When Kat Came Back

Chapter 23

Ashlynn was in surgery for six hours. Patrick and Patricia had fallen asleep waiting for news. Patrick had texted Elisa to let her know what had happened.

Elisa, David, Megan and Kevin had all arrived at the hospital and were waiting with Patrick and Patricia for any word on Ashlynn. They left the mother and son to sleep for a while, knowing the stress this would have put them under.

When Patrick opened his eyes, Megan wrapped him in a hug.

"She's gonna be okay, Pat. She has to be."

Patrick nodded.

The surgeon came into the waiting room where the Stumph family was waiting for any word on Ashlynn's condition. Patricia stood up as soon as he walked in.

"Doctor, is she...? Is Ashlynn okay?"

"Mrs. Stumph, why don't you all sit down?"

Patrick fell into his chair. He was certain they'd lost Ashlynn after all.

Patricia sat slowly, trying to hold back tears.

"Are you all family?" He asked. They all responded that they were.

"Okay. So, your daughter - and sister - sustained some pretty serious injuries. We were able to fix the puncture in her lung and we found the source of the internal bleed and were able to repair that.

We put a small plate and pin in her hip to stabilize the fracture. She'll have that in for the rest of her life. But it shouldn't cause any problems.

Her broken ribs were set and we have her chest wrapped to stabilize the ribs.

She did very well through the surgery, and I don't anticipate any complications. She's had an MRI of her head to check her head injury and it looks pretty mild. She's probably got a concussion, but she's unconscious, so we'll assess that when she wakes up."

"When will she wake up?" Patricia asked.

"Well, we have her sedated as well, so she won't fight the respirator, and she'll  probably stay that way for a few days. We want to let her rest and relax. She's been under a tremendous amount of physical stress. Her body just needs to rest."

"But she's going to be okay?" David asked.

"I see no reason why not. As serious as her injuries are, she was easy to fix up. We'll keep monitoring her for more internal bleeding, and when we lower her sedation, we'll see if she wakes up on her own. We can help her manage the pain when she does wake up.  And she will likely be in a pretty good amount of pain."

"How long do you think she might be in the hospital?" Megan asked.

"Well, the next three days we're keeping her sedated. After that, we'll have to see how she wakes up and how she's feeling."

The family nodded.

"So, she's in recovery right now. They'll be moving her up to the ICU. Why don't you all head on up there, let the nurses know you're there and they'll set you up in their waiting room and come get you when Ashlynn is transferred and settled in her room.

They thanked the surgeon and filed out of the room, asking the staff in the Emergency Department the way to the ICU.

An hour after arriving there, a nurse came to tell them that Ashlynn had been transferred and was settled in her room. But that only two visitors could go in at a time. Patrick and Patricia went first.

Patricia broke down and told Ashlynn that it was her who took her blades and how sorry she was.

Ashlynn didn't react. The respirator breathed for her. The heart monitor beeped. But Ashlynn lay still.

The family rotated in and out over the next few hours. When visiting hours were over, Patrick insisted he was staying overnight with Ashlynn. The staff wouldn't argue with him. He made Patricia go home and get some rest. Elisa said she'd go home with Patricia and she'd stay over and bring her back to the hospital in the morning.

"I want to stay with Ashlynn.  I want to stay with my daughter!"

"Mom," Patrick said. "You need your rest and strength for when Ash comes home again. Elisa will bring you straight here in the morning. Promise."

"I won't sleep at home. I may as well stay here," she insisted.

Patrick shrugged. He wasn't going to argue with her. He'd lose anyway. So, he shrugged. Elisa said she'd take the shopping that was loaded in Patricia's car, to the house.

Patrick and Patricia took up their places beside Ashlynn's unconscious form. Neither spoke.