Chapter 2.
This chapter goes into descriptions of child abuse. Thank you all for those who sent feedback. Please feel free to let me know what you think of this chapter.
Of course the characters of Emergency are not mine, I am only borrowing them for the joy of writing about them. There are some original characters that I can claim.
PS. Happy Birthday Ginger.
Kelly Brackett slowly opened the door to exam room three and looked out into the hall. It was clear. Holding a clip board and intently staring at the blank page on it as if it contained an engrossing report, he quickly strolled across the hall to his office. Closing the door behind him, he leaned against the door and let out a long sigh. If he had one more nurse come to him about needing their schedule changed or that a supply was running low he was going to loose his tenuous grip on his patience and blow up at someone. God how he missed Dixie. It had been less then a week since she had to leave to go to New Mexico unexpectedly to help her brother with her nieces and nephews while his wife was in the hospital with an emergency appendectomy, but it felt like an eternity. Kel was always amazed at Dixie's Nursing skills, but he had no idea what an effective manager she was. She always made things run so smoothly. Well, she'd be home in three days. He could survive three more days. Looking at the pile of mail on his desk and the stack of memos, he sighed again, then again maybe he wouldn't. Maybe they would find him buried under a stack of paperwork.
Sitting down at his desk and ignoring the stack of internal memo's Kel began sorting through the stack of mail creating smaller stacks of Medical Journals, seminar notices, letters, and junk mail. Halfway through the stack he came across a large express mailer from a hospital in Montana, Roy and Johnny's medical charts. The emergency room doctor up there had said he was going to mail them. Opening the package he pulled out two files. Sitting the lighter of the two aside he figured it was best to familiarize himself with Roy's chart first as he was the one that had the more life threatening injuries and the longer hospital stay.
Flipping open the front cover he read the first entry:
7-10-72 AGE 24 WT 158Lbs HT 6'0" Pt presented with a syncopel episode. Pt cold and clammy to touch and breaths were rapid and shallow. Pt placed on 6 liter of O2 and IV D5W established. Upon further examination it was discovered pt had small contusion approximately 1 ½ inches in diameter on back of head behind left ear, reopening of previous sutured gash on right cheek, signs of recent injury to right shoulder…..
Having expected the larger of the two files to be Roy's, he stopped and flipped back to the front cover. Sure enough, the front cover label read, 'John Roderick Gage'. Looking over to the other file confirmed that its front cover read, 'Roy Christopher Desoto'. Opening Gage's file again, he flipped through the first couple pages which detailed Johnny's most recent visit to the Emergency Room in Ft. Compass and began to scan the older reports.
8-30-55 AGE 4 WT 36Lbs HT 40 ½ In. (pt ranked in 50th percentile for weight and height) Pt presented with possible facture to left arm and bruising to face. Injuries appear to be a couple days old. Step father states pt fell while riding bike and due to recent hospitalization of pt's mother for birth of younger sister, pt's injuries were not immediately noticed. X-rays confirmed fracture of L. Radius. Cast was applied to arm and Step father was directed to follow up with Reservation Clinic for removal of cast in 6 weeks.
9-21-55 AGE 4 WT 34Lbs HT 40 ½ In. Pt returned to ER with cast on left arm smashed, contusions to chest, back, and face, ½ inch laceration to lower lip. Pt's step father states pt fell down cellar steps. Recast pt's arm and sutured lip. Directed step father to follow up with Reservation Clinic for removal of sutures and cast in 3 weeks.
Kel smiled and shook his head; Johnny's propensity for getting hurt was definitely something that he had not come by later in life. Kel flipped the page and continued to scan the pages.
12-26-55 …. 2nd degree frostbite to both hands and feet in blistering stage. Step father states pt got up in the middle of the night to look for Santa Claus and was not discovered until the next day. Patterned bruising to back, buttocks, and thighs. Step father claims pt fell down cellar steps.
3-5-56 … Cracked ribs, bruising to back, buttocks, and thighs ... fell down cellar steps.
The next several pages detailed much the same information over a 6 year period. Bruising to back, buttocks, thighs, face, arms, various lacerations. As the age increased the injuries increased and the weight decreased from the 50th percentile to the 5th percentile. The next entry of length and note was dated in April 1962.
4-12-61 AGE 10 WT 50Lbs HT 55 ¼ In. (pt ranked less then 5th percentile in weight and 75th percentile in height.) Pt brought into ER severely dehydrated. Possible fracture of left leg. Bruising to head, face, arms, abdomen, back, and buttocks. Injuries appear to be a week old. Step father states that pt upon learning of still birth of baby brother retreated to the mountains to morn the loss. When pt didn't return after a couple days Step father stated he went to search for pt and found him in a canyon. X-rays confirm no internal injuries and recent fracture of Left Tibia. Fracture appears to be aligned properly and in initial stages of mending. Pt states he splinted leg to keep it straight. IV with D5W ordered and leg casted. Pt admitted for 24 hour observation. Referred to Hospital Social Services.
4-13-61 Interviewed pt and stepfather. Pt appears to be active 10 year old boy. Pt states that he spends a lot of time hiking and camping in the mountains, but became disoriented after going into the mountains to morn the loss of his infant brother. Pt is respectful of his step father, is courteous and quiet. Pt discharged to care of his family and his people on the reservation per request of Step father.
The incidents of broken ribs, legs, arms, fingers ….. lacerations to lip, cheek, arm, hand, foot ….. burns to hands, to bottom of feet, to inside of thigh increased in frequency over the next several pages. Several of the chart notes indicating a minimum of 24 hour stay at the hospital with referral to the Hospital Social Worker. Each time, despite what clearly appeared to be a strong case of ongoing child abuse, the child ….
NO, Kel stopped and thought to himself, this was not just some child. This was Johnny he was reading about.
…. each time Johnny was sent back home to the care of his family and his people on the reservation.
The last incident noted in the file occurred in May 1965. According to the chart notes Johnny was 13 years old, ranked 75th percentile in height at 64 inches, but at 72 lbs, didn't even make 5th percentile in weight. He was brought into the ER by his Track Coach who had found him beaten and chained in the cellar of his house. He suffered a broken jaw, broken arm, leg, ribs, and veiled in the grayness of medical speak, forced penetration of the rectum. In plain blunt terms, rape. He was hospitalized for just about a month and when he was finally discharged he went home with his Track Coach, Jack Kemp.
Kel was just finishing the last of the follow up chart notes that showed a marked improvement in Johnny's health and weight when his grey haired colleague, Joe Early strolled in and made himself comfortable on the couch.
"So this is where you've been hiding out. I was about ready to send a search team out looking for you. Everything okay?" Joe asked noting the look of concern on his friends face.
Kel didn't look up from the report he had been reading, "Just was going through some of my mail."
"Scratch the search team then, I should have called in a rescue squad to help dig you out from under the avalanche." Joe said with a smile and a slight chuckle.
Kel just sat there staring at the report.
Joe leaned forward and stared at his friend a moment, waiting for a response. With none fourth coming he continued on. "Of course right now with the big earthquake that hit all the squads are pretty tied up," Joe casually stated to see if his friend was actually paying attention. "Then again, they could be tied up with the alien invasion."
Absently nodding his head Kel agreed, "Yah, could be."
"Okay, so then it's decided. I'll start evacuating the staff and patients and you'll stay here and fight off the rampaging Klingons." Joe stood up to as if to leave. Still getting no response he walked over to the desk, "Earth to Dr Kelly Brackett."
Kel looked up at the mention of his full name, "Sorry Joe, I have a little bit of a situation here. Would you mind taking a look at this? The hospital in Montana, when they sent down Johnny and Roy's records, they pulled all of Johnny's records from when he was a kid. I want you to give a quick read over the first several entries and let me know if anything strikes you as strange," Kel said, sitting back in his chair and handing the file to Joe.
Joe scanned through the multi page file, "That some pretty heavy stuff in there. I would say that our young paramedic had been abused growing up. From some of the stuff described in there, I'm surprised he survived. And the age thing, that's pretty weird too."
"Age thing, what age thing?" Kel asked as he took the report back from Joe.
"Take a look at the dates and the corresponding ages. All the dates and ages from his previous records would seem to indicate that Johnny should be turning 21 this year, but his current records state he will be turning 25."
Kel flipped through the pages, "Your right Joe, the earlier records have him 4 years younger then the current record and our record."
"So which do you think is correct?"
"I'm not sure, but if the earlier ones are correct and he is only 20 years old then that would mean he was only 18 years old when he started the paramedic program."
"Is that going to cause any problems with his certification?"
"Well the Wedworth – Townsend Act didn't have any specifications on age, and he has never given me any reason to doubt his ability to get the job done."
"Good," Joe said with a satisfied smile. "Now speaking about getting the job done, I could really use your help out there, before I go find a supply closet to hide in."
Kel slid the reports back into envelop, stood up, and laid it down on his desk, "Lead on Dr. Needy….."