Jane arrived home about 4:45PM, and I was ready to run out the door. I had prepared supper and Marve was resting in his recliner after our long day. I explained as quickly and efficiently as I could as soon as she was in the door, "Marve is resting in his chair. Supper is in the oven. I received a call that Kedron was taken by ambulance back to the hospital, Wam is with him now. I need to go."
Jane seemed startled when I had started talking as soon as she was in the door, but her expression changed to one of sympathy and understanding as soon as I explained about Kedron. Jane hugged me as she said, "oh honey, I'm so sorry. Please drive careful. We will be okay. Luckily it's Friday, so I don't work until Monday. Please let me know when you know something okay?"
I nodded and wiped a lone tear from my face before I headed out the door. My mind had been bouncing from one possible situation to another about Kedron's condition, and none of them were positive. I didn't know if his condition had worsened or if he simply had instability in his cervical spine. Of course that's what the external halo brace was supposed to be for.
I knew Kedron should have had the surgery prior to his transfer, but he wouldn't hear of it. I blame Dr. Adams for this! If I see that bitch again…well, I'm not sure what I'll do, but it won't be good.
As I parked the truck, I sent Wam a text.
Kynlee: I'm parked, where are you?
Dr. Wam Teton: I'm in the ED. I'll meet you in the lobby.
Kynlee: Okay, see you soon.
Within minutes, I was walking into the lobby of the ED and the secretary was greeting me, "good evening, how may I help you?"
As I was about to reply, I heard Wam's deep voice, "Kynlee, come with me and I'll take you back." Wam held out his hand to me, I placed my small hand in his larger one, and we walked back without hesitation. I'd trust this man with my life and Kedron's. We stopped just before a pair of double doors and Wam turned toward me.
"Where is Kedron? I want to see him," I stated.
Wam cleared his throat, something I'd learned was a nervous habit for him. "You need to know that Kedron had stopped breathing and they had to intubated him. A ventilator is breathing for him and he is unconscious. I'm sorry Lee, but I want you prepared for what you'll see."
I wrapped my arms around Wam's waist and squeezed him as I began to sob into his chest. "Hhhoowww. Dddidd. This hhappenn?" I stuttered in a broken pattern.
Wam stroked my hair, kissed the top of my head, and held me firmly. "From what I know," Wam explained, "they removed Kedron's halo to do his bath. The CNA turned their back for some reason and found him slumped over and not breathing. They started breathing for him and called the ambulance for the transfer. I was here when he arrived."
Wam stroked my hair and my back as I internalized what he'd said before he continued, "Dr. Kuntz is following him. They've run tests and are waiting for the results to come back. When you're ready, I'll take you to him."
I nodded, hiccuped, and attempted to control my emotions and my breathing. I pulled back slightly and met Wam's eyes, "this is bad isn't it?" Wam just studied me like he wasn't sure what to say. "The truth please Wam."
"We won't know the extent of the damage until all the results are back," he replied, just like he would to a family member. I glared at him and then raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Kynlee, I don't want to speculate." Wam sighed and ran his hand through his hair from forehead to the nape of his neck. He looked back into my eyes and rested his palm on my cheek, "I'm not going to lie to you Lee. The fact he lost his ability to breath suggests there is further damage to the spinal cord. If Kedron doesn't have stabilization surgery to fuse his cervical vertebrae, he could die of complications. Even with the surgery, there is no guarantee he will pull through. I'm so sorry Lee."
Wam kissed my forehead in a comforting gesture and continued to hold me with the other arm. I took a calming breath and stated, "I think I'm okay now. Can you please take me to him?"
"Of course," Wam said and led me toward the double doors. He held his badge up to the door's panel, the green light flickered, and the doors opened in opposite directions slowly.
As we stepped through the doors, I squeezed Wam's hand, still in mine, and he looked at me in question. "Thank you Wam for your honesty. It may not have been what I wanted to hear, but I needed to know," I explained.
"Anything for you my love," Wam said with a hint of a smile. We continued on to the curtain that contained my brother. I could smell disinfectant strongly, heard a rhythmic whirring noise, and heard people murmuring. I had not missed this place after Kedron had been transferred.
Wam used his free hand to pull the curtain back for me. I took a deep breath and entered what felt like a small room, but was actually one of about twelve bays in this room.
Upon seeing Kedron in the bed, I was struck by his poor coloring, the tube sticking out of his mouth, and the myriad of tubes and wires that seemed to be going in every which direction. I walked to the bedside and took Kedron's hand in mine as I stroked the hair back from his forehead. Wam had released my hand as I entered, but now came to stand next to me by the gurney. It was like deja vu from immediately after Kedron had coded. I had hoped never to see him in this situation again, but here we are. "Kedron, it's Kynlee. I got a call you had some issues today, so I came to be with you. Wam, who you probably know as Dr. Teton, is here too. He told me they've run a bunch of tests and are waiting impatiently for the results."
I glance back at Wam who has his one hand on my hip and the other on the middle of my back. Wam's big, strong, warm body is standing partially behind me and to the side. It was so nice to have his comfort here now. It had been so hard before to act as if we didn't care about one another in public.
I remembered then that I hadn't talked to Kedron since yesterday, "oh my gosh Kedron, there is so much I need to tell you. Here and now probably isn't the time, but we need to catch up for sure."
Wam set a chair behind me before setting one next to mine for himself. "Thank you Wam," I voiced with appreciation.
"Anything for you beautiful," he replied before sitting on his grey metal folding chair. I sat on my chair, but continued to lean forward so I could hold Kedron's hand. I was unsure if he could feel my touch, but either way, I felt better touching him. I hoped he knew I was there so he didn't think he was alone.
After what felt like hours but was probably only half an hour, A man in scrubs walked in carrying a computer tablet. He looked up, saw us sitting there, and headed in my direction. "Hello, I'm Dr. Kuntz Who might you be?"
"I'm Kynlee, Kedron's twin sister. Have his results come back yet," I questioned.
"Pleasure to meet you Ms. Knutson. I'm afraid what we know is not good news. We don't know for sure what happened to cause Kedron to slouch to the side in that bed, but when he fell over, the unstable vertebrae put pressure on the spinal cord. This
pressure stopped his breathing. They started rescue breathing and called 911. A piece of the fractured vertebrae is still pressing against the spinal cord as seen on the Images. My best recommendation is to do surgery to fuse his cervical vertebrae and provide some stability." Dr. Kuntz now held the tablet against his chest with one arm, the other hanging at his side as he studied me.
"Will doing the surgery help him to breath again? Is he asleep because he is sedated or because of the incident," I asked in a rush. I simply wanted to know everything about my twin brother right now, even if that wasn't realistic.
A look of regret came over the physician's face before he answered, "I'm so try I don't have definitive answers for you. Our hope is that relieving the pressure will restart his breathing. Kedron was unconscious when they found him slumped over, so I'm not entirely sure why he hasn't regained consciousness. We have not given him sedatives. Actually we placed an IV and gave him a bit of medication to support his blood pressure. This could also be a result of the pressure on the spinal cord." Dr. Kuntz looked at Wam and then back at me. "I understand you are Kedron's only living relative, so I need to know if you want us to operate?"