“First, the scans for both you and Stone came back clean.There’s no issues with your lungs, but we want you to keep using the oxygen mask for a few more hours,” she delivers then comes over towards me.“The doctors are trying to stabilize her and make her as comfortable as possible.Sutton has burns that cover more than seventy percent of her body.”
Several of us gasp at the news.
“They were able to remove most of her clothes from her body, but there are still some articles that have to stay in place until another time when it’s safe to do so.She’s intubated and on a breathing ventilator because swelling often occurs, and they don’t want her to have an issue on that front.”
“Oh God,” I hear Raegan sob.
“They were able to get an IV in her to help keep her hydrated and to administer high doses of pain medication like morphine to keep her comfortable.The concern is with organ failure right now and her going into burn shock.”
“What are her chances of pulling through?”Riot asks, coming next to me and swinging an arm around my shoulders for support.
The expression on Melissa’s face drops, and my knees almost give out.
“If she makes it, her recovery is going to be long and painful.She’s going to have several skin grafting surgeries over the next few years.”She reaches out to me and grabs my bandaged hand.“I want to give you some hope, but right now we have to wait and see how her body is going to deal with this trauma.”
I start nodding because I don’t trust my voice to say anything right now.
“But there’s a chance though, right?She can survive this,” Raegan questions, holding onto hope that I’m afraid to have right now.
“Honey, right now we have to wait and see how much her body can handle,” Melissa states.
“Can I see her?”my throat finally works, and the sound comes out ragged and gruff.
“They aren’t letting anyone who isn’t part of her recovery team in for now.She’s covered in dressings that are being changed often and can’t have anyone in the way.They might allow it tomorrow depending on how she does through the night,” she says to me.“I can take you up to her room, and you can see her through the glass window from the hall, but that’s all I can do.The last thing we want is for her to go into distress, which is why they are medicating her so heavily.But I must warn you, Havoc, she doesn’t look like herself.They were covering her face with the dressings when I was up there and it’s bad.Her burns are from mostly the mid-thigh and up.”
“She needs to know that she’s not alone,” I say.
Melissa nods.“Then let me take you to her.”
I start to walk behind her and feel and hear some people behind me.Raegan, Stone, Reaper, and Riot all walk in step as she takes us to the elevators at the end of the hall.We make the trek up four floors and walk out past another nurses’ station.Sutton’s room is across from where a large main area is located.There are large TV screens where each one monitors a different patient.
“Right now Sutton is our most critical patient here in this section, and she has a team of four nurses and two doctors for her case at all times.”Melissa points out which screen belongs to my woman and it show all different types of stats.“She’s across from the main station so that they can reach her quickly if something changes with her condition or vitals.”She points to the room a few steps from us.We walk over and look through the glass.If I thought I was ready to see her, I wasn’t.Nothing could’ve prepared me for what I witness.
Three nurses in blue scrubs are all sitting in rolling chairs placing white cloths over Sutton’s burned bare skin.It looks so raw and angry.Her face is completely covered with the dressing, you can’t even see her eyes and only a tube is visible coming out of her mouth.The nurses are working on her legs and feet as they place the material across her flesh.
I don’t even feel my body move, but the cool glass skates across my forehead as I lean it against the window with my palm pressed on it.The day starts to wear on me, and before I can turn to Riot, my brain goes blank and my vision goes blurry.
“Brother?”I hear far away but have no idea who says it.
My body goes slack then darkness consumes me.
“How long is he gonna be out of it?”I start to hear a female’s voice off in the distance.
“He’ll come around soon,” another female says.
“Can’t you put some smelling salts under his nose and make it happen quicker?”I hear my best friend ask.
“No, Riot, I’m not going to do that.He’ll wake shortly.His body needs the rest after what’s happened today,” I hear Melissa’s voice say.
“A good smack to the face will wake his ass up,” Brass says with a chuckle and several deep laughs follow.
“You could try, but I’d beat your ass into a coma,” I mumble as my eyes focus, and I see my brothers with Raegan and Melissa in the room they shoved me and Stone in earlier.
“Glad to see you back, Havoc,” Melissa comments, coming over and shining a light directly into my eyeballs.
“What happened?”I ask, still a little fuzzy.
“You passed out in the burn unit,” she informs me while taking off the pressure cuff around my upper arm.