Snow Lodge
Chapter 65
Howie rushed down the hallway, heading back in the direction of the cafeteria. His mind was panicked, but the nurse's reassurances had calmed him somewhat. The only thing on his mind was getting to the others to let them know something had happened.
He was so intent on his mission, that he almost ran straight into Kevin, who was walking down the hall from the cafeteria, having finished his lunch already. Howie spotted him just in time and skidded to a halt right in front of him.
"Howie?" Kevin was worried by the look on Howie's face.
Howie took a second to catch his breath before speaking.
"Where's Nick and Brian?" He asked.
"I left them in there." Kevin told him, pointing at the cafeteria doors. "Howie what's wrong? Why aren't you with AJ?"
"I... They told me to come find you all."
"What! Why?" Kevin asked, as he turned around and went with Howie back to the cafeteria.
"I don't know what happened." Howie explained. "The nurse told me not to worry, but I couldn't go back in so I should find y'all and bring you back."
Howie and Kevin re-entered the cafeteria, where they quickly spotted Brian and Nick sitting in a corner talking as they finished their coffee.
Brian looked up and spotted Howie, causing him to stand up quickly. Nick turned around in his chair and saw them too, and immediately followed Brian over to their bandmates.
"Howie?" Brian asked, a panicked look in his eyes.
"D what's wrong?" Nick asked as he joined them.
"We need to get back to the ICU." Howie explained.
"What? Why?" Brian stuttered, even as he followed Howie out of the door.
"I don't know what happened." Howie elaborated. "All of a sudden AJ's ventilator kinda went crazy, and then this alarm went off. They kicked me out and when I told the nurse that AJ was squeezing my hand and then the ventilator went nuts she told me not to worry, but to get y'all back up here."
"Wait! AJ squeezed your hand?" Nick asked as they entered the elevator.
"Yeah. I thought I was imagining it ya know? But then he did it again. It wasn't very strong, but it was enough so I could feel it. I was about to call the nurse when the alarm went off." Howie explained.
"But he squeezed your hand. That's gotta be good right?" Nick questioned.
Kevin squeezed his shoulder. "Yeah. I think it must be."
"He's going to be okay." Brian stated, making the others look at him.
"You think so?" Howie asked.
"Yeah. I know it. I can feel it." Brian told him, tears forming in his eyes.
The elevator stopped and Kevin wrapped an arm around his cousin as he led him back into the ICU.
"I hope you're right cuz. I hope you're right."
As they reached the nurse's station, the nurse who had spoken to Howie was there. She looked up and smiled at them warmly before pointing to the waiting room.
"The Doctor's nearly finished with AJ." She told them. "If you go wait in there, she'll come and let you know what's happening okay?"
Kevin nodded his thanks and led them into the waiting room.
A few minutes later Jonesy appeared, bringing with him another Doctor.
"Hey guys." Jonesy greeted them. "This is Doctor Fraser, she's AJ's Doctor, and she'll let you know what has been happening."
Doctor Fraser smiled at them before beginning.
"Well gentlemen. I believe your friend just gave you quite a scare."
"You could say that." Howie told her. "He was fine one minute then everything went crazy."
"I know. That sometimes happens. I take it you were the one in there with him?"
"Yeah." Howie confirmed. "I was just about to call the nurse cos AJ had squeezed my hand, when the ventilator went off rhythm and then all the alarms went off."
"So I understand. The nurse told you not to worry though right?"
"Yeah, but after last time..." Howie trailed off remembering the last time an alarm had gone off in AJ's room.
"I know. It's perfectly understandable." Doctor Fraser reassured him. "However, time the alarm was just a warning."
"A warning of what?" Kevin asked.
"A warning that something was fighting against the ventilator." Doctor Fraser looked at each of the boys and smiled warmly. "It was telling us that your friend had decided he'd had enough of having the air fed to him down a tube, and he wanted to do it himself."
"You mean..." Howie began, a mixture of nervous and elated.
"Yes. I mean he decided that he was ready to begin breathing on his own again." Doctor Fraser confirmed.
Brian and Nick whooped with joy, and Howie and Kevin smiled broadly, feeling a weight lift off of their shoulders.
"Is he okay now Doc?" Kevin asked, regaining his composure first.
"Well, we ran tests on his responsiveness just now, and apart from responding to touch, as he did with Howie earlier, he appears to be no closer to waking up." Jonesy told them.
"However," Doctor Fraser added. "This is a very good sign. The simple fact that he has taken over breathing by himself has shown that. His chances are now much, much better than they were before, and although we cannot give you any kind of a timetable, I think we can safely say that if he continues to progress as he is, we believe he will come out of the coma fairly soon."
"Can we go back and see him now?" Brian asked, anxious to see AJ again.
Jonesy smiled at Brian's eagerness. "Yes you can. I suggest you keep on doing whatever it is you guys have been doing, because it certainly seems to be working!"
"Definitely." Doctor Fraser concurred. "Keep talking to him and asking him questions, try and stimulate him as much as you can. At this moment he is not responding to sound, but he knows the sound of your voices, and familiar sounds such as voices can be very important in a persons recovery."
"Don't worry Doc." Nick assured her. "When he's awake he rarely ever shuts up, so it's nice for him to have to listen to us for a change."
Jonesy and Doctor Fraser both laughed at Nick's impish grin and headed back to the door. "You guys can go back to talking his ear off now, we're gonna get back to work. Just let us know if you need anything else okay?"
"Sure Jonesy." Howie replied.
"And thanks." Brian added, smiling.
"It's our pleasure." Doctor Fraser replied as she returned the smile.
"C'mon guys." Nick urged. "Let's get back to AJ."
The others needed no more encouragement, as they all headed back down to AJ's room.
A few hours later though, the four boys had run out of conversation topics. They had covered just about everything they could think of, questioning, cajoling and downright begging AJ to wake up and open his eyes, but nothing had happened.
He was still responding to touch, and they were buoyed somewhat by the knowledge that his grip seemed to be slowly getting stronger as time went by, but he showed no other outward signs of waking. The initial excitement of his improved condition had also now worn off and they were all beginning to flag a little as the evening turned to night.
After an hour or so with very little conversation, the four boys eventually fell asleep in various uncomfortable positions. Kevin had his feet propped up on the bottom of AJ's bed. Howie had fallen asleep with his head tipped over the back of the chair, and Nick had slumped down in his chair, to the point where if he moved, he would almost certainly fall off.
Brian was probably in the most comfortable position, with his head pillowed on his arms, which were resting beside AJ on the bed. All four men dreamed, and their last thought was that they hoped the next day would bring better things.
