Disclaimer: I don't own Lizzie McGuire, people, places, etc…don't sue me. I do own characters you don't recognize…i.e. Brenna, Carissa, and Ethan's family and Kate's family.
Thanks to the two people who reviewed! I was afraid I'd lost all my readers…
And keep in mind here, I know very little about anything medical, including trauma victims and MRI's…most of this is stuff that makes sense in my head. I don't know if any of it's true, so if it's not, get over it, this is a piece of fiction.
Lizzie awoke late the next morning to an empty house. She found a note on the kitchen counter from her mother.
Lizzie, Went to pick up Matt from Lanny's and get some food for dinner. See you soon. Mom.
Remembering her grandparents were coming to dinner tonight, Lizzie looked at the kitchen clock. Eleven thirty. If she ate something now, she could get away with not eating till dinner. Looking in the cupboards, Lizzie pulled out some cereal and a bowl and poured herself a glass of milk. She sat herself down at the counter and pulled the newspaper toward her. She had been avoiding the newspaper and the nightly newscasts on TV for most of her break; feeling like she had as much bad news as should could take. She flipped aimlessly through the paper until a headline in the local news section caught her eye.
Local Celebrity's Death Sparks Medical Controversy, the headline read. Wondering if the piece was about Ethan, she continued reading.
The death of young Ethan Craft just over two weeks ago has become the subject of much debate. After Craft's death, the staff at St. Anthony's Hospital where Craft was treated released a statement saying that Craft died from complications due to internal bleeding.
Last week, the attorney representing the Craft family expressed the family's wishes for further investigation into their son's death. After consultation with the Craft family, a specialist at Lutheran Medical Center in Los Angeles expressed beliefs that Craft's life may have been spared with proper treatment for his condition.
Dr. Emil Blake maintains claims that if Craft had been properly evaluated upon admittance to St. Anthony's Hospital, doctors should have been able to spot the internal damage and treat it. When Craft first arrived at the hospital, a series of tests, including an MRI, were done to evaluate his condition. Blake asserts that a properly performed MRI should be able to detect any internal damage within a patient. The fact that no damage was observed leads Blake to question the integrity of several specialists and technicians at St. Anthony's Medical Center.
Lizzie looked up from the paper stunned. The article made it sound like Ethan's death could have been prevented. Could it have? Lizzie knew very little about human medical treatment and even less about car accidents, except they scared her to death. But could Ethan's live have been saved? Lizzie wanted to know.
Lizzie left her cereal bowl on the table and wandered into the family room, to a wall of bookshelves. She knew her mother had a family medical book in here somewhere. Maybe that could tell her something.
She spotted the book and hauled it down from its shelf. The book weighed a ton and was more than twice the thickness of any of her college texts. She would definitely be able to find some thing in here.
Lizzie flipped to the index, not sure where to start. Why not start at the beginning?, she thought, turning to the C's. Finding nothing under "car accident", she frowned. Maybe "internal bleeding". She flipped through the pages and again found nothing. Still thinking, she looked up "MRI" and found two pages. Unfortunately they were no help, only explaining the concept of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and nothing more.
Lizzie slammed the book shut in frustration, unsure of what to do next. Still deep in thought, Lizzie climbed the stairs to her room and sat down at her computer. Once logged on to the Internet, she began her search.
She typed "car accidents" into her search engine and immediately wished she hadn't. Links for car accident legal services, "How not to get into a car accident" sites, and auto insurance groups filled her screen. Not what she was looking for.
Midway into her next search, an instant messenger box popped up on Lizzie's screen.
Brenny0: Hey Liz, how's the break?
Lizzee: Hi Brenna, it's going pretty well I guess, all things considering
Brenny0: yeah, how is it being home with all that sad stuff going on?
Lizzee: it's been a little bit weird…actually a lot weird
Brenny0: how so?
Lizzee: it's weird seeing all these people I went to high school with and then completely lost touch with…it's like we have nothing in common anymore, nothing to say to each other…
Brenny0: …
Lizzee: and Ethan's funeral just got everyone thinking about their relationships with family and friends…or at least it got me thinking
Brenny0: I remember thinking that when my mom died…you think "well, what if I had done something differently? what if we had gotten along more? what if I'd been a better kid?"…it's the what if's that really get you and all of a sudden you spend all you time thinking "what would have happened if I had just…?"
Lizzee: I know what you mean, except here it's like "what if I had been nicer to them in high school? what if I tried harder to be a better friend? or what if something different had happened?"…stuff like that
Brenny0: is that what you're thinking?
Lizzee: actually no. what's going through my head is more like, "what if I had lost Gordo or Miranda or my family? where would I be without them?"
Brenny0: it's hard
Lizzee: sorry Bren…I didn't mean to bring up your mom…
Brenny0: don't worry. it's hard sometimes with her not being here, but these things happen and you have to deal with it
Lizzee: yeah…how was your Christmas?
Brenny0: not too bad…went up to Vail and celebrated with my aunt and uncle and five crazy cousins…
Lizzee: you there now?
Brenny0: nah, back in the apartment…I had to work the several days after Christmas…the phones never stop ringing at the doctor's office, even during Christmas!
Lizzee: I can imagine…speaking of, you don't get any car accident victims in there, do you?
Brenny0: no, the majority of them go straight to the hospital or are checked out by EMTs. why?
Lizzee: just trying to understand how the injuries work…the papers are saying Ethan's death could have been prevented and I'm trying to figure out why
Brenny0: hmm…he died a couple days after the accident, right?
Lizzee: yeah
Brenny0: I got nothin'…I could tell you a little about things that happen right away from when I worked as an EMT, but I don't know a thing about what happens after they get to the hospital…
Lizzee: well, what do you know?
Brenny0: as far as car accidents go, a majority of the deaths that aren't instantaneous are caused by shock…y'know, when there are chemical changes in the body and circulation slows down after some sort of trauma or whatever…that's one of the biggest things they prepared us for in training. we had what they called the Golden Hour…most trauma victims that experience shock for over an hour generally die, but if we could get to them and help them, treat them for shock and whatever wounds they have, most likely they'd be ok
Lizzee: so the body can more or less take care of itself for an hour?
Brenny0: more or less
Lizzee: that's kinda cool…I didn't know that
Brenny0: yeah it's very cool the way that works, unless your hour runs out, then you're generally not too happy with the idea
Lizzee: I can imagine…do you know anything about MRIs?
Brenny0: very very little…
Lizzee: can they detect damage to internal organs?
Brenny0: like internal bleeding?
Lizzee: yeah
Brenny0: I would think so, but I honestly have no idea…
Lizzee: I'll ask you again once you're out of med school
Brenny0: that may be a good idea
Brenny0: OH! I so forgot to tell you!
Lizzee: what?
Brenny0: I went to a party last night…and I ran into Nick…
Lizzee: Nick?
Brenny0: you have to remember him…he lived down the hall from me freshman year…tall, dark hair, kinda spiky, all the girls were drooling over him…c'mon! Nick Mari…you have to remember him
Lizzee: Oh! how could I forget!
Brenny0: you had me scared for a moment there…but anyways…he asked about you…!
Lizzee: really?!? what'd you say?
Brenny0: that you were a complete freak, of course! actually, just that you were my roommate and you were available…was that cool?
Lizzee: YES!
Brenny0: oh…and I gave him our number…he said something about calling you…
Lizzee: Bren, I SO owe you!
Brenny0: yeah you do, but owe me later, cause work calls…not very loudly, but…
Lizzee: k, talk to you later
Brenny0: later
Lizzie closed the messenger box and continued her search, keeping her chat with Brenna in the back of her head.