A/N: I hope I did this one justice, Tried to make it sound as real as possible.
Chapter 11.
"Are you Mr. Borden's Family?"
The doctor walked into the waiting room on level 4. Looking for recognition from the group.
"Yes, "Amy said, standing up as the doctor approached them, fear and apprehension on her face.
"Please sit, "the doctor replied taking a chair between them.
They all watched him, waiting for some idea as to Tys condition.
"I'm doctor Harrison and I have been assessing Mr. Borden, Tylor, "he Started,
"Ty "Tim corrected, rubbing his hands together nervously, "his names Ty"
The doctor nodded and continued" Ty, entered emergency with severe hypothermia, we have now stabilized him enough and are trying to raise his body temperature to a safer level. "he paused. "this is going to be the challenging part as Ty is not responding at the levels or timeline that I was hoping for"
Amy moved closer to the doctor,
"I tried to warm him up, when we were in the barn," She said, now starting to feel those pangs of guilt again that she shouldn't have stopped at the barn and simply drove on.
"yes, yes" Dr Harrison said "Amy? You did an amazing job, he would not be here fighting if it wasn't for you"
She smiled slightly and motioned for him to continue,
The doctor looked around at all their worried faces,
"so, what are we looking at exactly," Tim interjected coldly, he was not good with doctors, "what the next step? Can't you just warm him up?"
Doctor Harrison nodded his head and went on to explain.
"Hypothermia occurs when your body loses heat faster than it can produce heat. The risk of developing hypothermia increases if you are exhausted, injured or exposed to extreme conditions. There are three degrees of Hypothermia, mild, moderate and severe." He turned his eyes directly to Amy,
"A person with moderate hypothermia will have a body temperature of 82°F to 90°F.
A person with severe hypothermia will have a body temperature below 82°F "He flicked through the paper in the file he had in his hand," Ty came into emergency with a core body temperature of 76 degrees,"
Amy closed her eyes, her heart sank,
"however, we have been able to bring that up slightly and it is now sitting on 85 which is still not where we need it to be but an improvement,"
Lou in hailed quickly, the realization of Tys condition finally hitting her.
"What are his chances?" Tim asked bluntly, ignoring the shocked glances from his daughters," honestly Doc, is he going to make it out of this?"
"ok, as Amy will have noticed when she was with Ty, he would have displayed such symptoms of little to no shivering in the later stages, slurred speech or poor judgement. He may have also tried to shed his clothing even though he was cold. These are signs his condition was deteriorating."
Amy nodded and remembered back to when she was in his truck, Ty had constantly tried to remove his shirt, and he had struggled to talk to her.
"I will not sugar coat this for you," Dr Harrison continued "when the body drops to such low temperatures, brain function is affected, causing these symptoms, if we are unable to raise his core temp up to safer levels we will be running the risk of cardiac arrest."
Amy looked away, tears in her eyes, Jack leaned over to her and held her close.
"Now, we have tried passive warming, thermos blankets, and ingestion of fluid but as Ty is in an out of consciousness, this is not a viable option." the doctor stood up as he noticed the nurse enter the waiting room"
"Doctor, we have the room ready as instructed for Mr. Borden, "she said," I'll let the team know you be in shortly "
He nodded and looked back at Amy and her family who were watching him intently.
"We are going to try warm intravenous fluids and irrigation on Ty, "he stopped and noticed the confused looks before him" warmed
intravenous injections are a solution of salt water injected into a vein to help warm the blood. We will also be using an irrigation of saltwater
solution to warm certain areas of his body, the area around the lungs, and the abdominal cavity. The warm liquid is introduced with catheters."
He paused allowing them to digest what he was saying. "we will also have Ty on humidified oxygen through a nasal tube to assist with
warming his airways."
Amy's face was ashen, all the technical jargon was spinning around in her head.
Dr Harrison noticed her discomfort and placed his hand on her shoulder to comfort her" I know it all sounds scary, but he is young, and he is strong, and we will do everything in our power to pull him through this,"
She nodded and swallowed hard, "thank you," she stammered, "can I see him?"
The doctor smiled slightly, "give us a few minutes to set him up and I'll come and get you. "
He looked at the others and tried to reassure them" We will do everything we can for Ty. I'll keep you informed of his condition, but for now, I think one visitor at a time is enough"
They nodded and watched the doctor walk away.
Amy let out a sob, and Lou Grabbed her little sister, pulling her close,
Amy still had so many unanswered questions, why had Ty left to go out on that road in the middle of no where?, who had been with him?. Why had he left behind his jacket and phone?
Who sent Amy the text message and left her that note? and those marks on his wrist? His fear of being shot? Nothing made sense at all to her.
She wiped her eyes and walked into the hallway looking towards the large hospital double doors, that had ICU painted across them.
Amy rubbed her arms gently and looked at the floor, shutting her eyes and tying to feel past the worry and the pain that was now engulfing
her. She reached down deep inside her heart and searched her soul until she found what she was looking for. With all her might she held onto
and focused on the only thing that made her feel safe and warm and not alone.
She held onto the love of Ty.
TO BE CONTINUED