“What?
Nick, you’re bleeding.” Kevin replied hastily.
“I know.
Don’t.”
By then,
there was a commotion throughout the arena. Fatima was on the phone with the
paramedics while the others watched in shock and horror.
“Nick, if
I don’t put pressure, you could bleed to death.”
“Kev…”
Nick said, his eyes burning with tears. It was something he had wanted to tell
them for four years, but had never found the right time. He was always afraid
of what they might think of them. And then, in a time like this, when they
needed to know, they didn’t.
Kevin
kneeled down beside Nick, ignoring his pleads as he placed the jacket around
the pole, putting pressure onto the wound.
Tears
streamed down Nick’s face as he attempted to push Kevin away. “Kevin. Stop.
Please.”
“Nick, I
can’t. The paramedics will be here soon to help you.”
“I have HIV.
Stop touching me, Kev. I don’t want you to get it.” He sobbed. Kevin suddenly
stopped. His face paled and he looked blankly at Nick. Above them, Brian sat
slowly to the ground, comprehending everything Nick had just said.
Kevin’s
instincts finally began working again. “Fuck HIV, Nick. I’d rather have you
alive.” He continued putting pressure onto him until the paramedics ran in.
“Step
away, please, sir.” A woman said, kneeling beside Nick.
“Do you
have any allergies or conditions?” A man asked, pulling the jacket away from
the wound.
“He… he
has HIV.” Kevin said, finding it awkward for him to get it out.
“Okay.”
The pair set to work quickly, opening small kits and packets. As one cut the
shirt off, the other placed electrodes on his chest. Kevin looks at the wound
on Nick’s abdomen. It was at least 2 inches in diameter. It was angled upwards
when it had gone inside, so part of it look to be under his ribcage.
“He’s
going into shock,” The woman paramedic said. “Do you guys have an electric
saw?”
A
crewmember ran from the scene, returning seconds later with an electric saw.
“I need
you to cut this off right here.” She pointed to a place on the pole. Placing a
sheet around the pole onto his stomach, she motioned from the crewmember to
cut. He cut quickly, tossing the large piece to the side.
“Thank
you.”
“We need
to take him to the hospital now. It’s only two minutes from here. We can’t take
anyone with us, but if you go there, we’ll have them update you as soon as they
know anything.”
Kevin watched
as Nick’s eyes rolled back into his head. They placed him onto a backboard,
strapping him down, then laying it atop a gurney. They rushed out, leaving
everyone to stare at the closed door.
They stood
in shock, running the events through their heads.
“I’m
going.” AJ said suddenly.
“Me too.”
Kevin said. No one else said anything, let alone moved. Kevin ran backstage,
closely followed by AJ. They ran down the hall to the backdoor where the vans
sat.
“Do you have
the keys?” Kevin asked the driver who was sitting outside on the curb.
“Yes.”
“Can you
please take us to the hospital?”
Before he
could answer, the two had climbed into the van. The driver, sensing urgency,
sped out of the parking lot and drove the short distance to the hospital. He
stopped in front of the Emergency entrance.
Kevin and
AJ got out, walking inside the near-empty lobby.
“Can I
help you?” A girl asked from behind a desk.
“Our
friend was just brought in.”
“By the
ambulance?”
“Yes.”
”Okay. Go down the hall and take a left. There’s a trauma waiting room there.
I’ll let them know you’re here.”
They
followed her directions down the hallway, and then turned left. It took them
right to a small waiting room. It was decorated for a calming affect. Chairs
lined two walls, divided by tables with magazines and boxes of tissues. A TV
hung from the ceiling in the corner, muted on CNN. The room was empty except
for an intern sitting off to the side, writing notes on a chart.
Kevin sat
down, but AJ remained standing, pacing in front of him.
“AJ, sit
down. It’s not going to help.”
“I can’t.
Damn it, Kev. Why didn’t he tell us? Didn’t he trust us enough to tell us?”
Kevin
sighed, rubbing his temples. “I don’t know.”
AJ sat down,
leaning his head against the wall.
“Are you
two with Nickolas Carter?” A man appeared, taking off a yellow trauma gown to
reveal light blue scrubs.
“Yes.”
Kevin stood.
“I’m Dr.
Lynn. I was here when they brought Nickolas in. The pole penetrated his spleen,
and possibly his stomach and intestines. In just a few minutes, we’re going to
take him up to surgery. They’re going to take the pole out and basically do
damage control, mostly to stop the bleeding and see what is injured.”
“Is he
okay, though?” AJ asked.
“He’s
near-stable. His blood pressure is very low, which gave us the hint about the
spleen injury. Other than that, his other vitals are very good. He is still
conscious, but he isn’t in any pain. He’s on morphine and he’s doing okay.”
“Can we
see him before you take him up?” Kevin asked, a pleading look in his eyes.
“Uh…” He
looked down at his watch. “Yeah. We’ll have to make it quick though.”
“Kev… you,
uh, you go ahead. I’m going to call everyone.” AJ’s face had lost color and he
had sunk back into his chair.
Kevin
nodded, standing and following the doctor through a pair of glass doors.
“It’s kind
of messy in here, but don’t let it alarm you. He did lose a lot of blood.”
Dr. Lynn
opened a door to reveal a curtained area. From inside, several people could be
heard talking, along with the beeps of the SAT monitor. He pulled the curtain
back, and motioned for Kevin to go in.
Kevin drew
a deep breath as he moved forward. Nick lay in the middle of the room on an
oversized gurney. The pole remained, but had been wrapped with gauze and
plastic. A thin sheet covered his body, spots of red blood decorating it. From
an IV pole hung several bags of clear liquids, along with a blood transfusion
bag. They ran down a long tube to his arm and were taped on, then covered with
a foam board, and taped again.
Kevin
stepped beside the bed. Nick turned to look at him, a sense of familiarity in
his eyes.
“Hey
buddy.” He squeezed Nick’s hand, careful not to move the pulse oximeter.
“Hey,” Nick
replied, his voice muffled from an oxygen mask. “I’m so sorry.”
“For
what?”
“For not
telling you.”
“It’s not
important right now. Don’t worry about it.”
Nick
nodded, his eyelids becoming heavy.
“They’re
going to take you up to surgery real soon, but we’ll be here when you wake up.
AJ’s waiting out in the hall and calling everyone.”
“Aaron?”
“Yeah,
I’ll make sure we call him.”
“Thanks.”
“We’re
going to take Mr. Carter up to surgery now.” A nurse said from the other side
of the gurney.
“I’ll see
you later.” Kevin squeezed his hand once more, this time, receiving one in
return.
Hesitantly,
he turned to leave.
“Kevin, is
it?”
He turned
to see Dr. Lynn again.
“Yes.”
“The surgical
waiting room is on the second floor. If you go to the desk by the waiting room,
they’ll have someone take you up.”
“Okay.
Thank you.”
Kevin
returned to the waiting room to see AJ talking on the phone. He hung up as
Kevin walked in.
“I called
the guys and they were going to tell everyone.”
“Did you
call Aaron?”
“No.”
“I’ll do
it upstairs.”
Kevin went
to the desk and asked for directions upstairs.
“I can
take you up,” An elderly woman said. She walked out from behind the desk and
led the two to an elevator. It took them up one floor. Getting off, they walked
a short distance to an enclosed waiting room.
“Here you
are. I’ll let them know you’re here. Who are you with?”
“Nickolas
Carter.”
“Okay.”
The woman
walked away, leaving them in the small room. In the corner, a man and woman
sat, both reading out of a book.
“Is anyone
coming up?” Kevin asked, sitting down on a couch.
“Howie is,
definitely, and a few others.”
“Brian?”
“No. Howie
said he was pretty distraught.”
Kevin sighed,
picking up the phone.
“Do you
have Aaron’s number?” He asked AJ.
“No.”
“I guess
I’ll just call the operator.”
He dialed
O and waited to hear a voice.
“Operator,”
A woman’s nasally voice said.
“I need
the number for an Aaron Carter in Marathon, Florida.”
(AN: I
don’t know if Aaron lives in Marathon… I don’t know where he lives… but for the
story, he’s going to live there… lol)
“I have
one here, sir, but it’s a private number.”
“I know.
Look ma’am, this is an emergency. I need to get a hold of him.”
“I’ll
connect to him and see if he’ll take it. Who is trying to reach him?”
“Kevin
Richardson.”
The line
went dead for nearly a minute before he heard Aaron’s voice.
“Hello?”
“Aaron,
this is Kevin.”
“Hey.
What’s up?”
“Nick asked
me to call you. Uh... there was an accident during rehearsal today. We had to
take Nick to the hospital, and he’s on his way to surgery now.”
“Is he
okay?”
“He’s
stable. He has a penetrating abdominal injury. He lost a lot of blood.”
“Oh my
god. Where are you guys at?”
“New York
City. Roosevelt Hospital.”
“Okay. I’m
going to try to be up there as soon as I can. I’ll tell Dad and see if he can
get me up there.”
After
hanging up, Kevin rested his head on the back of the couch. Physically and
mentally drained from the day’s events, he let his eyes close.
Nearly two
hours later, he was disturbed suddenly when the phone rang from beside him.
Wiping the sleep from his eye, he answered.
“Hello?”
“Yes, I’m looking
for the people with Nickolas Carter.”
“This is
he.”
“I just
wanted to update you on Mr. Carter. He’s doing fine. They’re thinking about
another hour of surgery or so, but as soon as their finished, Dr. Resnick will
be in to talk to you. I’ll let you know if there are any changes.”
“Okay,
thank you.” He replaced the phone onto the cradle.
“Who was
it?” A sleepy AJ asked from beside him as he struggled to sit up.
“Someone
updating us on Nick. They said about another hour, then the surgeon will come
talk to us.” Kevin stood, stretching his legs from the position he had kept for
two hours. “I’m going to go down to the cafeteria and get something with
caffeine in it. Do you want anything?”
“No… I’m
going to go outside for a smoke.”
Kevin
nodded before leaving the room. He retraced his steps to the elevator and rode
down one floor. He followed signs that took him directly to the cafeteria. He
opened a glass refrigerator and withdrew a cold bottle Coca Cola. Going to the
cash register, he paid for the drink before returning to the hallway.
“Kevin!” A
voice called from behind him. He turned to see Aaron jogging towards him. Kevin
enveloped him into a tight hug.
“How is
he?”
“He’s
okay. They just called and said about another hour in the operating room, then
they’d come and talk to us.”
Aaron
followed Kevin in the elevator.
“Did your
dad come?”
“No. I got
my friend to buy the ticket. I haven’t been able to get a hold of Dad yet.”
“You can
keep trying.”
Stepping out
of the elevator, they walked to the waiting room. Upon entering, new faces sat
against the wall. Howie, Kristin, and Leighanne all were there, worried looks
upon their faces.
“Is he
okay?” Howie asked as soon as they walked in.
“He’s
still in surgery.” Kevin sat down across from them, as did Aaron.
The room
grew silent, each person lost in their own thoughts. Several more people came
into the room, eyeing the group as they took seats at the opposite side of the
room.
Each time
the door opened, their heads flew up, hoping for the doctor, but it was usually
a volunteer, checking on everyone to make sure they didn’t need anything. Kevin
checked his watch nearly an hour later, wondering how much longer it would be.
Beside him, Aaron sat, his head resting in his hands. From the back, he looked
like Nick. He had grown so much since the first time they had all met.
“Are you
all with Mr. Carter?” A voice suddenly asked. They all looked up at a nurse
standing in the doorway.
“Yes,” AJ
spoke up.
“Are any
of you immediate family?”
“I am,”
Aaron said.
“Dr.
Resnick would like to talk to his family only.”
“Could I
bring someone with me?” Aaron asked standing.
“Sure,”
The nurse replied, a sympathetic look on her face.
“Kevin?”
Aaron asked quietly.
Kevin nodded
and stood. He followed Aaron out of the room, turning to look at the faces he
was leaving. “I’ll be back.”
The two
followed the nurse down the hallway, stopping in front of a conference room.
“You can go
on in and have a seat. Dr. Resnick will be in shortly. Can I get you anything?”
“No
thanks,” Aaron said as they walked into the room. They sat down beside each
other on one side of a large table. The room was plain except for a television
in the corner, and a dry-erase board on one of the walls.
“Do you
think he’s okay?” Aaron looked up from his folded hands, a frightened look on
his face.
“I hope
so.” Kevin replied, not knowing what else to say, for he really didn’t know if
Nick would be okay.
There was
a knock on the doorframe as a tall, burly man walked in. He had a surgical mask
tied around his neck, but it draped down onto his chest. A cap remained on his
head, decorated with different football teams.
“Hello,
I’m Dr. Resnick.” He offered his hand to Kevin first.
“I’m Kevin
Richardson,” He shook his hand.
”And I’m Aaron, Nick’s brother.”
“It’s nice
to meet you both, under these circumstances at least.” He sat down at the end
of the table near the two of them. “I’m a general surgeon here at Roosevelt. I
was the head surgeon during the surgery today. Let me start by saying that he
is stable right now.”
Kevin and
Aaron both let out a sigh of relief, their throats becoming a little less
tight.
“When they
first brought Nick into the operating room, I looked over his injuries, and
then the X-Rays and ultrasounds. Because we weren’t totally sure of where the
bar went, this was basically exploratory surgery and damage control. When I got
inside, I was able to take out the bar and see what damage was done. His spleen
was bleeding, which was causing most of the blood in the cavity. Once that was
taken care of, we could inspect the actual damage. His spleen is in very
serious condition. The bar nearly went through it. His stomach and left kidney
were also damaged. There are also two ribs in his back that were broken, but
we’re hoping those will heal on their own. During the surgery, all I was able
to do was stop the bleeding and inspect the damage. Because of swelling of the
area, I was unable to close the incision. I packed it with special gauze and
bandages, and using a special covering, we were able to cover the incision,
rather than totally close it.”
“So he has
an open incision?” Kevin asked.
“Basically.
What it does is let the abdomen remain enlarged so the organs can go down in
swelling without causing any other problems. Tomorrow, we’ll be taking him back
into surgery to see what we can and can’t fix. By the looks of it, his kidney
may be too damaged to save. People can live full lives without kidneys; so
don’t worry about that so much. His stomach can also be easily taken care of.
It only injured part of it, and that can be repaired easily. The thing I’m most
worried about is his spleen. It was terribly damaged and will most likely have
to be taken out. People can also live without spleens, but they are a main
source with the immune system. People without spleens often get sick more
often. With Nick’s HIV, we’ll have to watch that very carefully and make sure
he gets all the vaccines he can in order to stay as healthy as possible. I know
this is a lot to take in. I do believe Nick can and will make a full recovery
as long as everything goes okay.”
“HIV?”
Aaron asked suddenly.
A confused
look crossed the doctor’s face. “You uh… you didn’t know?”
“No,” He
replied.
“Aaron,
I’ll talk to you in a minute,” Kevin said. “Dr. Resnick, can we see him
tonight?”
“Yes. He’s
in recovery right now. We’ll be taking him to his room in the ICU soon. He’s
partially sedated because he has a breathing tube, but he will be conscious
once he wakes from the anesthesia. If you guys want to go on back to the
waiting room, I’ll have a nurse take you up to the floor when he goes up. They
have strict visiting hour rules, but I’ll let them know you guys can see him.”
“Thank
you,” Kevin shook his hand as the doctor stood.
“I’ll let
you two talk.” He left the room, shutting the door behind himself.
“How come
you knew and I didn’t?” Aaron asked, tears falling freely down his face.
“We just
found out today. He told us when he fell. I tried to put pressure on the
bleeding and he was yelling at me to stop because he didn’t want me to get it.”
“You
touched his blood?”
“Yeah. But
I’d rather have Nick alive and have it, than to see him die in front of me.”
“Why
didn’t he tell us?”
“I don’t
know. Maybe he was scared.”
“Is that
why Brian isn’t here?”
Kevin
nodded. “I think so. I think he’s scared and sad and angry.”
“I am too.
But I still support my brother.”
“Some
people just react differently.”
“Can we go
back to now?” Aaron asked, looking at the clock on the wall.
“Yeah.”
They
returned to the waiting room, greeted by curious and scared eyes.
“He’s
stable,” Kevin said as he sat down. “He’s in recovery right now, but they’re
going to take him up to the ICU soon.”
“Is he
going to be okay?” Leighanne asked.
“His
spleen, stomach, and left kidney were damaged. Dr. Resnick said it all can be
taken care of, but he’s worried about the spleen. It’s part of the immune
system, and with his…status, it could threaten his health. But he’s going back
to surgery tomorrow. They didn’t close up his incision because everything was
swollen, but they’ll do that tomorrow when they fix everything.”
As Kevin
finished, the door opened and a new nurse entered.
“I can
take you all upstairs, now. They just took him up and are getting him situated
in the room.”
The small
group followed the nurse to the elevator and rode up five floors before
stopping on the ICU. She led them down the hall to a large waiting area.
“We
encourage our families and friends to stay if they’d like. These chairs are
rather comfortable for sleeping. There are plenty of pillows and blankets in
that closet.” She pointed to a door in the corner. “There’s a lounge next door
with vending machines and fresh fruit. There’s also a phone in here and in the
lounge, free of charge for you to use. If you would like the use of a room, we
do offer overnight rooms on the ninth floor. Dr. Resnick has asked that we bend
our rules tonight. Usually, one person is allowed into the room for fifteen
minutes each hour. With his request, we’re allowing one person to stay in the
room with Mr. Carter at all times. You may have two people at a time, but only
for fifteen minutes each hour. If you would like to trade off who stays, that
is okay too. We do ask that you allow Mr. Carter to rest, as he did just have
major surgery, along with a life-threatening injury.”
The nurse
seemed nice, but very stern about her instructions. “Would you like to see him
now?”
Aaron
looked nervously at Kevin.
“I can
take two of you,” She offered, noticing the look from Aaron.
Kevin
nodded, placing his arm around Aaron and ushering him forward to follow the
nurse. Kevin turned to see the others taking seats next to each other. “I’ll be
back so you guys can see him.”
He
followed Aaron and the nurse down the hallway. Each room had a window in the
front, most with it partially opened for the staff to look in. The doors stood
open, but curtains were closed around several of them. They stopped suddenly in
front of room 607. The window was covered completely by a curtain, and while
the door was open, the curtain around it was closed.
“We have a
security guard on the way up. I’ll have security bracelets for each of you
shortly. If you wish to have a bodyguard stand outside, rather than ours, that
it is fine. Just let us know.”