I tripped and fell. My hand hurts real bad.”
“It’s
okay, buddy,” I say soothingly, my heart starting to calm now
that I can see he’s basically okay. “Let me take a look.”
Carefully, I pull
his hand away from his chest. His small whimper of pain slices
through me deep. Immediately, I see the top of his right hand is
swelling badly, and I suspect he might have a fracture.
With one hand, I cup
him around the back of his head and pull him in. Giving him a kiss on
his forehead, I tell him, “It’s going to be okay, Sammy.
Looks like you may have broken something inside your hand, and I’m
going to have to take you to the hospital.”
“It hurts,”
Sammy says with a sniffle.
Standing up from the
ground, I commiserate as I take him by the shoulder and lead him back
toward the house. “I know, buddy. But they’ll make it
feel all better at the hospital. I promise.”
Chapter 2
Holly
“Dr. Reynolds…
there’s an open femur fracture coming in on Bay One. Multi-car
accident with other victims coming behind. Dr. Falter asked if you
could triage that, but he’ll handle the surgery since you’re
getting off duty.”
Glancing at my
watch, I take quick note that I was supposed to have finished my
night shift forty minutes ago. Yet here I still am, at nine AM,
slogging through cases at Tulane Medical Center.
“Sure,”
I mumble as I start heading toward the ambulance bay.
“Oh, and Dr.
Reynolds?” the nurse calls again. I turn to face her and try to
put a cheery look on my face.
“Don’t
forget about the suspected metacarpal fracture in Room Two. It’s
a pediatrics case,” she says with a stern look as she hands the
chart over to me.
“Shit,”
I mutter as I take the file. I had completely forgotten, having got
wrapped up in a stabilizing a fractured C5 on a drunk driver who
decided to take on a telephone pole. Glancing through the chart, I
hand it back to her. “Let’s go ahead and send him down to
x-ray and get a two-view lateral and oblique, but first start an IV
and give him two mgs of morphine for pain relief. I’ll be in as
soon as I examine the femur fracture coming in.”
For the next thirty
minutes, I work to examine the man brought in with the broken leg. Of
course, he was high on some type of drugs and combative. All of my
tender ministrations only earned me his fist to the side of my temple
while I was trying to probe the wound. More of my precious time was
wasted as I waited for security to put him in restraints so I could
finish my exam. It was with much joy that I handed him off to Dr.
Falter.
Before I’m
able to turn my attention to the little boy in ER Room Two, I make a
quick stop in the bathroom because I’m pretty sure it has been
going on five hours since I’d last peed. After my bladder sighs
with relief, I wash my hands and give a disgusted look at myself in
the mirror as I dry my hands. My face is pale with blue shadows under
my eyes… testament to the fact I haven’t slept in going
on twenty-seven hours. My blond hair is falling out of the loose
braid that hangs down my back, so I give it a quick swipe of my
fingers to tuck the loose ends behind my ear, and then I quickly exit
the bathroom.
Just as the swinging
door closes behind me, my phone rings. Slipping it from my white lab
coat, I suppress a grimace before answering.
“Mother…
I’m on my way in to see a patient. I don’t have a lot of
time to talk,” I say quietly as I navigate the halls.
“You know I
don’t call you unless it’s important, Holly.” She
sighs dramatically, causing me to pinch the bridge of my nose to
stave off the beginnings of a stress headache.
Because just like
that, my mother can make a crappy day supremely crappier.
“Your father
has been selected as the Franklin R. Murray award winner this year,”
she says proudly.
“That’s
wonderful,” I say flatly, because I stopped caring about my
father’s medical accomplishments years ago. The man went
“It’s
okay, buddy,” I say soothingly, my heart starting to calm now
that I can see he’s basically okay. “Let me take a look.”
Carefully, I pull
his hand away from his chest. His small whimper of pain slices
through me deep. Immediately, I see the top of his right hand is
swelling badly, and I suspect he might have a fracture.
With one hand, I cup
him around the back of his head and pull him in. Giving him a kiss on
his forehead, I tell him, “It’s going to be okay, Sammy.
Looks like you may have broken something inside your hand, and I’m
going to have to take you to the hospital.”
“It hurts,”
Sammy says with a sniffle.
Standing up from the
ground, I commiserate as I take him by the shoulder and lead him back
toward the house. “I know, buddy. But they’ll make it
feel all better at the hospital. I promise.”
Chapter 2
Holly
“Dr. Reynolds…
there’s an open femur fracture coming in on Bay One. Multi-car
accident with other victims coming behind. Dr. Falter asked if you
could triage that, but he’ll handle the surgery since you’re
getting off duty.”
Glancing at my
watch, I take quick note that I was supposed to have finished my
night shift forty minutes ago. Yet here I still am, at nine AM,
slogging through cases at Tulane Medical Center.
“Sure,”
I mumble as I start heading toward the ambulance bay.
“Oh, and Dr.
Reynolds?” the nurse calls again. I turn to face her and try to
put a cheery look on my face.
“Don’t
forget about the suspected metacarpal fracture in Room Two. It’s
a pediatrics case,” she says with a stern look as she hands the
chart over to me.
“Shit,”
I mutter as I take the file. I had completely forgotten, having got
wrapped up in a stabilizing a fractured C5 on a drunk driver who
decided to take on a telephone pole. Glancing through the chart, I
hand it back to her. “Let’s go ahead and send him down to
x-ray and get a two-view lateral and oblique, but first start an IV
and give him two mgs of morphine for pain relief. I’ll be in as
soon as I examine the femur fracture coming in.”
For the next thirty
minutes, I work to examine the man brought in with the broken leg. Of
course, he was high on some type of drugs and combative. All of my
tender ministrations only earned me his fist to the side of my temple
while I was trying to probe the wound. More of my precious time was
wasted as I waited for security to put him in restraints so I could
finish my exam. It was with much joy that I handed him off to Dr.
Falter.
Before I’m
able to turn my attention to the little boy in ER Room Two, I make a
quick stop in the bathroom because I’m pretty sure it has been
going on five hours since I’d last peed. After my bladder sighs
with relief, I wash my hands and give a disgusted look at myself in
the mirror as I dry my hands. My face is pale with blue shadows under
my eyes… testament to the fact I haven’t slept in going
on twenty-seven hours. My blond hair is falling out of the loose
braid that hangs down my back, so I give it a quick swipe of my
fingers to tuck the loose ends behind my ear, and then I quickly exit
the bathroom.
Just as the swinging
door closes behind me, my phone rings. Slipping it from my white lab
coat, I suppress a grimace before answering.
“Mother…
I’m on my way in to see a patient. I don’t have a lot of
time to talk,” I say quietly as I navigate the halls.
“You know I
don’t call you unless it’s important, Holly.” She
sighs dramatically, causing me to pinch the bridge of my nose to
stave off the beginnings of a stress headache.
Because just like
that, my mother can make a crappy day supremely crappier.
“Your father
has been selected as the Franklin R. Murray award winner this year,”
she says proudly.
“That’s
wonderful,” I say flatly, because I stopped caring about my
father’s medical accomplishments years ago. The man went
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