With the lighting in place and his instruments at the ready, Rick explained to Ken how he was going to proceed and how he wanted the young man to assist. Checking all the fluid lines and seeing that the boy was not awake, the doctor began the delicate removal of the towels and had Ken prepared with clamps to help stem the blood flow while he began the suturing of the multiple tears in the external rectum walls. Thankfully, there were no deep internal cuts or tears which gave Doc Powers a better outlook for the youth's full recovery. Still, there was a lot of damage to the rectum walls and the extensive number of stitches was going to make the child very sore for a few weeks, while the area healed.
The two men worked for over three hours. This included their preparation through to the time they could stand back to relax. It took that amount of time to close off the backside blood flow, stitch the knife wounds closed, and in particular, the slash across his stomach, then attend to the boy's other cuts and bruises. Not having the best operating table or surgical lighting in the world also added to the delay in getting it all done. The boy held his own throughout the entire procedure and both men were grateful for that. Both men said a silent prayer that there would be no complications over the next 24 to 48 hours.
Finally taking a seat after standing for more than three hours, Rick asked Ken if he could wash off the boy and clean him up as much as possible. Doc Rick also asked if there was somewhere he could bed down the boy in order for the lad to rest and recover as the Laundry Room wasn't a very suitable place. Hearing what Rick just said made Ken look, and it was then he began to laugh. Then Rick realized the irony of what he said and he too began to laugh. The two men were extremely tired and finally had something to laugh at.
As the badly injured boy lay on the Laundry Room table, they had to figure out a way to get him upstairs without moving him too much, so they wouldn't break any of the stitches. Ken then thought of something he might use and then took off. Where the young man was going, Rick had no idea. Five minutes later in rolls an industrial sized equipment cart 36 inches high and four feet long with a two inch high table top side. Explaining he got it from his garage, Ken proposed they lay the major portion of the boy on the table top and let his legs hang over while one of them would hold them as they wheeled him upstairs to a vacant bedroom. The doctor was tired, but not tired enough to ask how they intended to wheel that thing up the stairs.
Ken didn't know where it came from, but when he heard the Doc's question he broke out into a deep rolling laugh. Then seeing the perplexed look on the Doc's face he told the man he forgot to mention something about an elevator. Hearing there was an elevator, the Doc stood there dumbfounded but slowly a smile crept onto his face and soon both men again began laughing out loud. Later, the two chalked it up to being so damn tired, but also elated that things began to look up for the lad.
The two wheeled the cart to the elevator and it wasn't long before they were upstairs in a bedroom where they gently lay the still sleeping lad onto a bed and covered him up. Rick checked the fluid lines, temperature and blood pressure and decided he'd stay there the first few hours and asked Ken to relieve him after a quick two hour nap.
The entire time all this was happening to the young teen, Chief stayed there with the men and even accompanied them up to the bedroom. When the men finally stepped back, to make sure the lad was comfortable and still asleep, she snuck between them and put her paws up onto the bed and licked the boy's face a few times. She then looked up at the two men as if to say she was staying there too then took her place on the floor at the foot of the bed. Chief had gone into 'protective mode' and would maintain that stance for the next five days.
Those first two hours went by really fast for Ken, but he awoke quickly enough and went to relieve Doc Powers. It was now after nine in the morning and the storm outside had indeed worsened throughout the night. But there wasn't anything they could do, so they talked about the boy some and then Richard told Ken what to watch for, then he lay down on the empty bed in the same room and immediately fell fast asleep.
The sleeping youngster never stirred. Six hours later, Rick woke up and inquired about his patient. Ken told him the boy never budged but that his breathing calmed down some. Hearing the wind still blowing hard, they both looked outside to see the storm never relented one iota and it appeared they were in for very long day. As Richard sat down and took over the watch, Ken asked the man what he would like to eat. A half hour later, at almost half past four in the afternoon, Ken brought up some sandwiches and hot coffee, explaining it was the cook's day off. Both men just laughed over the circumstances and had a nice late lunch together. Mr. Ken then decided to take another nap as the earlier two hour nap didn't seem to hack it for the 23 year old college graduate and soon to be 'hero'.
Waking some four hours later, Ken asked Rick about their patient and heard there was nothing to tell, but that the lad was still sleeping comfortably. The Doc then told Ken he had called authorities because of the circumstances surrounding the lad, but at the same time had received some potentially disturbing information about the young man sleeping there in the bed.
It seemed, three months ago, there was a reported kidnapping of a youngster fitting the description of the person lying there before them. He further explained they were asked not to call anyone else about the lad, and to wait for the local Sheriff and the FBI to arrive before even considering transferring the boy to a hospital. Ken asked Richard a number of questions, none of which the doctor had answers for. The wind and rains outside were still fast and furious and the weather reports indicated the storm would probably stick around for another 36 to 48 hours or possibly longer, before moving East toward Louisiana.
By 10 PM, both men were hungry again. Ken decided to cook some hamburgers, as they were the easiest to do, and he made them two each. He added mayo, lettuce and tomatoes and placed some pickles and chips on the side and made a fresh pot of coffee. For Chief, he brought her regular meal and some water and a few treats for later. The men talked about the lad and speculated as to how he'd ever gotten there, but most of all – the why. The two also shared some stories about themselves, and even though there was over 20 years difference in their ages, after that day, the two men became Best Friends. It would be a lasting friendship that would, in the years to come, bring them together often in work projects involving abused youths.
For the next 24 hours, the two took turns watching over the injured youth, catching up on weather reports, and looking throughout the house for any signs of damage and rain infiltration. The two were also able to contact the people most important to them and let them know they were still safe, but told them nothing else. Doc Powers asked the person who answered the phone at his home the previous evening to not say anything to anyone, and that he would explain later. Mr. Ken did get through to Mary and Ryan to find they were doing okay except for a few roof leaks and a broken window. Neither man had anyone else they needed to call, so they just continued to talk to one another learning more and more about their new found friend.
Saturday afternoon, more than 50 some hours after surgery, Doc Powers was very pleased with his patient's recovery. The teenager's bladder had filled the Foley bag quite often, and for that, Richard was thankful. He also mentioned to Ken that the boy should come awake soon and that he will be hungry, so he asked if there were any soft foods around for the boy to eat. Ken went down to the kitchen and rummaged around and rustled up some Jell-o and orange juice and kept them chilled for the right time.
About 7 PM that evening, the youth began to come out of his induced sleep. He began to cry out from the pain in his rectum and from the many aches and bruises he had all over his body. Doc Rick wanted the boy to come completely awake, so they could better asses his injuries and find out his name and maybe get some light food in him before they allowed him to go back to another drug induced sleep.
They found out his butt was hurting really bad, so the doc gave him a pain reliever for that. They also found out his name was Collin, but he refused to give them any more, such as his last name. They told him where he was and he again refused to give them any additional information. He did eat some Jell-o and drank some cold ice water and took a few sips of the orange juice. Chief also got into the act as she got her front paws onto the bed near the boy's face and gave him a few licks for good measure. They explained how he was found so he reached out to pet the dog for being such a 'good dog'. They tried to get more information out of the lad but he was hurting real bad and wanted it to go away. Doc Powers gave him some more medicine and the teen slowly slipped into another deep sleep.
Now they knew his first name and it matched the name authorities gave Rick. The doctor immediately called the contact name he had and told them the lad had been awake and confirmed his name, but that he was back asleep due to the pain he was enduring. The man said the storm was predicted to be around for another 36 – 48 hours and they would be along soon thereafter.
All the men could do now was to wait for the storm to be over and for the Sheriff and FBI to show their faces. Both men continued to trade off keeping an eye on the patient and they each caught cat naps the rest of the evening and throughout the night.
By Monday morning the sky was bright and clear. The sun was shining brightly and you could now see the damage far and wide from the long lasting storm. Ken went outside, without Chief who refused to leave her 'boy', to walk around the main portion of his property to check for damage to the house, beach area, docks and boats, and for any potential hazards. About 2 PM that day, things began to speed up as their expected visitors came to the front door. After that, the situation became very interesting to say the least.