What We've Found

Surgery

Chapter 8

Harry P.O.V.

***Thanks so much for continuing to read this far! I just have a warning for anyone with a queasy stomach. This chapter describes Niall's brain surgery and it's going to get a little descriptive so if you just want to skip over that part don't worry its not important. It's in the paragraph where the doctor says you may not want to watch. It will only be two paragraphs so once you get there just skip the two paragraphs and continue reading. Thanks!***                  

                     Louis was sitting over there like an idiot. Liam was pretty much in his lap. Why were they being so touchy? Liam had never been this playful, especially with Louis. Didn't they know that we were in a hospital with our best friend dying in the bed? But here they were cuddling on the floor by Niall's bed. Suddenly the doctor walked in with a posse of three nurses. Louis skirted away from Liam and looked on the verge of tears. I now understood that he had only been playing along with Liam to keep his mind off Niall. The doctor ordered everyone out of the room except family. Nobody moved. He looked questioningly at Zayn, who was obviously our leader at the moment. Zayn stared back, an annoyed expression on his face. The doctor raised his eyebrows so Zayn was forced to explain.

                  "We're his family too." He said and when the doctor opened his mouth to tell them to get out again Zayn cut him off. "What difference does it make if we're here? We won't get in your way and it's true, we practically are brothers. The doctor weighed this and seemed to find it easier to let them have their way.

                       "You may not want to watch." The doctor advised. "It's a bit of a messy procedure." I almost fainted right then and there and by the look of Louis, he was feeling the same. The doctor placed a blue hospital issue cloth propped up so that the rest of us wouldn't be able to see Niall's skull. First he shaved a large amount of hair off the back of Niall's head. He pulled out a skalpel and sliced a long line in Niall's skalp. I was only guessing what was happening though as I couldn't see through my hands covering my face. The squelching noise as his skalp was pulled back to reveal his skull was sickening. Next was the mini saw. I peeked through my fingers and saw the surgeon remove a peice of Niall's skull. I replaced my hands over my face. Once the surgeon was in he gave Niall a drug through his IV to wake him up. Apparently the hemorrhage was in an area of Niall's brain that controlled speach and the doctor would have to talk to him to make sure that he was not cutting any part of Niall's brain that would prevent him from talking after the surgery. 

                       "Niall I know this is scary, but I'm going to need you to listen to me and answer my questions the best you can. Your friends will give you a proper explanation later. Do you understand?" For a second it looked like Niall was about to nod his head, but to everyone's relief he simply replied "Yes. The doctor starting poking parts of Niall's brain with a metal rod and told him to count to ten. Niall got to 7 before he stopped talking. I thought he had gone back to sleep, but as the doctor removed the rod from Niall's brain he spoke.

                    "I'm sorry. I couldn't talk." Niall said very weekly.

                   The doctor smiled back. "That's quite alright Niall. That's exactly what I was looking for. Now I know to stay away from that area." The doctor turned back to the surgery and one of the nurses took over distracting Niall and keeping him talking so the surgeon would know if he was about to cut an area that would affect Niall's speach. This went on for almost an hour before the doctor told Niall that he was going to put him back to sleep for a while, but Niall would awake in a few hours. Niall didn't reply. By the looks of it, he was already asleep, but the doctor injected a sleeping drug into Niall's IV. 

                   The nurse took over reattaching the peice of skull to the full skull and sealing up his skalp. The doctor turned to us. "It didn't go so well. We cleaned up all of the blood, which is good, but I don't think the bleeding has stopped. I could be wrong, but if it starts again, Niall won't make it through. Only time will tell now." Mrs. Gallaghers sobbing, which had stopped while Niall was awake and the doctor was speaking, resumed again and a feeling of dread filled the room. All we could do now was hope.