Edward's Dilemma by Paul Adan Page B

possessed very little courage.  It had left him a long time ago.
    Shortly before 2 AM, Edward decided to end his life.  Since he’d already thought about suicide on numerous occasions in the past weeks, it wasn’t a great leap for him to transition from the planning phase to the implementation phase.  Now, all that he needed was a tiny ounce of courage to actually go through with his plan.  He grabbed his blanket.
    With one last thought about his mother and father, Edward let himself down onto the floor directly below where he’d just been seated on the toilet.  As he did, the blanket – which he’d somehow secured to the toilet – began tightening around his neck.  Slowly, ever so slowly, it tightened just enough to cut off the flow of blood through his carotid arteries.  In no time at all, Edward slouched forward a bit as he lost consciousness.
    The seconds ticked by...
     
     
    FORTUNATELY FOR Edward, and by the grace of God, a CO had chosen this exact moment to make his rounds.  When he came upon Edward, he was already showing signs of imminent death: He wasn’t breathing, his lips were blue, and his eyes were bulging out.  Immediately, the CO called for help over his radio, and then lifted Edward up off the floor in order to remove the noose from his neck.  A few seconds later, the overhead loud speakers crackled to life.
    “DING! DING! DING!  MEDICAL EMERGENCY, THREE SOUTH FOXTROT.  MEDICAL EMERGENCY, THREE SOUTH FOXTROT.  DING!  DING!  DING!”
     
     
    Ambulance
    13 September, 3:13 AM
     
    EMERGENCY MEDICAL Technicians (EMTs) struggled to keep Edward alive as they transported him to the hospital.  Already, in a period of twenty minutes, they had twice revived him using an external defibrillator to shock Edward’s heart and restart the electrical impulses needed to establish a normal rhythm. They had also inserted a tube into Edward’s trachea, using a procedure called tracheal intubation, in order to maintain an open airway and make it easier to give Edward a steady stream of oxygen.  Following this, the EMTs had inserted IV lines into both his arms; which they kept open, or patent, by starting an infusion of fluids.  Finally, while doing all these things, the EMTs had still managed to closely monitor the rhythm of Edward’s heart using an advanced cardiac monitor.  By the time they reached the hospital, though the trip was short, the EMTs were more than ready to be relieved by hospital staff.
     
     
    Stuart Co. General Hospital
    13 September, 11:41 AM
     
    UPON BEING admitted to the Emergency Room (ER) earlier that morning, Edward was in bad shape.  Although he was breathing on his own, he had not regained consciousness and his heart rhythm was still irregular.  Every few minutes his heart went into cardiac arrest, and the medical staff frantically struggled to revive him.  Attending doctors worried not only about his short term prognosis, but also about the possibility he’d suffer neurological damage if he survived.
    After remaining in the ER for about one hour, Edward’s prognosis had improved dramatically.  He was then transported to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), where nurses continued to monitor his condition throughout the remainder of the morning.  By 11:10 AM, his status was downgraded from critical to stable, at which time he was moved to the Progressive Care Unit (PCU).
    Edward was coming around – and he was beginning to like being in the hospital.  Among other things, he was borderline enchanted with the comfort of his fancy bed.  With the push of a few buttons, he discovered, he could easily adjust the contour of the bed to give him a perfect view of the wall-mounted TV.    If he happened to be tired, another quick adjustment allowed him to quickly get comfortable and fall asleep.  And then there was the food.  Not only were the meals exquisite – compared to the jail, anyway – and almost comparable with his mother’s cooking, there were snacks to boot.