Making A Difference?

By the time the ambulance had arrived at the hospital the EMTs had lost the girl's pulse again and everybody knew that more than likely the doctor on call would probably declare her DOA. As soon as she was rushed into the ER, someone came out with a wheelchair for the deputy and he was helped into it. to be taken inside and into an empty room. Taking a seat on the table he let a nurse help him out of his shirt and undershirt., putting a gown on him. Then while she went to retrieve a couple of warm blankets and a towel he removed the rest of his clothes and waited

The nurse was back within a few minutes and wrapped the blankets around the young man and then began checking his vitals, making notations on a chart. "The doctor will be with you soon. Are you feeling nauseous?" she asked using the towel to dry off his wet hair.

"A little," Marshall admitted, letting the warmth of the blankets ease the chill in his body. "The girl…how is she?"

"I'll see what I can find out," the nurse answered reaching for a basin and setting it beside him. After raising the head of the table slightly she helped him lie down still wrapped into the blankets. "I'll be back to check on you in a few minutes."

"Could you please get me some water?" Marshall asked.

"Certainly," the nurse said and returned a moment later with a cup and straw. "Take small sips."

"Thanks," the young man replied, taking a drink of the cool water in an attempt to rid himself of the bad taste in his mouth.

It was a close to half an hour later by the time the door opened to admit the nurse and a middle aged red haired woman in a lab coat. Setting the chart on the counter she moved over to Marshall saying, "Mr. Mann, I'm Dr. Benita Lloyd. According to what the ambulance attendants reported you were brought in suffering from mild shock and possible hypothermia. Are you starting to feel warmer now?"

"Some," he replied sitting up on the side of the exam table.

"I'm going to have Aimee take your vitals again and then I want to check you out," the doctor instructed stepping aside to let the nurse have access to the patient..

Aimee efficiently checked Marshall's pulse, temperature and BP showing the readings to Dr. Lloyd. She then unwrapped the blanket from around his shoulders so the physician could check out his lungs.

"Take a deep breath and hold it," The older woman instructed as she slipped the stethoscope inside the front of his gown. "Now exhale."

Marshall did as instructed as the stethoscope was moved to the other side of his chest and then his back.

"Your lungs sound clear. When you went underwater, did you swallow any of it?" she asked.

"A little," the young man answered.

"I can't tell yet if you aspirated any although it probably wouldn't show up in a chest x-ray just yet.. So for now I'm going to have you stay here so I can monitor your condition and decide if I want to admit you," Dr. Lloyd said.

"All right," the deputy said resignedly.

"I'll have Aimee check on you in half an hour and get you whatever you need," the physician replied. "Meanwhile I want you to just rest.."

"Been doing that since I got here," Marshall told her. Watching them leave the room he resumed laying on the table.

Sometime later the nurse returned to recheck his vitals and ask, "Can I get you anything, Mr. Mann?'

"Some juice would be could if you don't mind," Marshall replied.

"I'll see what I can do," Aimee promised. As soon as she finished checking over her patient she went to get what he'd requested.

"Thanks," the young man said, cautiously taking a couple of sips. When it appeared to stay where it belonged, he took a bigger drink. That proved to be a mistake because his stomach suddenly rejected it and he was left frantically trying to control the nausea before he vomited on himself.

The nurse was quick to note his distress and held the basin for him as he was miserably sick. Giving him a sip of water to rinse, his mouth out, she set aside the basin and helped him to lie back saying, "I'll get this cleaned out and have Dr. Lloyd order you something for the nausea. Think you can hang on until I get back?"

"I think I can," Marshall answered..

The Sheriff showed up a couple of hours later with a paper bag in hand and set t it in the chair saying, "I brought you your change of clothes to put on. Talked to Dr. Lloyd and she said she'll probably let you go home tonight."

"Thanks," Marshall replied. He looked up at his boss. "How's the girl?"

"She didn't make it. I'm sorry to let you know, Mann," the older law enforcement officer replied. Looking at his deputy's expression, he asked quietly, "Is it your first time dealing with something like this?."

Marshall slowly nodded. "I tried to help…but I-I failed," he said softly.

"It can be Hell at times being the first on scene at something like this. You make the call and don't know whether to wait for more experienced help to arrive to go see what you can do. Trust me we've all had to do that. And when its gets bad like this one I've seen people even with years of experience react just the way you are, When young kids is involved it always seems so much more tragic."

"Doesn't help…knowing this," came the reply.'

"That accident hasn't been the first one in those pits and it won't be the last. Been hauling vehicles out of there ever since the mining closed down and they filled up with water. Mostly its joyriding kids or someone trying to take a short cut. home at night at night.," the sheriff continued. He reached into a shirt pocket and drew out a small card with a name and number on it, handing it to Marshall. "Tomorrow I want you I want you to call and make an appointment to see her. It's not mandatory to you returning to work but you'll find out that she can help you come to terms with all this."

"I'll think about it," the young man said setting the card on the table beside him.

"When you're ready to go home just call the office and I'll send someone to pick you up. Don't worry about your patrol car, I had Clint Foster drive it back to the garage," the sheriff said. Giving the deputy an encouraging pat on the arm he turned to leave.

Fighting back the tears that were threatening to start, Marshall turned over onto his side, the words I failed running through his mind.

It was well into the evening when Dr. Lloyd finally decided to release Marshall to go home. "I'm going to advise that you take the next couple of days off to completely recover. If you start feeling bad make an appointment with you regular physician if you have one or come on back here.," she said handing him a couple of prescription slips.

"What are these for?" he asked.

"One is a broad spectrum antibiotic just in case there was something nasty in the water you were in and the other is a mild sedative to take if you have trouble sleeping. You can get them filled at the pharmacy off the ER," Dr. Lloyd explained.

"All right," he answered tiredly.

"I just need to sign off on your release papers and you're out of here," the doctor said. "Meanwhile you can go on and get dressed."

Once he was alone Marshall slid off the table and pulled out his spare uniform and other clothing he'd had stored in his locker. Quickly putting on the dry clothing he slipped his feet into his still damp shoes and pinned on his badge. Sticking the card that the sheriff had left in his shirt pocket, he picked up the prescription slips and the bag with his soaked clothes before stepping out in the hall.

The signs above the hallway pointed the way to the various destinations on the floor and he took the one that led to the pharmacy. Taking the prescription slips the pharmacist said, "I'll have these filled in a couple of minutes. Meanwhile you can wait right here."

"Need to make a phone call first," Marshall said going over to the desk to use the phone since he had no change for the payphone.

"Hey, Mann, you ready to get out of here?' Clint Foster asked when he arrived at the ER to see the younger deputy sitting in one of the chairs.

"Yeah. I just want to go home. Thanks fro coming to get me." Marshall said picking up the pharmacy bag and the one with his clothes. Wearily he followed Clint out to the silver grey pickup truck and climbed in. It didn't take long to get to his apartment and he climbed out pausing to watch the truck pull away from the parking lot before heading for the illuminated stairway.

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