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Date Posted: 11:25:21 02/28/06 Tue
Author: Sylvia Bartlett Mohr
Subject: FWWATT Ch 6 Section Four
In reply to: Sylvia Bartlett Mohr 's message, "FOR WHICH WE ARE TRULY THANKFUL CH 6" on 11:03:34 02/28/06 Tue

For Which We Are Truly Thankful

By Sylvia Mohr Bartlett

Chapter 6: Section Four ~ Medical Misadventures




The doctors were working on Harm, trying to stop a series of convulsions that were contorting his body.

Chegwidden stepped close to them, preventing them from going further into the room. "They are doing everything they can." He assured the two quietly.

"How long has this been going on?" Boone asked, grimly.

"Just a couple of minutes. His fever started spiking about four minutes ago. Went up fast, Tom. When it hit 106.8, the convulsions started. They just pushed Dilantin IV."

Harm's body relaxed and was still, beneath the cooling blanket. Doctor Reyes checked Harm's temp. It was back down to 104 degrees. Dr Brake smiled at the Admirals and Mac as he left the room through the door to Sturgis' room. "I don't think he wants to get too close to you, Tom." AJ remarked, dryly.

Boone chose to ignore the remark and stepped forward to ask Reyes, who was carefully checking Harm's injured arm. "Any damage done?" His worry was quite evident.

Reyes relaxed. "Commander Turner, you did a good job keeping him from hurting himself in those convulsions."

"Sir," Sturgis looked regretfully at Harm, "I need to talk with you in my room." He had been shaken by the convulsions racking his friend's body.

The doctor raised an eyebrow in surprise, but nodded. "Let me check his vitals. I'll join you in there in a moment."

The former submariner nodded and went to the other room.

The Chaplain sat heavily, in the chair his son had occupied earlier, next to Harm. He spoke softly to Rabb in quiet tones that did not cross the room to the hearing of Sarah, Boone and AJ; it was clear he was speaking to reassure the young man, although he appeared to be unconscious. He watched silently as the doctor completed checking Harm over and went to join his son.

AJ approached Matthew. "Is Sturgis all right?"

The older man nodded thoughtfully. "He just needs to speak to the doctor a moment, Admiral; it's nothing to concern yourself with." His eyes communicated that what was being said should not be repeated in Harm's room.

AJ frowned. He wanted to know what was going on, but he understood that even with the meds the Commander had been given; it was impossible to know how much he was hearing and understanding, so it was best to keep some conversations out of his earshot.


Sturgis was sitting on his bed when the doctor joined him. "Are you all right, Commander Turner?"

The 'bubble headed lawyer', as Harm liked to teasingly call him, hesitated a moment, but took the plunge. "I'm fine. The Tylenol has helped the headache considerably. I – I think I need to tell you about a problem Harm has had recently. Now, I'll be honest. I feel like I am violating a confidence here, and I know Harm hates the thought of getting a 'no fly' order from his flight surgeon, but…"

"Go on." Now the doctor was frowning.

"Harm fell a while back outside JAG headquarters. Slipped on a wet leaf or something, I don't know. He limped for a while afterwards. Last week, I was playing basketball with him and he fell again. He went up for a jump shot and came down on his right leg and it just gave way and he hit the boards hard. He had to take a day off work the next day because he was hurting so bad."

Doctor Reyes considered the information a moment, but his expression had become more relaxed. "It sounds like he has had a couple of episodes of momentary weakness in his right leg. I'm not as surprised as you might think I would be. Hammer has had to punch out a few more times than the average pilot would ever dream of. There is a degree of disc compression from each of those ejection seat rides and with normal wear and tear on top of that over the years; spasms and back pain are pretty much to be expected. He has meds to take when they get to him. I know Harm. You need to be more concerned he'll wait too long to employ his meds, than that he would ever abuse them.

"He's athletic and competitive and he runs. You can relax about the 'no fly'. Even with the pounding his back has taken from the spasms and those convulsions, I really doubt that will be necessary. The nerve can be pinched momentarily at any time without there being lasting damage. We will keep an eye on it, obviously and he'll be checked out thoroughly before he returns to active duty, but I think you'll find you've been overly concerned about telling me this. I'm glad you did, but it isn't going to have the negative impact you feared. I check Harm Rabb out very carefully back wise when I've seen him and he always passes every test. I don't think anything that has happened recently will change that."

Sturgis looked relieved, until the other man added. "I'm far more concerned with the emotional trauma he's endured the past year or so. Not that I'm going to recommend a fit rep based on that, but we need to watch for signs of delayed stress and make sure he talks things out with someone if it is getting an upper hand on him. Will you help us watch for that?"

"I always do. He's had some pretty rough times."

"You ALL have. You wouldn't expect so much emotional trauma amongst a bunch of lawyers, but it's been rough seas for you all. Watch out for each other…but don't make more of things than you should. Harm's overcome a lot in his life to be where he is today. I'd never bet against Rabb in any race."

At that, the younger Turner smiled. "Believe me. I learned that a long time ago."

"Now, let's check you out." The doctor checked his neuro signs and nodded. "Better. When this IV is done, we'll discontinue them. Still no nausea?" Turner shook his head, indicating he'd had none. "Good. You've had antibiotics to insure against that head laceration getting infected. Overnight in Sick Bay and I'll probably release you to return to your investigation tomorrow. I want you to rest here for at least a half an hour now though. I'll let your father and friends know – okay? Don't worry. We'll keep you posted on Rabb and, if he needs you, you are right next door."

Suddenly, Sturgis felt very tired. "Would it be okay if I try and nap a little?"

The doctor immediately approved. "Not a bad idea. We'll wake you at regular intervals throughout the night, so a little extra downtime now would be a good plan."

Commander Turner relaxed on his bed, surprised to find he really was tired enough to sleep; he drifted off feeling somewhat better about everything.

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  • FWWATT Chapter 6 Section Five -- Sylvia Mohr Bartlett, 11:30:22 02/28/06 Tue
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