Mal Pugh

Part 22

Mallory and Christen had been sleeping for 2 hours and it was now time to wake up Mal. With a concussion, you have to wake people up every couple of hours when they sleep to check on them. Alex, Kelly, and Tobin went into the guest bedroom. Everyone was glad to see that Mal and Christen were good again. Alex and Kelly hovered in the doorway and Tobin went over to the bed and kneeled in front of Mal after she woke up Christen. Tobin gently rubbed Mal's good shoulder to wake her up. After the drowsiness settled, Mallory was mostly awake. Now that she was awake, she felt extremely dizzy. Alex has noticed this just in time. Right as Alex got the trash can under her mouth Mal threw up. It was extremely painful due to her awful headache and cracked ribs. After throwing up she leaned over the trash can and cried. The sling wasn't really helping the pain of her collarbone. Christen made a mental note to call a surgeon in the morning and schedule a surgery for Mal as soon as possible. With Mal leaning over the trash can, Tobin sat next to her on the bed and rubbed her back. Christen sat on the other side and Mal leaned against her for support. A small light was on in the hall, so it wasn't too bright for Mal, but they could see the worsening bruise on her face. She now had two bad black eyes and her nose was a dark purple color with blood crusted around her nostrils. The bruises would probably last a few weeks. Because Mal was in a lot of pain, Alex went to grab the painkillers that the medical staff gave her and Kelly went to grab fresh ice packs. Mal thought now was a good time to talk to Tobin. Mal shifted her weight against Tobin and now leaned on her. Mal looked up at her with sad eyes and started crying.

"Thank you for hitting that guy. I'm sorry I cut you guys out. You probably hate me. You didn't deserve that" Mal managed to get out between the tears.

"Mal we aren't mad at you, I promise" Tobin told her as she embraced her in a hug, but made sure not to squeeze her too tight.

Once Kelly and Alex came back into the room, Mal took her pain pills and they gave her ice. Kelly rewrapped her ribs for her and applied some ice to that too. Her ribs were an angry purple color and she knew they must hurt like hell. Once they got Mal all situated, Christen and Tobin laid in the bed with Mal in between them. Alex went upstairs with Kelly and they slept in her bed.
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Every two hours throughout the night, they woke Mal up and made sure she was ok. They also gave her pain pills and ice as needed. It was now 10 am and they decided it was a good time to get up. Christen called the surgeon, back home in DC, and scheduled a surgery for Mal's arm for tomorrow morning. Their first game was in 3 days and this gave Mal two days to recover before they left. Christen and Tobin were very hesitant about letting Mal go to the victory tour games in Las Vegas and then Las Angelous three days later. She obviously would just sit on the bench because she couldn't play, but they were still nervous. But then again, if she went, they could keep an eye on her. They didn't want her home alone, especially after surgery, for a week. It also helped the fact that Mal really wanted to go. Christen and Tobin packed the car with Mallory's belongings and got her situated in the front seat. They left at around noon and got back to DC at around five in the afternoon. The rest of their day was spent lounging around watching movies on the couch. They all wanted to rest before Mal's surgery tomorrow.
————————————————————————The next morning, they had to wake up at 4 am for Mal's surgery at 6 am. It had now been about 36 hours since Mal's injuries happened and the bruising was still continuing to worsen. She had two black eyes that were puffy with a swollen nose. Her concussion symptoms were getting better but she still had a headache 24/7 and slight nausea at times. Her ribs, foot, and collar bone were still extremely sore tho. Once they got to the surgery center Mal went back on her own. It wasn't until 9 am that Christen and Tobin were allowed back to see her. Mallory was laying in the hospital bed and still hadn't woken up yet. Christen and Tobin each sat on one side of the bed and waited for her to wake up. She woke up about 20 minutes later. Tobin was now on the phone with Kelly and Alex and gave them updates that Mallory was out of surgery. She already called and informed Jill and Mal's sister, Briana. Mal was very drugged and drowsy still. The nurse said it should wear off by later tonight. They kept Mal in post op for about 3 hours until they finally got the discharge papers signed and brought her a wheel chair. They were in the car, pulling out of the hospital at 2 in the afternoon and Mal was already passed out, asleep. An hour later, they were finally home. They put Mal in their bed because it was a King, instead of her queen. This also allowed them to keep a better eye on her. They planned on letting her sleep all day. Tomorrow at 9 am, Kelly and Alex would be arriving in DC. Once they got there, the five of them would drive to NYC and stay with their team in a hotel. The next morning, very early, the team would fly on their private jet to Las Angelous for their first victory tour game.

It was now 10 o clock at night and Mallory was asleep for the night. Christen and Tobin had everything packed for tomorrow morning. Because of Mallory's ribs and her sling, she was unable to use crutches. The medical staff at NC gave them a wheelchair for Mal to use for any long walks she would be taking. She was fine to walk around the house or other short distances without it. They would need to bring this with them tomorrow so it was sitting by the door. Mallory's appointment for her foot  was the day after they got back from the West Coast. At that appointment she should be cleared to walk longer distances and get rid of the wheelchair. After everything was packed they went to bed as well.