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Post by barbt on Apr 19, 2014 21:20:24 GMT -5
This is a companion story to Recovery. The same incident, seen through the eyes of Ryan's family, the CT family, and the medical staff.
Dermot was relaxing at the fire station when the tones for his ambulance went off. Hopping into the rig and checking the address, he stopped dead and then muttered "Oh, crap!"
"What's wrong?" asked his partner, Tommy. "That's my mate Ryan's house. God, I hope he's OK..." "Your mate that's the big time singer and is in America all the time?" Tommy asked as he headed out towards the address. "Aye." Dermot was worried. Either it was Ryan or one of his parents, and in either case it was going to be bad for Ryan. His fears were confirmed when they arrived at the house and found Mr. Kelly, Ryan's father, waiting for them. It had to be Ryan. If it had been Mrs. Kelly, Ryan's father would have been with his wife. Dermot jumped out of the ambulance almost before it stopped, grabbing his jump kit. "What's happened, Mr. Kelly?" He could see the despair in the older man's eyes. "It's Ryan," he said. "He must have fallen down the stairs, and he's unconscious, he's not responding to us at all! Please hurry!" "Tommy, we're going to need trauma supplies," Dermot called to his partner. "Probably head or spinal injury." He was fighting to keep himself in professional mode, as he knew if he lost control he couldn't do anything for Ryan. He could have called for another crew member, but he didn't want to waste time. Tommy grabbed the backboard and the other immobilization supplies and hurried up the walk to join the other two. As he arrived, he heard Dermot say, "Then you weren't here when it happened?" "No," Mr. Kelly said wretchedly as they hurried into the house. "Ryan was supposed to join us for dinner. He didn't show up, so we called, and when he didn't answer his phone either, we got worried. So we came over, and found him..." He gulped down a sob, "Lying at the foot of the stairs unconscious." "Any idea when it might have happened?" Dermot asked worriedly. "When did you last talk to him?" "Around lunchtime," Mr. Kelly said. "So it could have been any time in the last 4 hours or so." That was bad news. Dermot knew that the quicker a trauma victim got help, the more likely there was to be a good outcome. If Ryan had already been lying there for hours..."We'll see if we can check social media and so forth to see if we can narrow that time frame down a little," he said as they arrived at the foot of the stairs. Ryan was lying on his right side. Dermot could see a bruise spreading into the right side of his forehead, and his hands were curling up towards his chest. He could see and hear that Ryan was breathing, at least. "Have you moved him at all?" he asked urgently. Ryan's mother was sitting on the floor by her son's head. "No," she said, "We were afraid moving him might hurt him worse." "Good," Dermot said. "Tommy, let's get him on the backboard and then we can do more assessment. We're probably going to need to fly him to the trauma center in Belfast." The two of them worked quickly, getting a neck collar on Ryan and then rolling him carefully onto the backboard and securing him so that he couldn't move. Then they started assessing vital signs and Dermot got more worried by the second. By all indications, Ryan had a severe head injury. "Get on the radio, Tommy, and get that chopper on the way. We'll meet them at the sports field." Mrs. Kelly grabbed at his arm. "Why does he need to go to Belfast?" she said. "Can't he stay here?" "No, Mrs. Kelly," Dermot said gently. "The local hospital doesn't have the resources to handle this level of injury. The Belfast hospital staff have special training and equipment for these sorts of injuries. He at least has a serious head injury, and we won't know if he has any broken bones until we can get X-rays. The faster we get him to Belfast, the better." They quickly but gently got Ryan onto the gurney and moved him into the ambulance, heading for the sports field. By now some neighbors had arrived and took charge of the older Kellys, arranging to take them into Belfast to the hospital and contact Ryan's brother and sister. The chopper was already circling when the ambulance arrived at the sports field. It settled onto the grass and the flight medic ran over. "What have you got for me, Derm?" he said. "My mate Ryan Kelly," Dermot said. "Head and possible spinal injury from a fall down the stairs. Could have happened anytime in the last 4 hours from what we know at this point. This is precious cargo, man. You know what Celtic Thunder is?" "Yeah," the flight medic said, looking puzzled by what to him was a random question. "What's that got to do with anything?" "Ryan's one of the Celtic Thunder singers," Dermot said. "He's an international celebrity, so keep things quiet, all right?" The flight medic nodded, understanding now. "We'll be quiet as church mice," he said. "Let's get him loaded and get moving."
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Post by HburgEagle44 on Apr 19, 2014 23:22:17 GMT -5
Good, very good start....
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Post by barbt on Apr 20, 2014 21:33:28 GMT -5
On the quick flight to Belfast, the flight medic got more concerned about Ryan's condition. His breathing was deteriorating, and he was going to need a ventilator soon. For now, oxygen was keeping him stable. "Too long without help," the medic muttered. "He may never get back to the group." He didn't know much about Celtic Thunder, but he knew they were incredibly popular in the US. He had to keep it quiet that he had a celebrity on board, but he also needed to let the doctors at the hospital know what they were dealing with. He didn't dare say anything over the radio, as he knew reporters could sometimes listen in on the channels they used. Any hint of an injury to a famous singer and the hospital would be mobbed. As they landed, he decided that he would tell the hospital staff once they were inside the treatment room. The trauma team met him on the landing pad and rushed Ryan into the emergency room. The medic gave them the medical rundown and then said, "One other thing - this guy is an international celebrity. He's one of the Celtic Thunder singers. You're going to need to stay quiet on this one." One of the nurses scoffed. "Oh, come on. An international celebrity from the Moy? You're joking, right?" The doctor said, "What's Celtic Thunder?" The medic was rapidly losing his temper. "Look, the paramedic who handed him off to me is a mate of his and he's the one who told me. He was worried sick, you could tell. I don't know a lot about Celtic Thunder, but I know Phil Coulter founded the group.." That got their attention. "They've done a bunch of filming for the US public television stations and they're incredibly popular there. Just be careful with him, and for heaven's sake, don't go shouting his name around where people can hear!" "Good thing Kelly's a common name," one nurse said. "If we just say 'Mr. Kelly', he could probably be any one of a couple of thousand folks who could end up here." They were now in the treatment room and assessing their patient. "We've got to intubate," said the trauma specialist, "His oxygen levels are dropping too low." They needed to put a tube down Ryan's airway to his lungs so they could get him on a ventilator to regulate his breathing. "I want the chief anesthesiologist in here to do this one, NOW! We've got to go between his vocal cords, and I don't know about you, but I don't want the responsibility for damaging them." An urgent call was made, and the requested specialist arrived and performed the procedure flawlessly. Now that Ryan's breathing was under control, they could start the numerous scans that would tell them the extent of his injuries. Meanwhile, Ryan's parents, brother, and sister were converging on the hospital waiting room. His brother Raymond made the discovery that Ryan's friend Mari, who had access to his professional Facebook page, had put up a status saying that he was in the hospital and asking for prayers. They quickly contacted her to take it down. "We're going to have to call Sharon," Raymond said. "Not yet," said his father. "I want to at least be able to give her some idea of how badly he's injured." "Da, they're supposed to be in Atlantic City in a few weeks. I think it's pretty unlikely that Ryan will be able to go, don't you? She'll need some time to get things sorted out." His father sighed. "I know, Ray," he said. "But let's give them a little time to find out what they can. She's going to be devastated as it is, at least if we can give her some real information, more than just 'he was unconscious when they put him in the ambulance', she'll have something to go on." "One more thing," said his mother. "I don't want anything going out to the fans until we know more. And nothing that doesn't come directly through us. We need to give Sharon information and let her know what she can release and to whom." They all agreed that this was best - they all knew that once the fans knew, things could rapidly get out of hand. They could only hope that not too many had seen Mari's post. A long hour later, the trauma specialist came out and asked for the Kelly family, then took them to a private room. "We're aware that Ryan is well-known, and we're taking pains both to be sure he gets the best of care and to keep his presence here a secret," he assured them. "Now, on the good side, he does not have any spinal injuries or injuries to his limbs, nor any internal injuries." That brought a sigh of relief. "However," and his voice became grave, "He has a skull fracture and a severe head injury. There is bleeding under the membrane that directly covers his brain. This is putting pressure on his brain. It's affected his breathing severely enough that we've needed to put him on a ventilator. He is currently in a coma." "Oh, God," said Mr. Kelly, and they knew it was a prayer. "What's going to happen? Is he..is he going to die?" "Not if we can help it," the specialist assured him. "There are medications we can give him to help keep any brain swelling down. We can regulate his breathing and, if need be, his heart rate. We're going to be closely monitoring the pressure and the extent of bleeding in his brain over the next few days, and if necessary, we'll do surgery to correct that." "Do you have any idea when he might wake up?" asked Mrs. Kelly quietly. "Not for quite a while, certainly," said the specialist. "In fact, it is far better for him if we keep him in the coma for a prolonged period, using medications to control how deeply in coma he is. This gives him the best chance for healing and for limiting any permanent brain damage." They all gasped. "You have to be aware," the specialist said seriously, "That there is a chance that he will never wake up. He could die; he could remain permanently in a coma, or he could awaken but with some level of permanent brain damage. There is also a chance that he could recover completely. There is simply no way to tell what the outcome will be right now. Most likely, we are looking at a recovery period of months or years rather than days or weeks." The family sat, stunned. The specialist said gently, "I wish I could give you more definite information, but we simply don't have it right now. Ryan is being moved into intensive care. One or two of you may be with him at all times, but family members only, and there may be times when we will ask you to leave the room for medical procedures. You may stay here for a few minutes, and I've asked for one of our chaplains to come to take you to Ryan's room once he's settled." "Thank you, Doctor," Mr. Kelly said. After the doctor had left, he said, "Now I need to call Sharon. I wish I didn't." "Do you want me to handle it, Da?" asked Raymond. "Thank you for the offer, but no. This is something I need to do."
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Post by HburgEagle44 on Apr 20, 2014 22:36:14 GMT -5
Ugh......so rough. Not knowing anything, being in the black...so hard.
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Post by barbt on Apr 22, 2014 17:38:29 GMT -5
Sharon Browne was in her home office, working on paperwork for the upcoming AC residency, when the phone rang, She picked it up without looking at the caller ID. "Sharon Browne." "Sharon, it's John Kelly." The voice on the other end sounded horrible - strained and ragged with worry. "John! What's wrong, you sound awful! Has something happened?" "Yes." A pause. "There's no easy way to say this. You aren't driving or anything are you?" "No, I'm at home." Sharon was getting even more worried now. "What's happened, John?" "It's Ryan." A sob entered the man's voice. "He...he fell down the stairs at home this afternoon and fractured his skull. There's bleeding in his brain. He's in intensive care, in a coma and on a ventilator." "Oh my God," Sharon breathed, horrified. That sweet, gentle man. "Have the doctors said anything about what might happen?" "They can't really tell yet." The despair in John's voice was terrible to hear. "They literally told us that the outcome could be anything from his dying to having a complete recovery, and everything in between. They say it's likely to be a recovery period of months or years, though." Sharon's mind was racing. Telling the rest of the "family", and how best to do that. What could be done to help. What information to release, and when, and to whom. And what to do about the upcoming residency, since Ryan obviously wouldn't be able to join them. "I'm so sorry, John," she said. "You know our prayers are with you, of course, and we'll help in any way we can. I'm assuming that I can tell the rest of the 'family'?" "Yes, but we don't want anything released to the fans yet. You may have some questions, Mari put a post on Ryan's professional Facebook asking for prayers because he was in the hospital. That's been taken down, but we're not sure how many people might have seen it." "I will absolutely follow your lead on that, no questions," said Sharon. "You tell me what to release, when, and to whom. As active as Ryan is on Facebook and Twitter, we're bound to have questions start up, but I'll impress on everyone that they are to say nothing on their own social media or anywhere public. Now, where is he, and what can we do?" John gave her the name of the Belfast hospital, and then said "I'm not sure how much help it will be for anyone to come here. They've told us no one but family is permitted to visit in intensive care, and then only one or two at a time. I know the other boys are like brothers, and I'll talk to our family about seeing if the doctors will let them in, but other than that I don't think it will help to have everyone crowding around here. It can only draw attention to this. The hospital already knows to keep everything on the quiet." "I don't think we'll be able to keep the boys away, John," Sharon said, knowing how close they all were. "But I'll definitely tell everyone else to do what they can from home. Please keep me updated, and call me at any time, no matter what time, all right?" "Yes, Sharon, and thank you. The chaplain is here to take us to Ryan's room in the ICU, so I need to go. I'll call you as soon as anything changes." "Call me even if nothing changes, John. Please". "God bless you," John's voice cracked. "We'll keep you updated."
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As the phone call ended, Sharon broke down in tears. Poor Ryan and his family. And their mutual family in CT. She didn't cry for long, though, as she had so much to do. She wanted to start the calls to the "family" first, but with only a few weeks until they needed to be in Atlantic City, she had another call she had to make first. "Colm here, what can I do for you, Sharon?" Colm Keegan was the newest member of Celtic Thunder, only having been hired a few weeks ago. He was expected to record the new show with them in August, then begin promo tours in the spring and go on the road with them the following fall, a nice long time to get into the swing of things. "Colm, I'm sorry to do this to you," Sharon said, and she could hear her voice breaking as John's had done. "I'm going to need you full time much sooner than I expected." "What's wrong, Sharon?" Colm's gentle voice was full of concern. "Ryan's had an accident. He's in a coma in intensive care. I need you to be ready to understudy for him for Atlantic City. I know it's only a few weeks away, so we don't have much time. Can you do it?" "I'll have to, won't I?" said Colm. "My mate's not going to like me missing his wedding, since I'm one of the groomsman, but he'll understand. What do I need to do?" There were a thousand things. Meeting with wardrobe so he'd have costumes. Getting together with David Munro to work out which songs he'd do and get the parts for the ensembles. Getting an emergency work visa and planning flights. Colm made a list, said good-bye to Sharon, and went to tell his parents and his brother Marc, and then to call his friend and bow out of the wedding party, knowing that he was going to be on a very fast roller coaster for the next month. That chore out of the way, Sharon turned to the job of notifying the rest of CT. She called David Munro to have him pass the information onto the band, Mark Johnson to tell the production staff, and David Greene to tell the crew. She impressed on each of them that they couldn't help by going to the hospital, and that they were not to breathe a word of this in public, and to pass this on. All information would come through her, by the request of Ryan's family. Then she began the awful task of telling the other lads. As she'd expected, once each of them got past the initial shock, each said, "I'm on my way," converging on the hospital to do whatever they could to be there for Ryan and for his family.
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Post by celticbear on Apr 22, 2014 19:31:06 GMT -5
Wow! What a great idea to tell the story from Sharon's and the CT family's point of view! In real life, Colm was learning all the CT classics on the plane via his iPod.
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Post by HburgEagle44 on Apr 22, 2014 20:18:44 GMT -5
Wow, this is so good! You have it mapped out so well and I love the emotions portrayed in this story.
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Post by barbt on Apr 23, 2014 20:59:10 GMT -5
The chaplain greeted them and prayed with them before heading up to the Intensive Care unit. Unexpectedly, he took them into a conference room rather than right to Ryan's room. "Don't worry," he said. "The staff is still getting Ryan settled in, so they asked me to orient you a bit before you go in. An ICU is a very strange place when you aren't used to it." "What do you mean?" Mrs. Kelly asked. "Well, for one thing, most people expect ICUs to be quiet. They rarely are. There is a lot of activity, and every patient has multiple monitors, all of which have different alarms. Some are simple things, such as indicating that an IV bag is empty or a machine is running low on battery life; others are urgent indicating potentially life-threatening conditions. You'll learn which ones you should worry about and which are minor, but it will sound quite confusing and can be frightening at first. The nurses will be more than happy to answer any questions you have and help you understand them; please don't hesitate to ask. "I also need to prepare you for what Ryan will look like when you see him. As you'll expect, he's been changed into a hospital gown and has an IV running, but there are other things as well that you need to be ready for. He has a number of monitors attached to him that are constantly measuring and recording his heart rate and blood pressure and the oxygen level in his blood. There is also a monitor attached to his scalp, which runs to a sensor that has been inserted through a tiny hole into his skull to allow the staff to directly monitor the pressure in his brain. This is vital information; as you know, the skull is essentially a sealed box. When someone has a brain injury and is bleeding into that space, the skull can't expand, so the pressure builds up and can cause even more brain damage than the initial injury. This monitor will let the staff know if Ryan needs more aggressive treatment, such as medication to reduce swelling or surgery to remove some of the excess fluid. "There are two other major things. One is a nasogastric tube, a thin tube that runs down his nose into his throat and then to his stomach; this allows the nurses to feed him a liquid mixture similar to baby formula. The other is the ventilator tubing, which enters his mouth and goes down his windpipe to his lungs." Ryan's family looked at the chaplain and each other. This sounded terrifying, like a nightmare. "I know," the chaplain said soothingly. "It will be quite startling when you see him, and I know it sounds quite bad, but it would be far worse if you'd just walked in and didn't know what to expect." "I expect you're right," said Mr. Kelly. "I know the doctor said that only one or two of us could stay with him at a time, but would it be possible for us all to go in together the first time?" "Yes, that won't be a problem," the chaplain said. "You all won't be able to stay long, but there will be no harm with you all going in initially. Ah, and here's his nurse this shift, Fiona. Fiona, these are Ryan's parents and brother and sister." "I'm glad to see you all," Fiona said. "Even though Ryan's in a coma, there is good evidence that coma patients can hear what is going on around them. Having familiar people around seems often to be a helpful thing. Feel free to talk to him as much as you like - tell him the news, what's going on with the weather, or anything else you can think of. You don't need to talk constantly, but let him know you're there and that you won't leave him." She led them out of the conference room into the Intensive Care unit proper. There were separate rooms, but most of the front wall of each room was glass so that the nurses could see their charges from the central station. Fiona led them to the second door on the left. She paused outside. "He tolerated the move up here, getting him into bed and all the monitors getting set up well, " she said. "He did respond to some of the procedures that were a bit uncomfortable, by grimacing or tensing up; that's a good sign that some information is getting through. Do you feel comfortable going in on your own, or would you like me to come in with you?" "I think for the moment we'll go in on our own," said Mr. Kelly. "Of course," Fiona said. "Don't hesitate to call me if you have any questions. I only have Ryan and one other patient to take care of, so I should have plenty of time if you need it." They thanked her, and stepped into Ryan's room. They'd been able to see him from outside, which was both comforting and disconcerting, seeing him with the machines the chaplain had described hooked up to him. They gathered around his bed. They all looked at each other, not sure what to do. Mrs. Kelly solved the problem. "Hello, dear," she said. "It's Mam, of course. Da's here, and so are Raymond and Colette. At least one of us will be with you all the time." They all spoke to him briefly, so that he could hear each of their voices. It was horrible not seeing any response, but they had to believe that he understood them. "One thing I do want to talk about," said Mr. Kelly to the rest of the family, "is something that I discussed with Sharon. She's asking most of the CT family not to come here, but we agreed that we aren't going to be able to keep the other lads away. I'd imagine they could be arriving any time in the next several hours or so. What do you all think about seeing if the doctors will let them in with us? They are certainly as close as brothers to Ryan, and if he can be comforted by hearing us around him, surely their presence would be a comfort as well." "I'd like that," said Mrs. Kelly. "They're all such sweet boys, and I think it will make it easier on us as well, don't you?" "I do," said Mr. Kelly," but I don't think that argument will hold much ground with the doctors. Ray, Colette, what do you think?" Ryan's brother and sister agreed wholeheartedly. They knew that Ryan was used to contact with the other singers, and that they were an integral part of his life. "All right," said Mr. Kelly. "Raymond and Colette, will you take first watch? I want to speak to the doctors about this as soon as we can, and then your mother and I can greet the boys as they come and get them up to speed." Raymond and Colette settled in chairs by Ryan's bed, one holding each of his hands, as Mr. and Mrs. Kelly left the room to find Fiona. They stepped up to the central station. "Fiona, may we speak with you a moment?" Mr. Kelly asked. "Of course," she said, and led them back to the conference room. "What can I help with?" "We'd like to make an unusual request," said Mr. Kelly. "I'm sure you were notified that Ryan is part of the musical group Celtic Thunder, one of the singers?" "Yes," said Fiona, "I've heard them, they are amazing." The Kellys smiled. "Yes, they are," Mrs. Kelly said. "The four other current singers and Ryan are very close, as are the two who have moved on to solo careers - they are truly like brothers. They spend nearly half of each year living, as they often say, in each other's pockets on tour, and they're hardly out of touch even when they're home. We would like to talk to the doctors about allowing them access to Ryan's room. They are as vital a part of Ryan's emotional life as we are, and we as a family think it would be good for Ryan if they could visit him as well." "Hmmm..." Fiona pondered. "I can certainly see your point. I will bring it up to the doctors when they do rounds in a few hours - will that be all right?" "Yes, that'll do," said Mr. Kelly. "Now, I assume there's a waiting area somewhere nearby for people who aren't in the rooms at the time? Could you show us there? We expect the first of the boys to be arriving soon, Keith only lives in Donegal, and Emmet in Mullingar."
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Post by celticbear on Apr 24, 2014 21:38:21 GMT -5
Boy, Ryan must look like an Irish Version of Frankenstein with all those tubes and sensors attached to him. I hope the doctor agrees to let the Lads see Ryan! And since Ryan is in a Belfast Hospital, then yes geographically Keith and Emmet would be the first two to show up. Next comes Neil who by this time had moved to Dublin and then last to show up will be George.
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Post by barbt on Apr 25, 2014 19:17:00 GMT -5
Emmet and Keith arrived almost simultaneously. Fiona had alerted the reception desk that there would be men coming for this patient, and they were directed to the ICU waiting room, where they found Ryan's parents. There were traces of tears on their cheeks, but the hugs they shared with the Kellys were strong and supportive. "Emmet, we figured you'd be here first, since you're closest, but Keith, you must have broken every speed limit between here and Donegal!" Mrs. Kelly said. "I did break a few," said Keith, "but I was actually in Derry when I got the call, so it wasn't as far. Have you seen him? How is he?" "We have, and Raymond and Colette are with him now. He's not very good, I'm afraid," said Mr. Kelly. "They expect him to be in the coma for a long time, they actually are going to keep him unconscious on purpose, as they say it will help him heal. His nurse says he did respond to some of the more uncomfortable procedures getting him settled, and she said that was a good sign, it meant that some information was getting through to his brain. She said talking to him and letting him know who is here, and that we won't leave him, is important." "Can we see him?" asked Emmet. "Not yet," said Mrs. Kelly gently. "Normally they only allow family members in, but we've asked if they will allow you boys in as well as a special request, given how close you all are. It may be some time before the doctors decide if you can, though." "That's all right," Keith said. "We're here, and we're not leaving anytime soon. Neil and George are on the way. We're not sure yet if Damian or Paul will be able to get here, but they both send their love and prayers." "Bless you," said Mrs. Kelly. "It'll be a comfort to us to have you here as well." They settled down to wait, but it wasn't long before Keith was prowling around the room. He never could sit still for long unless he had a guitar or drawing supplies with him, and while he had a guitar in his car, he didn't think it would be appreciated here. A thought suddenly occurred to him. "Have either of you eaten dinner?" he asked the Kellys. They turned confused eyes on each other. "No, now that I think of it, we didn't" said Mr. Kelly "Ryan was supposed to come to dinner and didn't show up, that's how we found him." "Well, that's something we can do to help, then," Keith said decisively. "Mrs. Kelly, you come down to the cafeteria with me and get something to eat, and Emmet can stay here; then when we come back, we'll switch." "You can always count on Keith to remember food," Emmet laughed. "He'll make sure you take care of yourselves. And another thing - have you any place to stay around here? If Ryan's going to be here a long time, you're going to need a place to sleep and get cleaned up and such." "I never even thought of that!" said Mrs. Kelly. "We packed some things to bring with us, but never thought about where we'd be." "Your mum would be proud of you, thinking about that," Keith said to Emmet, grinning. He ushered Mrs. Kelly out of the waiting room. She had a slight smile on her face, thinking that even in a situation like this, the boys couldn't resist slagging each other. They really were just like brothers. Then she thought of how much Ryan would have enjoyed that exchange, and she suddenly broke down into tears. Keith immediately wrapped his strong arms around her again, letting her cry on his shoulder. He didn't say anything; there was no point in telling her everything would be OK, because they didn't know if it would be. Fiona found them like that as she came down the hallway. "Mrs. Kelly, are you all right?' she said worriedly. "Yes, dear, it just hit me how much Ryan would have enjoyed something Keith and Emmet just did. " Mrs. Kelly wiped her eyes. "Oh, Keith, this is Fiona, Ryan's nurse this shift. Fiona, this is Keith, one of the other singers. Emmet is with my husband in the waiting room." "it's nice to meet you," Fiona said to Keith. "I've heard you all sing, you're wonderful. It's good of you to come." "Couldn't have done anything else," Keith said. "The Kellys are family, and we take care of each other. We're just heading down to get something to eat, they never had dinner tonight." "I won't keep you, then," Fiona replied. "It's going to be important for them to take care of themselves and if you can help with that, it will be a godsend." She watched as they headed down the hall, Keith's arm still supportively around Mrs. Kelly's shoulders. If she hadn't know better, she would have thought Keith was another of Mrs. Kelly's sons, from the way he was treating her. If all of the other singers were like that, then the Kellys were blessed indeed.
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Post by celticbear on Apr 25, 2014 22:30:58 GMT -5
I'm sure Keith broke some speed laws when this really happened! Love how quickly Keith and Emmet stepped in to take care of Ryan's parents. And that Fiona got to see just how like a Big Irish Family, CT is!
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Post by barbt on Apr 28, 2014 21:44:05 GMT -5
While Keith and Mrs. Kelly were eating, Emmet had stepped out of the waiting room long enough to call Sharon. When he came back in, he told Mr. Kelly, "It's all settled. Sharon's booked two rooms at a hotel close by, one for your family and one for us." "She doesn't need to do that..." Mr. Kelly started to say, but Emmet cut him off. "She does," he said. "She told me to tell you that she said she'd do anything she could to help, and she meant it. You're not to worry about where you'll be sleeping or the expense of staying nearby; you've got enough to concern yourselves with. And if you haven't got a car here, we'll bring you back and forth." "That we have got," Mr. Kelly said, smiling. "A neighbor drove us here in our car and another followed to take him back to the Moy." "Good," Emmet said. "From what Ryan's told us, the Moy is a wonderful place, I'm sure you'll have lots of support from there as well." "Aye, that it is. I'm sure the whole town knows by now, and they'll be taking over care of Ryan's pets and such while we're here. That's just the way it works." Fiona stepped into the waiting room, partly to give Mr. Kelly an update and partly to meet Emmet. She told them that Ryan was stable, nothing had changed. Mr. Kelly introduced her to Emmet, and she told him that she'd heard them sing and how much she enjoyed it. He replied politely, but it was clear that his mind was elsewhere. She smiled as she stepped out of the room. The doctors were due up for evening rounds, and now she could tell them that she'd met two of the men the Kellys wanted to add to the visitors list, and that she didn't think it would be an issue. Shortly after she left the waiting room, the doctor arrived. He reviewed Ryan's chart and then went into his room to conduct a short assessment, greeting Raymond and Colette absentmindedly, clearly focused on his patient. When he came out again, Fiona pulled him aside. "Dr. Reilly", she said, "This patient's parents have requested a special favor for visitors for him." She explained about Ryan's career and the link he shared with the other singers. "The Kellys would like to have the other singers allowed to visit with Ryan as well. They feel that their presence would be as supportive to him as their own is." "Hmmmm..." Dr. Reilly considered this. "I can certainly see how that would form a strong emotional connection which could be helpful. But I'm not sure we need a bunch of temperamental spoiled artistic types getting in the way." "I can assure you that at least the two who are already here at the hospital are neither temperamental or spoiled," Fiona told him. "I've met both of them, and complimented them on their singing; one completely ignored it as he was focused on getting Mrs. Kelly some dinner, and the other simply gave me a polite reply and went on to other matters about how Ryan was doing." "There are two of them already here?" Dr. Reilly said. "Where are they?" "Keith took Mrs. Kelly down to the cafeteria, and Emmet is with Mr. Kelly in the waiting room." "I did see Mrs. Kelly downstairs when I passed through to get some tea," Dr. Reilly said. "I assumed the young man with her was another of her sons, based on their behavior towards each other. I would never have guessed he was a celebrity. Do we know how many more are coming?" "Definitely two, and I think there was a slight possibility that two others might come as well but they weren't sure if they could yet." "Well, let me think about it, and see how Ryan does through the night," Dr. Reilly said. "I'd rather not allow that many more visitors until we see how he's doing. You say Mr. Kelly's in the waiting room? I'll go speak to him now." When Dr, Reilly got to the waiting room, Keith and Mrs. Kelly had returned, and Emmet and Mr. Kelly were preparing to leave to get something to eat. As he walked in, Emmet was explaining the hotel arrangements to Keith and Mrs, Kelly. Dr. Reilly arrived just in time to hear the explanation and to see Mrs. Kelly give Emmet a hug and say, "Oh, thank you, dear, I honestly don't know what we'd be doing without you two right now." "Starving and trying to sleep on the couches in here," Keith said wryly, which made Mr. and Mrs. Kelly both laugh. The two exchanges confirmed the opinion Fiona had shared regarding the two young men. "Mr. and Mrs. Kelly," Dr. Reilly said. "I've just been in to check on your son, and so far he's holding his own. I'm not seeing any major changes one way or the other right now. Do you have any questions for me right now?" "Not about Ryan, no," Mr. Kelly said. "Did Fiona tell you about our request? These are two of the other singers, Keith and Emmet. Neil and George are on their way. We're not sure yet if Paul or Damian will be able to make it in from the States." "Yes, she did," Dr. Reilly replied. "It's nice to meet you two, and I can see you are taking good care of the Kellys. If Ryan continues to remain stable overnight, I will most likely allow these gentlemen access to his room tomorrow. However, if we do see that it becomes too much for Ryan and he is showing signs of stress, then I may rescind that permission." "That's understandable," Mr. Kelly said. "Thank you, Doctor, I appreciate your willingness to consider it." The doctor excused himself to continue his rounds, and Emmet and Mr. Kelly took their turn in the cafeteria. When they returned, Mrs. Kelly went in to Ryan's room to let Raymond and Colette know the updates on their end as far as the arrival of the boys, the hotel arrangement, and the doctor's willingness to consider allowing the boys in tomorrow. When she came back, she looked quite exhausted. "Are you all right, dear?" asked Mr. Kelly. "Yes, I'm just very tired," she replied. "Raymond and Colette made me promise to go to the hotel and try to sleep. They'll stay here overnight." "Emmet, why don't you go with the Kelly's to the hotel?" Keith suggested. "I'm more of a night owl than you are. Just bring me my guitar up before you go, would you, or I'll go nuts with nothing to do. I'll have to see if I can find a store that sells drawing supplies nearby, then I might actually be able to sit still for a while." "I can do better than that," Emmet said. "I have one of your sketch pads in my car, it got mixed up with my stuff after the promo tour, and I hadn't seen you to give it back. I'll bring that up for you, and take your guitar to the hotel so you don't annoy everybody all night."
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Post by celticbear on Apr 29, 2014 22:28:03 GMT -5
Great update! The only part I took a wee bit of offense to was the doctor's first opinion of the Lads! But in the end he saw with his own eyes HOW WRONG HE WAS!
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Post by barbt on Apr 30, 2014 5:57:37 GMT -5
Great update! The only part I took a wee bit of offense to was the doctor's first opinion of the Lads! But in the end he saw with his own eyes HOW WRONG HE WAS! I think we would all take offense to that! But it's a common stereotype, and unfortunately certain celebrities do nothing but feed it. Our boys are different, and that's part of why we love them!
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Post by HburgEagle44 on May 1, 2014 0:46:39 GMT -5
Beautiful update, as always. Loved it
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