AN: Hey, long time no read! I rewrote the first chapter, so here it is! Hopefully I'll have the second for you soon. Don't forget to review!
Dr. Tom Kent was coming to the midpoint of his day at the hospital as a pediatric emergency physician in the ED. It was a relatively slow morning in the department, and he was ready to grab a bite to eat at the cafeteria. Wearing his surprisingly flattering pale green scrubs with a pager on his waist, he left the department in the hands of the [hypothetically] competent F2s.
He pushed open a pair of doors and saw a teenage girl, looking very poorly, at the end of the hallway. Perhaps she was trying to get to the ED. It certainly didn't look like she was going to make it there without help and he began to approach her. He was looking over her body for obvious injuries as he neared, but suddenly the girl weakened. He picked up his pace, quickly arriving at her side to steady her.
"Are you alright?" He asked, placing a supportive hand under her forearm.
The girl immediately flinched and pulled her arm away like he had hurt her. Tom was not certain who this young lady was, but she was definitely in some sort of distress.
"Uh, yes. Yes I am," she said with little confidence.
"Are you sure…" Tom replied as he overstatedly squinted at her nametag, seeing that it read: Ruby Isies, Volunteer. He realized that she wasn't there for medical attention—but she definitely should receive some.
"Ruby? I can take a look at you if you…"
"No," Ruby interrupted, suddenly embarrassed by the episode, "No, I'm fine, really." She smiled softly, and she began to proceed down the hallway while Tom hesitantly nodded, watching her go.
Ruby asked herself what had just happened. She considered that maybe she just hadn't eaten enough or was a bit dehydrated. Before she could finish mentally comforting herself, the episode reoccurred even more aggressively.
She let out a cry as pain cracked like thunder in her head.
She could barely see anything in front of her and she lost her hearing in one ear, then the other. She felt disoriented and stiff, stumbling into the wall before losing her awareness all together.
Tom had just turned to walk away when he heard her cry. He swung around quickly to see his newest acquaintance become his newest patient as she began to fall to the ground. He leapt towards her while falling to his knees trying to slide his arms underneath her. He hoped to soften the impact of her body and the floor and once there, he shifted himself to kneel at her side.
"Can you hear me? Ruby?" He stated firmly. She gave no response and he became very concerned with her sudden diminishing condition. Ruby's stiff body began to jerk violently as she clearly began to have a fit. Tom held her head to prevent her from hitting it on the ground.
"Hey! I need some help over here!" He called out.
He flipped her nametag over, looking for any medical history information. All of the employees and volunteers had their health conditions listed on the back of their cards in tiny print in case of emergency. He found just one condition listed, asthma, which did not account for her current state in the slightest.
Even more concerned by the mysteriousness of her sudden illness, he called out again:
"Someone get a trolley out here now!" He left one hand under her head and used the other to take out his penlight and checked both of her pupils, one of which was much larger than the other. Why Ruby was still deteriorating was unclear to Tom. He looked around for more clues noticed some fresh bruises on her arms and legs.
A group of three nurses appeared with a gurney at the end of the hallway and rushed over to help. "This is Ruby, volunteer, found seizing in the hallway. No history of epilepsy. We're about one minute in," he reported. "We're not going to be able to get her up on the trolley like this- go grab some Lorazepam."
One nurse sprang up and started to jog back to the nearest ward. He directed to another nurse, "Go to the volunteer office and pull the medical forms on Ruby Isies. Meet us in the ED—tell them we're coming."
Just after the nurse left, the first returned with a syringe and a small glass bottle.
"How much?" she asked.
"Lets try five mgs," he said as the nurse drew back the plunger and handed it off to Tom, who quickly delivered the injection into Ruby's shoulder.
Slowly, Ruby's movements became less intense. She became looser and her once violent jerks were now limited to twitching motions. Her breathing began to slow, but was cut off by a gurgling noise that soon progressed into a gag.
"She's vomiting," Tom said as he and another nurse grasped Ruby's opposite arm to roll her onto her side. Now off of her back, the fluid cleared from her mouth and they could return her to her original position.
Ruby's breathing resumed and Tom unlaced the stethoscope from around his neck and listened to each section of her chest. There were no sounds of respiratory trouble and he then checked her pulse, which was fast but adequate. Ruby was almost still and her eyes remained open. One nurse tried to rouse her, rubbing her chest and calling her name.
Ruby did not respond and Tom said, "Yeah, she's still post-ictal. Let's see if we can move her now." With a nurse on each side and Tom stabilizing her head and neck, they successfully lifted Ruby onto the gurney. Tom had a nurse take hold of Ruby's head and again took out his penlight, moving the light over her left eye. He shifted the bright beam to her right eye and Ruby weakly tried to withdraw her head, closing her eyes. Tom was happy to see her consciousness level rising.
"Hey Ruby, can you hear me?" he asked with newfound enthusiasm.
Ruby looked up at him a bit dazed, trying to focus her overwhelmed eyes. She wanted to speak, but she couldn't seem to produce words. She released a sound resembling "Yes." She began to register that the walls around her belonged to the hospital. She then remembered coming to the hospital that morning, but had no idea how she ended up lying on a bed in a hallway. One of the faces overlooking her spoke:
"Hi Ruby, I'm Dr. Kent. You had a fit just now, has that ever happened to you before?" She microscopically shook her head, realizing that it was being firmly held in place by the nurse above her. Tom motioned to the nurses and they all began to move Ruby towards the elevator.
Listening to the dings of passing floors, Ruby remained puzzled to hear she had suffered a fit. Tom was relaying some medical jargon to one of the nurses when the doors slid open with a final ringing of the bell. Zoe and Tess greeted them.
Tom gave the summary of Ruby's condition once again.
"This is Ruby, volunteer, found in new onset tonic-clonic seizure, lasted four minutes, vomited once, five of lorazepam on board," he briefed. They arrived next to another bed and Ruby still felt incredibly tired. "Lift on three- one, two, three," he said, and on his command Ruby was lifted from one bed to the other.
They began to hook up all sorts of machines to Ruby, clipping one to her finger, pressing several onto her chest, all while people listened to her lungs, strapped a brace around her neck, pressed her abdomen and stuck her with an IV needle. Each nurse and doctor alerted the drowsy Ruby before doing anything, but it was just one big jumble of information. "Little pinch here," or "I just need to take a listen," and "tell me if any of this hurts," all mixed together in her head.
She was incredibly uncomfortable with everyone around her, touching her. The doctors exchanged knowing glances as their examination revealed more bruising.
Finally, Tom directly addressed her: "Ruby, can you tell me what year it is?" She thought for a moment.
"Two thousand… and…" she trailed off, looking up at Tom as she gave up.
"Ok," he nodded, taking note of her disorientation. He was suspicious of her unstable vitals on the monitor.
An oxygen mask was slid over her mouth. She immediately felt suffocated and claustrophobic, launching herself into a panic. Ruby let out a small cry and rustled on the gurney intently, moving her arms frantically. Tom instantly reached down to grasp and quiet her frightened hands.
"Whoa, ok, you're ok," he soothed, keeping one hand in hers and using the other to remove the mask. He comforted her before applying a nasal cannula. Ruby started to become more heavy-eyed.
Tom thought of a new possible cause of Ruby's fit. "Ruby, have you hurt your head at all recently?"
She took a moment and then nodded her head slowly.
"Can you tell me what happened?" Tom asked.
She shook her head as much as she could with it secured in the neck brace, feeling another wave of panic pour through her. Her respirations increased and tears filled her eyes. Tom shared a concerned look with Tess.
Zoe started to examine Ruby's arm, but Ruby pulled away with yelp.
"Please, stop hurting me!" she cried sadly between labored breaths. Tom gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Ok, it's ok, we're going to take good care of you, alright?" he said.
Ruby looked up at him with eyes full of fear, and he met her gaze with reassurance and comfort.
AN: What's wrong with Ruby? What is she hiding? Will Tom be able to help her? Please leave a review