Chapter Fifty-Eight: Holidaze
Thanksgiving
"When did that bleeding start?" I asked as I held gauze to the little boy sitting in front of me, Nicholas' nose, hoping the pressure would slow the bleeding.
"This morning." The mother told me. "He's had these before. I just... I've never seen a nosebleed go on like this."
"There's blood on Timmy, Mom." Nicholas told his mother, talking about the drawing of a turkey that he was working on.
"Mr. and Mrs. Jacobsen, can I see you?" Derek asked the parents from where he and Arizona were standing next to a monitor, looking over their son's scans.
"Go ahead. We'll be fine." I assured them as I continued to wipe the Nicholas' nose, watching as they went over to talk to Derek.
"Nicholas has what is called an arteriovenous malformation." Derek told the couple.
"It's a cluster of tangled blood vessels in his brain." Arizona tried to simplify it for them. "It's what's causing the bleeding."
"In order to stop the bleeding, we need to remove it." Derek said.
"Y-Y-You mean like brain surgery or..." Mr. Jacobsen stuttered.
"I'll do everything I can to protect the brain tissue and minimize damage." Derek promised them.
"I'm sorry." Arizona shook her head. "I know it's scary. But we have to go in right away."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"She's eighteen. That's not very much younger than me." I shook my head as I assisted in Nicholas' surgery later that morning, after learning that a young woman had showed up, claiming to be Mark's daughter.
"Well, it's not that shocking actually." Derek commented. "I mean, the way Mark got around before he met you, there could be a gaggle of Sloans. Sloan Jones. Sloan Smith. Sloan Sloan."
"Mean." Arizona told him.
"I'm overreacting, right?" I asked my friends, choosing to ignore Derek's comment. "I mean, I have a kid. What's so different about Mark having one, too?"
"Well, his is legally an adult while yours in only eight." Arizona pointed out.
"Ah, damn it. Son of a bitch." Derek swore, causing Arizona and I to drop our conversation. "I can't access the feeders."
"So, what does that mean?" I asked.
"It means I can't get at it." Derek told us. "I can do a temporary fix, but once he starts bleeding again, which he will, there won't be anything we can do."
"So we're just gonna... send him home to die?" I frowned underneath my surgical mask.
"Happy Thanksgiving, Jacobsen family." Arizona sighed, clearly not happy with the result either.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"I-I-I-I don't- I don't understand." Mr. Jacobsen stumbled over his words as we all stood around Nicholas' hospital room, Derek having just informed the parents on their son's condition. "You- You said that- that he would die without the surgery. And now you're telling us we're supposed to just take him home?"
YOU ARE READING
Stitches of Life
Fanfiction"I don't get it." He shook his head at me, his frustration clear in his eyes. "Why can't you just let yourself be happy, for once?" "What makes you think I'm not happy?" I crossed my arms over my chest, my eyes narrowing into slits as I met his gaze...
