final say."

    Dr. Johnston sighed, running a hand through his sparse blonde hair. "However...with the nature of his injury, it is our opinion as his medical team that he should be discharged into a rehabilitation facility that specializes in traumatic brain injuries - he is stable enough to leave this hospital, but he is not ready to go home, Mrs. Flowers. We cannot recommend an inpatient rehab facility highly enough. The months just after an injury are critical for a patient's overall recovery, and what we do now will directly impact how much function he recovers. There are no adequate facilities in Utah, but we have referred Brandon to a rehabilitation hospital in Colorado in that specializes brain injury. That green folder there has all the information - "

    Tana interrupted him, her eyes flashing. "No. I want to take him home. I can't - I can't send him away to live in another state, for God's sake! He needs to be home!"

    "Mrs. Flowers, this facility has housing on site for patients' families, you could all - "

    "I said no, doctor. I will be bringing him home. He needs to be home. We need him home. He can do outpatient therapy."

   Around the table, several of the doctors and therapists wilted visibly at this pronouncement, whispering to each other behind their hands. Dr. Johnston sat ramrod straight in his chair and closed his eyes, sucking in a long breath and letting it out slowly.

    "Mrs. Flowers...I mean no disrespect, but...well, you folks have no idea what you're dealing with, and you're simply not equipped to handle Brandon's care right now. He's very high-need at the moment, and it is very unlikely that he can be adequately accommodated in a home setting anytime soon. Don't be fooled into thinking that just because he can walk, he can talk, he can even feed himself with a lot of patience and perseverance, that he's not seriously injured."