A Sorry Turn

Martin looks stunned and stares at Louisa for a minute before slowly walking from the lounge. Louisa remains in the chair, gazing out the window. A short time later the guard enters the room: "Miss, Dr. Ellingham has left your luggage at my desk and has asked me to organize a taxi for you to Paddington Station. Is that right?"

Louisa turns to the guard, nods, and whispers "Yes, I'll be there." But she cannot stand. Her legs are leaden, her arms unresponsive, she is not even certain if she is still living. The world seems to have slipped away from her, there are no bearings, she cannot think where she is, how to stand, how to walk from this room. Her chest is aching, perhaps something heavy has dropped on it and that is why she can't move. She looks down but sees nothing on her chest. But then why is her head pounding, blood rushing in her ears, and pins attacking her eyes? What has happened to her?

Then she begins to cough – a dry, harsh cough that leaves her breathless and thirsty. She reaches for the coffee, now cold, and sips it while gasping and trying to calm the cough. Her hand shakes and coffee spills from the cup to the chair, her trousers and coat. She wills herself to return the cup to the table. More coffee splashes on the table and she stares at the puddle not sure what to do.

The door opens but her eyes remain on the garden now in shadow as the afternoon ends. Water is being run nearby, noise is being made. It seems someone is calling to her but from a great distance. She hears it again but cannot respond. Then a man is standing in front of her saying, "Hullo, hullo there, Miss Glass is it? Hullo, hullo." Soon the man lifts her arm, and places fingers on her wrist for a bit, then he stoops in front of her, raises her head and asks: "Are you feeling faint, your pulse is a bit weak, do you feel ill?" Louisa tries to understand what he is saying and wants to nod her head, but she cannot do it.

"Where's Ellingham?" asks the man. She only looks at him and he says, "Do you think you can walk with me, just a short distance. I think you need to be seen in A&E. Here, let me help you, see if you can stand. We can have a chair brought here if need be." The man places his hands under her elbows and expertly lifts her to a standing position. Then he slips one arm around her back to brace her, takes her hand and guides her to the door. In the lobby, he calls: "Guard, could you please take the lady's bag and follow me to the A&E."

The second man soon joins them and places his arm on the other side of Louisa to steady her as they make their way down a long corridor to a set of double doors. Inside, the man asks, "Who is the consulting today? We need to have this woman seen immediately." A nurse says: "Of course, Mr. Day. Let me just put her in this room. Do you want me to take her BP and pulse?" "I've checked the pulse and it seems a little weak. Could you please check her vitals."

Louisa can feel her coat being removed and then someone helps her lie on the exam couch. She closes her eyes against the glaring light and feels herself twirling in ever dizzying spirals while shaking and gasping for breath. The man shouts: "Nurse, get her on oxygen now." Something cold and hard is forced over Louisa's face and she tries to push it away, but it is held in place while the man tells her to breathe normally, in and out, in and out. She can feel a tightness in her arm and the nurse says: "115 over 80, normal range." Again, he places his fingers on her wrist for what seems like a long time while continuing his instruction to breathe in and out.

Another man enters and asks: "Gordon, what do we have here?"

"Name's Glass, I think. She seems to be stabilizing. I saw her earlier upstairs with Martin Ellingham—did you know him? I stopped in the lounge for tea and to read some documents and found her slumped forward in a chair. Had a weak pulse and may have hyperventilated. Her face was quite flushed. I had the nurse give her oxygen as she became breathless when we got her on the exam couch. Her BP and pulse are stable now, but she was in distress earlier. Have a look at her Robbie."

"Let's get the oxygen off and see how she does. Miss, miss, what is your name?" Louisa opens her eyes and then shuts them quickly. "Good she seems alert. The light bothered her. Can you tell me your name?"

Louisa tries to tell him her name. Of course, she can give him her name. But she can't.

"Miss, I'm going to check some things. Please tell me if anything causes pain." Then the other man does various things to her, none of which cause her pain and none of which she seems to feel at all. Only her head hurts and her eyes a bit and she is so thirsty. She tries to ask for water but she can't say the words. She tries to point to her mouth, but her arm won't move.

"Gordon, there's no sign she's in any medical distress. BP, pulse and vitals are normal. Let's get her back on the oxygen and give her some fluids to see if that brings her around. No indication of dehydration but that's always possible with females. Let me get the nurse in here to start a drip, and I'll check back on her. Nurse didn't find any meds in her bag, no medical alert tags, and she doesn't seem to be a diabetic. We need to get her registered, so I'll send in the triage clerk. She'll be okay with us if you want to go on."

"Let me stay here a bit. I can't think why Ellingham would have left her here. Maybe he is off to something and was planning on coming back here. Let me go down to the lounge and see if he's returned."

As Gordon approaches the lounge, the guard asks: "How is she?"

"Look's like she'll be okay. May be a bit dehydrated, but they're giving her fluids. Has the man she was with earlier returned?"

"No, I don't think that's likely. He rushed out of her, brought back two cases, gave me 100 pounds and asked me to organize a taxi for her to Paddington Station. I asked him if I should do it right off, and he said to ask the lady when she wanted to leave. Then he went off in his car. He seemed upset, so I didn't question him. They looked a little put off when he asked me to open the lounge for them. Seems like an argument or such like."

"When did they come in?"

"I logged them at 2:15 and Mr. Coombs had left passes for them. He told me on Friday that Dr. Ellingham had been a surgeon here until a few years ago and was in London for a conference. Asked me to extend every courtesy."

"Was there a telephone number for Ellingham?"

"No. Mr. Coombs wasn't even certain they would come, but said he still wanted the passes to be ready. I have Mr. Coombs' mobile on my roster, but you have to authorize me to release it."

"Yes, I'll sign for it." Day punches in the number and leaves a message: "Harvey. This is Gordon Day. Martin Ellingham was in here earlier today with a pass you left. A woman who was with him is in the A&E with signs of dehydration. Do you have a contact for him?"

The guard goes on: "That's a sorry turn I'd say. Just walked off and left her here. She was very nice to me. Smiled and all."

Then Day's mobile rings: "Oh, Harvey, thanks for getting back quickly. Nothing serious but Ellingham seems to have left her here with some luggage and directions to get her to the train station. Just thought he might want to know she's not feeling well. Any chance you have a mobile number for him? Yes, I see. Thanks much."

"Bad luck that. He only saw Ellingham at a conference and has no way to reach him. Well, let me look in on her and see how she's getting on."

In the A&E room, the nurse has elevated the back of the exam couch and placed a pillow behind Louisa's back. She is holding a cup of water in one hand and trying to sip it slowly as the nurse instructed. But she is so thirsty. Then the man returns.

"Oh, good, you seem better. The drip is helping. It might have been dehydration."

Louisa nods her head but stares blankly at him. The man tells her his name is Gordon Day and he saw her upstairs earlier. Does she need anything? Louisa croaks "thirsty." Seeing a cup of ice, he suggests she chew bits of it as ice is more soothing to the throat. He replaces the cup of water in her hand with the ice saying: "I spoke to the security guard and your luggage is with him. Were you planning to travel tonight?"

She murmurs: "Yes, to Cornwall."

He explains that the nurse is going to check her pulse, vitals and BP again to see if the fluids have helped her. Standard questions follow about allergies, medicines she may be taking, family history of diseases, any recent illnesses or injuries.

Again, she whispers softly: "Anaemia."

"I see. You were treated with iron?" Another nod. "Do you still feel faint, any discomfort?" She points slowly to her head and her eyes. "Can you take paracetamol? I can have the nurse bring some to you."

"Yes, thank you. My head hurts."

Relieved that she seems to have come around, Gordon walks to the nurse's station and asks for paracetamol. The nurse replies that he will have to get approval from an A&E doctor. Gordon nods and realizes he doesn't have the same power with nurses as he does on the surgical wing. More humble pie for him. Chambers is leaving a room and says: "Mr. Day you are still here." Gordon explains that Miss Glass seems much better, but does have a headache. She also said she recently had anaemia. Can Chambers authorize paracetamol for her?

Chambers laughs and says: "What are you doing playing A&E doctor on a Sunday evening. Don't you have a table reserved at some posh restaurant?"

"No time for any kind of restaurant when you have a 3 year old and a 5 year old. And your bloody nurse is treating me like a first year med student. I've had my share of A&E rotas. I know the drill. It seems this woman was to catch a train to Cornwall tonight, and Ellingham asked the guard to bring in a taxi for her. I'm not certain Ellingham realized she was ill and no one seems to know how to contact him. You know anyone who is still close to him?"

"One of the muckety mucks probably knows how to reach him. Who do you want to bother on Sunday night?"