{"id":157,"date":"2013-07-21T00:10:19","date_gmt":"2013-07-21T00:10:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/?page_id=157"},"modified":"2013-07-21T00:10:19","modified_gmt":"2013-07-21T00:10:19","slug":"chapter-12","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/story\/chapter-12\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 12"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chapter 12<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

When you work in a hospital, you get to see the true nature of human beings, raw and uncut.\u00a0 It\u2019s often not a pretty sight.\u00a0 I\u2019m not even talking about the gore.\u00a0 By now, I\u2019m basically immune to blood, vomit, and other unpleasant excrements.\u00a0 No, I\u2019m talking about human behavior.\u00a0 The horrible things people do to other people.\u00a0 I can\u2019t tell you how many shot-up gangbangers and bloodied rape victims I cared for in the ER.\u00a0 I never got used to that part.<\/i><\/p>\n

Other animals kill for food or disputes over territory or mates.\u00a0 But humans seem to be the only species to harm their own kind, not accidentally, or out of necessity, or because they feel threatened, but just for the sheer sport of it.\u00a0 Perhaps that is why only humans were affected.\u00a0 Perhaps it was an act of God, an act of punishment for all the sins His \u201cchildren\u201d have committed since Noah\u2019s time.<\/i><\/p>\n

Or perhaps it really was just another act of mass murder by another group of godless people.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

Friday, April 13, 2012<\/b><\/b>
\n1:00 a.m.<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got two rigs pulling up with a couple of college kids involved in a bar brawl.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cETA?\u201d asked Jo, wondering if she had time to use the bathroom before the ambulances arrived.\u00a0 The coffee she guzzled to get her through night shifts always went right through her.<\/p>\n

Mike, the unit coordinator, smirked.\u00a0 \u201cNow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jo sighed.\u00a0 Her bladder would have to wait.\u00a0 She joined the team of emergency physicians and nurses assembling by the doors that led out to the ambulance bay.\u00a0 She could see the two ambulances already pulling up, one after the other.\u00a0 The EMTs wheeled in two men on stretchers.\u00a0 One was strapped down and motionless; the other wasn\u2019t strapped down and needed to be.\u00a0 \u201cHe started it!\u201d shouted the second guy, whose t-shirt was screen-printed with the Greek letters of some fraternity.\u00a0 \u201cHe threw the first punch!\u00a0 I was just defending myself!\u201d<\/p>\n

Jo looked from him back to the other guy, who was unconscious, and knew he\u2019d gone past the point of self-defense.\u00a0 She also knew which one she wanted to work on.\u00a0 She grabbed the rail of the first stretcher and helped wheel the unconscious man into one of the trauma rooms, as the EMTs brought the doctor up to speed.<\/p>\n

\u201cNick Carter, twenty-eight years old, found unconscious on scene, probable head trauma.\u00a0 Witnesses said he was hit over the head with a bar stool.\u00a0 GCS 12, BP 90\/50, heart rate 120, resps shallow.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the trauma room, Jo started a new chart and jotted down the information from the paramedics, while the rest of her team slid the patient over onto the gurney and began to cut off his clothes.\u00a0 She watched the doctor, a resident named Tavarez, lift the blood-soaked gauze from the side of the man\u2019s head to check the laceration underneath.\u00a0 It was still bleeding freely, as head wounds had a tendency to do.\u00a0 The man\u2019s blonde hair was plastered to his scalp, tinged pink with the blood.\u00a0 His right eye was practically swollen shut, the skin around it bruised and bloodied.<\/p>\n

Dr. Tavarez drew in an audible breath.\u00a0 \u201cThis looks pretty ugly,\u201d she commented.\u00a0 \u201cGrace, call radiology for a CT.\u00a0 He may have an orbital fracture, and I want to rule out a skull fracture.\u00a0 Jo, would you get him on a monitor and then start the IV?\u201d<\/p>\n

Jo nodded, setting to work.\u00a0 She clipped a pulse oximeter the end of his index finger and stuck leads to his chest to monitor his vital signs.\u00a0 When the wires were hooked up, she turned on the monitor and checked its numbers against the earlier figures she\u2019d noted on his chart.\u00a0 He was a little shocky, she thought, but otherwise normal, given his head injury and loss of consciousness.<\/p>\n

As she was starting the IV line in his arm, the patient came to.\u00a0 She held down his arm, to keep him from thrashing, and leaned over the gurney so he could see her face.\u00a0 \u201cHi there.\u00a0 My name is Jo,\u201d she spoke to him calmly.\u00a0 \u201cCan you tell me your name?\u201d<\/p>\n

The man\u2019s blue eyes looked blank, dazed.\u00a0 They moved sluggishly from side to side as he looked around the room.\u00a0 \u201cNick\u2026 Carter,\u201d he mumbled.\u00a0 \u201cWhere\u2019m I?\u201d\u00a0 He looked more confused than combative, which was a relief.<\/p>\n

She took his hand and held it.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re in the emergency room at Tampa General, Nick.\u00a0 Do you remember what happened?\u201d<\/p>\n

He moved his head from side to side, wincing at the pain it caused him.<\/p>\n

\u201cApparently, you were involved in a fight at a bar near campus,\u201d Jo told him, watching his face closely for signs of recollection.\u00a0 \u201cYou took a blow to the head.\u00a0 You\u2019ve got a pretty bad gash there.\u00a0 Do you remember now?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot really.\u00a0 Explains why my head hurts like a mother though,\u201d he muttered, chuckling humorlessly.\u00a0 \u201cSorry,\u201d he added, catching her eye.<\/p>\n

She smiled patiently.\u00a0 \u201cIs there anyone you\u2019d like me to call?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNah\u2026\u00a0 How long do I gotta stay here?\u201d<\/p>\n

Jo looked to Dr. Tavarez, who took over.\u00a0 \u201cHi, Nick, I\u2019m Dr. Tavarez.\u00a0 We\u2019re going to need to run a couple of tests and probably keep you at least a few hours for observation.\u00a0 You lost consciousness, which means you almost certainly have a concussion, and you may have cracked your skull too.\u00a0 So relax and take it easy; you\u2019re going to be here awhile yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

The doctor distracted Nick while Jo finished putting in the IV, halfway between the large collage of tattoos decorating his shoulder and the charming skull and crossbones on the inside of his wrist, emblazoned with the mantra, \u201cOld habits die hard.\u201d\u00a0 Habits like getting into fistfights in college pubs?<\/i> she wondered, suppressing a smirk.<\/p>\n

\u201cJo, when you\u2019re finished with that, would you order a CBC, BAL, and type and cross his blood?\u00a0 His pressure\u2019s still a little low; he\u2019s lost a lot of blood from this head lac.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure.\u201d\u00a0 Jo drew some blood and sent the sample to the lab for testing.\u00a0 Noting the time on the lab order, she realized it was well past midnight, making it officially Friday the thirteenth.\u00a0 She chuckled to herself, wondering what kind of stories she\u2019d have to tell Gabby in the morning.\u00a0 Friday the thirteenth was right up there with Halloween, New Year\u2019s Eve, St. Patrick\u2019s Day, Cinco De Mayo, The Fourth of July, and any month\u2019s full moon, in terms of how crazy it got in the ER, especially during the night shift.\u00a0 Her husband Luis had always looked forward to hearing about the \u201cinteresting\u201d cases she saw on these nights.\u00a0 Jo could still picture his mischievous smile, his eyes sparkling wickedly as he asked her how her shift had been.\u00a0 Now that he was gone, she was glad her thirteen-year-old daughter was old enough to hear her stories \u2013 well, most of them.<\/p>\n

Her shift half over, Jo ducked into the ladies\u2019 room for a much-needed break.\u00a0 As she stood at the sink, washing her hands, she observed her tired reflection in the mirror and thought of Gabby, who had the same long nose as her, the same brown eyes.\u00a0 Her daughter was spending the night with Makayla again tonight.\u00a0 Jo wondered if the girls were still up at this hour.\u00a0 Knowing them, probably so, but it seemed too late to call and check.\u00a0 With a sigh, she rubbed at the dark circles under her eyes, part mascara and part fatigue, ran her hands under the tap once more, and reached for the paper towels.<\/p>\n

With no major traumas in the last couple of hours, the lab was virtually dead, and it didn\u2019t take long for them to complete Nick\u2019s bloodwork.\u00a0 When Jo returned to her patient with the results, Dr. Tavarez was suturing his head.\u00a0 \u201cHis crit is low,\u201d Jo told the doctor, showing her the lab results.\u00a0 \u201cBAL is .11.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s also dehydrated and complaining of dizziness,\u201d Dr. Tavarez added, studying the numbers,\u00a0 \u201cbut at least he doesn\u2019t have a skull fracture.\u00a0 We just got him back from CT.\u00a0 Hairline fracture of the right orbit, but that\u2019s all.\u00a0 Lucky guy.\u201d\u00a0 Raising her voice, she added, \u201cMr. Carter, I\u2019m sure the alcohol isn\u2019t helping anything, but you\u2019ve lost a decent amount of blood from this head wound.\u00a0 A blood transfusion and a good night\u2019s sleep should have you back on your feet by morning\u2026 with a headache and a hangover, I\u2019m sure.\u00a0 Oh, and a massive shiner around that eye of yours.\u00a0 It\u2019s already turning lovely shades of black and blue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beneath the sterile drape that covered his head, Jo heard Nick groan.<\/p>\n

\u201cJo here can give you some more information before you consent.\u201d\u00a0 Looking up from her work, Dr. Tavarez met Jo\u2019s eyes.\u00a0 \u201cGet the consent form, then push one unit, type-specific.\u00a0 That should do the trick.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jo smiled at the resident, fifteen years her junior, and nodded.\u00a0 \u201cRight away, Dr. Tavarez.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 To Nick, she said, \u201cDon\u2019t worry, hon.\u00a0 A macho guy like you\u2026 the blacker, the bluer, the better, right?\u00a0 It\u2019ll give you some bragging rights.\u201d\u00a0 This time, she heard him chuckle, as she left to get his paperwork.<\/p>\n

In the hall, the EMTs were barreling by with a fresh patient on their stretcher.\u00a0 This woman was not just strapped down, but restrained, and screaming bloody murder, though there wasn\u2019t a speck of actual blood anywhere on her that Jo could see.\u00a0 Cracked out of her mind on some combination of drugs, no doubt.\u00a0 Jumping out of their way, Jo shook her head.<\/p>\n

Friday the thirteenth, indeed.\u00a0 The crazies were starting to arrive.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

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Chapter 12 When you work in a hospital, you get to see the true nature of human beings, raw and uncut.\u00a0 It\u2019s often not a pretty sight.\u00a0 I\u2019m not even talking about the gore.\u00a0 By now, I\u2019m basically immune to … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":8,"menu_order":12,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"onecolumn-page.php","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/157"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=157"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/157\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":158,"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/157\/revisions\/158"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}