bleeding was compressing the brain and function was diminishing by the second. Perfect! Her respirations had become irregular, in an effort to change the blood pH and lower pressure in the brain.
“She’s crashing. We need to intubate,” he informed the nurse, and the ER came to life as various hospital personnel came running to help.
Just as he secured the breathing tube, the clerk called out from across the room. “I have the doctor on the line.” Edward briefly glanced at the monitor. Her heart rate had slowed and her blood pressure dropped, both reflexes aimed at decreasing the pressure inside the skull. He shined his penlight into her eyes and saw no reaction.
His pace was brisk and bouncy as he crossed the department to reach the phone. “Dr. Hawk here,” he said. “I’m afraid I won’t be needing your services after all.”
When he was through, the unit clerk grabbed him by the arm. “The family is here. Her husband and a sister and a few others. They’re in the counseling room.”
Nodding, he turned and walked in that direction.
“I’m sorry—” He had to try very hard to suppress his smile when the woman’s sister wailed.
“No, no, please, no,” the husband begged him. Edward felt at that moment that he held the power of God in his hands.
*
“Is it possible to get it out without cuttin’ it, Doc? This is one of my favorite lures.”
Jess chuckled at the patient who had a fishing hook poking through his eyelid. Miraculously, it had missed the globe and his vision was intact. “Not without ruining your good looks. I’d have to make a pretty big cut to pull this out.”
He didn’t hesitate. “Do it. I can’t get any uglier.”
Laughing again, Jess opened a cabinet and removed the equipment she knew she’d be using a few more times on this first day of fishing in the mountains. With anglers everywhere, they couldn’t help hitting each other as they cast their lines into the lakes and streams of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
The procedure took just a few minutes, and Jess triumphantly handed him his prized lure after she’d rinsed it in the sink. He followed her to the nurses’ station for his paperwork.
It was an unusually quiet Saturday morning in the emergency department, and Jess wondered why. Sure, many of the county’s residents and visitors were fishing this morning, but where were the heart attacks and diabetic emergencies and car accidents? She feared this was the calm before the storm.
Sitting at her computer, Jess typed in her password and saw an alert flashing on her screen. Lab results were ready. That’s odd, she thought. No patients were in the ER and she hadn’t ordered any tests. Cultures of wounds and urine went into the general nurse mailbox, and someone in that role checked them daily, because the doctor schedule precluded them from responding to issues in a timely manner.
After handing her patient his instructions and wishing him a good day, Jess clicked on the lab icon. Her breath caught when she read her message. Lab results were back on her patient Ward Thrasher. More than a month had passed since she’d ordered the tox panel on Ward, and she’d been waiting. Jess knew it would take time for the results. The tox screen on spinal fluid was an unusual test and had to be sent to a lab with specialized equipment. Jess had checked for results just about every day and was expecting them, but still, she was shocked to see them. Or was it fear? What would she find?
She’d been trying hard to keep Ward from her mind. She’d been back in the mountains for six weeks, and they’d seen each other only three times. Jess still wasn’t sure what direction her life was going, or what part Ward would play in it, and all Ward did was confuse her, with her questions and loving looks and pleading eyes. She loved Ward, but she wasn’t sure she wanted a life with her. She didn’t know what she wanted.
She’d been on a date with an accountant, a nice man with two
“She’s crashing. We need to intubate,” he informed the nurse, and the ER came to life as various hospital personnel came running to help.
Just as he secured the breathing tube, the clerk called out from across the room. “I have the doctor on the line.” Edward briefly glanced at the monitor. Her heart rate had slowed and her blood pressure dropped, both reflexes aimed at decreasing the pressure inside the skull. He shined his penlight into her eyes and saw no reaction.
His pace was brisk and bouncy as he crossed the department to reach the phone. “Dr. Hawk here,” he said. “I’m afraid I won’t be needing your services after all.”
When he was through, the unit clerk grabbed him by the arm. “The family is here. Her husband and a sister and a few others. They’re in the counseling room.”
Nodding, he turned and walked in that direction.
“I’m sorry—” He had to try very hard to suppress his smile when the woman’s sister wailed.
“No, no, please, no,” the husband begged him. Edward felt at that moment that he held the power of God in his hands.
*
“Is it possible to get it out without cuttin’ it, Doc? This is one of my favorite lures.”
Jess chuckled at the patient who had a fishing hook poking through his eyelid. Miraculously, it had missed the globe and his vision was intact. “Not without ruining your good looks. I’d have to make a pretty big cut to pull this out.”
He didn’t hesitate. “Do it. I can’t get any uglier.”
Laughing again, Jess opened a cabinet and removed the equipment she knew she’d be using a few more times on this first day of fishing in the mountains. With anglers everywhere, they couldn’t help hitting each other as they cast their lines into the lakes and streams of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
The procedure took just a few minutes, and Jess triumphantly handed him his prized lure after she’d rinsed it in the sink. He followed her to the nurses’ station for his paperwork.
It was an unusually quiet Saturday morning in the emergency department, and Jess wondered why. Sure, many of the county’s residents and visitors were fishing this morning, but where were the heart attacks and diabetic emergencies and car accidents? She feared this was the calm before the storm.
Sitting at her computer, Jess typed in her password and saw an alert flashing on her screen. Lab results were ready. That’s odd, she thought. No patients were in the ER and she hadn’t ordered any tests. Cultures of wounds and urine went into the general nurse mailbox, and someone in that role checked them daily, because the doctor schedule precluded them from responding to issues in a timely manner.
After handing her patient his instructions and wishing him a good day, Jess clicked on the lab icon. Her breath caught when she read her message. Lab results were back on her patient Ward Thrasher. More than a month had passed since she’d ordered the tox panel on Ward, and she’d been waiting. Jess knew it would take time for the results. The tox screen on spinal fluid was an unusual test and had to be sent to a lab with specialized equipment. Jess had checked for results just about every day and was expecting them, but still, she was shocked to see them. Or was it fear? What would she find?
She’d been trying hard to keep Ward from her mind. She’d been back in the mountains for six weeks, and they’d seen each other only three times. Jess still wasn’t sure what direction her life was going, or what part Ward would play in it, and all Ward did was confuse her, with her questions and loving looks and pleading eyes. She loved Ward, but she wasn’t sure she wanted a life with her. She didn’t know what she wanted.
She’d been on a date with an accountant, a nice man with two
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