A Complicated Web

Chapter Forty-Three: Better to Wait

Well, it could have been worse, Dr. Bosch thought as he examined the results of Hiro's Ct-scan with a sigh. But as things were, it wasn't pretty either. With Hiro's decreased body mass, due to basically having no body fat, he'd decidedly done a number on himself.

Reviewing the course of events, it made sense for the extent of the youth's injuries to be so far reaching. When the central monitor alerted him to a change in Hiro's condition, he'd been quick to respond. From his brain activity, he was likely having another episode, or about to have one. And to keep the "helpers" from doing anything that might aggravate that, he'd immediately relayed instructions that they try not to spook him, which would likely make it worse.

His precautions had seemed in vain though. The moment he'd entered the lab, Hiro had jumped around like someone was chasing him, which may have been what he saw. But when the teen rammed into the first worktable, Dr. Bosch couldn't help but wince. He'd had no time to react to that before Hiro was back on his feet, in a manner of speaking, and was ducking behind another desk as if his life depended on it. That was the sure sign he wasn't living in reality. That and his vital signs were through the roof.

Dr. Bosch had relayed instructions to the others in the room to try and surround the young man in a way that would be as non-aggressive as possible. Unfortunately, something spooked him further and Hiro practically shot himself through a stretch of different storage lockers and tool chests at varying heights. In his confused state, the teen had knocked into most of them, hitting his body against the solid metal all the way from his mid-section down. That had resulted in a lot of damage.

Believing a quicker intervention best at this point, the good doctor had requested Hiro's overseers move in and try to deter him from doing any more harm. It was unfortunate the boy had misinterpreted the gesture and made a break for it, tripping over one of the very items he'd knocked over in his bid to escape whatever mental hell he was in. The snap resulting from his fall was loud, his arm breaking on impact. But his putting his arm out had probably saved him from further internal injuries, even if the impact had knocked the wind out of him. He hadn't waited to see what else would happen before moving in to take over.

He'd gotten there in time to see the medic shining a light in the youth's eyes, though it wasn't hard to tell the boy was having difficulty breathing. He called for oxygen, realizing Hiro looked like a fish out of water. That and another alarm was sounding on his tablet, indicating Hiro's blood oxygen levels were dangerously low. From there, they'd made sure he was stable before moving him back to the medical area, heading right for the CT-Scanner and MRI machine.

The broken arm was the easiest to treat. Dr. Bosch did have to perform a mild reduction to get the bones back in place, but he doubted he'd need any pins to allow the bone to heal completely. That arm was currently in a velcroed brace until the swelling went down. He'd had to remove the catheter in that arm and insert a new one on the teen's dominant side. It wasn't ideal, generally speaking, but it had to be done.

What worried him the most was the internal bleeding he'd noted on the scans. He'd already asked the surgical staff to prepare for immediate surgery to try and fix the damage before it became worse. Most of that bleeding seemed focused on Hiro's lower torso, which made sense. His rib cage had protected his heart and lungs, a miracle he was more than happy for. Most of the damage appeared to come from either bruised or torn muscles and the smaller arteries that ran through them.

If there was one thing Dr. Bosch could say, beyond a shadow of a doubt, it would be that Hiro wasn't going to be returning to that lab any time soon. The fractures in his legs alone would insure that, but with the other damage to the surrounding muscle tissues... he was going to be out of commission for some time.