Nurse Yin was at Kedron's bedside when I arrived. "Sorry to wake you, but I figured you'd wanna be here."
What had seemed a healthier skin color eight to twelve hours ago, was now flushed. When I grabbed his hand, I was shocked how warm he felt. "No need to apologize. Thank you for calling me. How high is his temperature?" I listened to the whir of the ventilator as it expanded his lungs and the "shhh" sound as it left his body.
Nurse Yin looked back up at me from whatever she was doing with Kedron's IV port. "Initially about 8pm, his temperature was about 100 degrees, so I gave him Tylenol. In an hour, his temperature was down to 99 degrees. That's why I didn't mention it before you went to bed. About midnight his temperature began to increase, so I removed the blankets and put a cool compress on his forehead. I repeated the paracetamol at 4am but Kedron's temperature remains at 103.5 degrees Fahrenheit at 4:45am, so I called the hospitalist and then I called you."
As if our discussion conjured him, Dr. Hanson (the hospitalist) entered the room and began to wash his hands. "Good morning ladies," he said. "I understand this young man is running a temperature that isn't responding to treatment." He signed into the computer Nurse Yin had been using earlier, appeared to read some information, typed a few things, then came to the bedside. "Kedron, I'm going to do an assessment and see if we can figure out what has your skin looking the color of a crab's."
What an odd duck this doctor was. Who says something like that to a patient? Let alone a patient that cannot respond. It's too bad Kedron couldn't respond. No doubt he would have had a snappy comeback for him. A petite brunette carrying a container with various venipuncture supplies entered and stood next to me on my side of the bed. "Excuse me please Miss. I need to draw some blood."
I stepped back and watched her check his wristband before collecting her sample from Kedron's antecubital area. If I didn't know better, I'd think she took half his blood supply. She kept interchanging vial after vial until she must have met her quota. She wrapped a bright pink wrap around the gauze pad to hold pressure and prevent bleeding. As she left the room, I pulled up a chair and took his hand again .
"Kedron, my brother... when I went to bed, I thought you were improving. Then I get a call you are running a temperature. What gives? You just trying to keep me on my toes? I gotta tell ya... I've had about enough excitement the past few days to last me a lifetime."
Dr. Hanson finished his exam, put his stethoscope around his neck, and turned toward Nurse Yin, "please call me when the lab results are in. I'm suspecting a respiratory infection, but I'll need the labs to confirm. If his white count is elevated, then we will need to call radiology for a chest X-ray." The doctor turned my way before continuing, "I will return when the results are in Ms. Knutson. Hopefully if we find the cause, we can get the temperature under control before the crab starts cookin'." Dr. Hanson laughed at his own joke as he exited the room.
I sat back in my chair and shook my head at the corny jokes Dr. Hanson had told. Nurse Yin said, "he is a great doctor, but his younger years were spent in pediatrics. I think that's why his sense of humor is so... unique."
I simply nodded in response. My phone alarm I forgot to shut off earlier picked that moment to go off and made me jump. I grabbed my phone and dismissed the alarm. I began to look at today's National and local news and reporting all the noteworthy happenings to Kedron as we waited.
At some point, Nurse Yin had left and Nurse Nancy took over. Not long after, a radiology employee came in with a portable X-ray machine. I was asked to leave the room while they took the radiographs. I took the opportunity to go get a cappuccino from the vending machine. It would likely be another long day on not enough sleep.
Looking at my phone, I saw it was almost 7am. I was unsure what time Wam usually awoke, but he had asked me to call him this morning. Pushing his name in my contact list, I called Dr. Teton, hoping he may have some words of wisdom for me. The phone rang several times and I was just about to hang up when I heard a deep voice say, "hello? Kynlee, you okay?"
I sat down on an empty bench in the hallway to talk. "I'm sorry if I woke you Wam."
"No. You didn't wake me. I just got out of the shower. Kynlee?"
"Yeah?" I replied.
"What's wrong? You don't sound like yourself," Wam asked in a quiet voice.
Hearing his concern was enough to cause a kink in my armor and I tried to hold back the sob that threatened to overtake me. I could feel my eyes burn and looked up at the ceiling, trying to keep the tears from spilling over. I cleared my throat and took a deep breath before trying to answer, "my umm.." I cleared my throat again, "Kedron is running a temperature of 103.5 and it's not responding to treatment. They gave him Tylenol twice, drew blood, and now they are taking X-rays of his chest." My eyes shifted down to the floor and the tears spilled over. My voice cracked as I said, "I'm scared Wam. People die from pneumonia."
"Is that what they told you he has?" He asked.
"Not yet. They've been running tests," I explained in just above a whisper.
"Let me get dressed Kynlee and I'll come to the hospital and help figure out what's going on. Okay?"
I could hear him moving around as he spoke. Now I felt guilty for calling him, because he shouldn't have to come here for me or for Kedron. Wam had done enough. Why did I call him?
"Kynlee, you still there?"
"Yeah. You don't have to come Wam. I'm sorry I bothered you. I'll let you go." I began to move the phone from my ear to dismiss the call, but heard a very deep, authoritative voice, "Kynlee....Kynlee, don't you dare hang up!"
I put the phone back to my ear. "What Wam?"
I heard continued movement on the other end, then he spoke, "I'm almost dressed. I'll be there in thirty minutes. I'll meet you in his room okay?"
I didn't answer right away because I wasn't sure what to say. Part of me was relieved but the other part of me felt guilty for calling Wam at the first sign of trouble. "Thank you but I'm sorry to bother you."
"We will talk when I get there. Take a deep breath and try to be patient. I'll be there soon." With that, the phone went dead.
Just knowing Wam was on his way, I breathed a little easier. I wiped my face with the sleeve of my shirt and slowly made my way back to Kedron's room. The portable X-ray was just being wheeled out and the technician looked my way as they walked by, "perfect timing."
I nodded, reentered the room, retook my chair, and sipped my cappuccino at Kedron's bedside. It felt like it took forever, waiting for the results of all the tests. I kept shifting in my chair, nervous about what the results would show. Our great grandfather died of pneumonia the week before we started kindergarten. Mom and Dad actually let us choose if we wanted to go to the first day of school or the funeral. Of course, Kedron and I chose to go to the first day of school.
True to his word, Wam arrived twenty nine minutes after we hung up. Instead of going to the computer, he came directly to me and squatted down in front of me. I looked up to meet his gorgeous brown eyes and made my hands into fists to keep from wrapping my arms around his neck, breaking down in tears, and holding him close. Wam grabbed my hand with his as he gazed into my eyes and said quietly, "you never have to apologize for calling me. I'll do my best to help figure out what's going on with Kedron." Wam continued to meet my gaze quietly before asking, "you okay?"
I nodded but held his gaze, "thank you Dr. Teton for coming to help."
Wam gave me a strange expression, but seemed to catch on when I glanced over toward Nurse Nancy. She was standing at the portable computer station in the corner on the other side of the room. Nancy appeared to be charting, but I couldn't help but feel she was completely aware of every move we made and every word we said. The last thing I wanted was for my familiarity with Wam to get him in trouble. Wam winked at me before standing and crossing the room to Nurse Nancy and the computer that held any results that may have come back.
I took a deep breath and felt lighter just knowing Wam was here to help with Kedron's case. Having one of the world's best neurologists on your side can't be anything other than a blessing. In my landslide of bad luck, I'll take whatever goodness I can find.