(no subject)

[thomas_kemp]

WHO: Thomas, Jamie and then eventually Emma and Lena after a fashion
WHAT: Thomas has a bit of an incident
WHEN: Monday evening
WHERE: A plane, then a hospital, then maybe even the Kemps apt, I dunno.
WARNINGS: Medical shiz



The trip back seemed shorter than the trip to Europe, somehow. Thomas had seen more in the last few weeks than he felt like he had seen his entire life. And even though he was dreading returning home because it meant seeing a doctor and possibly the confirmation of the start of his symptoms, at least he had had a wonderful trip with his son and, for a few days, their friends.

At the beginning of their descent into New York, Thomas turned to Jamie and he smiled. Jamie was sitting on the window and Thomas was on the aisle, currently putting his seat back into it's upright position. "Here we go. Apparently it's supposed to be really hot this week so I guess we have something to look forward to in our post-vacation malaise." Thomas was strange and loved the heat. It was cold he didn't deal well with.

Comments

[flare-star.insanejournal.com]

"Yeah, provided I don't melt," Jamie agreed. "Though I'll probably end up standing in the shade."

"No, it's really not. I will be so happy when we land," Jamie said. He looked over at his dad as he rubbed his eyes. "You OK? Beyond the pressure and turbulence."

[thomas_kemp]

Thomas had been about to reassure his son everything would be absolutely fine, when his vision started to blue and everything started to go very, very slowly.

It just wasn't right. Something was happening. He reached for Jamie's arm again, flailing a bit because he couldn't really see it. He needed to warn Jamie something bad was about to happen before it claimed him.

"Ja- Jamie help-" was what actually came out of his mouth, his grip on Jamie's arm tightening before everything went slack. He slumped forward in his seat and was still for a split second before his body began to jerk and shake, in the midst of a tonic-clonic seizure.

[flare-star.insanejournal.com]

"Dad?" Jamie asked sharply, twisting in his seat to get a better look at his father. "Dad?!"

But he didn't get an answer, because his father started to seize. His heart leaped into his throat. "HELP!" he shouted, because he couldn't think of what else to do.

[thomas_kemp]

No one could leave their seats, and even if they could, there wasn't much they could do. Passengers were turning to get a better look and gawking at the man seizing in his seat. A flight attendant called out that everyone had to stay calm and seated and everything would be taken care of when they landed in ten or so minutes, which did little to quiet the din of people whispering about Thomas.

Thomas, however, knew nothing about it. Even as he stopped seizing, a good two minutes after he had started, his head hung forward limply and he didn't regain consciousness at all. What he did do, was start to drool.

[flare-star.insanejournal.com]

"If none of you can help, then you can stop fucking staring," Jamie snapped. He was scared to death, and it was manifesting as anger. Which didn't help, but it was either that or he'd probably start to cry, which wouldn't do anyone any good.

When his father finally stopped shaking, Jamie felt slightly relieved, but not much. He still wasn't conscious. He grabbed one of the napkins left over from their snack, wiping at his dad's face. That, at least, was something he could do.

[thomas_kemp]

The other passengers looked away, ashamed, though they would glance back every so often, trying to see if there were any developments.

Thomas remained unconscious, his head flopping limply as the plane bounced about. He went into another seizure just as the plane touched down, though it only lasted thirty seconds or so. The rapid deceleration of the airplane caused him to lean at an awkward angle.

And then the flight attendants were cautioning everyone to stay in their seat while Thomas was dealt with first. They had called ahead and the moment the plane was connected to the air bridge, paramedics swarmed on board. They were led to Thomas' seat and they worked on unbuckling him and getting him out.

A flight attendant gave Jamie a sympathetic look. "Is he your father? If you're going to go to the hospital with him, I would bring your carry ons with you. We'll help you through customs quickly."

[flare-star.insanejournal.com]

"Yeah, that's-he's my dad," Jamie said, shooting out of his seat. He grabbed their carry ons and followed the paramedics and the flight attendant out of the plane. He knew, even without looking, that his knuckles were white with how hard he was gripping the handles.

He switched both bags to one hand, digging out his passport. Anything to get all of this done faster.

[and-in-between.insanejournal.com]

It was clear the immigration agents weren't used to stamping through unconscious people, though it did happen from time to time. Jamie and Thomas were rushed through and told their luggage would be available for pick up in a few hours, or they could call and it would be shipped to them.

Then Jamie was led to the ambulance and they were rushed to the hospital.

Thomas still did not wake up, and the paramedics tried not to look as concerned as they were on the ride.

Once they reached the hospital, Thomas was rushed away from Jamie who was told to wait in the waiting room for more information. It was just lucky for him they happened to be at the hospital Emma Kemp worked at as a nurse. The paramedics, recognising Thomas, had called ahead and she was waiting for Jamie already, white-faced with worry.

[flare-star.insanejournal.com]

The ride to the hospital felt like one of the longest rides of Jamie's life, and he felt strung too tight the whole way there. All he could do was sit and wait, and then go where they told him once they arrived.

His grandmother was already there when he shuffled in, still holding the damn carry ons. He dropped them and went to hug her, scared out of his mind.

[and-in-between.insanejournal.com]

"Oh my boy," Emma said warmly, wrapping her arms around her grandson. She rubbed his back and held tight, knowing Jamie was probably scared out of his mind.

"Come sit," she finally said, pulling him and the luggage over to a chair. "I called Lena and she's on her way. What happened?"

[flare-star.insanejournal.com]

"I don't know," Jamie told her. He took the chair next to her, resting his head on her shoulder. "We were almost home, talking about how great it would be to get off the plane. One minute he's fine, the next...he just started shaking." He swallowed hard. "I don't know if that was the worst part, or the part where he just stopped moving."

[and-in-between.insanejournal.com]

Emma felt like ice had settled in her stomach, but she hid that from her grandson. "They said he had a seizure. They can cause unconsciousness, but the good thing is that he won't remember any of it." And it was a good thing too, as it would be a hell of a thing to remember. "Now they'll just have to find out what caused it. Did you eat anything strange or...did he hit his head at all?"

[flare-star.insanejournal.com]

"He might not remember, but I will," Jamie said, feeling very tired and scared. "And I don't think he did. We ate at the same places, and he didn't have any marks on his head that I ever saw. He started getting headaches while we were in Greece, but he usually bounced back after some rest and meds."

[sat-by-the-fire.insanejournal.com]

"Headaches could be the indicator of something," Emma mused, and she was not glad to hear that at all. She didn't have much time to contemplate, however. Thomas's girlfriend Lena bustled into the room and half-crashed into the chair beside them. "Fuck me," she hissed. "What's happening?"

"My thoughts exactly, but we don't know yet," Emma told her. "I'm going to go press someone for information and bring you something to drink, Jamie," Emma said, standing and planting a kiss on Jamie's forehead before hurrying away.

"Shit," Lena said, mostly to herself. "Well this is fucked up, but I'm glad to see you at least." Lena offered Jamie a hug, but it was up to him to take it or not.

[flare-star.insanejournal.com]

"Alright," Jamie said, still more numb than anything else. He could feel a headache of his own starting to develop, but kept his mouth shut. He could worry about himself later.

"Right?" he agreed, squeezing her in a hug. "It's really good that you're here," he told her.

[sat-by-the-fire.insanejournal.com]

Lena still didn't really understand what was going on, but she figured Emma would be able to fill her in when she got back. It seemed better than pressing poor Jamie for details he had probably already told several people.

Then she realised Jamie hadn't been home in three weeks and if Thomas had to stay in the hospital, they would be kicked out eventually. "If your dad has to stay here for awhile, I can go home with you. I mean, when we know what's going on. I figure you've been sleeping in unfamiliar beds long enough, hmm?" And being at home while this shit was happening was probably more reassuring than staying somewhere else just for the company.

[flare-star.insanejournal.com]

Jamie nodded. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah, that'd be great, thanks. I don't think I could go back to the apartment and stay there by myself, you know? And yeah, I've been in hotels for almost a month, it'll be nice to go home. Once they tell me what the hell's going on."

[and-in-between.insanejournal.com]

"Of course." There was no way Lena was leaving until they knew what was going on either.

And then they sat there for a good hour.

Emma finally returned and she absently handed Jamie a bottle of water without really thinking about it. "They've gone an MRI to take a good look at what's going on in his head and he has what's called an AVM. A bleed in is brain. A doctor could probably explain better and they are coming out, but they told me he'll need surgery once he wakes up."

Lena felt like her heart was in her throat. "But...he'll wake up?" she asked, her voice small. Emma just rubbed her eyes and said nothing.

[flare-star.insanejournal.com]

Jamie felt cold all over, because this was not good news. He took a drink automatically, which did end up helping, because his mouth had gone dry.

"He has to," Jamie said. "The alternative doesn't bear thinking about."

[and-in-between.insanejournal.com]

Emma just nodded, a bit absently, and she looked over her shoulder for the doctor.

A tall man with red hair approached them a few moments later and he put his hand on Emma's shoulder as he said, "Thomas' family?"

"This is Jamie, Thomas' son, and this is his girlfriend, Lena," Emma said before chewing on her lip a moment. "What's happening in there?"

"We've decided to keep him under medically. He had a sudden build-up of pressure and until that swelling abates, he would be in too much pain to consider letting him wake up. We've gone him on a few things to take the swelling down."

Lena wrapped an arm around Jamie. "But what happened?"

"We don't know what caused the bleed, but it's causing a blockage. He'll need surgery to remove the clot."

[flare-star.insanejournal.com]

Jamie held on to Lena as the doctors explained what was going on. "Brain surgery," he said faintly, once he got his mind wrapped around everything. "Is it-will he be OK once that happens?"

[and-in-between.insanejournal.com]

"All surgeries have inherent risks," the doctor said carefully. "And it depends on what it looks like once we get in there, but if the surgery is a success, then he should be fine. Until then, we have to hope the swelling will go down. He may need to have a hole drilled to relieve some of the pressure."

Emma glanced at her grandchild and then she thanked the doctor and sent him away. "Jamie, you have to be exhausted," Emma said softly. "There's nothing more you can do here. If they're keeping him under, he won't wake up on his own and I can stay with him as long as they'll let me since I work here. Do you want to go stay with someone?"

"I offered to stay with him so he could be at home," Lena spoke up. And Emma would have hugged her if the situation weren't so dire.

"There you go. Why don't you go home, lovey? Get some sleep?"