Chapter 2: Call To Action
In the ambulance on the way to the hospital, the paramedics worked feverishly trying to stabilize Tracey's condition. It was very upsetting to Carla to see Tracey in such bad shape. It had been just that morning that they had been looking over some things in the process of planning their wedding and now Tracey was fighting for his life. Carla hoped that she would wake up and all of this would be a bad dream.
"How's he doing?" Carla asked.
"I'm not going to lie to you. He's in pretty rough shape. The sooner we get him into the emergency room and they can get a better idea of his injuries, the better chance he has of making a full recovery. The longer he's in a coma, the more danger he could be in."
"Thank you for being honest with me."
"Personally, I think the best thing this young man has going for him is that he has a beautiful young woman to stay by his side through whatever happens. My thought is that love is the best medicine."
"Well, he's got plenty of that." Carla said.
* * * * *
The other paramedic, in the meantime, got on the radio to the hospital to let them know to be ready for the ambulance.
"We need doctors to be awaiting our arrival. We've got a young man who was hit by a car. He's in a coma and his condition is critical. Time is of the essence here."
"Your call is acknowledged. We'll have a medical team waiting when you get here." A young doctor said
"Okay, we need as many people as we can get to meet an incoming ambulance. We have a critical case of a motor vehicle versus a pedestrian. The patient is in a coma so we need to move quick as soon as the ambulance gets here."
With that the team of doctors and nurses scrambled to action to meet the incoming ambulance.
* * * * *
"Here we are."
"Thank God. Now Tracey can get the help he needs." Carla sighed.
"The doctors will do everything they can for him." The paramedic reassured her again.
As soon as the ambulance pulled into the emergency entrance to the hospital, a team of twenty doctors and nurses rushed out of the doors and as soon as the paramedics loaded Tracey out of the ambulance they immediately rushed him into the emergency room while Carla watched helplessly.
When Carla tried to go with Tracey, a kindly looking older woman who was a nurse stopped her short. This upset Carla even more that she was being kept away from Tracey when he needed her the most.
"I'm sorry but you can't go with him. The doctors need room to work on him. You'll have to stay in the waiting room. Come with me, dear." The nurse led Carla to a small waiting room and got her a cup of water.
"Thank you." Carla said shakily.
"You're welcome. Do you have anyone with you?"
"Not yet. My fiancé's employer and his wife were following the ambulance. They should be in here in a few minutes. I really appreciate your kindness. It helps a lot in a time like this."
"It's my job to help people in your situation. I try to make people realize that they aren't alone and that someone cares." The nurse said softly.
"It really means a lot to me." Carla whispered with tears in her eyes.
"Well, I need to get back to the desk now. Let me know if there's anything I can do for you."
"Thank you very much. I'll do that."
* * * * *
As soon as they found a place to park their car, Delia and Professor Oak rushed into the hospital to be there for Carla. This was a very terrible situation and the girl didn't need to be alone right now.
"I hope that the doctors are able to help Tracey." Delia said quietly.
"So do I. I'm worried about Carla as well. This can't be easy for her. Plus the fact that she saw what happened when Tracey was hit. I can't imagine what she must be going through right now. Just this morning they were working on planning their wedding and now this happens. Fate is so cruel sometimes." Professor Oak agreed sadly.
When the couple got into the emergency room, they started looking for Carla. Since she was nowhere in sight, they decided to ask if the desk nurse had seen her.
"Excuse me, ma'am."
"Yes, how can I help you?" The nurse replied.
"My assistant was just brought in here by ambulance. We were wondering if you might have seen his fiancé. She's about my wife's height and has long blonde hair. Have you seen her?" Professor Oak asked.
"I sure have. When her fiancé was admitted she was upset when she couldn't be with him. I took her to the waiting room down the hall. It's the second door on the right."
"Thank you very much." Delia said as she and Professor Oak headed down the hallway to the waiting room the nurse had indicated. When they got there they found Carla sitting on one of the couches with a pained expression on her face.
"Carla, have you heard anything on Tracey's condition?"
"Not yet. I wish someone would let me know what we're up against, no matter how bad it is. I can't take this not knowing."
"I'm sure that someone will tell us something as soon as they know the extent of Tracey's injuries. Just try to stay calm. If you get upset, then you won't be able to do Tracey any good at all and you're love for him is what he really needs right now." Professor Oak reasoned softly.
"I know. On the way to the hospital, the paramedic told me that the best thing that Tracey has going for him is having me here for him. Then he told me that he believes that love is the best medicine." Carla said and managed a weak smile.
"What we need to do right now is have faith that everything will be okay. Tracey has youth working on his side and he is a very strong person. He's come through everything that has ever come his way before so we have to believe that this situation won't be any different." Delia said.
"It's really hard to believe that just this morning Tracey and I were looking at ideas for places to hold our wedding and now he's in there fighting for his life. I wish I would wake up with him next to me and have this all have been a bad nightmare. I want him to hold me and tell me that everything is okay." Carla whispered with tears in her eyes. She was using all the strength that she had not to break down crying.
Just then a doctor came and approached them to give them an update on Tracey's condition. When Carla saw the look on his face her heart sank. The look on the doctor's face indicated that things weren't good. She just held the arms of the chair she was sitting in and braced herself for what he was about to say.
"Hi. My name is Dr. Tom Wilson. We've examined Tracey and gotten a better idea of his injuries. He has several fractured ribs and one of them has punctured a lung. We're going to need to go in and operate on that and also to repair his leg that was badly broken. I don't think that he'll lose his leg but it will take some work to repair it. The good news is that we did a CAT scan and it showed that he doesn't have any swelling on his brain. I think he's very lucky there. We're getting ready to go into surgery right now so I'm going to have to get back. I'll come and let you know as soon as the surgery is over and let you know when you can see him."
"Thank you."
Carla just sat there for the longest time and let the terrible knowledge sink in that this was actually happening. She finally allowed her emotions to get the better of her and she began to cry as she wished she could be with Tracey when he really needed her.
In the ambulance on the way to the hospital, the paramedics worked feverishly trying to stabilize Tracey's condition. It was very upsetting to Carla to see Tracey in such bad shape. It had been just that morning that they had been looking over some things in the process of planning their wedding and now Tracey was fighting for his life. Carla hoped that she would wake up and all of this would be a bad dream.
"How's he doing?" Carla asked.
"I'm not going to lie to you. He's in pretty rough shape. The sooner we get him into the emergency room and they can get a better idea of his injuries, the better chance he has of making a full recovery. The longer he's in a coma, the more danger he could be in."
"Thank you for being honest with me."
"Personally, I think the best thing this young man has going for him is that he has a beautiful young woman to stay by his side through whatever happens. My thought is that love is the best medicine."
"Well, he's got plenty of that." Carla said.
* * * * *
The other paramedic, in the meantime, got on the radio to the hospital to let them know to be ready for the ambulance.
"We need doctors to be awaiting our arrival. We've got a young man who was hit by a car. He's in a coma and his condition is critical. Time is of the essence here."
"Your call is acknowledged. We'll have a medical team waiting when you get here." A young doctor said
"Okay, we need as many people as we can get to meet an incoming ambulance. We have a critical case of a motor vehicle versus a pedestrian. The patient is in a coma so we need to move quick as soon as the ambulance gets here."
With that the team of doctors and nurses scrambled to action to meet the incoming ambulance.
* * * * *
"Here we are."
"Thank God. Now Tracey can get the help he needs." Carla sighed.
"The doctors will do everything they can for him." The paramedic reassured her again.
As soon as the ambulance pulled into the emergency entrance to the hospital, a team of twenty doctors and nurses rushed out of the doors and as soon as the paramedics loaded Tracey out of the ambulance they immediately rushed him into the emergency room while Carla watched helplessly.
When Carla tried to go with Tracey, a kindly looking older woman who was a nurse stopped her short. This upset Carla even more that she was being kept away from Tracey when he needed her the most.
"I'm sorry but you can't go with him. The doctors need room to work on him. You'll have to stay in the waiting room. Come with me, dear." The nurse led Carla to a small waiting room and got her a cup of water.
"Thank you." Carla said shakily.
"You're welcome. Do you have anyone with you?"
"Not yet. My fiancé's employer and his wife were following the ambulance. They should be in here in a few minutes. I really appreciate your kindness. It helps a lot in a time like this."
"It's my job to help people in your situation. I try to make people realize that they aren't alone and that someone cares." The nurse said softly.
"It really means a lot to me." Carla whispered with tears in her eyes.
"Well, I need to get back to the desk now. Let me know if there's anything I can do for you."
"Thank you very much. I'll do that."
* * * * *
As soon as they found a place to park their car, Delia and Professor Oak rushed into the hospital to be there for Carla. This was a very terrible situation and the girl didn't need to be alone right now.
"I hope that the doctors are able to help Tracey." Delia said quietly.
"So do I. I'm worried about Carla as well. This can't be easy for her. Plus the fact that she saw what happened when Tracey was hit. I can't imagine what she must be going through right now. Just this morning they were working on planning their wedding and now this happens. Fate is so cruel sometimes." Professor Oak agreed sadly.
When the couple got into the emergency room, they started looking for Carla. Since she was nowhere in sight, they decided to ask if the desk nurse had seen her.
"Excuse me, ma'am."
"Yes, how can I help you?" The nurse replied.
"My assistant was just brought in here by ambulance. We were wondering if you might have seen his fiancé. She's about my wife's height and has long blonde hair. Have you seen her?" Professor Oak asked.
"I sure have. When her fiancé was admitted she was upset when she couldn't be with him. I took her to the waiting room down the hall. It's the second door on the right."
"Thank you very much." Delia said as she and Professor Oak headed down the hallway to the waiting room the nurse had indicated. When they got there they found Carla sitting on one of the couches with a pained expression on her face.
"Carla, have you heard anything on Tracey's condition?"
"Not yet. I wish someone would let me know what we're up against, no matter how bad it is. I can't take this not knowing."
"I'm sure that someone will tell us something as soon as they know the extent of Tracey's injuries. Just try to stay calm. If you get upset, then you won't be able to do Tracey any good at all and you're love for him is what he really needs right now." Professor Oak reasoned softly.
"I know. On the way to the hospital, the paramedic told me that the best thing that Tracey has going for him is having me here for him. Then he told me that he believes that love is the best medicine." Carla said and managed a weak smile.
"What we need to do right now is have faith that everything will be okay. Tracey has youth working on his side and he is a very strong person. He's come through everything that has ever come his way before so we have to believe that this situation won't be any different." Delia said.
"It's really hard to believe that just this morning Tracey and I were looking at ideas for places to hold our wedding and now he's in there fighting for his life. I wish I would wake up with him next to me and have this all have been a bad nightmare. I want him to hold me and tell me that everything is okay." Carla whispered with tears in her eyes. She was using all the strength that she had not to break down crying.
Just then a doctor came and approached them to give them an update on Tracey's condition. When Carla saw the look on his face her heart sank. The look on the doctor's face indicated that things weren't good. She just held the arms of the chair she was sitting in and braced herself for what he was about to say.
"Hi. My name is Dr. Tom Wilson. We've examined Tracey and gotten a better idea of his injuries. He has several fractured ribs and one of them has punctured a lung. We're going to need to go in and operate on that and also to repair his leg that was badly broken. I don't think that he'll lose his leg but it will take some work to repair it. The good news is that we did a CAT scan and it showed that he doesn't have any swelling on his brain. I think he's very lucky there. We're getting ready to go into surgery right now so I'm going to have to get back. I'll come and let you know as soon as the surgery is over and let you know when you can see him."
"Thank you."
Carla just sat there for the longest time and let the terrible knowledge sink in that this was actually happening. She finally allowed her emotions to get the better of her and she began to cry as she wished she could be with Tracey when he really needed her.