Shortly after the game was over and everyone left, Miss Mackay and Irene walked to the older ladies' car. She turned her car on and Irene sat in the passenger side taking in the smell of the rosy air freshener. The drive to the E.R was fairly quiet with Miss Mackay sometimes making side conversations.
She knew the teenager next to her wanted to be left alone. It was obvious from the way she stared out the window attached from the world.
Irene's arm was in a temporary sling that team USA's medic gave her, they said even without x-rays it looked like a break or at least a really bad sprain so they decided to go to the doctors per his request. A little pain medication to make it manageable and they left.
Irene wondered what her team was doing right now, Fulton, Adam, Julie, even Dean. She knew they were probably celebrating and laughing in someone's dorm room without her.
They soon pulled up to the hospital. The bright lights made Irene squint. The smell of disinfectant filled every room and they walked on the white tile, Irene in slides and Michele in heels.
Irene sat on a chair while miss mackay talked to the receptionist she came back with a paper for Irene to fill out. The normal emergency contacts.
Name: Irene O'Callahan
Cause of visit: shoulder pain possible brake
When she got down to the parent guardian line she paused and looked at Miss Mackay next to her. Quickly she circled guardian and wrote out Elliott's name and number before moving on.
Soon the whole form was filled out and a nurse came to take them to a room.
"Hi I'm nurse Ivy." She introduced with a smile. She had long black hair and green eyes, a smiling approachable face and a bear embroidered on her scrubs pockets. One look at her and you could tell she works for pediatrics. The bright bubbly personality and the high voice that annoyed Irene.
She led Irene into the rooms with the x-rays and told her to lie Down. The machine beeped and Irene looked at misd mackay who was behind the thick glass.
The doctor exchanged some words with nurse Ivy who frowned. Miss Mackay looked at Irene with sad eyes. Irene knew what this meant.
"So it looks like your humeral head, the joint of your shoulder has completely shattered. Do you see this photo?"
It was a normal 15 year olds humerus.
And then he put Irene's.
It was broken in pieces. The joint was misaligned with her humerus and her humerus had chunks of bone in different spots.
"From the way it is it looks like you hit your shoulder at an angle, you said you got checked into the boards?"
Irene nodded.
"If you hit it head on it would only have six to eight weeks to heal but since you didn't it would be a lot more like 4-5 months."
"5 months! How am I supposed to practice?" She practically shouted at the doctor.
"Irene I know this is hard to hear but you won't be able to play until it heals completely, meaning possible surgery when you get back to Minnesota."
"Surgery? Is that necessary?" Miss Mackay asked the doctor.
"In her case more likely than not, yes, it's all up to how the bone heals together." The doctor told her.
"It also looks like there was a previous injury which is why this one was so bad. Were you aware of that Irene?"
Irene completely spaced out, cut off from the medical speak. She was losing something apart of her even if it was just for five months. Hockey got her through life, it was an escape from her dad.
Without hockey she didn't know if she'd even be alive at 15.
Without hockey she never would have met Fulton, go to the goodwill games, find her uncle, meet Dean...
It was her lifeline and she couldn't believe it was slipping through her fingers evaporating into thin air and drifting off into a sea of nothingness.
"Irene?"
"Irene?" She felt a hand wave infront of her face snapping her out of her trace.
"Sorry what?"
"I know it's a lot to process but you got to work with me here."
Tears welled up in her eyes as miss mackay led her away from the room and into the car.
A bag filled with new medication and a different stronger sling for her arm, sat in the back while the two sat in the front.
Irene knew when they got back to the areana and dorms they were staying at for one more day she'd lose it. So she asked miss mackay to drive somewhere else.
She decided to go pay Kai Peterson a visit.
An older lady with bushy hair and olive skin opened the door.
"May I help you?" She asked the teen in front of her.
"Hi I'm Irene is Kai Peterson home?"
"Oh your Irene! I heard so much about. Kai's always blabbing about you."
Irene let out a soft chuckle.
"He's in his room, the second door on the left." The old woman told her and stepped aside.
Irene walked down the hall looking at the photos of Kai's new family. A old lesbian couple who were finally able to adopt, They also had a big dog Who was always seen in photos with Kai.
She knocked on the door.
"Come in Mari!"
"Hi Kai."
His head turned around so fast Irene was surprised he didn't get whiplash.
He got up and tackled her in a big hug not realizing her arm.
She yelped in pain and he quickly pulled away.
"Are you okay?" He asked her.
The three simple words were enough to break down all her walls. Tears poured down from her eyes, partly from pain and partly from everything that happened.
He led her to his bed where a big golden retriever splayed. She sat down and felt the soft fur of the dog.
"I'm losing hockey Kai." She cried.
"What do you mean?" Kai asked his friend softly tucking a hair behind her ear in the process.
"I.." she sniffed, "they said I can't play because my shoulder is shattered I have to get surgery."
She knew Kai would understand when his face didn't go to pity.
"I'm scared Kai."
"Irene you're strongest person I know you got this."
"What if I can't play as well as I used too!"
"Your feet still work right?"
"Well duh." She told him with a frown, wondering where he was going with this.
"Then your the same fastest skater I know, who cares if you don't have the strongest shot anymore, they still won't be able to catch you."
"Thanks Kai."
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Word count: 1138
Sorry if this chapter was a little cringe at the end I whipped it up real quick to fix a plot hole i made with the next chapter which will be out in a couple days with some editing.
I am not a doctor so all my medical talk was from the Internet don't think about it too hard and just pretend it makes sense.
Have a duckie day
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Sunshine - Dean Portman - The mighty ducks 2
Fanfiction"This doesn't mean anything okay? Tomorrow we go back to hating each other." "I never hated you. I just liked to annoy you." "Well I did." Irene O'Callahan tried desperately to escape her past. Anything that reminded her of it, her hometown, her...
