Chapter 1
Blood drips onto the floor as I realize that the ape has bitten me, "shit"I say shaking my hand then proceeding to pull off the shredded glove. " . Rodman, Will, are you OK"I hear a nurse ask me, "yeah, I need to get this bite taken care off"I say shakily, "OK, i'm still going to need to call a code for quarantine,since we don't know if the virus in his system will affect you or not"she says. "OK"I say,heading to the sink, I run warm water over the bite despite the fact that it stings, and watch as reddish pink blood goes down the drain. I vaguely hear the nurse in background on the phone telling the person on the other end what's happening, and I see the orderlies taking the chimp away. I suddenly feel a hand on my shoulder, "you ok"she asks,"i don't know,i'm feeling pretty shaky"I say taking in a shaky breath, "maybe it wouldn't hurt for you to sit down until they get here"she says grabbing my arm gently and then helping me to sit down on the chair.
I close my eyes, trying to stay calm, knowing that panicking about it won't do any good, taking it one breath at a time. Time passes slowly until I hear the nurse finally speaking to somebody and then I open my eyes. I see two orderlies come over to me with a gurney and they help me get up onto it and then take me out of the room. We eventually get to a white room with nothing in it but a bed in the middle and a desk on the side. I've seen this room before, it's the quarantine room, i've been here before, it was my first year here and they thought I had contracted something from an animal. I know the drill, basically they'll get me settled and then send for a doctor, then they will quarantine me for however long they decide and go from there. We get to the side of the bed and they help me get onto it, then they throw me a gown and leave. I slip it on and lay back down, knowing that It could be a very long wait for someone to get here.
I don't know how long it takes but eventually somebody, a nurse,comes in. She takes my vitals and then takes a look at the wound on my hand, "He got you pretty good,huh"she asks, "yeah,how long am I going to have to stay"I ask, "I would like to say 24 to 48 hours but there's no telling for sure,it might be longer"she says. "am I doing OK"I ask her, "well your vitals look good, your only running a slight temp,only about 100"she says, "does that mean I've got the virus"I ask, "not necessarily, it might just be because of the inflammation in your hand,but i'm going to get you started on fluids until the doctor gets here"she says. "k i'm not very fond of needles"I say, "is anybody"she asks as she gently grabs my arm and puts rubbing alcohol onto a cotton ball and onto my arm, then she gently slides a needle into my arm. It doesn't hurt much as she pulls it out and leaves the tube in, then connects it to the bag. At this point the door opens and the doctor comes in. "Hi Dr. Rodman, we're going to get you taken care of today alright"the doctor says looking down at the chart. The doctor sits on a stool at the desk,types in some information, and then walks over to the side of the bed. "k i'm going to help you sit up, I want to listen to your heart and lungs"he says, "k"I say. The doctor helps me sit up and does his thing, then lays me back down and finishes my examination. "how long am I going to have to stay"I ask the doctor as he takes off his gloves, "well since your running a slight fever I want to keep you here at least for 24 hours and then you can go home, right now though I need you to rest,a nurse will come check on you in a hour"he says."OK"I say.
As soon as he leaves I roll onto my side and try to get some sleep knowing that I will have a long 24 hours ahead of me.