Page 61 of Reckless Skye

With nothing to distract her, she saw the doctor approaching, his white lab coat trailing behind him like a cape as he hurried along.

Skye’s heart slammed into her chest and stayed stuck there.

She stood on unsteady legs, and when the doctor stopped in front of their group, all she could say was, ‘TJ?’

‘Are you family?’

Skye wasn’t sure how to answer.

It was Janey who stepped forward with, ‘She is.’ She held out one hand. ‘I’m TJ’s mother.’

‘Mrs Jones.’ The doctor returned the shake. He nodded to the others, and then began, ‘TJ’s stable.’ The audible sigh of relief was cut short by, ‘But his condition is critical. He’s suffered a major head trauma and a spinal cord injury. We’re prepping him for spinal surgery right now, after which we’ll be keeping him in a medically induced coma for a few days until the swelling on his brain goes down.’

Skye’s nose started to burn from the telltale flush of tears, but she turned inwards, repeated, He’s stable, he’s stable, he’s stable, over and over in her head.

‘What is the surgery for?’ Ryan asked.

‘At this stage, our main goal is to prevent spinal shock and inflammation. If we don’t decompress the pressure on his nerves, the inflammation can cause secondary damage that’s oftentimes more detrimental than the injury itself. We’ll go in, remove any bone fragments, continue to assess the damage.’ The doctor used a tone that came from years of delivering bad news to grieving families.

‘What does that mean exactly?’ Julia demanded.

‘The bull hit him low, so the most damage occurred at T12 and L1, the last thoracic vertebrae and the first lumbar vertebrae.’ He turned and tapped his lower back, showing them the approximate area of impact. ‘The damage is bad,’ he warned. ‘But TJ is breathing on his own, which is extremely positive news. With technological advances—’

‘How bad?’ Ryan demanded.

‘In simple terms,’ Julia added.

‘He’ll need more diagnostic imaging and several more surgeries, but with stem cell therapy, focused physical therapy, and a lot of determination, I have every confidence that TJ will walk again.’

Janey’s sniffle as she started crying again punctuated the heavy silence that followed.

‘Walk …?’ Ryan repeated quietly.

The doctor nodded. He lowered his voice, patiently explained, ‘Obviously, TJ’s bull riding days are over. It’s going to be a long and difficult road to recovery for him as it is. I’m sorry to have to be the one to deliver this news. All I can promise right now is that he is in good hands.’

‘Can we see him?’ Julia asked.

The doctor shook his head. ‘He’s being prepped for surgery as we speak. Even if he wasn’t, his system is at extreme risk from all variables right now. It’ll be hours before he’s even out of surgery and in recovery, maybe another twenty-four, possibly longer, until you can see him. I suggest you go home and get some rest. There’s nothing you can do here for the next few days, and once he wakes up, TJ’s going to need you all to be well rested and ready.’

‘Thank you.’ Ryan shook the surgeon’s hand. But the moment the doctor turned and left, he asked, ‘What the hell do we do? That boy hasn’t sat still for more than five minutes his entire life.’

The entire family looked to Janey. TJ’s mom took a deep breath and blew her nose on the crumpled tissue she’d been holding for the better part of the night. When she was done, she tucked it into the pocket of her jeans. Skye watched as she straightened her spine, looked each of them in the eye in turn, and said, ‘Today, we thank God he’s alive. Everything else, we take a day at a time.’

Chapter 19

When they pulled TJ from his medically induced coma three days later, he woke up with a head full of cotton and a throat so dry he could barely breathe.

For hours, he came in and out of sleep, too confused to stay under, too exhausted and weak to stay awake for long.

When he finally opened his eyes fully, they were scratchy and irritated. The first thought he had was: Skye. But the first face he saw, blurred and out-of-focus, was his mother’s.

‘Don’t try to speak,’ she said immediately. ‘Just relax. Take it easy.’

His dad and a doctor in a white lab coat came into focus. TJ wanted to ask What happened? and even though he opened his mouth, no words came out.

‘I said: don’t try to speak.’ His mom laughed. But to his absolute confusion, her laughter turned to sobs almost immediately. She slapped one hand over her mouth, mumbled, ‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry.’ When his dad reached for her, she shooed him away, ‘No, no. I’m fine. Just happy.’ She refocused on TJ’s face, said, ‘Baby, you’ve had my heart in a chokehold.’

TJ tried to look around, but the moment he turned his head, fresh claws of pain tore down his spine and right leg, pulling all his muscles tight.