Chapter 19
“…that sounds good… Yes, it just landed in my inbox, let me open it up…that looks
much better…yeah, I can handle that…Unconscious at the moment...Honestly, I do
not prefer it that way, but he needs to rest and let his body heal….They’d release
him tomorrow, but the complications with the broken ribs and his lungs make it
tricky…I am, don’t worry about me. I’m one of the few Lymans without a colorful
bruise at the moment…I’ll tell him, thanks so much Liz. I don’t know what we’d ever
do without it…Ha! I’ll ask him about the raise as soon as he wakes up, then I can
watch the heart monitor dance. Thanks again, Liz. Bye!”
When Donna hung up she glanced over at her men and saw that Ben’s eyes were
open.
“Well if it isn’t Rip Van Winkle.” Donna teased. “How are you feeling?”
Ben tried to sit up and immediately winced. “I’m really sore. Why am I more sore
now than before?”
“One of the mysteries of life, honey. I got your pain prescription filled. I’ll get you
some cold water to take it with.” When Donna returned with the medicine and the
ice water, Ben dutifully took the pills and then looked back at his father lying next to
him.
“What are complications?” Ben asked.
Donna sighed as she realized her son overheard part of her conversation with Liz.
“Complications…are something that makes a condition more difficult to treat. Since
Dad’s lung was injured years ago, any injury to it, or the area around it, are
more…tricky to fix.”
“But he’s going to be okay? They can fix everything, right?”
“That’s what the doctor told me. We just need to take extra care of him for awhile. I
got a place to stay for us so we can stay here until he’s well enough to fly.”
“Why can’t we go home?”
“Because of the complications, they want to keep him a little longer, and even after
they release him it won’t be good for him to travel right away.”
“What about school? And work?” Ben asked.
“I’m glad you asked. We’re going to have a team Lyman meeting when we get back
to the hotel. But since you’re the eldest Lyman child, you get a preview.”
“Okay.” Ben got down off the bed and took the chair next to his mother.
“Here’s the plan. The hotel I found is a long term rental, with several rooms and a
kitchen. We should be able to hang our hats there for a few weeks without a
problem. Jenny is contacted your schools to get assignments and work for you to
do while we’re here. Liz is already hard at work re-arranging schedules. I’m going to
have to take some of your dad’s trips, but Toby and Brian are going to help pick up
the slack too.”
“What should I do?” Ben asked sincerely and Donna felt her heart swell.
“I’m going to need some serious help with your brother and sisters. Jenny and I can’
t do it all and I’m going to have to take some of these trips. Your dad is going to
have to stay in bed to heal and he’s going to be very crabby.”
“Worse than when the Republicans took the House?”
“I’m afraid so.” Donna admitted.
Ben looked over his shoulder at his sleeping father, who looked like the loser of a
prize fight. Despite his father’s words earlier, Ben still felt guilt raging through his
body.
“I’ll help him. And I can help with Tori and Jacob too.” Ben assured her.
“I know you will. I know we can count on you.” Donna met his eyes and saw doubt
there. “What is it, Ben?”
“Do you think it’s my fault? The accident?” Ben asked hesitantly.
“I think you and your dad both made some mistakes, but it was an accident. It wasn’
t anyone’s fault. No one did anything on purpose to hurt someone else.”
“I did. I told dad I didn’t ever want to talk to him again. I told him I hated him. I did it
on purpose.” Ben confessed.
“That was a mistake and I know it hurt your dad. But I also know he forgave you
when you said you were sorry. Sometimes you hurt people you love, but the
important thing is admitting your mistake and starting over.” Donna opined.
“That’s what Dad said.”
“Well, look at that! Sometimes he IS right.” Donna teased and got a smile for her
effort. “Teamwork?” Donna put her hand out to her son.
“Teamwork.” Ben agreed and took her hand.
**************************************************
Josh woke up a little disoriented and immediately registered pain in his chest. It
took a minute for him to remember where he was and why. He moved his good arm
around looking for the call button to get a nurse, when his hand met with something
much softer than a call button. His eyes adjusted to the darkness and saw Donna’s
head on the mattress next to him her cell phone in her hand.
“Donna…” he called quietly. “Donna…?” he called a little louder. That got her
attention. She sat up suddenly and dropped her cell phone on the floor. “What are
you doing here? You should be sleeping at the hotel.”
“I tucked the kids in and came back.” Donna cleared the sleep from her voice. “I
was worried you might need me.”
“Job security. Can you get the nurse? The pain in my chest is making it hard to
breathe.” Josh requested.
“Of course.” Donna found and pressed the call button. “See? What would you do
without me?”
Josh smiled a bit but didn’t answer her. She was about to call him on it when the
nurse came in.
“Having some pain Mr. Lyman?” she asked.
“He’d rather you call him Josh. He said it’s hard to breathe with the pain in his
chest.” Donna replied when Josh didn’t.
The nurse took a look at the screens monitoring Josh’s vitals. “Josh, your heart
rate is elevated a bit. Have you been moving around?” she asked.
Josh shook his head ‘no’. “He just woke up.” Donna added.
The nurse pulled out her stethoscope and listened to his breathing while
simultaneously turning on the bright overhead light. After only a few seconds, she
pressed the call button herself.
“I need the portable X-ray, stat, patient’s heart rate is elevated, lips are blue, and
he’s experiencing chest pain.” She announced. Within seconds, several nurses
and then a doctor appeared.
“What’s going on? Isn’t chest pain normal with broken ribs?” Donna asked amid the
fast paced movements of the medical staff.
“It can be, but combined with the other symptoms, it can be indicative of another
condition; hemothorax.” The original nurse explained. “We’re going to do an X-ray
to see if there is blood build up around the lung. He has decreased breath sounds
already.”
“And what do we do if it is?” Donna asked.
“We’ll insert a chest tube to eliminate the blood buildup. But first things first, let us
get a good look at what’s going on. Will you step outside a minute? We need all the
space we can get right now.”
Donna nodded and stepped out into the all, shaking. Josh really needed to stop
doing this to her. She went to the waiting area and picked up the phone.
“Ruth? It’s Donna…”
****************************************
“Mrs. Lyman? I’m Doctor Malone. Your husband is doing fine now. His chest tube
was successful in draining the excess blood from around the lung, and the lung is
re-inflating.” Donna visibly relaxed at his words.
“So he isn’t in any danger?” she confirmed.
“He’s not in any danger. The night nurse was quick to spot the symptoms and that’s
half the battle right there.” Doctor Malone explained. “This type of complication is
exactly why we wanted to keep him here a few days.”
“But couldn’t this just happen again once he’s home. The other doctor said it would
take several weeks for the ribs to heal.”
“Most likely, this occurred at the time of impact. The rib broke and punctured the
lung. We did an X-ray when he was first admitted and saw no sign of hemothorax
then, so it must have been a very small puncture that led to a slow buildup of blood
around the lung.”
“How long does the chest tube need to stay in?” Donna asked.
“Until the X-ray shows us the blood has all drained and the lung is fully functional;
sometime tomorrow…or later today I guess.” The doctor smiled ruefully as he
looked at his watch.
“Can I go back in?”
“Of course, we gave him a sedative and a local anesthetic for the chest tube
procedure, so he’ll probably be a bit loopy and sleepy.”
“Thank you, Dr. Malone.” Donna shook his hand and went back into Josh’s room.
The same nurse that had answered that original call was standing at his side
dutifully recording things in his chart. Donna took a closer look at her
nametag…Abby. Donna smiled at the coincidence.
“Abby? Dr. Malone told me one of the reasons Josh is stable right now is because
of your quick action.” Donna said quietly.
“That’s my job, Mrs. Lyman.” Abby responded.
“Please call me Donna. I know it’s your job, but when someone does a job
particularly well, that should always be noted and appreciated. Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome.” Abby said graciously. “Your husband is a hero to my brother. He’
d have let me have it if anything had happened to him under my watch.”
“Does your brother live here too?”
“Mmmm-hmmm.” Abby went about adjusting some of the equipment. “He worked,
well volunteered really, or the Santos campaign here. He would always go on and
on about how great Santos was and how brilliantly your husband ran the campaign.
Now he teaches political science at the U of M.”
“You should invite him here when Josh is feeling better.” Donna suggested.
“Seriously?” Abby asked.
“Most seriously. It sounds like your brother would owe you big time for the meeting,
and Josh loves to spend time with people who think he’s brilliant.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks for mentioning it. Can I ask? I heard two of your
children were hurt in the crash too. Are they doing alright?”
“They are; thanks. Ben has some stitches and Tori broke a bone in her arm, but
that was the extent of it for them.” Donna took Josh’s hand in hers. “Now if we can
just get this one to stop scaring the life out of me…”
“He’s going to make a full recovery as long as he lets his body rest and heal for the
next few weeks.”
Donna scoffed. “Think about what your brother told you about Josh’s reputation.
Does that sound like someone will sit still for a few weeks and rest?”
“Now that you mention it, that doesn’t sound quite in character does it?” Abby
reflected.
“No, its really not.”
“But Mrs. Lyman, Donna, it is really important that he stay still and rest for the next
couple weeks.” Abby relayed.
“I know. That’s why I called in reinforcements. His mother will be here by the time he’
s released.” Donna announced smirking.
“You called my mother?” Came Josh’s raspy voice, his eyes still closed. “You are a
traitor, Donnatella Moss.”
“It’s Donnatella Lyman. Or have you forgotten we’re married in your drug induced
haze.”
“I’m having it annulled. No wife of mine would call in my mother like this. You’re a
traitor.”
“I do whatever is necessary to win. I thought you of all people would appreciate that
fact.” Donna replied.
“You’re calling me a Republican now? While I’m in a weakened condition?” Josh
questioned. “’I do whatever is necessary to win’. Those are Republican tactics.” He
mocked and slurred at the same time.
“Go back to sleep Joshua.” Donna tried to soothe him.
“I can’t I’ve got this thing sticking out of my chest.” He whined. “Even thinking about
it makes me want to hurl.”
“Let’s not do that. Between the thing in your chest and the broken ribs, throwing up
would be something to avoid. Talk to me about something else.” She suggested.
“No, you.” Josh whined and Donna exchanged smiles with the nurse.
“I’ve got good news for you. Your life saving Nurse Abby, here, has a brother who
teaches poli-sci and thinks your brilliant. Who knew there were any more deluded
souls out there?”
“Ha. Ha.” Josh managed. “Owww…”
“No, keep going with the ‘ha, ha’s’.” Abby encouraged. “Deep breathing and
coughing helps build up lung strength. The pulmonologist will tell you all about it
later.”
“I’m familiar with pulmonologists. Those sadistic bastards never tell you it’s going to
hurt like hell, do they?” Josh muttered.
“Not usually, no.” Abby admitted. “The local anesthetic will wear off shortly, let me
know if you need additional pain meds. I’m on until 7.”
“Can’t I have them now? Then I won’t have to bother you later.” Josh reasoned.
“On a scale of 1 to 10-“ Abby began.
“Twelve.” Josh interjected.
“I can give you another small dose. Too much can affect your heart and lungs and
that is not what we want to decrease right now.” Abby came back with a small
syringe that she injected into his IV. “This should help you sleep, too. Do you need
anything Donna?”
“I just need my husband to quit scaring me like this.” Donna softened the statement
with a kiss to his forehead. “Go to sleep.”
“Stay with me?” He asked sleepily.
“Always.” Donna promised.