Okay, I know, its been a little while since I updated this. But I am back and I believe I only have once more chapter left. Thank you for those who have been reading and urged me to update as soon as I could. Please read and review.
Joe, Kel and Mike walked out of the treatment room and headed to the base station to get a cup of coffee.
"That was too close," Mike said softly, looking down into his coffee. The others didn't say anything for a moment.
Kel slammed his hand down on the counter in frustration and anger. "I just don't get it. How does a perfectly healthy woman spiral downward so fast?"
"I don't know Kel. I don't think I have ever seen anything like it before."
"Hopefully we've bought some time by having her intubated," Mike replied, downing the rest of his coffee.
"What is going on? I mean, I just don't understand. First Karen, then the rest of the guys at the station. I'm worried about what is going on. I don't think I have ever seen anything like it before," Joe said, swirling the coffee in his cup around. The others agreed silently by looking down into their own coffee cups, like they were a crystal ball and could tell them the answers.
"I hate to interrupt, but the guys are here," Dixie said, coming up to the group.
"Okay, let's get to it," Kel said, putting his coffee cup down and heading down the hall. The other two doctors followed him as Dixie began to direct the six gurneys.
She stopped as Mike and Marco were rolled in first, Kevin and Doug holding IVs. " Take them to Treatment 2. Dr. Morton will meet you there."
She didn't have long before Chet and Cap were rolled in next with Wheeler and Dwyer next to them. " Meet Dr. Early in Treatment 3."
She watched as the four gurneys were rolled down the hall. Then the last two gurneys came through the hall with Roy and Johnny, Craig and Bob coming in with them. "Treatment 4, let's go," she said, directing down the hall.
Before she could decide which room to go in first, she saw three firemen come in. She knew they had to have driven the three squads to Rampart. "Head on into the doctors lounge and get a cup of coffee. We'll let you know as soon as we know something."
"Yes Ms. McCall," the lineman from 16 replied. He ushered the others with him down the hall as Dixie entered the room where Kel was working.
"How are they Kel?" she asked walking over to Roy and taking his BP.
Kel sighed before replying, "I wish I knew what was going on. Johnny and Roy are showing the same symptoms Karen had a few hours ago. There has to be a common thread."
"I know, but what?" Dixie asked, glancing down at the unconscious men.
"I don't know Dix, I just don't know."
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The three doctors and one head nurse met in the coffee room to discuss their patients.
"There has to be a common thread," Joe stated, confident that they had missed something. Having seven people with the same sort of symptoms was just to coincidence to be a coincidence.
"Let's go over everything that happened today. Karen went down fast and hard and the guys just a few hours later. Why?" Kel asked, looking over the files that were laying on the table.
Mike pushed one aside and looked at Karen's for the tenth time. "Wait, when did Karen take up baking?"
"Baking?" Kel asked, glancing up at the intern like he had sprouted two heads.
Mike pushed the file over to the head of the Emergency department. He pointed to a line in the file. "See, it says she had been baking."
"She started about a week ago," Dixie replied, swirling the coffee in her cup. When no one said anything, she looked up to see the three doctors looking her way. "What?"
"How did you know about that?"
"Johnny and Roy told Joe and I right after they brought her in. Johnny said that she had found a new recipe and had been trying her hand at baking bread."
Kel closed the file and looked from Joe to Dixie. "What else?"
"They said she had brought in the stuff to make Reuben's for lunch," Dixie replied, setting her cup down.
"That's it! It has to be!" Kel exclaimed, leaped to his feet.
Mike and Joe also stood, unsure of what had Kel so excited. "What is it Kel?" Joe asked.
Kel glanced at each person in the room. "Ergotoxicosis, otherwise known as Saint Anthony's Fire."
"What is that?" Dix asked.
"Ergot can be found in some drugs, such as Methergine, but sometimes it contaminates grain, specifically rye. If the grain that is contaminated is consumed too often or handled too much, it can cause the radical symptoms we saw in Karen this morning."
"Can it be treated?"
"Only the symptoms. We need to start giving Karen first then the rest of the guys anticoagulants and iron deficiency treatments. We need to keep them sedated so that they does not suffer from the hallucinations either," Kel said. He then looked to Dixie. "Did she say where she got her rye flour?"
"It was the health food story on Artesia Boulevard," Dixie replied, following Kel out of the room.
"Call the health department Dix. Let them know what we have and tell them where we think the contaminated flour possibly came from."
"Right Kel," Dix replied, heading for the phone at the nurses station. She began dialing as she watched Joe and Mike follow Kel.
She sent a silent pray heavenward, hoping they had gotten the answer in time to save the crew of Station 51 lives.