Elaine Orr - Jolie Gentil 03 - When the Carny Comes to Town by Elaine Orr Read Free Book Online

sitting on.
    Traffic around town was heavier than on a normal Sunday, likely because a lot of people were back for the carnival.  I still made it back to the hospital by ten fifteen.  Aunt Madge looked up, surprised.  “I thought you’d take a longer break.”
    I shrugged.  “Say hello to Lance for me.”  I sank into one of the uncomfortable waiting room chairs, glad that the group from last night had finally left.
    She stood and picked up her purse.  “I was in there for fifteen minutes last time.  I think they’re going to be more relaxed about us being in there today.”  She shook her head slightly.  “I can’t see any difference, but the nurse said he mostly had a good night.”
    I’d heard the same thing, so I merely kissed her cheek.  “You’re the best.”
    She studied me for a second.  “You’re up to something.”
    I laughed, and realized it was the first time I’d done that since we’d heard about Scoobie.  “Maybe you can pray for a less suspicious attitude.”
    “I’ll come back for a bit after church and then go to Cozy Corner.”  She gave me one more of her appraising looks before she left.
    It wasn’t a lie, really.  Aunt Madge and I have very different definitions of ‘up to something.’
     
    THE NEXT TIME I SAW SCOOBIE I thought he looked calmer, somehow.  Not that a sedated person looked too stressed, but something seemed different.  I asked the nurse about it.
    “We’ve changed his pain meds a couple times, trying to get the best dosage to keep him comfortable but not too doped up.  I think we found the right mix.”  She tucked a folded towel under Scoobie’s shoulder.
    “What’s that for?”
    “We don’t want to roll him around a lot, but we want to change his pressure points.”  She glanced at my puzzled stare.  “If he lies in one spot to long he could get pressure sores, but we don’t want to move his spine too much.”
    “Can you tell me more about his back injuries?”  I asked.
    “The doctor could tell you more.”
    “I don’t know when I’ll see him.  Or is it a her?”
    “The orthopedist is a woman, Dr. Cahill,” she said.
    “Are you allowed to tell me anything?” I asked.
    She ignored my snippy tone.  “Sure.  It could be a lot worse, actually.  He compressed T-3, which is about here.”  She pointed to a spot maybe five inches below her neck, “and C-3, which is in the neck.  You know what that means, right?”
    “I’ve heard the term, but I guess I don’t know the significance of it.”  Plus I’d heard lots of terms the last 24 hours.  I thought I remembered crushed and compressed most often.
    She nodded.  “A vertebra on someone Adam’s size is maybe an inch tall.  You want it to stay the same size, not get crunched, obviously.  But,” she adjusted his pillow, “If you do put enough pressure on it to compress it some, your spine can adjust.  It’s important to stabilize it, usually by wearing a brace for awhile.” 
    I thought about this for a moment.  “And if it doesn’t stabilize?”
    “There are so many things that can be done now besides the major surgery, you know, the kind with pins and all that.”
    I must have looked relieved, because she smiled slightly.  “They can even insert kind of a gel, which hardens, to keep it from compressing more.”
    While it didn’t sound like fun, gel sounded a lot better than having pins in your spine.  “Thanks for the generic explanation.”
    “Dr. Cahill can tell you more specifics.”  She hesitated.  “You are family, right?”
    “As far as I know he has none.  I’m his best friend.”  Best friend.  Yep, that’s me. 
    She nodded and left the room.  There was a plastic chair a few feet from the bed and I pulled it close enough that I could sit next to the bed and put a hand on Scoobie’s arm.  I realized his arm felt really cold and wondered if I could put it under the sheet.  I studied the IV line and decided to just pull the cotton