Devolution TOC

Chapter Fifty-Eight

Kevin Collins ran down the hall of the locked psychiatric ward as fast as his long legs would carry him. He skidded to an abrupt stop in front of Lucky's room and took a second to catch his breath and smooth his flyaway hair. Entering the room, he focused on two nurses standing with their backs to the nearby wall. As he took another step into the room and glanced around the women, he saw Lucky huddled in a corner with his right hand gripping the textured white wallpaper, running his palm back and forth over the rough surface. Kevin motioned for the nurses to follow him. He exited the room with the two nurses trailing close behind him.

"Obviously, our patient is no longer catatonic," he stated. "But, what's going on? Why is he out of bed?" Kevin pointed to Helen's head. "And how did that happen?"

Helen placed a hand on the side of her head and winced as she touched her injury. She stared at her fingers. which were smeared with blood. Wincing at Kevin, she said, "I checked on the patient at 8:00AM, and he appeared to be sleeping. I took his vitals and started to remove the soiled gauze from his wound…and…he just let out this huge scream and banged me on the head with his cast. He fell out of bed and scrambled to the corner. He's been in that corner for the last fifteen minutes. She glanced at the other nurse. "Barb came in when she heard the commotion. She called you right away when she saw he was awake. We've been trying to talk to him, but he won't respond. That's it."

Kevin sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Helen, go down to ER and have them look at that wound," he ordered. "Barb, call a meeting of the staff assigned to Lucky Spencer's case. Set it up half an hour from now in the conference room with all staff attending. And send Jim back here, would you?"

Kevin walked back into Lucky's room and observed him from a distance. He keeps rubbing that wallpaper, he thought. He's trying to stay in the present, well, that's good. But, the first thing he does upon wakening is to react violently and dissociate. And that's not good.

Kevin approached Lucky very slowly and obviously so he wouldn't startle the boy. He stopped about three feet in front of him and squatted down to his level.

"Hi Lucky," he said in a normal, even voice. Lucky's eyes tentatively moved in Kevin's direction, and then he turned his face back to the wall.

Kevin held his right hand out to Lucky. "Will you take my hand?" he asked gently. Lucky looked at the offered hand and used his bare feet to move a small distance away from Kevin. He turned away again. Kevin let his hand drop, and it dangled from his knee. He frowned, contemplating his next action.

Kevin sat down and crossed his legs, sitting Indian style. He lowered his head. "Hey, you," he said jovially, gaining Lucky's attention again. Kevin tried to look Lucky in the eye, and when he succeeded, he asked softly, "Can you tell me your name? What's your name?" Lucky's lower lip trembled, and he frowned, looking down at the floor. "Lucky," he mumbled in a low, sad, raspy voice.

Great! thought Kevin with some relief. "Lucky, would you look at me and tell me my name?" asked Kevin, trying to assess Lucky's level of awareness. Lucky sighed and placed his forehead on his knees. His arms tightly grasped his bent knees. "Lucky," Kevin tried again. "Look at me. Lucky, look at me," he said firmly. Lucky turned his head in Kevin's direction and stared at him. "That's good, Lucky," Kevin said with approval. "Thank you. Will you tell me my name?" he asked again.

Lucky seemed startled as he studied Kevin. "Kevin." he said hesitantly.

Oh thank God, Kevin thought. You're scaring me, kid.

Lucky shivered as he studied Kevin.

"You must be cold down on that floor," observed Kevin. "Are you cold, Lucky?"

Lucky blinked several times. "Yes," he replied in a small voice.

Kevin offered his hand again. "Will you take my hand?" he repeated. "I'll help you into bed where's it's warm." Lucky continued to stare at Kevin with a frown, and a shadow of fear passed across his features as he looked down at Kevin's hand. "Take my hand, Lucky," Kevin said firmly. He stretched it toward the reluctant boy. Lucky shook his head and placed it back on his knees. He sobbed in soft, breathy gulps. "Do you want to sit here for a minute and catch your breath?" Kevin asked. Lucky nodded with his face still hidden. "Okay," said Kevin as he slowly rose from his position on the floor. "I'll be outside for a minute, and then when I come back in, we'll see if you're ready to climb back into bed."

Kevin left Lucky in his room and closed the door behind him. He let out a puff of air from his pursed lips and leaned against the wall. Barb joined Kevin. "Meeting's set up, and Jim is on his way into GH," she stated. "How's the kid?"

Kevin shook his head. "Not good," he said. "He's aware of his surroundings and his own feelings, but not ready to communicate. He seems dazed, which is natural after coming out of his catatonic state and following his ECT treatments, but he exhibits more fear and anxiety than I'd like to see. Come inside with me, and I'll introduce you to him. I want to get him up off of that floor. And, it looks like his IV site needs attention."

Kevin entered Lucky's room with Barb and squatted down in front of him again. "Lucky," he said. "I want to introduce you to Barb. She's a nurse, and she can help you. We want to take your arms and lift you over to the bed. Will you let us do that?" Kevin's warm brown eyes met Lucky's worried gaze. Lucky was still shivering and tears filled his eyes. "Okay," he whispered.

Lucky flinched and recoiled when Kevin and Barb touched his arms and lifted him to his feet. Lucky swayed unsteadily, and they half walked, half dragged him over to the bed. When Lucky was seated, Kevin lifted his legs onto the bed and covered him with a blanket. "That's warmer," Kevin commented. Lucky nodded but continued to cry.

Kevin looked concerned and placed his hand lightly on Lucky's back. "Are you in pain?" he asked seriously. Lucky nodded, sobbing louder. "Does your arm hurt?" asked Kevin.

"Yes," Lucky said, gulping his tears.

"Barb will fix that."

.Lucky placed his hand on his abdomen and laid back stiffly with his head on the pillow. Kevin glanced at Barb who was wiping the blood off of Lucky's torn IV site and preparing to make another puncture. "This will just sting a bit," she said. Lucky flinched.

"Lucky, does your stomach hurt?" said Kevin as he noted that Lucky continued to clutch at himself.

"Yes."

"Will you let me look at your stitches?".

"Yes," Lucky said again. Kevin moved his gown aside and noted the gauze was soaked with blood on one end of the wound. The stitches were torn. "Lucky, I think you tore some stitches when you fell out of bed," Kevin explained. "I can send somebody in to fix that and give you some pain medication. Why don't you relax and close your eyes. You must be tired."

Lucky closed his eyes and sighed raggedly.

~*~*~*~

Kevin walked into the conference room carrying an accordion folder. He set the folder down on a table and glanced at the four persons sitting in the room. "Thank you for attending this meeting," he said. "You've all been assigned to Lucky Spencer's case. He's the young man who was catatonic for two weeks. He's recently woken up, and now we can proceed with his treatment plan. I want to review with you some basics of his case."

Kevin reached into the folder and pulled out a stack of papers that he handed to the woman next to him. "Please pass these around. This handout provides some background information. There are several key points that I want to emphasize strongly. First, you're dealing with a young man who has a substantial history of sexual, emotional and physical abuse. He's to be treated gently at all times. He does have a history of some violence to others, but always in a protective mode. Approach him slowly and ask his permission before touching him in any way. That should prevent a violent response from this patient. Most of his violence has been self-directed. He self-mutilates, so be on the watch for that. He is also a substantial suicide risk. If restraint is ever necessary, my first preference is chemical restraint. A therapeutic hold is occasionally appropriate, but never, and I do emphasize never, is he to be restrained on his stomach. Are there any questions?"

~*~*~*~

Kevin walked up to the nurse's station. "Please make a notation on Lucky Spencer's chart. He's to receive no visitors except for his uncle and aunt, Tony Jones and Bobbie Spencer. Thanks."

~*~*~*~

"Jim!" said Kevin heartily as he shook the younger man's hand. "Thanks for coming in. I have a case that I think you'll be interested in."

Jim laughed. "You mean a case that you're interested in."

"The man's astute," Kevin joked. "Well, yes. I do have an interest in this case. It's a young man who suffers from post traumatic stress disorder and depression. He tried to commit suicide and then fell catatonic. He's just woken up and needs to be examined. He has some stitches that need repaired. Are you game?"

"He's not homicidal is he?" Jim asked with a grin.

"No, but he assaulted one of our nurses with his cast."

"Oh, thanks, Kevin," said Jim. "Why do I get all your psych cases?"

Kevin smiled. "Because you're the best. And you have yet to traumatize one of my patients. Let's go. I'll introduce you."

~*~*~*~

Kevin entered Lucky's room followed by Jim. "Lucky," said Kevin. "Are you awake?" Lucky opened his eyes and adjusted to the sight of Kevin but didn't reply. "Lucky," said Kevin. "You've been asleep for a long time, and I want to make sure that you're feeling well. I brought a friend of mine, Dr. Jim Perkins. He's a resident at General Hospital. I want him to examine you, to listen to your heart and lungs, and fix your stitches. Do you understand?"

Jim showed Kevin the vial in his hand and pointed at Lucky's IV. Kevin nodded. "Jim is going to give you some medicine to help you relax so it won't hurt when he repairs your stitches." When Jim moved, Lucky started trembling and began to sob. Kevin picked up Lucky's hand and held it. "I'm going to hold your hand," said Kevin. "Nothing bad will happen to you while I have your hand," he said firmly. "Okay, Lucky?" Lucky continued to sob but nodded his head slightly.

~*~*~*~

Kevin and Jim sipped from their coffee cups, and Kevin leaned against the wall next to Lucky's room.

"Kevin, do you know if he's had pneumonia recently?" asked Jim. Kevin nodded "Yes, he had a life-threatening episode of bacterial pneumonia five months ago."

"I heard some noises in his lungs," stated Jim. "It's not pneumonia yet, but I think the two weeks in bed haven't done his lungs any good. He needs to be up for the majority of the day, at least seated in a chair. Otherwise, he might have a possible relapse. His blood pressure is a bit high, but that may be because of his emotional state. He's underweight and could use an extra fifteen pounds on his frame. I recommend that he continue the IV for a few days while he reorients himself to eating."

~*~*~*~

"Tony!" said Kevin, cradling the phone to his ear and tapping his Mont Blanc pen on his desk. "Good news. Lucky is awake."

"What?" said Tony happily. "When did that happen? How is he?"

"He woke up earlier this morning, we think around 8:00AM. Unfortunately, his first reaction was violent, and he hit a nurse on the head with his cast. When I got to his room, he was on the floor up against a wall. It took me quite a few tries to break through to him. He's confused and emotionally upset. Some of that can be attributed to his ECT and some to his catatonia. But, I'm still concerned that he's showing a great deal of anxiety."

"How's his physical health?" questioned Tony.

"I had one of our residents examine him, and he's underweight, which we already knew. Also, he heard some noises in his lungs and wants to watch that. If Lucky remains immobile, it might develop into pneumonia. So, it's good that he's awake now and able to move around."

"When can I see him?"

"Anytime you want," replied Kevin. "I'm limiting his visitors to yourself and Bobbie, but I want him to start feeling more secure, and I think a visit from you would do him well."

~*~*~*~

Tony walked into Lucky's room. "Lucky," he said brightly. "I'm so happy to see you up and around."

Lucky was sitting up in bed with his head hanging, looking blankly down at his lap. Tony slowly approached his bed. "Hey, Lucky," he said again. Lucky turned his head slightly with his hair obscuring his face and stared hard at Tony while frowning. Tony smiled and said, "It's Uncle Tony. I haven't seen you in awhile. How do you feel?"

Lucky continued to stare at Tony without saying anything, and his lips trembled as he returned his gaze downward. "Uncle Tony," he said softly and matter-of-factly. Tony felt a wave of relief at hearing Lucky talk.

"Where's your World Wide Wrestling doll? Lucas gave you a Christmas present. It's real funny, but I don't see it here," said Tony, trying to engage Lucky in a conversation.

Lucky bent his knees up and rested his face on them. "I don't know, I don't know, I don't know," he cried. His shoulders shook with his sobs.

"Oh, Lucky, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you." Tony wracked his brain trying to think of something to say to his nephew that wouldn't set him off.

Lucky raised his head and said loudly, "I want my dad. Where's my dad? Why won't he come to see me? My mom is dead.. She can't come anymore."

Tony was totally in shock and didn't reply for a minute. His brain finally engaged, and he said, "I don't know Lucky. I'm going to go find Kevin, though. Would you like to talk to Kevin? '

"Okay," Lucky mumbled.

Next...