A/N: I love you all! Thanks for such nice reviews! I am SO sorry for this being so late: I had SAT tests (I'm taking them as a freshman for a boarding school application, yuck!), the school musical, HOMEWORK, and all kinds of other stuff! In short, I was swamped. But now I'm on Spring Break! Actually, you are all probably skipping this note to find out what happened to poor TK, but I would highly advise you NOT to do that… You're all probably about ready to shoot me, though, for making TK get hit by a car… Argh! I need to write! Have fun reading, and please, PLEASE review!
Dedication: THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING! I love you all for it! And look, I left you all little messages! Thanks to: Eris, Queen of the Shadows (Look, I wrote more! Very soon! {Well, not really…} And now you can find out what happens!), Takari 4 Life (Nice name, BTW! Anyway, I'm glad you liked my fic! *does the happy dance* I feel so guilty for tormenting poor Kari… but not too guilty! To what humor were you referring? If you think that TK getting hit by a car is funny… I'm worried! Just kidding…And yeah, I like happy endings too… but will this story have one? *grins evilly*), Ryuuoojo (Did I spell that right? And no! Don't stop reading! It's not the end yet! Wait…), I Am Canadian (Ah, one of my favorite reader/reviewers is back! I worked on the sequel very hard, just for you! Well, you readers collectively, anyway… *grin*), colleen (Glad you like it!), az_angel4u (Wow, you sure DO want more! *grin*), S.C. Hardy (Ah! I LOVED your review! It made me laugh… So hard… It was great!), fina (Ah! Make me feel guilty, why don'tcha? Just kidding…), Juli Comando (Another favorite reader/reviewer! Love the 'views! Sign-in probation? Hope you get off… *grin*), Nanaki Lioness (Glad you like it! Please, have some more!), Ashley (Yes, I'm going on! Please, keep reading!), depression (Hope I didn't make you depressed… Glad you think it's sweet! And I know, I've read some particularly nasty cliffhangers myself… Is this one that bad? Eek…), Dark Saint (*giggles* I know, aren't I cruel? Cliffhangers… Where'd you get the Takari 4Ever Sign? *grin* I want one! And no more caffeine late at night, it makes me go psycho, at least…), Jenglory (I'll try harder with description this time, I promise! And I'm so proud that you thought I did a good job!), Smabbi - San / Smeegee – San (Wow! AuthorAlerts… I loved reading your review, it made me all warm and fuzzy inside!), tjddykojkjkjkjkjkjkhhghggghhhhhhhffghjhthgjrgrhhgddtrrtt hytfv jjfv ggffv myytrf (My, what a long name! And I'm not making any promises!), Moon Angel (It's not! Read further!), Gizmo (Yeah! I'm kickin'! Wait, what's "kickin'"? Just kidding!), and Gizmo (Are you the same Gizmo? I'm glad that you like my story!). THANK YOU ALL!
THANK YOU!: A special thanks to Herongale for all the medical knowledge! Now, as a thank-you gift, go read her stories! Well, after you read this one… Especially "Kari Has Leukemia" (no, it's not dramatic), which is really funny… Wait, don't give me that look! I'm not like that…!
Disclaimer: Digimon: Digital Monsters does not belong to me. If I owned those characters… well, let's just say that Jun wouldn't exist and Matt would be MINE! ALL MINE! *cough* Sorry for that outburst… However, Dr. Jonathan O'Neill, Dr. Nichols, Dr. Philip Kelsey, and Julie Connolley all do belong to me. If you're interested in using them, please contact me at bee824@yahoo.com.
Awakenings 03: Fallen Angels
"i have the sense to recognize
that i don't know how to let you go
every moment marked
with apparitions of your soul
i'm ever swiftly moving
trying to escape this desire
the yearning to be near you
i do what i have to do…"
-"do what you have to do", Sarah McLachlan
The next hour was hazy for Kari Kamiya. She could see, and hear, and feel, of course, but it was almost like she was having an out-of-body experience and watching the events unfold from somewhere in the sky. She could sense running up the stairs to call the ambulance, her shoelaces tip-tapping on the stair treads. The door was left gaping open as she grabbed the cordless to make the call.
"911, what's your emergency…" The operator had tried to calm her when Kari reported a hit-and-run, but Kari was sobbing so hard that she could barely breathe. The operator had asked for the town and address, along with a few questions that Kari didn't know the answer to, like if TK was allergic to any medicine or if he had a Do-Not-Resuscitate order. Kari didn't know, but he remembered that he had a medical bracelet on his left wrist, a just in case for basketball. But it wasn't for basketball that the silver bracelet finally found its purpose.
The operator assured Kari that the police and the ambulance were on their way and proceeded to try and calm the hysterical girl. It didn't work, however, and Kari ran down the stairs to try and help the limp body on the pavement. She cried and sobbed and screamed questions. "Why? Why him? Why now? Why not me?"
But there was no one there to answer.
ab
She could hear the sirens coming from about a mile away, their bright red and blue lights making the dark night brighter. Kari shaded her tear-stained eyes, waiting to let them adjust to the bright lights. The solitary ambulance was flanked by two police cars. The ambulance crew jumped out and began their work on the limp figure that was TK, while Kari was whisked away by police cars, sobs still escaping her throat.
"What did the car look like?" they asked her. "Do you remember anything?"
"It was red," she replied. "Red, and fast, and the guy driving was drunk."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes," she said, "No sober person could, would…" she began to cry harder; barely any words were escaping from her larynx now.
The first police officer patted her on the back. The other seemed unsure of what to do, so he held out a handkerchief. Kari took it, wiped her eyes, and continued.
"I remember it was red. It wobbled across the median line once or twice, the license plate…"
"Do you know the number?"
"Oh no oh no…" She began to cry again. "I forgot it…"
"It's okay!" said the first officer in a comforting tone. "Do you remember any numbers?"
"There was a 15. And maybe a 6…"
"That's enough, Jim," said the second officer sternly. "Can't you see that you're hurting more then you're helping?"
The first officer, Jim, silenced him with a wave of the hand. "Ma'am? We'll be going now. We may be giving you a call later. Do you know where you'll be?"
"Oh, yeah," said Kari, trying desperately to keep her voice determined. "I'll be with TK."
ab
Jon knew that it was bad as soon as he saw the limp figure on the wet pavement. He bent down to take a closer look.
But as soon as he went on his knees, the figure opened his eyes. He moved back quickly and called for a paramedic.
"Sir," he called. "Can you hear me?"
The person looked at him. "Please, Tai, don't kill the fluffy bunny…"
"Sir, how many fingers am I holding up?"
"No, no Patamon, don't eat the harmonica…" And the figure went back into what appeared to be a coma.
Jon called to the woman scribbling on a chart. "GCS 13/15: he's awake, but not with it." He continued his inspection, along with the help of Karen, the head of the ambulance crew. He hadn't been very enthusiastic when Dr. Nichols had first sent him to work on the ambulance crew today- after all, he was an excellent ER resident, but he had said that Jon should be more trained in how traumas get to the ER. Jon had complained, saying that he had to watch over Julie, the med student that he was supervising, but it didn't work.
He thought about what they were doing at the ER about now- all the people bustling around, old Dr. Nichols watching over Julie, Connor on the phone with his girlfriend, the way he normally was… Jon sighed. He thrived in the ER- the adrenaline, the power, the thrill of saving a life. But on the ambulance it was different; everything was more black and white, more obvious, more everything.
Jon continued with his physical exam until he found something bad- very bad. He swore under his breath as soon as he detected what it was.
"Tamishi," he called. "Call the Trauma Team and make sure they'll be there." He could see the shock on the young girl's face. "Pelvic fracture," he explained, as if that would make things any better for the scared girl. "Now go!"
She went. Jon sighed looking at the young girl- he could tell that she wouldn't be a paramedic for much longer.
Bill, the driver, ran over. "There's a girl over here, she's the ride-along."
"Yeah, so load her in." Bill shrugged as Jon and Tamishi loaded the person onto the backboard. Tamishi immobilized his head and neck into the c-collar to ensure that it wouldn't move during the bumpy ride to the hospital.
Jon could see the brunette girl climbing into the front of the ambulance. "Now go!" he called to the driver, and the vehicle sped to the nearest trauma-equipped hospital.
ab
Kari buckled her seatbelt as soon as she climbed into the cab of the vehicle. She knew that the ambulance would probably be going pretty fast. She looked at the ambulance driver and he tossed her a box of Kleenexes. "Thanks," she sniffled.
"You're not the relative, are you," It was a statement, rather than a question.
Kari looked at him in disbelief. "How…?"
"When you've been driving these things for as long as I have, you know," he said. "So, what are you?"
"I'm not exactly sure," she replied. "And that's what I need to find out."
The ambulance sped down the road at speeds Kari hadn't ever even considered driving at in her entire life. Of course, normally she used public transit like most people, but her brother and Matt had split the cost of a car, and she had ridden in it a few times. But of course, Matt and Tai had gone out of their way to scare her…
Matt!
TK had said that he was coming up this week with his band…
They were going to meet him…
But how was he going to meet TK if TK was in the hospital?
ab
The ambulance pulled up to the ER doors in what Kari thought was record speed. A myriad of different people, all doctors, poured out of the lighted doors into the cold rainy night.
Kari turned to see the brown-haired doctor push the gurney out of the vehicle and onto the ground. She could see an older man call out to the doctor- "Jon, this one's yours, I'll send Yoko out on the ambulance." The brown haired doctor nodded grimly and a group of doctors ran the stretcher into the building.
"Hello." A kind voice spoke behind her.
Kari spun around to see another doctor (or a med student, she wasn't sure, the girl looked about her age). The girl's shoulder length caramel-colored hair fell in layers, framing her face, and her blue-violet eyes looked like they were normally happy, but for the moment, they weren't.
"Hi," she said. "I'm Julie Connolley. I'm a med student, and I'll be working on…" She paused thinking of the name.
"TK."
"Yes, that's it. Anyway, I'll be working on him, but for the moment I'll be showing you a place to wait or whatever else."
Kari wiped her eyes with the Kleenex that Bill had given her. "Thanks. I'm Kari, by the way."
Julie held the door open for Kari as they walked into the hospital. At the moment, Kari could see that it was a madhouse. Doctors ran here and there, and an impatient-looking woman stood at the desk, waiting for service. Julie looked at the waiting room, figuring out where to seat the girl without having her disturbed by anyone.
Julie found a seat in the corner of the waiting room for Kari. "I'll come find you if anything big happens. There's a phone over there…" Julie pointed. "…and there's a bathroom over there. I'll be back soon."
Kari watched as the med student walked around the corner as fast as she could go without really running. She had the suspicion that as soon as she turned the corner, she really would start running.
ab
Jon wheeled the gurney into the trauma room and prepared for the secondary survey. He was flanked by the rest of the Trauma Team: an assortment of doctors, nurses and x-ray technicians. Within moments Julie joined the myriad of people in the room.
Assorted nurses and doctors began taking the patient's vitals. Jon began to take mental notes of all the assorted facts that were being called out.
"Heart rate 135," Fast.
"Respiratory rate 24," Fast.
"BP 90/50," Equivocal, and a little low.
"Temperature 37," In Celsius, of course, the temperature was normal.
"Peripheral pulses present."
"Skin pale, a little cool."
"Tenderness at hip bones."
"Open pelvic fracture. It's bleeding, too."
"Scrapes and contusions all over body." Probably from the impact of the car and the impact of the rough pavement.
"Blood in the ears?" Jon asked.
"No."
"How about the eyes?"
"Pupils are equal, round, and responsive to light."
Jon added everything up in his mind. "Okay guys, he needs emergency surgery. I'll call for Philip." Philip Kelsey was the Attending Surgeon on duty, and Jon's professional nemesis. They had a rivalry that went back to med school, when the two had been tied for top honors. Jon had won that battle, but they still managed to hate each other. Julie knew that it was bad at this precise moment- Jon almost never called for Philip, he usually either did it himself or called one of the less experienced surgeons.
"In the meantime, I need 2 large-bore, IVs, an NG tube, and X-rays. Someone collect blood."
Julie interrupted. "What about a catheter?"
"Can't. Fracture's too bad. I also need these labs: a CBC, chemistries, amylase, LFTs, lactic acid, coagulation studie3s, and a type-and-cross. Is someone taking this down? DON'T FORGET THE TYPE-AND-CROSS. " With that, Jon left the trauma room at a run.
ab
"Hello. Philip Kelsey, attending surgeon."
"Phil, it's Jon."
"Well, well. Dr. Jonathan O'Neill. I never imagined that I'd have such an honor as to speak to you." Philip's jabbing sarcasm always managed to get under Jon's skin. Jon resisted the urge to throw the phone across the office and continued.
"Cut the crap, Phil. You know I don't like you, and I sure as hell know that you despise me. I'm being more of a man than you'll ever be right now by telling you that I need your help."
"My, my. You, the great ER resident, need my help?"
Jon felt like strangling the man. "How many times do I need to say this? I need your help. Do I need to spell it out for you? Believe me, if I could avoid this, I would."
"Why, great doctor? Whatever could I help you with? Anything for you."
"I've got an extreme pelvic fracture down here. I would do it, but I'm not taking any chances."
"Are you sure?"
"What do you take me for?! Do you think I called you to ask you to tea?! You know as well as I do that I wouldn't call you unless I really needed to. I don't want to talk to you any more than you want to talk to me."
Philip sighed dramatically. "All right, I'll be down as soon as I can get away from my duties here."
"Get your sorry carcass down here RIGHT NOW!" Jon hadn't realized that he was shouting as he slammed down the phone. He turned around to see the receptionist staring at him. "What?"
"Nothing, Dr. O'Neill." Jon spun around and proceeded to run back to the trauma room.
Dr. Nichols hurried into the reception area. "What's going on here?" he asked the stunned receptionist.
"Dr. O'Neill was talking to Dr. Kelsey."
"Ah," said Dr. Nichols wisely. "I should have known."
ab
By the time Jon made his appearance in the trauma room, most of the lab results were in. He paged through the sheets until he located the X-ray packet. He held it up to the light and peered at the sheet. One leg was obviously shattered.
"Julie!" he called. "Get the MASTs!"
"Why?" she asked.
Jon pointed at the X-rays. "He's got a shattered leg. It needs to be stabilized."
Julie ran off to fetch the device. Meanwhile, Jon flipped through the lab results, continuing to take mental notes. He called for one of the nurses to fetch four units of blood.
As soon as Julie returned he set up the MAST and began to pace the room, waiting for Philip to get down to the ER to perform the surgery. "Julie," he called. "Go find Connor. He's probably on the phone. Tell him I need him to send down an anesthesiologist."
Julie nodded and ran off. She was getting rather frustrated with all that was going on. She stopped at the desk, interrupted Connor's phone call to his girlfriend by scribbling him a note (and getting a nasty look in return), and proceeded out into the lobby, where she found the girl that had ridden along in the ambulance. She located her in the same corner as before, staring out into the night.
"Hello?"
Julie noticed that the girl had been crying; her eyes were red and puffed. "Hi. Is there any news?"
"Not yet. But we're waiting on the surgeon."
"The surgeon?!"
"Yes. We need to perform emergency surgery for the pelvic fracture. Have you found something to do?"
"No, not really. I was going to call Matt, he's TK's older brother, but I'm trying to figure out what to tell him."
"If you do, you know where everything is, right?"
"Yes, thanks."
"Anyway, I've got to go back to the trauma room."
"Okay. Thanks for coming out."
"You're welcome." Kari was pleased to note that the girl didn't run away the way she had last time.
Julie passed the reception desk, shot a nasty look at Connor and pressed the button to terminate the call. She grinned at him as he scowled at her and dialed the number to reach an anesthesiologist.
Julie reported back to the trauma wing with the news that an anesthesiologist was on the way downstairs.
At that precise moment, Dr. Philip Kelsey swept into the trauma room. "Hello, all," he said. "Now what do we have here?"
Jon scowled. "Always one for making grand entrances, now weren't you, Philip?" he retorted, handing the doctor the charts.
Philip replied with a sarcastic smile. "Are you jealous of the fact that I have class and you don't, Dr. O'Neill?"
"I'd say it's actually the other way around."
Their bickering was interrupted by the anesthesiologist, Dr. Sarah Osamu, who entered the room. As soon as she spied the two doctors yelling at each other, she tried to back out. "Oh, jeez, I'm going to kill Connor for sticking me into this case. If you guys do not stop fighting, I will physically separate you. So stop."
Jon and Philip both glared at the anesthesiologist before getting ready for the surgery. Philip gathered his tools and laid them out in an extremely neat fashion. Dr. Osamu prepared the anesthetic and filled the syringe, preparing to administer the shot.
Dr. Osamu plunged the needle into the patient's upper arm. She also administered an IV of succinylcholine, a muscle relaxer, to aid the doctors in their surgery.
The nurse monitoring the vitals called out that the patient's temperature was rising and that his heart rate was increasing.
"What's happening?" asked Julie, becoming frightened. She'd never seen anything like this before.
Philip's eyebrows knotted up in confusion. "Jon? Do you know?"
Jon thought quickly. "Malignant Hyperthermia. It's the only thing it could be."
Philip's eyes showed recognition. "I've only seen it once, in that med school seminar. How much do you know about it?"
"Enough to be sure that this guy's going to die if we don't do something." He turned on Julie. "Julie, go get Dr. Nichols. NOW!" He shouted.
Julie ran out of the room, and into the staff room. "Dr. Nichols," she shouted. "We need you, there's an emergency and neither Jon nor Philip can do anything."
The elderly doctor's eyes widened and he dropped his sheaf of papers in favor of running down the hallway.
ab
Julie and Dr. Nichols arrived back at the trauma room in record time, considering that the former had been running all day and that the latter was 72.
"What is it?" asked Dr. Nichols.
"Malignant Hyperthermia."
"At least," said Philip, "that's what the esteemed Dr. O'Neill believes it to be. But it's so rare, that I don't really believe that his diagnosis is…"
"Will you two please shut your mouths?!" Julie was surprised to hear the normally good-tempered Dr. Nichols yell. "Jon, take him off the succinylcholine. Philip, go and find a sterile cooling blanket. Julie, run to find some dantrolene to counter the reaction. Don't just stand there, all of you! GO!"
Philip left the room at a run, his yet immaculate coat streaming out behind him. Julie ran around the ER, looking for the medicine. Jon, his coat less than immaculate, began to quickly dislodge the IV.
Philip was the first to return, bringing the cooling blanket. It was immediately stripped of wrapping and thrown onto the patient. Julie arrived soon after, with an IV of the desired medicine.
Dr. Nichols quickly administered the syringe of dantrolene and waited to see if the patient would be stabilized. Sure enough, the nurse called out that the patient's temperature was falling and that the heart rate was going back down to normal.
Julie flopped down into a chair. "So," she asked. "What just happened here?"
Philip smiled. "Malignant Hyperthermia is, let me see if I can remember this from med school, an inherited predisposition to an anesthetic reaction."
Julie sent a helpless glance at Jon, her mentor and friend. "What the self-declared genius means to say is that it messes with the metabolism in the skeletal muscles and it causes such a marked increase in the metabolism that it raises the body temperature to unsafe levels."
Julie grinned. "So it's got to be pretty rare, right?"
Jon answered honestly. "I've only seen it once in a med school seminar, and I've read about it. But that's about all I know."
Philip stole Julie's seat as she stood up to check the monitors. "Jon, temperature's back to normal, and so is the heart rate. Do you want to get started on the surgery?"
"Yeah, probably. Ask Philip."
"Dr. Kelsey?"
"Yes, we should get started."
Philip moved over to the patient. "Julie, come assist."
Julie looked at Jon, who shrugged and motioned for her to follow. She checked her watch and found that it was well after midnight. If she remembered correctly, Jon had come in for the early shift this morning, which meant that he could have left much earlier. Instead, he had stayed to take charge of the trauma. So he was probably tired.
She followed Dr. Kelsey over to begin the surgery. "Hand me a scalpel. And what are you doing tonight?"
"This is a trauma room, for heaven's sake, not a club or something," bellowed Jon. "SO stop flirting with my med student!"
ab
Julie left the trauma room in good spirits, headed for the lobby area. The remainder of the surgery had gone well; Philip was finishing up the stitches and Jon was napping in a chair, waiting until his next shift. It was now nearly two AM, so the lobby area was basically deserted.
She found the person she was looking for in the same seat as before. She looked tired. As she turned around, Julie could see a glimmer of hope in her eyes. "Is there any news?"
Julie nodded. "He pulled through the emergency surgery, but there were a few complications. Fortunately, he's fine now, but there is a possibility that he may stay in a comatose state. We'll need to put pins in his leg, which is shattered, but that'll be done at a later date. He'll be leaving the ER soon, so as soon as he's in a private room, I'll let you know. Did you contact his brother?"
"No, I'll do that now. Thanks. Thanks a lot."
"You should probably go home and get some sleep. We'll have more news in the morning."
"Are you sure that nothing will happen overnight?"
"Almost positive. Go on, he'll be fine."
ab
Kari arrived home about a half-hour later and resisted the urge to just fall into bed. She took a quick shower and prepared to call Matt.
She picked up the phone and dialed the number. She was rewarded on the fifth ring with the sleepy voice of her best friend's brother.
"Hello?"
"Matt? This is Kari." She could feel herself starting to cry again.
"Kari? What's wrong?!" She could almost picture Matt sitting straight up in bed, rubbing at his eyes. He probably knew that something was wrong simply because she was calling at two-thirty in the morning.
"Matt… There's been… an accident. TK… Well… TK's in the hospital…"
To Be Continued…
A/N: Hooray! I'm finished! Now I can go off and read Pride and Prejudice another time before starting on chapter 4… What a wonderful book!
Guilty as I feel saying this, this was the hardest part for me to write. Not because of what this chapter is about, but because I'm a freshman in high school who has never been in the hospital for any reason other than visiting my grandpa after his hip surgery. What about you people? Could you let me know what you think by reviewing? Thanks!
E-Mail the Authoress at bee824@yahoo.com! Bumblebee loves to hear from you!