Chapter 9
Chet picked up quickly on the concern on John, Roy and Julie's faces as John and Julie moved quickly to Roy's side. He couldn't understand the growing anxiety until he learned of the fluid in the ear and then even he had enough medical training to know that that was not a good sign.
When it was decided to move Roy back to the bunk house Frank was quick to step up and pull one of Roy's arms around his shoulders as he met John's arm behind Roy. There were steps on the way back to a bed where Roy's feet didn't touch the ground and every step of the way Roy was bombarded with questions to determine his level of consciousness and how he was feeling. There was little there to worry about, Roy clearly knew who he was, where he was and had no complaints of dizziness, lightheadedness or blurred vision, but they couldn't deny concern about the bloody nose and fluid in the ear.
They had just laid Roy down with some extra pillows to keep his head elevated, when the phone rang and Chet answered it before handing it to John. It was the repair garage telling him that his rover was in need to two parts that would take him a week to get from the city. John wasn't happy about that but he had been warned. He was in a hurry to get off the phone and call in Roy's current condition.
While John was on the phone Julie had started checking Roy's vital signs and managed to get her bandaged fingers caught in the Velcro on the blood pressure cuff. The vitals were all within normal range but Julie didn't seem to be as relieved by that as Johnny had been. She picked up the phone and made the call in to Dr. Frick as if she were holding her breath.
"I need to speak to Ozella," Julie started and then remained silent in waiting. Still Julie looked as if she was holding her breath as she worried her lower lip with her teeth.
John couldn't understand the tension in her look, true fluid in the ear and a bloody nose were something to watch closely when associated with a head injury, but Roy was alert and responsive. Roy didn't even appear to be drowsy but he was clearly uncomfortable. John moved to the fridge for another one of Julie's frozen rice socks and Roy was able to sit himself up a bit for John to wrap the sock around his neck.
"Yeah, Oz, we've got some complications with the head injury here. He sneezed and came up with a bloody nose and fluid in his left ear." The pause was accompanied with the tapping of Julie's toes on the floor. "Yeah I know, but that's the wrong direction for these guys, they're from Los Angeles." Another pause, "Yeah I know that too." Pause, "of course they're not going to let their precious ambulance go across state lines. How bad's the doc?" there was another pause as Julie ran her tongue across her back teeth. "I'm the master when it comes to alternate transportation. You talk to doc and let me know if he's up to it and while you do that I'll get some information from my cousin."
Julie hung up and then dialed the phone again, "Dad I need you to pack me an overnighter. I'll have to explain later."
The phone was hung up again and then after thinking hard for a moment as is she wasn't sure of the phone number. She partially dialed once then hung up and dialed again with a little more confidence. "HI Jane, I really need to talk to Jack, this is real important." There was a pause and Julie looked over at Johnny, "I assume if we have to move him to a bigger hospital that you would much rather take him home where your familiar with the hospital and the doc's instead of send him four hours farther away from home."
"Yes," Roy responded with a slightly panicked look on his face
"Yeah, if we have that kind of choice I think we would," Johnny was a little more calm but only a little more.
"Which hospital is that? " Julie asked and it was clear by the way she held the phone to her ear and covered the mouth piece with her bandaged hand that she was still on hold.
"Rampart General," both Roy and John spoke together.
Julie pulled a drawer open and pulled out a pen and paper pad tossing it to Johnny. "Can you write down an address, and phone number and if you know the name of a doctor that deals with head injuries you would like to work with you write that down too." Julie instructed
Johnny pulled the pad and pen over and started writing the address down while Roy looked at him and spoke. "Early."
"Yeah," Johnny agreed.
"I need to get some more information and then I'll sit down and talk with you and explain what and why I'm up to okay. I don't want you to panic." Julie counseled.
Julie remained on hold until after Johnny was able to write down all the information she had asked for but finally they all heard: "Hey Jack, I need you to help me plan out a patient transfer west. No this patient doesn't want to go north if we can help it. How long would it take us to get to Carson California? No we'll be driving. No I think we better figure it without police escort so we're talking speed limit. Rampart General. What about one of the hospitals in Western Vegas? Okay." Julie had pulled the pad back onto her lap and was writing with two fingers as she balanced the pad on her knee.
As he kept his attention on Julie and focused hard to keep his panic down Roy felt someone on the other side of him take a hold of his hand and just hold it. When he looked to see who it was he was surprised to see Frank kneeling at his bedside to offer him some comfort while Chet stood behind him with a worried smile and a hand on Frank's shoulder.
"Okay, well it's going to take us at least an hour possibly two to put this together but you and your know how just made it half of what it was before I got you on the phone. You're kidding! Are you sure you're willing to do that? It's still going to take us as much as an hour to get this put together. Alright I'll let you know."
The phone was hung up and Julie was once again holding her breath as she looked over the notes she had taken. Finally she blew out a deep breath and motioned for Johnny to move so that she could set on the side of Roy's bed.
"Okay, here's where we're at, and I'm going to admit right up front to jumping to conclusions and guessing what you would prefer so if I'm wrong feel free to stop me. First of all I don't think you're in critical condition, you seem alert and aware of who and where you are. But I'm sure with your knowledge of medicine that you know that the development of the bloody nose and most of all the fluid in the ear indicates there could be some complications and that we should be doing some more testing?"
"Yeah," Roy acknowledged as Johnny sat down opposite Julie and placed a comforting hand on Roy's shin as Julie continued.
"We don't have any of the equipment to do the kind of testing that comes next in your condition at our hospital. That means you will have to be taken to another hospital to get that testing. Right now the only hospitals in the state where you can get that testing and be put in the care of doctors who can treat you. Is a good four hours north of here and four hours farther away from your home."
"But your ambulance service isn't allowed to transfer anyone out of state." Johnny reveled that he had been paying attention and understood some of what had been talked about.
Julie stopped talking and acted like she was biting her tongue before she blew her breath out and ground her teeth then spoke. "And further more the doctor that works with us from there thinks he's god and I'd rather do anything than send someone nice like you to him. There are some others but I don't know them and their still a long ways in the wrong direction for you. There I said it. If you want to you can see to it that I never work in medicine again."
Johnny and Roy smirked a little then Johnny voiced their combined opinion. "Thank you. We appreciate the honest candor. But if we don't go to the place north of here what other options do we have?"
"Nothing personal but my current goal is to get you back where you came from. And according to my cousin, who just so happens to be headed that way sometime tonight it will only take two hours longer to get you home than it would to get you four hours farther away from home."
Johnny took one look at Roy and knew that toward home is where he wanted to go so with a crocked smile on his face he asked. "So since your cousin is headed that way, if we can work things out does he have room for us to go with him and what kind of travel conditions are we talking about?"
"Ho, just an eighteen wheeler with a bunk bed sleeper." Julie answered and then just looked at Johnny and Chet daring them to ask the next question.
"Eighteen wheelers aren't cheap to travel. He ain't going all the way to California without a load. Just what is it he's going to be hauling?" Chet bit the bullet, unbeknownst to anyone with the fire department he was known to do a little semi driving for an uncle of his on his days off from the fire department. He figured it would help him if he ever finally passed his engineer's exam.
"Well now if we're able to pull this off so that we leave tonight, then it will be a load of pigs for the market. If we can't get everything put together till morning it will more likely that our travel companions will be dairy cows."
"Pig's, Dairy Cows?" Chet and Johnny were exclaiming together while Roy and Frank just started laughing.
"I can just see the look on their faces at Rampart now." Roy continued to chuckle.
"Jack Mumford is r-real f-f-funny, riding with him is b-b-better than going to the d-d-dentist and getting l-l-laughing gas." Frank added.
"Better than going to the dentist huh," Chet responded. "I don't know Johnny can you handle that?"
"If it will get Roy home," Johnny started then was interrupted but the phone ringing.
The phone was picked up on the first ring and after a quick hello the phone was being handed to Roy.
"Hello," Roy answered tentatively, his first fear was that the call was from his wife and he wasn't ready to tell her there were complications.
"They tell me you want to go west instead of north." The voice of Dr. Frick was heard over the phone and in the back ground there was a rumble the Roy was sure was his x-rays being reexamined. "Let's start by you telling me your full name and address."
Roy quickly understood that Dr. Frick was trying to evaluate his mental acuity so he rattled off the requested information and answered the next six questions without complaint. Followed by giving the good but bedridden doctor a detailed description of how and what he was feeling.
"Well, you seem quite alert," Dr. Frick began to conclude, "you're words aren't slurred and you don't sound in the least drowsy. Now I need to make sure you understand the choice you're making. There is a possibility that you have a skull fracture that we missed. I've been giving your x-rays another looking over and there is a spot behind your left ear that might be something. Now we could bring you in and take another set of x-rays sometimes things show up a little better when healing has begun, but that will take some time to get you here and then get them done and I understand that Miss Clark has worked out a possible transportation solution for you if you leave within the next two hours so I'm not going to suggest you make the trip into town for that."
With the current developments there is a significant need to get some further testing. The equipment to do so with is not available in our little area and as much as I understand that the closest equipment to our area will require you to go further from home than you already are I have to let you know that the additional time to get you home could be hazardous to your health and well being."
Roy understood well what he was being told. It was as much for the doctor's safety as his.
"What you're not taking into account is that I will have a fully trained paramedic with me every step of the way." Roy spoke as he gave an appreciative glance in his partner's direction. "I'm also a trained paramedic and well aware of the concerns on my behalf. As you have already determined I am in full control of my faculties I do not have most of the symptoms that are the most troubling and if I were to develop them my friend would likely pick them up faster than someone who hasn't known me for a while and there for be able to get me to not only give me faster care but to get me to the closest hospital on the way for further treatment."
"Okay then sounds like your mind is made up. If it's alright with you I would like to give your doctor in LA a call and report on my findings and let him know your coming. He just might have some instructions to make your travel better."
"Sure doc, Thank you." Roy responded then gave the man the number to Rampart Emergency department from memory stopping only to add the area code prefix at the end.
"Do you have that written down somewhere of did you just give me that phone number from memory?" Dr. Frick questioned with a smile in his voice.
"I use it every time I go to work I know the number as well as my home number." Roy responded.
"No signs of brain damage at the moment then."