At ten minutes after eight on Saturday morning, some thirteen hours after being struck by the baseball, Josh underwent surgery at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.
Ron and Doreen waited in the hospital's chapel1 with friends who were arriving from Brookhaven. Their pastor2 was with them. Back at St. Luke's, a prayer vigil was under way in the church's sanctuary3. Ron's brother arrived at noon with Zeke and Clarissa, both as frightened and shell-shocked as their parents. Hours passed with no word from the surgeons. Dr. Treet disappeared from time to time to check on things, but seldom brought back any useful news. As some of their friends left, others came to replace them. Grandparents and uncles and aunts and cousins arrived, and waited, and prayed, and then left to roam around the sprawling4 hospital.
Four hours after the Fisks last saw their son, the chief surgeon appeared and motioned for them to follow him. Dr. Treet joined the conversation as they walked down a hallway, away from the crowd. They stopped near a door to a restroom. Ron and Doreen clutched each other, bracing5 for the worst. The surgeon spoke6 in a grave and weary voice: "He has survived the surgery and is doing as well as can be expected. We removed a large hematoma compressing the brain. The pressure inside the skull7 has been reduced.
But there was a lot of brain swelling8, an extraordinary amount to be honest. There will likely be some permanent damage.”
"Life" and "death" are easily understood, but "damage" conveys fears that are not readily defined.
"He's not going to die," Doreen said.
"As of right now, he's alive and his vital signs are good. He has a 90 percent chance of survival. The next seventy-two hours will be crucial.”
"How much damage?" Ron asked, getting to the point.
"There's no way to tell right now. Some of the damage might be reversible with time and therapy, but that's really a conversation for another day. Right now, let's just continue to pray that he improves over the next three days.”
Late Saturday night, Josh was in the ICU. Ron and Doreen were allowed to see him for ten minutes, though he was in a drug-induced coma9. They didn't manage to maintain their composure when they first saw him. His head was wrapped like a mummy, and a breathing tube ran from his mouth. He was hooked to a ventilator. Doreen was afraid to touch any part of his body, even his foot.
A sympathetic nurse agreed to move a chair to a spot outside his room and allow one parent to sit there throughout the night. Ron and Doreen sent their support team back to Brookhaven, then began alternating between the ICU and the waiting room.
Sleep was out of the question, and they walked the halls until sunrise Sunday morning.
The doctors were pleased with Josh's first night. After an early morning review, Ron and Doreen found a motel nearby. They showered and managed a quick nap before reassuming their positions at the hospital. The waiting rituals began again, as did the prayer vigils at home. The flow of visitors coming and going soon became an ordeal10 in itself. Ron and Doreen just wanted to be alone in the room with their son.
Late Sunday night, when Doreen was in the ICU and the crowd had left, Ron strolled the corridors of the hospital, stretching his legs and trying to stay awake. He found another waiting room, one for the families of noncritical patients. It was much more inviting11, with nicer furniture and a wider selection of vending12 machines. Dinner was a diet soda13 and a bag of pretzels, and as he crunched14 on them mindlessly, a small boy walked by and seemed ready to touch his knee.
"Aaron," his mother barked from across the room. "Come here.”
"He's fine," Ron said, smiling at the child, who quickly drifted away.
Aaron. The name brought back a memory. Aaron was the boy struck in the head by the piece of metal thrown by the bush hog15. A brain injury, permanent disability, financial ruin for the family. The jury found the manufacturer liable. The trial had a clean record. At that moment, Justice Fisk could not remember why he had so easily voted with the majority in reversing the verdict.
Back then, barely two months ago, he had never felt the pain of a parent with a severely16 injured child. Or the fear of losing the child.
Now, in the middle of this nightmare, he remembered Aaron in a different way. When he read the medical summaries in the case, he had done so in the comfort of his office, far removed from reality. The kid was severely injured, which was a pity, but accidents happen in everyday life. Could the accident have been prevented? He thought so then, and he certainly thought so now.
Little Aaron was back, staring at the bag of pretzels. It was shaking.
"Aaron, leave that man alone," the mother yelled.
Ron stared at the shaking pretzels.
The accident could have been prevented, and should have been. If the manufacturer had followed established regulations, then the bush hog would have been much safer.
Why had he been so eager to protect its manufacturer?
The case was gone, forever dismissed by five supposedly wise men, none of whom had ever shown much sympathy for those who suffer. He had to wonder if the other four-Calligan, Romano, Bateman, and Ross-had ever roamed the tomb-like halls of a hospital at all hours of the day and night waiting for a child to live or die.
No, they had not. Otherwise, they wouldn't be what they are today.
Sunday slowly yielded to Monday. Another week began, though it was far different from any one before. Ron and Doreen refused to leave the hospital for more than an hour or two. Josh was not responding well, and they were afraid that each visit to his bed might be their last glimpse of him alive. Friends brought clothes and food and newspapers, and they offered to sit and wait if the Fisks would like to go home for a few hours. But Ron and Doreen stood fast and plowed18 on with a fixed19 determination, zombielike in their belief that Josh would do better if they stayed close by. Tired and haggard, they lost patience with the parade of visitors from home and began to hide in various places around the hospital.
Ron called his office and told his secretary he had no idea when he might return.
Doreen told her boss she was taking a leave of absence. When the boss explained, delicately, that their policies did not grant such leaves, she politely informed him it was time to change said policies. He agreed to do so immediately.
The hospital was fifteen minutes from the Gartin building, and early Tuesday Ron stopped by for a quick look at his desk. It had accumulated several new piles of paperwork. His chief clerk ran down the list of all pending20 cases, but Ron was distracted.
"I'm thinking about a leave of absence. Run it by the chief," he instructed the clerk.
"For thirty days, maybe sixty. I can't concentrate on this stuff right now.”
"Sure, will do. You were planning to concur21 this morning on Baker22 versus23 Krone.”
"It can wait. Everything can wait.”
He managed to leave the building without seeing another member of the court.
Tuesday's edition of the Clarion-Ledger ran a story about Josh and his injury. Justice Fisk could not be reached for comment, but an unidentified source got most of the facts right. The doctors had removed a large blood clot17 that had been pressing on his brain. His life was no longer in danger.
It was too soon to speculate about long-term problems. There was no mention of the doctor who read the wrong CT scan.
However, the online chatter24 soon filled in the gaps. There was gossip about an illegal baseball bat involved in the accident, and speculation25 about severe brain damage, and an account from someone inside the Henry County General Hospital who claimed to know that the doctors there had screwed up. There were a couple of wild theories that Justice Fisk had undergone a dramatic conversion26 in his judicial27 philosophy.
One rumor28 declared that he was about to resign.
Wes Payton watched it carefully from his office. His wife did not. She was working hard to distract herself with other cases, but Wes was consumed with the story about Josh. As the father of young children, he could not imagine the horror the Fisks were enduring. And he could not avoid wondering how the tragedy might affect the Baker case. He did not expect a sudden about-face by Ron Fisk, but the possibility was there.
They had only one prayer left, and that was for a miracle. Could this be it?
They waited. The decision was due any day now.
By early Tuesday afternoon, Josh was beginning to show signs of improvement. He was awake, alert, and following commands. He couldn't talk, because of the breathing tube, but he seemed fidgety, which was a good sign. The pressure on his brain had been reduced to almost normal levels. The doctors had explained several times that it would take days, maybe weeks to determine a long-term prognosis.
With Josh awake, the Fisks decided29 to spend the night at home. This was greatly encouraged by the doctors and nurses. Doreen's sister agreed to sit in the ICU, within fifteen feet of her nephew's bed.
They left Jackson, relieved to be away from the hospital and anxious to see Zeke and Clarissa. Their conversation was about home-cooked food, long showers, and their comfortable bed. They vowed30 to savor31 the next ten hours, because their ordeal was just beginning.
But it would be difficult to relax. On the outskirts32 of Jackson, Ron's cell phone rang. It was Justice Calligan, and he began the conversation with a long-winded inquiry33 into Josh's condition. He conveyed condolences from everyone at the court. He promised to stop by the hospital as soon as possible. Ron was thankful, but soon had the feeling there was a business angle to the call.
"Just a couple of matters, Ron," Calligan said, "and I know you're preoccupied34 right now.”
"I am indeed.”
"There's nothing terribly urgent here, except for two cases. It looks as though that Bowmore toxic35 case is split 4 to 4. No surprise there, I guess. I was hoping you would concur with me on this one.”
"I thought Romano was writing, too.”
"He is, and he's finished, as is Albritton. All opinions are ready, and we need your concurrence36.”
"Let me sleep on it.”
"Fine. The other is that nursing home case out of Webster County. Another 4-4 split.”
"That's a very ugly case," Ron said, almost in disgust. In yet another nursing home case, a patient was basically abandoned by the staff and eventually found unfed, lying in his own waste, covered in bedsores, unmedicated, and delirious37. The company that owned the facility had reported huge profits, which came as a surprise to the jury when it was proven just how little was spent on patient care. Nursing home abuse was so rampant38 Ron was already sick of reading about it.
"Yes, it is. Very tragic," Calligan said, as if he were capable of sympathy.
"And I guess you want to reverse?”
"I don't see the liability, and the damages are exorbitant39.”
In the three and a half months Ron had been on the court, Justice Calligan had never managed to see liability in any death or injury case.
He believed jurors were stupid and easily led astray by slick trial lawyers. And he believed that it was his solemn responsibility to correct every miscarriage40 of justice (plaintiff's verdict) from the comfort of his detached environment.
"Let me sleep on it," Ron said again. Doreen was becoming irritated with the phone call.
"Yes, always a good idea. If we could finish these two cases, Ron, then a short leave of absence might work.”
A short leave of absence, or a long one for that matter, was solely41 within the discretion42 of each justice. Ron did not need Calligan to approve it. He thanked him anyway and hung up.
The Fisks' kitchen was filled with food from friends, mainly cakes and pies and casseroles.
A buffet43 was arranged on one counter, and they ate with Zeke, Clarissa, two neighbors, and Doreen's parents. They slept six hours, then drove back to the hospital.
When they arrived, Josh was in the midst of a prolonged seizure44, the second in the past hour. It passed and his vital signs improved, but it was a setback45 in his slow recovery. Thursday morning, he was alert again, but irritable46, restless, unable to concentrate, unable to remember anything about the accident, and highly agitated47.
One of the doctors explained that his condition was symptomatic of post-concussion syndrome48.
Thursday night, the Rockies' coach, Ron's former law partner, drove to Jackson for another visit. He and Ron had dinner in the hospital canteen, and over soup and salad he pulled out his notes. "I've done some research," the coach said. "Win Rite49 stopped making the lighter50 bats six years ago, probably in response to complaints about injuries.
In fact, the entire industry went to minus four and nothing higher. Over the years, the aluminum51 alloys52 got lighter but also stronger. The barrel of the bat wall actually absorbs the ball upon contact, then launches it when the wall pops back into its original position. The result is a lighter bat, but also a much more dangerous one.
Safety advocates have been bitching about these bats for a decade, and lots of studies have been done. In one test, a pitching machine threw a fastball at 90 miles an hour, and the ball came off the bat at 120. Two fatalities53 on record, one in high school, one in college, but hundreds of injuries in all age-groups. So, Little League and some of the other youth organizations got together and banned anything above a minus four.
"But the problem is obvious. Win Rite and the other bat makers54 have a million of the old bats still out there, still being used, and we finally saw one in the game last Friday.”
"There was never a recall?" Ron asked.
"None whatsoever55. And they know the damned things are dangerous. Their own tests prove it.”
Ron was nibbling56 on a saltine, certain of where this was going and unwilling57 to help it get there.
"The Rolling Fork team is probably liable, but it's not worth the trouble. The City of Russburg could be held liable because the umpire, a city employee by the way, failed to check the equipment. And the big tuna is, of course, Win Rite. Assets of two billion. Tons of insurance coverage58. Very good case of liability. Damages undetermined but substantial. All in all a strong case, except for one small problem. Our supreme60 court.”
"You sound like a trial lawyer.”
"They're not always wrong. If you ask me, I say you should consider filing a product case.”
"I don't recall asking you, and I can't file a lawsuit61. I'd be laughed out of the state.”
"What about the next kid, Ron? What about the next family that will go through the same nightmare? Litigation has cleaned up a lot of bad products and protected a lot of people.”
"There's no way.”
"And why should you and the State of Mississippi get stuck with a million bucks62 in medical bills? Win Rite is worth billions. They made a lousy product; make them pay.”
"You are a trial lawyer.”
"No. I'm your former partner. We practiced together for fourteen years, and the Ron Fisk I remember had great respect for the law. Justice Fisk seems determined59 to change all of it.”
"Okay, okay. I've heard enough.”
"I'm sorry, Ron. I shouldn't have-”
"It's okay. Let's go check on Josh.”
Tony Zachary returned to Jackson on Friday and heard the news about Josh Fisk. He went straight to the hospital and eventually found Ron napping on a waiting room sofa. They talked for an hour about the accident, about the surgery, and also about Tony's fishing expedition down in Belize.
Tony was deeply concerned about young Josh. He certainly hoped the child would make a quick and complete recovery. But what he wanted to know, but couldn't bring himself to ask, was, "When might you finish up with the Krone appeal?”
As soon as he was in his car, he called Barry Rinehart with the disturbing news.
A week after he arrived at the hospital, Josh was moved from the ICU to a private room, one that was immediately inundated63 with flowers, stuffed animals, cards from his fifth-grade classmates, balloons, and enough candy to feed an entire elementary school. A cot was arranged so that one of his parents could sleep next to his bed.
While the room at first gave the impression of a lighter mood, things turned gloomy almost immediately. The team of neurologists began extensive evaluations64. There was no paralysis65, but a definite decline in motor skills and coordination66, along with severe memory loss and an inability to concentrate. Josh was easily distracted and slow to recognize objects. The tubes were gone, but his speech was noticeably slower.
Some recovery was likely in the months to come, but there was a good chance of permanent damage.
The thick head bandages were replaced with much smaller ones. Josh was allowed to walk to the restroom, a heartbreaking sight as he shuffled67 awkwardly forward, one clumsy step after another. Ron helped him, and fought back tears.
His little baseball star had played his final game.
收听单词发音 |
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chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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pastor
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| n.牧师，牧人 | |
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sanctuary
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| n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区 | |
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sprawling
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| adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着） | |
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bracing
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| adj.令人振奋的 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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coma
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| n.昏迷，昏迷状态 | |
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ordeal
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| n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验 | |
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inviting
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| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
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vending
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| v.出售（尤指土地等财产）( vend的现在分词 )；（尤指在公共场所）贩卖；发表（意见，言论）；声明 | |
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soda
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| n.苏打水；汽水 | |
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crunched
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| v.嘎吱嘎吱地咬嚼( crunch的过去式和过去分词 )；嘎吱作响；（快速大量地）处理信息；数字捣弄 | |
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hog
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| n.猪；馋嘴贪吃的人；vt.把…占为己有，独占 | |
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severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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clot
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| n.凝块；v.使凝成块 | |
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plowed
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| v.耕( plow的过去式和过去分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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pending
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| prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的 | |
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concur
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| v.同意，意见一致，互助，同时发生 | |
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baker
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| n.面包师 | |
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versus
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| prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下 | |
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chatter
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| vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战 | |
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speculation
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| n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机 | |
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conversion
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| n.转化，转换，转变 | |
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judicial
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| adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的 | |
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rumor
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| n.谣言，谣传，传说 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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vowed
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| 起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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savor
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| vt.品尝，欣赏；n.味道，风味；情趣，趣味 | |
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outskirts
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| n.郊外，郊区 | |
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inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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preoccupied
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| adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式) | |
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toxic
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| adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的 | |
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concurrence
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| n.同意；并发 | |
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delirious
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| adj.不省人事的，神智昏迷的 | |
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rampant
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| adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的 | |
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exorbitant
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| adj.过分的；过度的 | |
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miscarriage
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| n.失败，未达到预期的结果；流产 | |
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solely
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| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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buffet
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| n.自助餐；饮食柜台；餐台 | |
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seizure
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| n.没收；占有；抵押 | |
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setback
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| n.退步，挫折，挫败 | |
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irritable
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| adj.急躁的；过敏的；易怒的 | |
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agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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syndrome
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| n.综合病症；并存特性 | |
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rite
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| n.典礼，惯例，习俗 | |
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lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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aluminum
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| n.(aluminium)铝 | |
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alloys
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| n.合金( alloy的名词复数 ) | |
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fatalities
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| n.恶性事故( fatality的名词复数 )；死亡；致命性；命运 | |
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makers
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| n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式） | |
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whatsoever
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| adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么 | |
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nibbling
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| v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的现在分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬 | |
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unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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coverage
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| n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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lawsuit
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| n.诉讼，控诉 | |
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bucks
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| n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃 | |
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inundated
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| v.淹没( inundate的过去式和过去分词 )；（洪水般地）涌来；充满；给予或交予（太多事物）使难以应付 | |
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evaluations
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| 估价( evaluation的名词复数 )； 赋值； 估计价值； [医学]诊断 | |
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paralysis
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| n.麻痹(症)；瘫痪(症) | |
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coordination
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| n.协调，协作 | |
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shuffled
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| v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼 | |
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