Page 61 of Bernadette
“Mr. Erwin,” the doctor looked directly at Wyatt as he spoke. “I have good news, and bad news.”
“Hit me.” Wyatt said as he gripped Morgan’s hand. Neither of them noticed Carl and Lucas exchange worried looks.
“You have a broken neck.”
“Excuse me?”
“After what you told me earlier, I went back and really studied the films from when you were first brought in two days ago. I compared them to what we took this morning.” The doctor held up an extremely large envelope, then went over to the wall to slap those items into the light box. He turned it on, pulled a pen and pointed.
“Holy shit,” Wyatt said as he saw what the doctor pointed out. “What does this mean?”
“This means, and please pardon my language here, but it means that you are one lucky son of a bitch. I would say that when you fell off your horse and broke your collarbone and your rotator cuff, you also broke your neck. When you described your symptoms of not being able to move, even open your eyes, and I saw this, it proved my point.”
“Which is?” Lucas asked.
“Which is that when you were lying out there waiting for help to arrive, you were paralyzed from the neck down. Actually, it was from the ears down. Had you woken like that, you would have been an invalid in a wheelchair for the rest of your life.”
“Like that actor after he fell off a horse?” Lucas asked in shock.
“No,” Wyatt waved what Lucas said away, then looked at the doctor. “Are you shitting me?” He demanded after seeing the expression on the doctor’s face.
“No, I’m not. I think when you were jostled getting loaded into the helicopter, then you said there was a dip, and you were jerked to the side before you lost consciousness, your vertebrae went back into place, relieving the tension on your spinal cord.” Without waiting for a response, he took down the original films, and slapped up more. “This is the results of the MRI from this morning. This shows a slight tear in the spinal cord. Any bigger and you would be like you were out in that field, or wherever you were.”
“What are you saying, doctor?” Wyatt asked as he gingerly leaned back against the pillows. “I don’t want to move now, for fear that I might end up like that again.”
“Good, keep that thought.” The doctor put the films back in the envelope, then walked over to the side of the bed to look at Wyatt directly in the eye. “You would have three options, but one of them is out of the question.”
“Why?” Morgan scowled at him.
“That option would have been to put a halo on you, but with your broken shoulder and collar bone, we can’t set the frame over them while you’re injured.”
“What are the other two options?”
“Both involve a neck brace. Option one, which is the one I’m going to highly veto, if at all possible, but option one is for you to wear a neck brace for the next eight weeks, with no work.”
“What does no work mean?”
“No horseback riding, no driving, no ATV riding, no operating farm equipment. No cleaning out stalls, no breaking horses, no feeding them. No cooking, no cleaning, no housework. You would sit at a desk and do paperwork or sit in a chair and read or watch TV. That would be the extent of your duties. However, you could only do that for about fifteen minutes every two hours because you can’t keep your neck bent for longer than that.”
“Option number two?” Wyatt and Morgan asked at the same time.
The doctor put the first films back up and used his pen again as he explained. “We go to surgery. I put plates, pins, screws, whatever on the side of your spine where your neck is broken. The plates will add extra support.”
“Would I be able to ride a horse again? Do ranching?”
“With time, yes. But,” the doctor held up his hand to ward off the questions. “You’ll still have to wear a neck brace after the surgery. That’s to allow you to heal, and not aggravate it while you do heal. It’ll be longer recovery.”
“But can I ride an ATV.”
“Wyatt?” Morgan looked at him at the sound of panic in his voice. “What is it?”
“Winter roundup is two weeks away. We have to get the cattle out of the hills and closer to home for the winter. We’ll never be able to feed them if they stay where they are now. I’m wondering if I can ride an ATV out there to do the roundup. I won’t push my luck hoping to ride a horse.”
“We’d have to see how the surgery went, if you went with that option, then if it was successful, I don’t see why you couldn’t ride an ATV. However,” the doctor held up his hand to hold off Wyatt’s happiness. “You’ll need to wear a helmet, and the neck brace. It’ll be uncomfortable, but it will save you from being in a wheelchair and breathing though a ventilator the rest of your life.” The doctor saw the shock on the others’ faces, then nodded once. “I’ll let you decide. I’m already booked in an OR for someone else in an hour. I can easily cancel that surgery and do yours.”
“Can you come back in twenty minutes?” Morgan asked as she squeezed Wyatt’s hand.
“I’ll be back.” The doctor nodded and turned on his heel and left. At the door, he turned and looked back. “I hate to rush you, Mr. Erwin, but a surgery like this is critical to keeping you stable. One wrong move, or an unexpected sneeze could put you right back where you were when this occurred.”
