This is how it happened.....
I was driving along on my way home from work in my old wreck of a car when the unexpected happened. To be honest, I wasn't really watching the road as carefully as I could have been. I was dog tired after a twelve hour shift at the hospital. I was blasting Korn through the speakers and singing along to Blind. "You don't know the chances...I'm so blind...." Good music to keep me awake till I get home, I thought. I glanced in the rear view mirror and when my eyes returned to the road I saw a flash of black before the car. I slammed on the brakes, but the icy conditions kept the car moving forward...too fast. I felt something hit the grill and roll onto the hood.
I was horrified, to say the least. I wondered what I had hit. Too small for a deer. A bear cub, likely. The idea that I had hit a human was remote. The area was sparsely populated and I was on the back roads. As soon as the car stopped I slammed it into park, picked up a crowbar, and jumped out the door. The crowbar, in case whatever it was was vicious or I had to do a mercy killing. The body had been thrown to the side of the road. I could see the crumpled dark fabric of a cloak. I suddenly realized the prone form could be a person. I rushed over to the body and leaned down carefully.
I could see it's shoulder rising and falling slowly and breathed a sigh of relief to realize the person was alive. I hurried back to the car to get the firstaid kit I always kept in the trunk. When I returned to the form I noted that it had rolled onto its back. The cloak hid his features but from the shape of the body I realized it was a man. I quickly pulled on a pair of examination gloves from the firstaid kit and pushed the cloak aside to check for a pulse. I started as I caught my first glimpse of his features.
His skin was as black as coal. I don't mean African black, either. I mean as dark as a moonless night in the country. His features were refined and...here is what startled me the most, his ears were pointed. "An elf..." I breathed, before shaking my head. It was ridiculous. There was no such thing as elves, except in fantasy books. A costume, maybe. It wasn't important. What was important, was the injured man before me. I found his pulse. Thready and slow. He was breathing, but that too was slow and weak.
I did a quick body assessment. Checking for wounds. His side bled. I opened his tunic to find nasty looking bruising and some blood. Where I had hit him with my car, no doubt. It was not life threatening. What gave me pause, was the fact that here too his skin was coal black. If it was a costume, then he really was into details. I left the wound, for the time being, and then took a corner of his tunic between my thumb and forefinger. His clothing was light under the cloak. The cloak wasn't really adequate protection from the cold, either. And then it occurred to me, hypothermia. I could not check for cyanosis because his skin was so dark. I touched his lips, instead. Very cold. He was freezing to death. I covered him with the blanket I had, and elevated his feet, all standard practices in emergency first aid. He still had not stirred. I pulled out my cell phone to call for an ambulance, and was not terribly surprised to find I was in a dead zone. No signal for my cell phone.
"Fucking great!" I swore softly. You should never move a victim of an accident. They could easily have a fractured spine and the move could result in paralysis. The choices were possible paralysis, or he could freeze to death here while I waited in the odd chance that another car might drive by tonight. I would have to take him to the hospital myself. I took off my jacket and covered him with that as well. I ran back to the car and rearranged the mess in the passengers side so that I could fit him in there. I reclined the seat as far as it would go, which was very nearly horizontal, and turned off the stereo. I had always found injured people could not appreciate heavy death metal. I cranked up the heat and ran back to the victim of my earlier distraction.
I heard the scream of the wind coming from between the trees and I looked up. I watched in horror as a dark cloud passed overhead. From the darkness the heavens seemed to open up. It was mid February, and here it was raining. It defied logic, truly. It was too cold for rain. As the sleet slashed down I realized I would not make it back to the hospital. The sleet would make the icy roads all the more treacherous. I could not safely, make it tonight. I weighed my options. It was a ten minute drive home, a thirty minute drive to the hospital. Looks like I was taking him home with me. I knelt down and checked his breathing again.
"Alright, my dark friend." I said, though it elicited no response from him. "You're coming with me." I repositioned him to make it easier to lift him. I spoke as I hauled him up. "No need to fear, I'll take you somewhere...urggh...warm." I half carried, half dragged him to the car and, taking care not to hit his head on the door frame, plopped him into the seat. He did not move. He was dead weight. He was not as heavy as he looked, and certainly not as heavy as many patients I had moved in the past, never-the-less, I was sure I'd have an aching back, tomorrow. I secured him in his seat and retrieved all my belongings from the roadside. Throwing my stuff in the backseat, I hopped back into the car and began to drive this stranger home.
The road was not in particularly good condition. It was bumpy, it was slippery and it was winding. I heard him moan when I hit a particularly nasty bump on the road. "Sorry..." I said sheepishly. He did not reply. He did not appear to be fully conscious. I drove ever so carefully back to my home and nearly slid off the road three times, despite my efforts. When I finally pulled up my driveway, I breathed another huge sigh of relief.
Dragging him into the house was no easier than getting him into the car. More difficult, perhaps, because I had four steps at my front door and then, of course, my dog. I somehow managed to bring him inside and fend off my darling little dog who jumped around as though I'd abandoned her for years. Then, as though just noticing his presence, she backed off and began to growl. I watched out of the corner of my eye as her hackles went up and she began to bark and circle us warily. I was too busy struggling with my burden to pay her much mind.
My house was basically four rooms. My bedroom, bathroom, another room I had furnished as a den, and the common room which featured a kitchen. I could have dumped him on the couch, but that would mean tip toeing around him and how would I keep my dog away from him? I decided it would be easier to put him in my room. I lay him carefully on my sheets and stepped back to lock the dog out of the room and stretch my tired back. Lugging around a body was not so good for the spine.
He still had not moved, so I quickly checked his vital signs once more. My results were more accurate now that I could get a thermometer and blood pressure cuff from my bathroom cabinet. His temperature was under 34C. Heart rate and respirations were depressed, and his blood pressure had fallen. His wound was not severe, though he was dripping blood on my clean sheets. It was Hypothermia, then. I quickly fetched a heating pad and some blankets.
Working with a clinical detachment that obscured any curiosity I had about my patient's bizarre appearance, I stripped him of the damp cloak and tunic he wore. It was fastened with an intricately designed silver clasp that I placed on the night table. He was very thin, and his skin was clammy. I placed the heating pad under his neck (Where people tended to lose the most heat), bandaged his wound quickly and efficiently, and wrapped him in my electric heating blanket. Again I raised his feet, in case he was in shock. That done, I stepped into my living room to find my phone, feed the dog, and myself for that matter.
While stirring my pasta, I made a call to the hospital. "Hey, Sandra. This is Kat. Yeah I got home alright. But I had a little accident on the way--no. I'm fine. I hit a person on the road. No apparent injuries. He has hypothermia. I brought him home. Can you send an ambulance?" I listened as Sandra told me that she would send one out, but in all seriousness I shouldn't expect them anytime soon. "Are the roads that bad?" I asked her. She told me that there had been a multi car pile up on the highway. "Shit." I replied. "So the place is packed then?" She told me it was packed, and in all likelihood, the ambulance would be tied up all night. Oh, the wonder of living in a small northern town.
"Fine. I'll keep him here until tomorrow. Aside from the fact that his Vital signs are depressed, he seems pretty stable. Good luck, Sandra." She told me I was a "real trooper" said goodbye and I cradled the receiver. I fed my little canine companion and then ate my pasta. I checked in on my dark friend in my bed. He was still unconscious. I rechecked the vital signs and yawned mightily. He was stable. His breathing was deep and regular, if slow. I grabbed my alarm clock off the nightstand and got an extra blanket and pillow out of the closet.
I set the alarm clock to go off in two hours. I'd check on him again then. I crashed on the sofa with my little dog under my arm and a blanket over us both. I thanked my lucky stars that I wasn't scheduled to work tomorrow. I closed my eyes and tried to get some sleep.
I was driving along on my way home from work in my old wreck of a car when the unexpected happened. To be honest, I wasn't really watching the road as carefully as I could have been. I was dog tired after a twelve hour shift at the hospital. I was blasting Korn through the speakers and singing along to Blind. "You don't know the chances...I'm so blind...." Good music to keep me awake till I get home, I thought. I glanced in the rear view mirror and when my eyes returned to the road I saw a flash of black before the car. I slammed on the brakes, but the icy conditions kept the car moving forward...too fast. I felt something hit the grill and roll onto the hood.
I was horrified, to say the least. I wondered what I had hit. Too small for a deer. A bear cub, likely. The idea that I had hit a human was remote. The area was sparsely populated and I was on the back roads. As soon as the car stopped I slammed it into park, picked up a crowbar, and jumped out the door. The crowbar, in case whatever it was was vicious or I had to do a mercy killing. The body had been thrown to the side of the road. I could see the crumpled dark fabric of a cloak. I suddenly realized the prone form could be a person. I rushed over to the body and leaned down carefully.
I could see it's shoulder rising and falling slowly and breathed a sigh of relief to realize the person was alive. I hurried back to the car to get the firstaid kit I always kept in the trunk. When I returned to the form I noted that it had rolled onto its back. The cloak hid his features but from the shape of the body I realized it was a man. I quickly pulled on a pair of examination gloves from the firstaid kit and pushed the cloak aside to check for a pulse. I started as I caught my first glimpse of his features.
His skin was as black as coal. I don't mean African black, either. I mean as dark as a moonless night in the country. His features were refined and...here is what startled me the most, his ears were pointed. "An elf..." I breathed, before shaking my head. It was ridiculous. There was no such thing as elves, except in fantasy books. A costume, maybe. It wasn't important. What was important, was the injured man before me. I found his pulse. Thready and slow. He was breathing, but that too was slow and weak.
I did a quick body assessment. Checking for wounds. His side bled. I opened his tunic to find nasty looking bruising and some blood. Where I had hit him with my car, no doubt. It was not life threatening. What gave me pause, was the fact that here too his skin was coal black. If it was a costume, then he really was into details. I left the wound, for the time being, and then took a corner of his tunic between my thumb and forefinger. His clothing was light under the cloak. The cloak wasn't really adequate protection from the cold, either. And then it occurred to me, hypothermia. I could not check for cyanosis because his skin was so dark. I touched his lips, instead. Very cold. He was freezing to death. I covered him with the blanket I had, and elevated his feet, all standard practices in emergency first aid. He still had not stirred. I pulled out my cell phone to call for an ambulance, and was not terribly surprised to find I was in a dead zone. No signal for my cell phone.
"Fucking great!" I swore softly. You should never move a victim of an accident. They could easily have a fractured spine and the move could result in paralysis. The choices were possible paralysis, or he could freeze to death here while I waited in the odd chance that another car might drive by tonight. I would have to take him to the hospital myself. I took off my jacket and covered him with that as well. I ran back to the car and rearranged the mess in the passengers side so that I could fit him in there. I reclined the seat as far as it would go, which was very nearly horizontal, and turned off the stereo. I had always found injured people could not appreciate heavy death metal. I cranked up the heat and ran back to the victim of my earlier distraction.
I heard the scream of the wind coming from between the trees and I looked up. I watched in horror as a dark cloud passed overhead. From the darkness the heavens seemed to open up. It was mid February, and here it was raining. It defied logic, truly. It was too cold for rain. As the sleet slashed down I realized I would not make it back to the hospital. The sleet would make the icy roads all the more treacherous. I could not safely, make it tonight. I weighed my options. It was a ten minute drive home, a thirty minute drive to the hospital. Looks like I was taking him home with me. I knelt down and checked his breathing again.
"Alright, my dark friend." I said, though it elicited no response from him. "You're coming with me." I repositioned him to make it easier to lift him. I spoke as I hauled him up. "No need to fear, I'll take you somewhere...urggh...warm." I half carried, half dragged him to the car and, taking care not to hit his head on the door frame, plopped him into the seat. He did not move. He was dead weight. He was not as heavy as he looked, and certainly not as heavy as many patients I had moved in the past, never-the-less, I was sure I'd have an aching back, tomorrow. I secured him in his seat and retrieved all my belongings from the roadside. Throwing my stuff in the backseat, I hopped back into the car and began to drive this stranger home.
The road was not in particularly good condition. It was bumpy, it was slippery and it was winding. I heard him moan when I hit a particularly nasty bump on the road. "Sorry..." I said sheepishly. He did not reply. He did not appear to be fully conscious. I drove ever so carefully back to my home and nearly slid off the road three times, despite my efforts. When I finally pulled up my driveway, I breathed another huge sigh of relief.
Dragging him into the house was no easier than getting him into the car. More difficult, perhaps, because I had four steps at my front door and then, of course, my dog. I somehow managed to bring him inside and fend off my darling little dog who jumped around as though I'd abandoned her for years. Then, as though just noticing his presence, she backed off and began to growl. I watched out of the corner of my eye as her hackles went up and she began to bark and circle us warily. I was too busy struggling with my burden to pay her much mind.
My house was basically four rooms. My bedroom, bathroom, another room I had furnished as a den, and the common room which featured a kitchen. I could have dumped him on the couch, but that would mean tip toeing around him and how would I keep my dog away from him? I decided it would be easier to put him in my room. I lay him carefully on my sheets and stepped back to lock the dog out of the room and stretch my tired back. Lugging around a body was not so good for the spine.
He still had not moved, so I quickly checked his vital signs once more. My results were more accurate now that I could get a thermometer and blood pressure cuff from my bathroom cabinet. His temperature was under 34C. Heart rate and respirations were depressed, and his blood pressure had fallen. His wound was not severe, though he was dripping blood on my clean sheets. It was Hypothermia, then. I quickly fetched a heating pad and some blankets.
Working with a clinical detachment that obscured any curiosity I had about my patient's bizarre appearance, I stripped him of the damp cloak and tunic he wore. It was fastened with an intricately designed silver clasp that I placed on the night table. He was very thin, and his skin was clammy. I placed the heating pad under his neck (Where people tended to lose the most heat), bandaged his wound quickly and efficiently, and wrapped him in my electric heating blanket. Again I raised his feet, in case he was in shock. That done, I stepped into my living room to find my phone, feed the dog, and myself for that matter.
While stirring my pasta, I made a call to the hospital. "Hey, Sandra. This is Kat. Yeah I got home alright. But I had a little accident on the way--no. I'm fine. I hit a person on the road. No apparent injuries. He has hypothermia. I brought him home. Can you send an ambulance?" I listened as Sandra told me that she would send one out, but in all seriousness I shouldn't expect them anytime soon. "Are the roads that bad?" I asked her. She told me that there had been a multi car pile up on the highway. "Shit." I replied. "So the place is packed then?" She told me it was packed, and in all likelihood, the ambulance would be tied up all night. Oh, the wonder of living in a small northern town.
"Fine. I'll keep him here until tomorrow. Aside from the fact that his Vital signs are depressed, he seems pretty stable. Good luck, Sandra." She told me I was a "real trooper" said goodbye and I cradled the receiver. I fed my little canine companion and then ate my pasta. I checked in on my dark friend in my bed. He was still unconscious. I rechecked the vital signs and yawned mightily. He was stable. His breathing was deep and regular, if slow. I grabbed my alarm clock off the nightstand and got an extra blanket and pillow out of the closet.
I set the alarm clock to go off in two hours. I'd check on him again then. I crashed on the sofa with my little dog under my arm and a blanket over us both. I thanked my lucky stars that I wasn't scheduled to work tomorrow. I closed my eyes and tried to get some sleep.