Jamie - The Journey Begins Ch. 15 - The Day After a Long Night

..o0o..

Kate Spence & Paula Williams 2006

Paula turned to Kate, inclining her head. Kate nodded back.

"Jamie, honey, I want you to know..." she paused for a moment grabbing his hand and holding it amongst the tubes and wires, "I know you love Sean. We all do." She slowed down and took a breath, as Kate placed her hand on Jamie too. "We have something to tell you, honey. Sean called me the day before you guys were coming home."

Jamie's eyes widened, looking at his mom and his boyfriend's mom. "Sean told me that you two boys were seeing each other... that you were boyfriends now." A tear escaped Jamie's eye, running down his cheek, followed by another shortly behind it. I think Jamie knew what was coming - he can act the joker at times, but he's a smart boy. "Honey, I've never been so happy as when Sean told me. I was a surprised, nonetheless, at first, but I was, am happy, and so was he."

Paula took a steadying breath. "Sweetheart..." Pausing, she couldn't say it. She looked at Kate - the words were escaping her.

"Jamie," Kate took over, "honey, I'm so sorry, sweetheart. There is no easy way to tell you this. I wish to god almighty that this wasn't it. Oh Sweetheart, Sean didn't make it. He steered the car and took most of the impact on his side, saving you." My heart broke right there, to have to tell your child that his boyfriend had died - just horrible, unspeakable pain.

Jamie's eyes fully dilated, tears spilling, bursting from them. The breathing tube had left him without much of a voice. A whispered mournful "No... please God...no!" ... that mournful voice echoed throughout the ICU. It continued to echo from Jamie as he closed his eyes and tried to shut the world out. His heart monitor and other equipment started to go into alarm. While the medication kept his physical movements still, inside he was falling apart. He went into shock. The nurses ran over to the sounding of the alarms and hurriedly asked Paula and me to wait over there, pointing to some random place.

The stress of it all had been too much for Jamie. His heart stopped... well, it when into ventricular fibrillation something. He had to be revived. "My God, my baby is getting shocked in front of me!" I cried out. I could hear the high-pitched squeal of the defibrillator, then the doctor saying, 'Stand clear!'

There were hurried conversations going on. After what seemed hours - but was only ten minutes according to the wall clock - Jamie had stabilized, but was back in an induced coma. I couldn't leave him, so I sat with him for three days straight, only leaving to freshen up. Robert came and stayed while I was gone. Jamie had to know his momma was here with him. I wasn't going to let him feel alone again: his poor body, dreams, mind, all broken - it just wasn't fair. All this pain and anguish, heartbreak, lives either lost or destroyed because of stupid, stupid people playing childish games on the highway - drunk!

I had nightmares reliving Jamie's pained expression. The hope that I witnessed in his eyes faded, was like a light, his soul being switched off. My nightmares lasted for almost a year - Jamie's, longer.

My brother-in-law and his family flew out. I thought young Lucas was going to just die - his heart broke when he saw Jamie. He tried to be brave, but the tears just flowed. There is no weakness in showing emotion for someone you love -- it's way worse, in my book, if you don't. Those two boys have been close since they were infants. In the end, the hospital brought in a recliner chair so Lucas could stay. It calmed Jamie down having Lucas there, plus Lucas would complain constantly until we let him go back to the hospital.

Later, when Jamie begged us to let him do his freshman high school year in the States at the school that Aiden, Joshua and of course Lucas were at - I thought we'd lost him then - but Sean went over and spent some of the summer break with Jamie and the boys at the end of Jamie's freshman year. We'd enrolled him for his sophomore year in the States just in case, but Jamie decided to come home. Lucas was heartbroken. That started the annual holiday trips back and forth between the boys. Plus, our parents were still alive, so they took my kids back home regularly.

It was Paula, in the end, that helped pull Jamie out of his depression. After the news, he gave up on life. Lucas was on the phone and internet constantly. The doctors were becoming increasingly concerned that Jamie was going to wish his life away. Fortunately, he listened to Paula, telling him he had to live his life, now for both. I don't think he ever fully recovered from it - how do you, really? I'm still so grateful to the staff in the trauma center for so many ways.

..o0o..

Kate and Robert Spence -- Today.

"Kate, the boys have been in an MVA just outside of Austin, TX." The cell went dead. Reid Spence, Robert's brother, had taken the cell phone from his wife. She was unable to speak coherently.

"Oh, Reid, what's happening?" Kate was shaking and clutching the cell phone like it was her lifeline.

"The boys were hit by a driver who's had a medical incident and blacked out behind the wheel. They're alive but are being transported to the ER." Reid sounded somewhat distracted as he was giving Kate the little details they had.

"Aiden called me as I got home. He had been told of his brothers' accident and should be only moments from arriving at the hospital. I'm sure he'll clue us in once he has more details."

Kate was fast becoming overwhelmed with what was going on: her memories of Jamie's last MVA were too strong. Jesus, she'd seen them resuscitate him. He was dead before her eyes for a few seconds. While I've had to do advanced life support a few times, it's just soul destroying for someone to see it happening to your loved ones. We encounter it often - it's hard, very hard. Kate looked at me, imploring me to take her cell, which I did, placing it to my ear.

"Jesus, this is fucking awful. Our boys don't deserve this, Rob."

"No, Reid, they don't." There was a hurried conversation between brothers, in the end putting our wives back on the call so they could talk some, sharing the details. In the background I was returning my missed call.

"Hello, Alex? It's Robert Spence here - you left me a message?"

"Hello, Sir. I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but your son James has been involved in a serious car accident in Texas. He's currently in the ER on life support. His traveling companion-"

Robert cut in, "He's with my nephew, Lucas Spence. I've got his father, Lucas' dad, my brother, on the line here. Kate!"

Robert turned towards his wife. "Ask Reid what he knows. DFAT are saying the boys are on life support in an ER, Texas University?"

While Kate was relaying the message, Alex continued. "Yes, well, Mr. Spence -- Robert - we would suggest that if you have family in the area, that they make their way to the ER. We're sending you the contact details now via text message."

"Thanks, Alex," Robert responded a little shell-shocked. His cell beeped with 'message received' as Alex ended the call. Robert took Kate's cell phone from her, relaying to this brother the details that DFAT had given him.

"Okay, got it," Reid answered. "I'll get Ann Marie and me on a flight to Austin. You'll do the same, I guess, Rob?"

"Yeah, I'll start now. I'll text you the flight details, once we have them, by Reid." Robert hung up and turned his attention to flights, calling their travel agent - she had given them her cell number in case they needed it. Sharon worked a miracle. Even at 11pm, she was back to them in fifteen minutes.

"Mr. Spence, I've booked you on 'Qantas' flight 7 to DFW out of Sydney. Your domestic flight to Sydney leaves in fifty minutes, with the international leg a further fifty on from that. I've had them ticket you all the way to the connecting flight to Austin. That should put you both on the ground in Austin in just under 20 1/2hrs. The 'Qantas' staff are waiting for you at the terminal building. Just ask for their terminal manager - he's going to walk you guys onto the flight. His counterpart in Sydney is going to meet you at the gate and do the same. You'll have to literally grab an overnight bag, passports now - your Uber driver is only five minutes out. I'm so sorry about your situation. Please give my love to Jamie when you see him."

"Thanks, Sharon. Appreciate it."

"Okay, Mr. Spence. You'd better go - it's going to be tight."

..o0o..

Aiden Spence

I didn't waste any time in the ER. The nursing staff took me straight through to where my brother was. They were prepping him for emergency surgery. All I saw was Lucas' body wheeled past at speed, surrounded with staff and machines loaded all over his trolley.

"What's going on?" he asked one of the ER team leaders. "That's my brother," pointing as the trolley as it disappeared around a corner.

The doctor looked up at me and grimaced, walking closer. "Your brother has internal bleeding, a skull fracture, and multiple contusions. He's sustained a blunt force trauma to the left side of his skull, an object from the other vehicle entered the cabin and struck him just rear of his temple region. Luckily, a little further forward and it would have been fatal. The object continued inside the cabin, striking the passenger in the chest causing some internal damage."

I just stood there in shock and didn't even notice that I'd pulled out my notepad and had been writing the information down.

"Officer Spence, he's got a lot of surgeries ahead of him - it's going to be a tough fight. But he's young and healthy. All things on his side. I'm sorry, Officer." The doctor looked at Aiden with compassion.

I shook his head for a moment, taking it all in. "Doctor, James Spence, he was the passenger. Where is he - he's my cousin," I asked, involuntarily stuttering for a second, "Our dads are brothers. He's more like a second annoying little brother, really. Where is he? What's his condition... please?"

"Let me check," the doctor smiled for a moment. "Another team was working on him." The doctor walked over to the nursing station and was speaking to the staff there. A few looked up at me, then a young female doctor came over.

"Hi. I'm Ashley. You're James' family?" She looked with some concern on her features.

"Yeah, Aiden, Aiden Spence," he replied as he stuck out his hand shaking the doctor's. "I'm James'-Jamie's - cousin. He was in the accident with my brother."

"Okay, Aiden. Jamie-right?"

I nodded. "We only call him James when he's in trouble," I said, laughing a little.

"Okay, well, Jamie is over here in the Cath lab area. Although the range of injuries he sustained weren't as severe as your brothers, he did go into cardiac arrest a number of times. There was an internal bleed into the sac surrounding his heart - Cardiac Tamponade - causing pressure to build to the point where he arrested a few times till they could get him clear of the vehicle and insert a needle into the sac, draining off the excess fluid. Luckily, the EMT guys on that bus had recently completed some training on the procedure, else we most likely would have lost him enroute. He's got a fight on his hands. Time will tell. He's stable and that's a good thing."

Aiden swept his face with his hands. "Jesus, he was lucky, by the sounds of it, that these guys were on."

"Yes, Officer Spence, he was."

"Please call me Aiden."

"Okay Aiden, Jamie also has a few cracked ribs and a small tear in his lung from the impact that caused the sac bleed. We've been able to stabilize the bleed. He's still critical but in stable condition now."

Aiden's experience had taught him that these boys were in for the fight of their lives.

"We've placed him in an induced coma to allow the pressure on his brain to reduce also from the force of the impact - hopefully only for few days. Then he'll be over the worst of it."

I could feel my face go pale, "Oh god! His mom!" the color drained from my face. "She almost lost him once to an MVA years ago. She's going to be devastated."

"Oh, we found his Australian driver's license on him. We've called the Australian Consulate in Houston. They're contacting his parents now."

"Thanks, doctor. Can I see him for a moment, please... before I call his folks?"

"Sure. Follow me."

..o0o..

Robert Spence

Walking in the entry foyer of the hospital and making a beeline for the front desk, I urgently got their attention. "Hello, I'm Robert Spence. Our son, James, is in the ICU."

"We've just gotten off a twenty-hour flight to be here. Could you direct us to the ICU please?" I'm sure we looked like we'd run all the way from Australia: it hadn't been an easy flight for us. Sharon had excelled and the staff at 'Qantas' had been amazing, but the worry and inability to do anything, just wait for the plane to land, just kills you. They'd even bumped us up front so we had some privacy.

"Sure, Mr. Spence the ICU is expecting you. One second and I'll get someone to help you." The receptionist called for a staff member over. "Sir, Ma'am, if you would go with Jacob here, he can take you straight to your son."

"Thank you," we answered in unison and followed Jacob. After having our identity checked before getting into the ICU, we quickly found Jamie and were taken aback at what greeted us, Kate in particular.

"Robert, look at our boy! Oh God!" Kate was struggling to take it all in. "He's all covered in bruises, tubes and wires. Oh god, there are drain tubes everywhere!" Tears fell as she gently touched her son's face. "And still on a ventilator, being monitored." The shock was almost too much for Kate. It reminded her of the last time she saw Jamie in an ICU. "Oh Robert, it's an image I never wanted to see again. The pain of it never leaves you." Kate started to cry, shaking, turning into my arms. She was beyond comforting for a long while.

We eventually composed ourselves enough, sitting silently, looking at our son, I waited until a nurse was floating past. "Excuse me Ma'am, my nephew is in here too. I tried to call my brother and sister-in-law as we arrived, but it went to message."

"Oh, you're Mr. Spence, right, from Australia?" the nurse answered, looking like she knew us.

"Um, yes. Robert and my wife Kate," he pointed between us. Kate offered a polite smile.

"I'll let your brother know you're here. We've been expecting you. You just flew in?"

"Yes, a long twenty hours, but..." I turned back to Jamie, placing my hand on his leg.

"I'll be right back, sir. Let me just go and get them."

Moments later, I saw my brother and sister-in-law walking up to us. "Kate," I nodded towards them, standing up, both crossing ground quickly and sweeping each other up in a hugs and tears.

The nurse unit manager came over and directed us all into a family room where we could talk, laugh and cry in privacy. It wasn't long before Aiden and Amanda arrived with little Olivia in tow.

"Aiden," I asked, "what do we know about the accident? What happened?"

"Uncle Rob, from what the early reports are, the driver of the other car experienced a medical blackout, possibly from poorly managed blood sugar levels. He drove straight out of the sideroad, through a stop sign and slammed straight into the boys. They had no warning. It's lucky they were driving that truck - the added height deflected some of the force somewhat under them, plus the side airbags and stuff. It helped them a lot."

Kate and I sat there stunned.

"The driver," Aiden continued, "was a contractor. The guy left a 25lb demo hammer on the roof of his truck. When he hit Jamie's truck, it slammed straight through the side window, part of it hitting Lucas in the side of the head, then following through to Jamie, smashing into his chest. That is what almost killed him. They're both lucky they weren't killed instantly."

The next hour was spent catching up on the boys' progress. Ann Marie had been in a meeting earlier with the doctors and Occupational Rehab therapists. "They're planning on moving the boys closer tomorrow, in beds opposite, so that when they wake up, they can see the other."

..o0o..

Kate Spence

"Jamie, honey, it's mom," Kate gently spoke to her son. They'd taken him off the sedation and were trying to bring him out of the coma. The doctors said they were going to do the same for Lucas in a few days. They were still concerned about the pressure in his skull for now.

"Mom..." a whispered voice called.

Kate spun around and looked at her son, squeezing his hand a little tighter. "Jamie, I'm here honey. So is dad."

"Mom-dad," Jamie's voice sounding thin and raw. "What happened?"

"You and Lucas were in a car accident." Jamie's eyes flew wide open. "It's okay, honey. He's here, Lucas is here with us." Jamie's eyes were filled full of terror, his heart rate was starting to soar. The monitor started to beep a warning, two nurses came over quickly to investigate.

"He woke up but is distressed. I think he doesn't understand that Lucas is here," Kate explained. Her eyes were filling with tears. She was worried that Jamie would go into shock or something.

Retelling an abridged version of what had happened to Sean, so the nurses could understand Jamie's reaction, they nodded to one another and turned to a co-worker. "Let's reposition the beds so they can see each other a little easier," the nurse smiled at Kate. "We might have half a chance in keeping them both settled over the next few days. You'd swear that they are twins almost to look at... lovely boys." The nurse leaned over Jamie, telling him that everything was okay. They were going to move him so he could see Lucas, only if he promised to stay calm. Jamie nodded, a few tears silently slipped down his face.

Kate laughed. "They tell plenty of people that they are twins, special twins, whatever that means,"

Kate smiled at Jamie and the now relocated Lucas. "Jamie, the nurses are going to adjust your bed so you can see Lucas, okay? Just try and relax a little honey."

..o0o..

Robert Spence

One day had drifted into another. The Spence family had set up in a serviced apartment complex not far from the hospital, so that the parents could come and go with ease, also having somewhere to wind down and support each other. The bonds of family are never stronger than when someone was in trouble, and there was a steady stream of cousins, aunts and uncles rolling into Austin now.

One of the younger kids made a google calendar for everyone to nominate a time to visit so they didn't overload the staff, and ensured the boys had company 24/7, plus there was a skype link set up so the friends in Australia and across the States could check in and see how they were going. Sam, Gavin, Dave, and Josh were all frequent visitors online. Even the guys at Jamie's station had dialed in a few times.

It had been hard on Kate, Ann Marie, Reid, and me. The added support of family had made something so horrible somewhat bearable. For the first time in almost a week, Kate and Ann Marie waited until around 10am to head to the hospital. Reid and I were going to the impound yard to collect the boys' belongings from the wreckage.

"Good morning, Mrs. Spence," Natalie, today's nurse manager, greeted the moms. "We've brought some treats for y'all - just a small thanks," Kate replied.

"That wasn't necessary ma'am, but it's appreciated," she replied, as Natalie looked over the hamper basket full of goodies. "Those two boys are keeping us entertained. It must have been interesting when they were growing up!" Natalie laughed.

"When they were together, anything could, would, and did happen," Ann Marie replied, smiling widely.