Four hours later the sun was rising, and night shift was giving their reports to day shift. Stan's anti histamine had been tapered off, as ordered to prepare for an allergy test that afternoon. The sun peeked through the plain blinds as Stan's eyes fluttered awake. This wasn't his house, he yanked at an ouchy thing in his elbow and started to cry. "Mommy!"
Sharon stirred awake at the sound of her son's cry. "Stan? Stan, baby! You're awake!" She rubbed her eyes and leaned over to press the button for the nurse. "Sweetheart, oh I'm so glad you're awake. You had me so worried." She gathered him into a hug.
Stan cried as he tried to pull at the thing over his mouth and nose, but it hurt to draw in breath. He had a terrible taste in his mouth, like he had been licking the door handles of his house. Maybe he was in trouble! "Mommy?" He croaked out again, putting his arms up to be held.
Sharon scooter over on the bed and held him on her lap. "I know baby, I know it's scary. You've been sick, but the doctors are going to make you better, okay?"
Day shift nurse named Emily came in. She looked over at the sight of the little boy being held by his mom as she did a quick scan of his vitals and temperature. "Hello there, sweetheart, you have your parents a scare last night, you're doing so much better now. Do you still feel hot or itchy?"
Stan took in nurse Emily's pretty dark blue eyes and midnight black hair. This lady was the prettiest person he had ever seen, but he was still scared of all the new things around him. "Mommy" he cried and buried his face into Sharon's shirt.
Sharon held and rocked Stan. "I'm here baby. Stanley, how are you feeling? Do you still feel itchy or icky?"
"Mommy. My mouth tastes icky." Stan sniffed, pulling at his oxygen mask.
"Let's talk to the pretty nurse and tell her how you feel. Your mouth still feels icky?" Sharon wipes sweaty bangs from face. "Are you still warm, baby?"
"Does your mouth taste like metal?" Emily asked, smiling at the cute little boy. She kept her tone even to calm him and his mother down. "They gave you medicine last night in your arm to make you better and it makes your mouth taste like metal. It should go away in a few days." She checked over his vitals and looked at Sharon. "Stanley's fever broke, and his oxygen looks great."
Nurse Emily bent down to Stan's level. "Want me to take your mask off?" Stan nodded as Emily gently took it off. The little boy grabbed at her stethoscope around her neck and Emily laughed and let him. "You put this on your chest like this." She held it to him. "You can hear your heart."
Sharon looked in shock as her son who fought every nurse and doctor he came in contact with, smiled and laughed as he held the stethoscope to himself.
"What a sweet little boy. You can let your mommy know you can watch cartoons on the tv, and we'll bring you something yummy to eat." Emily looked at Sharon. "He can eat breakfast, but he'll have to skip lunch because we'll have to put him under anesthesia for his allergy test at 3pm today."
"Under anesthesia?" Fear creeped in on Sharon, but she tried to calm herself to not scare her son. "All right thank you for letting me know." She gave a weak smile to the nurse. "Stanley sweetie, are you hungry?"
"No!" Stan yelled.
"Why don't we get to eat a little something, it will be good for you." Sharon offered again.
"My mouth is icky." Stan pouted.
Emily handed Sharon a hospital menu before waving and going to her next patient.
"Mommy" Stan held out his arm with the IV in it. "There's a snake biting my arm." His eyes filled with tears again and he started to cry. "Get it off me I don't like snakes."
Sharon felt heartbroken but gently held Stan's hand to prevent him from grabbing the IV. "Baby we need to keep that in your arm, it's giving you medicine to make you feel better."
"No mommy no." Stan's hand breaks free and he yanks at the IV, crying out in pain.
"Stanley, we need to leave that in." She pulled his hand away firmly this time.
"No mommy." Stan started to cry harder.
"Stanley, you need to keep it in otherwise they'll have to poke you again, please leave it alone baby" She held up the menu. "Let's pick something for breakfast, okay?"
Stan used his other hand to pull at the electrode stuck to the side of his chest. "I don't like these stickers. Nooo."
"Stan, you have to leave everything alone, I know you don't like it but it's to help you feel better." Sharon let out an audible sigh, "Maybe I can have Daddy bring over a couple toys to keep your hands busy."
Stan looked up at Sharon, eyes filled with tears. "Mommy? Am I bad?"
Sharon leaned over to hug him again. "What makes you say that honey? You are a very good boy."
"Am I here for being bad before my bath? I'm sorry mommy, can we go home?" Stan started to try and slide off his bed.
Sharon gently put him back and held him close. "You just got a little sick, that's all. You aren't here because you were bad. You were a good big helper for your bath, you just got a little sick after."
Big fat tears rolled down Stan's cheeks as he pulled at his IV and EKG again. "I sorry mommy."
Sharon grabs both his hands firmly and looks him in the eyes. "No baby, we need to leave it alone. Here, I'll give you some paper from my purse and you can draw, ok?" Sharon dug through her purse and handed Stan a notepad and a few crayons. "Now, Stanley, what do you want for breakfast?"
Stan frowned as he scooted away from the crayons. "I'm sorry I colored on the wall and made you mad. I want to go home." He started to cry again.
Sharon made a move to comfort her son once again. "We can go home soon baby. I forgive you for the wall. You're here because you're sick, and we want you to get better. mommy loves you so much, you are a very good boy."
"Then why does it hurt?" Stan yanked on his IV again and let out a painful cry.
"No! Stanley no!" Sharon reached over to press the nurse call button. "Please, I don't know what to do, he keeps pulling at his IV."
Emily comes back in and sits at the edge of Stan's bed. "Hi sweetie, we're going to have to wrap your arm." Stan kept crying. Emily reached into her pocket and pulled out some stretch medical tape in red. "Ok Sharon, we're going to have to hold him on his side as I wrap his IV."
Sharon nodded. "Okay, Stan sweetie, can Mommy give you a big hug?"
"No!" Stan kicked and screamed.
Sharon grabs him and sits him on her lap again. "You can still cry all you want honey, just let mommy hold you." Stan lets himself be held by his mom, his body relaxing but still crying silently.
Emily holds out his arm and gently wraps the IV with the tape, bending his arm to make sure it's not too tight. By the time it's done he seems to have a little red cast from wrist to armpit. "If he pulls off his EKG electrodes you can reattach them like so" Emily detaches one like one would take off a coat button and easily reattaches it. "It's ok if they're off for a bit but we want a constant read out of his temperature and oxygen levels."
Emily bends down to look Stan in the face. "How would you like some French toast with strawberries and bananas and milk?"
"No!" Stan cries.
"Thank you, the older he gets the more of a chore it is to get him in the hospital or doctor office, he's so mobile and vocal now." Sharon shakes her head as she sets him back down to try and calm him.
"No problem. And channel 17 in the hospital is Nickelodeon, I think the other kids here are watching Paw Patrol." Emily smiles again and goes to put in Stan's breakfast order.
Sharon gave Stan a kiss on the head. "You're being such a brave boy right now honey I'm going to call Daddy and let him know, ok?"
"No!" Stan settles against his pillow looking at his red arm. He pulled at his EKG once more but settled down as the tv came on to cartoons.
Randy had fallen asleep with Shelly on his bed. His daughter was too scared to sleep alone, and he had to admit he felt better sleeping while hugging his daughter. He blinked awake by the sound of his phone, seeing it was Sharon. "Hello? How's Stan?"
Sharon kept an eye on Stan as she stepped into the hall." "He's doing okay, he woke not too long ago. He keeps pulling at his IV and monitors but they were able to secure them so he shouldn't pull them anymore. He can have breakfast now but will need to skip lunch because they need to put him under for the allergy test. He's watching tv now."
"Put him under what?" Still sleepy Randy asked.
"Anesthesia He's never been under before, I'm scared, Randy. I just want him home." Sharon's voice started to warble again.
Randy sighed, wishing he could have a drink. "Shelly's still asleep, I'm going to shower and get her ready and fed and we'll be over in about an hour. I have a bag packed for the two of you, but the soap was delivered to the hospital last night." Randy looked at his haggard face in the bathroom mirror and a toy boat discarded from Stan's bath last night. "Would you rather him be poked 50 times while awake? Let him sleep. It's safer for him. I'll be there for you during his test."
"I know, I know, it's for the best. I will see you two soon, tell Shelley I love her." Sharon said, wiping her eyes again. "Oh, can you bring Stan some of his toys to keep his hands occupied?"
"Will do, love you, Sharon." Randy sent her a kissy noise though the phone as he tossed the little boat into the tub.
"You're doing a good job so far Randy, thank you, I love you." Sharon hung up and returned to her son.
Stan and Sharon had returned from the chest X-ray, Stan cried the entire time which was an apparent good thing. Now he sat and yanked at his wires as he ate breakfast. He kept putting strawberries and bananas in his mouth but hadn't touched the French toast. He drank half his milk. "Mommy I wanna go home." He said.
"Maybe tonight. Let's sit and relax for now, okay? Daddy and Shelley will be here soon." Sharon sat back on the bed next to her son. She was already feeling exhausted, but she had to be strong for Stan.
Randy entered the hospital room, he felt bad for being nervous to be here. He felt like making a detour and wanted to make up for every missed anniversary and holiday. He brought gifts for Stan, had Shelly pick out toys and had some red roses for Sharon and balloons for Stan. "Hi, Stan. How are you feeling?" Randy reached over to kiss his wife.
Sharon yawns and stretches as she gets up to kiss her husband and daughter. "Hello, Randy. Hello Shelley honey, have you been a good girl for uncle Jimbo?"
"I think so... Mom, is- is Stan ok? Did he die?" Shelly asked, looking at Stan's bed curiously.
"What's die?" Stan asked, he had been sulking in his bed, but perked up when he saw what his dad had. "I want the balloon mommy! Balloon! Balloon!"
"Nothing, Stan." Randy went to hand it over; the balloon was shaped like a football with The Broncos logo on it. He gawked at Stan's arm. "Don't tell me he broke his arm also?"
"What? No, no, they had to better secure his IV, he kept pulling at it." Sharon tied the balloon to the side of the bed. "It's a pretty balloon isn't it, Stanley?"
Randy lifted Stan's hospital gown. "Wow buddy, you're plugged in like a robot. Listen to the doctor and don't pull out your plug."
Stan ignored his dad as he settled in bed, playing with the balloon, looking up at it floating around and pulling the string.
"That's such a nice balloon sweetie, you are so lucky!" Sharon hugged Randy. "Hopefully, that'll distract him from pulling at his wires."
"Oh, I just thought it looked cool when I went to get you these." He handed her a bouquet of red roses. "Sorry the store was out of that color on Valentine's Day.
"Oh Randy, you shouldn't have. It's Stan who's sick." Sharon's eyes filled with tears as she put the bouquet on the bedside table. "It's Stan who's sick."
"You're the one talking excellent care of him." Randy bent to look at his son. "Stan, it looks like Shelly might have something too."
Shelley sighs but passes him a picture she drew of a tiger. "Get well soon... turd."
Stan looked at Shelly for a moment, reaching out to grab the paper. "Roar?" He said before leaning back to play with his balloon.
"So, hear any news?" Randy asked Sharon.
"Well, they don't have any diagnosis yet, they still need to do the prick test So we need to make sure he doesn't eat anything for the next couple hours. He didn't eat much for breakfast." She puts a worried hand on Stan's back.
Randy snorted a bit at the test's name "Its seriously called that?" He looked at Shelly and Stan for a moment. "Sorry kids."
Stan looked at his dad curiously. "I'm here because I'm bad? I did?" He asked his dad.
"Yeah turd, because you ruined the card I made for Mommy and Daddy!" Shelly yelled at him.
"Shelley!" Both parents scolded her.
Stan's chin quivered and he started to cry again.
Sharon went to comfort him while Randy pulled Shelly aside. "Shelly, we got you a unicorn, a Barbie, and a dream jeep. You also picked some things out for Stan, because he's sick in the hospital, right? Please be nice to him, he's already not feeling good. Your mother too." Randy handed Shelly a wrapped gift for Stan. "Apologize."
Stan hugged his mom as he cried, he started yanking on his EKG wire one more time.
Sharon grabbed his little hands. "Stanley please don't, don't you want to see what Daddy got you?"
Tears streaked down Stan's cheeks. "I don't like this, I wanna go home!" He pushed the gift away and curled up in a ball, crying even harder.
"Oh baby" Sharon scooped Stan into a hug. "I know you're scared; I know you don't want to be here. But we need to find out why you're sick. Once we do you can go home, and we'll go out for ice cream and have a fun day! Okay?"
"No!" Stan continued to cry, taking big gulping sobs.
His machines beeped and dinged as his nurse Emily came back in. She silenced the machine and looked over it. "Hey sweetie, I'm going to need you to calm down and put you back on oxygen. The doctor will be in to see if they can give you something to calm you down."
Emily laid Stan on his side and put the oxygen mask back on him. Stan was terrified as a blood pressure cuff was put on his arm again. The soothing sound of the nurse as she talked to his parents slowed his breathing. He reached his hands out to his mom, tear heavy eyes looking up at his balloon.
Sharon sighed and started to rub her son on the back. "Stanley, I know you don't want to be here, baby but we need to find out why you're sick. I don't want you to be here too, but we have to let the nice doctors and nurses do their job okay?
We all want you to feel better."
Emily frowned a bit at Stan's oxygen and blood pressure readings off her cuff. But marked it down to let his doctor know. "The doctor will be in with his X-ray results and to prep him and you for this afternoon." She put a stethoscope to his back. Staticky and congested. She smiled not wanting to alarm the boy and his family as she marked her findings down. "The doctor will be in shortly."
"Thank you, you've been so kind to my family and I, and even our son can't help but smile at you. You seem to really like children Emily." Sharon smiled as she continued to tend to Stan.
"Yeah, it was always a goal of mine to be a pediatric nurse. It takes a certain type to deal with little ones and how they don't always understand." She bent down to Stan's eye level. "I'll do anything in my power to make sure you're better. I promise." She ruffled his hair and even Stan couldn't help but smile at her, his stomach doing a flip. "Are you an Angel?" He asked. She laughed and shook her head as she left the room.
Sharon carefully stroked Stan's hair, seeing that he was calming down. "See sweetie? Doctors and nurses are good people that want to help! You don't need to be afraid of everyone you see."
Stan relaxed and snuggled against his mom. Randy smiled. "I think that nurse likes you." He teased.
"Me?" Stan asked through his oxygen mask.
"You're probably her favorite patient." Randy chuckled, placing a hand carefully on his son's back.
Shelly looked up from playing with her toys. "Can we go home now Dad? They said Stan will be ok."
"No, Shelly. We need to stay with your brother. Remember how upset you were yesterday? Or you just can't wait to get back to school tomorrow? Is that it?" Randy said with a grin.
"Well, yeah I was scared last night. He did look pretty sick but I'm bored! I don't want to stand around waiting for the turd to die, there has to be something fun to do here." Shelly pouted and looked around the room.
"Just watch TV, Shelly." Randy sighed and put on the cartoon channel for the kids.
The door opened and another doctor came in. She had the X-ray in her hand. "Hello, I'm Doctor Stark. From your son's chest X-ray he had some severe congestion, but I wouldn't diagnose it as a full anaphylaxis. The soap contained coconut oil and other extracts which triggered his coconut allergy. We believe a drop in blood pressure caused your son to collapse."
"Oh no." Sharon held Stan close, her guilt confirmed. "Will he be ok, Doctor? Especially this afternoon."
"I think he'll be ok to have some light anesthesia around 2pm today for his allergy test to be administered. If all goes well, he should be able to go home within four hours after waking up."
Sharon puts one arm around Stan who's still playing with the balloon, her other hand gripping Randy's in fear. The doctor's clinical tone makes her anxious as trying to take in the information and not alarm her son. "All that all seems routine enough. I'm just nervous for him. He will put up a fight with any of this no matter what. He's not very trusting of most adults. I just hope Stanley will be calm enough so this can run smoothly. He's a tough kid to distract."
Doctor Stark patted Stan on the head as the little boy looked up at her. "He'll do great. I'll call in your son's nurse to start his procedure."
Shelley overhears all this, looks up from playing. "Wait, Stan's going to have surgery?" Her eyes start to tear up. "I didn't know it was that serious!"
Stan overheard his sister, looking up from his cartoon. "What's surgery? What's that? Will it hurt?" Stan breathed in harshly again, panic setting in as he started to cry. "I don't want to."
Randy looked between both kids, he put his arm around Shelly and pulled her over to her brother. "Stan, they wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't to make you better. Shelly, same thing, we're going to make Stan better. It will be over soon, and he can go home tonight."
In a rare moment Randy put Shelly's hand on top of Stan, the boy still hyperventilating with wide tearful eyes. "Shelly, say something to him." Randy said sternly.
Shelly squeezed his hand. "You- you'll be okay Stan. I know the doctors will make you better. Cuz if they don't, I'm gonna hurt them myself!"
"No, I'm scared!" Stan cries.
Shelly shook him a bit. "Stop crying. You gotta be brave, turd. Otherwise, I'll have to turn your room into my pony room. Which sounds cool but I know it won't be if you're not there."
"What's die? Are they gonna die me?" Stan cried again, pulling his hand away from his sister.
"No turd you're going to be fine. No one is going to die, Mommy and Daddy and the doctor said so. Now stop crying!" Shelly yelled at him again.
"If there's ponies in my room, where do I sleep? In a stable like a pony? Or. Do I have to live here now?" Stan looked around the room panicked, pulling at his EKG one more time.
Shelly smiles "You get to sleep with the pony, silly! We each have a pony. Mine is brown and named Cinnamon, what's your pony's name?"
"Fire truck." Stan said halfheartedly.
Nurse Emily entered the room, a cup of purple medicine for Stan. She also had her equipment and clipboard. "Hi, Stan." Emily said gently.
Stan perked up a little at seeing her, especially since dad told him he was her favorite. "Hi." He said shyly.
"Mrs. Marsh? Can you help sit him up so we can have him drink his medicine?" Emily asked.
Sharon got up from her chair. "Yes. Okay sweetie, the pretty nurse wants to give you something yummy to drink, ok?"
"No." Stan buried his face into his mom's sweater again.
Sharon sat him up on her lap. It's super yummy. I heard it tastes like grape!"
Stan shook his head, tears forming again. "No, my tummy hurts."
"This will make it feel better." Sharon offered.
Randy spoke up "Maybe if you take all your medicine your favorite nurse will give you a kiss?" Emily's eyes bugged out at the suggestion but saw the little boy reach for the cup in his mother's hand.
"It's just grape juice, Stan." Sharon said as she helped him drink.
Stan grabbed the cup and put it to his mouth, taking a sip and nearly spitting it out. "No, it's not, Mommy."
Emily put her blood pressure cuff on Stan, she frowned again. Sure, the boy was anxious, what kid wouldn't be in this situation? But his blood pressure should be high in that case. It was a bit too low than what she would have liked. The doctor knew what he was doing, or he wouldn't have ordered the test. Maybe his vitals would stabilize once he was asleep. She took the stethoscope and listened to his shuddering breath once more. The boy grimaced but had drank his medicine. He looked up at her with big blue eyes.
Emily carefully placed a hand on his head and placed a kiss on his forehead, wondering if this would get her in trouble. The redness of his face was worth it, he was so cute and smitten. Maybe his blood pressure would rise. "Good luck sweet angel." She said to him.
"Oh, look at that honey! Looks like someone is Emily's favorite little guy!" Sharon laughs and touches Stan on the nose.
Emily blushed a little too but thinking it would make a good story for her wife Katie later. She placed the oxygen mask back on Stan. The little boy leaned back in his bed, eyes growing heavy.
Emily looked down at her clipboard. "When he's relaxed, one of his parents can be with him during his administration of anesthesia. Who will it be?"
Sharon looked at her husband. "Randy, I feel guilty if I'm with him for every test, you can be with him if you want." She sighs heavily, wishing they both could. She wants to be with him every moment but knows he needs time with daddy too.
"Noooo." Stan cried sleepily "Nooo I want mommy with me for when they die me."
"Shh no one is gonna die." Sharon soothed. "But maybe Daddy wants to be with you too honey."
Randy jumped a bit at Stan saying 'die'. His eyes meeting Sharon's. "You want mom to be with you, buddy?" He hoped his fear wouldn't show, he'd rather be in the waiting room with Shelly watching cartoons.
"No, Mommy." Stan started to cry again and cling to his mom.
"Sharon?" Randy said hopelessly.
Sharon is exhausted but knows what's best for Stan. "okay baby, okay, shhhh. I'll be with you the entire time. I'm not going to leave, I promise. You can hold me the entire time." Pulls him to her and rests his head on her shoulder to rock him.
Within twenty minutes Stan had fallen asleep. Emily came back for one last pulse and blood pressure check, feeling more comfortable at these results. She and another nurse, Veronica carefully loaded Stan on a gurney. Emily looked over at Shelly. "Want to hold his hand or talk to him before we take your brother back?"
Shelley looks down at Stan a little scared. "Good luck, Stan." She glared at the nurse. "You better not make my little brother dead or I'm gonna hurt you! You better keep his puppy safe, it's his favorite thing."
Emily laughed at the little girl's toughness. "Promise, you'll have enough tough spirit to keep him safe." She grabbed Ruffy and placed it at Stan's side. "Ready, Sharon?"
"Okay, let's go." She gave Shelly a hug and squeezed Randy's hand one last time. "See you soon."
Randy gave her a kiss and stroked her cheek. He placed a hand on Stan's hair, curling the soft tendrils between his fingers. He looked so small. "Good luck, Stan."
"Bye, Stan." Shelley sniffs and starts to cry as her father hugs her. She hopes Stan can't hear or tell she's crying. She didn't want him to know she was worried about him. She didn't actually care, she told herself.
Veronica leads at the foot of Stan's bed, heart and oxygen monitor on her side. Emily was behind at the head of Stan's bed, monitoring his IV and oxygen mask. They lead Sharon into another hospital room. Too bright with a bed and medical equipment in the middle. It was mildly decorated with bland art, meant to look nice, but just made Sharon uncomfortable. Emily gestured to a chair further back so Sharon could observe, she felt so far away from Stan. She kissed him on the cheek and ran her fingers through his soft dark hair before sitting down.
The nurses clipped a pulse oximeter to Stan's finger and removed his oxygen mask, putting a heavier duty one over his nose and mouth. The anesthesiologist observed at the head of the bed, making sure the boy would be comfortable.
Sharon held herself, feeling helpless. "He'll be okay, this is just a simple test to see his allergies. He isn't having heart surgery. Get a hold of yourself Sharon." Her fingernails lightly dug into her arm.
After the anesthesiologist gave the go ahead, the nurses carefully turned Stan over on his stomach and placed a cover over his back. A large block with fifty small needles was inserted into the skin between Stan's shoulder blades. It came away to an array of small dots, some slightly bleeding. Emily stood at the head of the bed, observing vitals and monitoring medication, the anesthesiologist motoring Stan's comfort. The doctor observed the effects of the allergens, Veronica having a computer out to record any effects the allergens were about to have.
Sharon winced, not liking seeing her baby being poked and bleeding but trying to remain calm. He had to get this test done. Her fingernails broke the skin.
Emily stood looking over Stan's vital signs. His machine beeped slightly as his procedure continued. She could see a multitude of swollen circles on his back, a slight angry rash being raised on his back. Her eyes met Veronica's as the other woman kept taking notes. The machine beeped once more, as Emily's stomach dropped at Stan's rapidly dropping blood pressure. "Hold on, we need to flip him over. Call a code."
Something was wrong. Sharon felt a shock of dread go through her body as the doctors and nurses swarmed in. "What's happening? Stanley? Stanley!" She wanted to run up and see what was wrong with her baby. But she held in place, she would be in the way if something were really wrong.
The nurses carefully flipped the boy over as the doctor pressed a button to call for backup. Stan's mask was removed to see a slight purple to his lips, now starting to swell. Emily had no time before his throat would close up. The doctor called an order as Veronica put a shot of ephedrine into the muscle in Stan's leg. Emily grabbed a curved metal instrument and expertly pulled Stans head back to insert the instrument into his throat to be able to place a tube.
Sharon stood frozen in horror, gasping at how barbaric this looked to her. "Oh god! Stanley, baby! What is happening? Someone please tell me. Don't hurt him!" Her carefully packed down emotions broke, and she started to sob.
Emily placed the tube and attached a ventilator bag to it, monitoring his oxygen. Another IV bag was placed on his other arm with another dose of antihistamine and steroid added.
"He's gone into anaphylactic shock." Emily called out, eyes glancing to the boy's mother, down to the boy who had been so sweet to her not even an hour earlier. The room was quiet except for the machines and the sounds of Sharon's crying.
Sharon cried hysterically as she collapsed into her chair. "What is happening? Someone please. My little baby boy please, what is wrong with him?" Sharon was torn between staying right there or breaking into a run to go find Randy. She needed to lean on him now.
Five minutes later another round of ephedrine was administered, Veronica squeezed the saline IV to try and force more fluid into the boy's veins to raise his blood pressure to a safe level.
Emily squeezed the bag and placed her stethoscope on his chest, the staticky sound of his breathing in but not breathing out, a sign that fluid was trying to fill the fine air sacs in Stan's lungs.
Another round of corticosteroids was put into the IV as Veronica squeezed the bag to rush the medicine through the boy's veins.
Finally, after a tense fifteen minutes Stan's blood pressure stabilized and the color returned to his face. Stan's lips and eyes were now swollen with a slight purple bruise appearance. His breathing slightly more stable and relaxed as the steroids and ephedrine reversed the effects of the shock. "We're going to have to move him to ICU." The Doctor said. Emily kept administering oxygen, brushing the bangs back from the boy's face. She could not look at the boy's mother who was still collapsed in her chair as she helped wheel the boy out of the room.