Chapter 26:
"We got a male victim with a stab wound, approximately 30 years old. He has lost a lot of blood and probably suffers from inner injuries. He was already unconscious when we arrived there. BP is at 80 over 60and still falling, pulse of 120 and no respiration."
The medic informed the doctor at ER when they entered the hospital. The ride back from the remote lodging at the bottom of the mountain down to the next city's hospital had taken them almost fifteen minutes and they had been extremely concerned about their patient's condition. The injury was severe and he was losing too much blood, but as long as they weren't in hospital, they couldn't do much to help him. They could just stabilize him and hope his condition would stay as it was until they arrived at ER – and now they had made it. It was no longer in their hands to support him, the doctors would take care of him now.
The doctor removed the crude, blood-soaked bandage to have a closer look at the injury and decide what to do about it. In the meantime the surgeon was checking her patient's respiration – she didn't like what she saw.
"There's blood in his mouth, his airways are probably blocked – he doesn't get enough air by the oxygen mask. Get me a tube."
The doctor was stating orders himself, too.
"I need surgery utensils and 25mg of Novocaine, quick! And get another IV- line going, he's losing too much blood."
The doctor of ER and the female surgeon, who was working with him, were assisted by several nurses. One of them – she was still pretty young and had only started a few weeks ago, had received the order to stuck another needle to a vein, so they were able to give more saline and try to balance the blood loss. But she wasn't moving – she was just standing there, holding the needle in her hand and stared at the scenery developing in front of her.
"Hurry with that, damn it! We're losing him!"
The young nurse winced by the doctors' harsh words, but she moved. She rushed to get the needle, she held in hands, stuck to a vein and hang on another saline bag. The doctor took no further notice of her and looked at the surgeon who was assisting him and was currently putting the tube to her patient's throat.
"How does it go?"
"I'm finished."
"You can help me here, then."
The surgeon stepped beside the ER doctor and had a look at the injury, too.
"Okay, get me a scalpel and a clip/fix - we're going to try to stop the bleeding down here for the first. But we have to hurry – that's too much blood he's losing. I'll have to take him to surgery as soon as possible."
The nurse reached the to her and the surgeon cut a wider opening and managed to stop the bleeding by branching off the artery.
"That's it for the moment. We're going to do the rest in surgery – hurry now!"
The doctor looked behind her, when she left the room with her patient, being accompanied by a nurse, in a rush to get to surgery immediately. But he kept standing in the trauma room for a few more moments, trying to focus. He knew he was supposed to speak with the family next and if the situation, the patient's condition was as uncertain as it was in this case, it was always a difficult task to explain to the family members. The young nurse he had just snarled at, stepped besides him. She seemed deeply concerned and somehow overwhelmed by what she just saw. It was just due to the fact, that she had just started, she hadn't really seen much by now and she was lacking of the routine the older nurses working here had. She probably would get used to it one day, she had to – otherwise she couldn't do this job. But that didn't mean he couldn't give her a bit of emotional assistance.
"I'm sorry, Sir – I didn't mean to..., but..."
"How long have you been working here?"
He asked without taking any further notice of her apologize.
"Two weeks Sir."
"What have you been doing since that two weeks?"
"Sir?"
"Have you been assisting at treating trauma patient's before? Have you ever experienced a situation like this before?"
"No,..., no Sir – it's the first time today."
"I think I can take your apology then. You know – practical work is always different from the theory they teach you and being in the situation can overwhelm one, if it is the first time. You'll get routine, you'll get used to it – don't worry."
"I mean – it really looked pretty nasty..."
The doctor had a look through the trauma room – the bandages, the surgery utensils, the emptied ampoules of medication and the blood – everywhere.
"Yeah. It did."
The nurse changed the subject all of a sudden, her voice more silent now as if she feared his answer.
"Is he going to make it?"
The doctor didn't look at her concerned, questioning face and his voice sounded emotionless when he answered.
"I don't know."
"You are all family?"
The doctor gave them a surprised look.
"No. Only her. We..."
Jack tried to explain, but the doctor didn't even let him finish his sentence.
"Miss, if you would join me then, please."
He reached out for her arm and she winced and stepped back.
"Don't touch me."
She sounded calm, but there was a menacing undertone in her voice. The doctor reached back and pointed to a currently empty room, so he could talk to her all alone. Jack tried to keep him from doing it.
"Listen, we're with the FBI. Agent Taylor's working for us, for my unit. I have a more than entitled right to be informed about his current condition."
The doctor looked from Jack to Andrea.
"Miss, it's your decision."
He told her. She looked at him expressionless and shrugged, she didn't care about this whole discussion and competence problems. She simply wanted to know if her brother was alright, if he had survived Brook's attack.
"Your brother was brought in here, having severe inner bleedings and a perforated . We were able to stop the bleeding, but he has lost a lot of blood none the less. His breathing had already stopped when the medics first treated him and he's still not breathing by himself. We had to put in a tube. The most likely can't be safed, we'll have to remove it. From my point that's all I can tell you right now."
"Will he survive?"
Jack asked in an extremely tensed tone.
"I don't know – we have to wait for surgery results. The surgeon who's operating can tell you more about it afterwards. You can wait upstairs if you wish." Jack nodded.
"Thanks, Doc."
He thought about calling Sam and Vivian, but decided not to. There was nothing new he could tell them, nothing that would give them certainty. The doctor didn't know if Danny would survive and telling this to them definitely wouldn't calm them down. The doctor was right, they had to wait for the surgeon's statement. She would bring them certainty – in the one or other way.
He followed Andrea who was heading into the direction of the elevators, being extremely focussed not to be touched by anyone. She hadn't showed any visible reaction – no fear, no anger, no sadness, no tension. She definitely felt something – this was about her brother. Her brother, who had protected her, had saved her life, had put himself into danger, mortal danger, for her – she was feeling. She just couldn't express it.
Jack realized more and more how much Brooks had destroyed in Andrea in these few moments of his own satisfaction. How much he had changed, degraded her life. How much she had suffered, was still suffering and would suffer in the future. How much she had lost. He wasn't sorry, he and Martin had to shoot Brooks. He really wasn't.
He just hoped Andrea wouldn't have to lose anything more.
"We got a male victim with a stab wound, approximately 30 years old. He has lost a lot of blood and probably suffers from inner injuries. He was already unconscious when we arrived there. BP is at 80 over 60and still falling, pulse of 120 and no respiration."
The medic informed the doctor at ER when they entered the hospital. The ride back from the remote lodging at the bottom of the mountain down to the next city's hospital had taken them almost fifteen minutes and they had been extremely concerned about their patient's condition. The injury was severe and he was losing too much blood, but as long as they weren't in hospital, they couldn't do much to help him. They could just stabilize him and hope his condition would stay as it was until they arrived at ER – and now they had made it. It was no longer in their hands to support him, the doctors would take care of him now.
The doctor removed the crude, blood-soaked bandage to have a closer look at the injury and decide what to do about it. In the meantime the surgeon was checking her patient's respiration – she didn't like what she saw.
"There's blood in his mouth, his airways are probably blocked – he doesn't get enough air by the oxygen mask. Get me a tube."
The doctor was stating orders himself, too.
"I need surgery utensils and 25mg of Novocaine, quick! And get another IV- line going, he's losing too much blood."
The doctor of ER and the female surgeon, who was working with him, were assisted by several nurses. One of them – she was still pretty young and had only started a few weeks ago, had received the order to stuck another needle to a vein, so they were able to give more saline and try to balance the blood loss. But she wasn't moving – she was just standing there, holding the needle in her hand and stared at the scenery developing in front of her.
"Hurry with that, damn it! We're losing him!"
The young nurse winced by the doctors' harsh words, but she moved. She rushed to get the needle, she held in hands, stuck to a vein and hang on another saline bag. The doctor took no further notice of her and looked at the surgeon who was assisting him and was currently putting the tube to her patient's throat.
"How does it go?"
"I'm finished."
"You can help me here, then."
The surgeon stepped beside the ER doctor and had a look at the injury, too.
"Okay, get me a scalpel and a clip/fix - we're going to try to stop the bleeding down here for the first. But we have to hurry – that's too much blood he's losing. I'll have to take him to surgery as soon as possible."
The nurse reached the to her and the surgeon cut a wider opening and managed to stop the bleeding by branching off the artery.
"That's it for the moment. We're going to do the rest in surgery – hurry now!"
The doctor looked behind her, when she left the room with her patient, being accompanied by a nurse, in a rush to get to surgery immediately. But he kept standing in the trauma room for a few more moments, trying to focus. He knew he was supposed to speak with the family next and if the situation, the patient's condition was as uncertain as it was in this case, it was always a difficult task to explain to the family members. The young nurse he had just snarled at, stepped besides him. She seemed deeply concerned and somehow overwhelmed by what she just saw. It was just due to the fact, that she had just started, she hadn't really seen much by now and she was lacking of the routine the older nurses working here had. She probably would get used to it one day, she had to – otherwise she couldn't do this job. But that didn't mean he couldn't give her a bit of emotional assistance.
"I'm sorry, Sir – I didn't mean to..., but..."
"How long have you been working here?"
He asked without taking any further notice of her apologize.
"Two weeks Sir."
"What have you been doing since that two weeks?"
"Sir?"
"Have you been assisting at treating trauma patient's before? Have you ever experienced a situation like this before?"
"No,..., no Sir – it's the first time today."
"I think I can take your apology then. You know – practical work is always different from the theory they teach you and being in the situation can overwhelm one, if it is the first time. You'll get routine, you'll get used to it – don't worry."
"I mean – it really looked pretty nasty..."
The doctor had a look through the trauma room – the bandages, the surgery utensils, the emptied ampoules of medication and the blood – everywhere.
"Yeah. It did."
The nurse changed the subject all of a sudden, her voice more silent now as if she feared his answer.
"Is he going to make it?"
The doctor didn't look at her concerned, questioning face and his voice sounded emotionless when he answered.
"I don't know."
"You are all family?"
The doctor gave them a surprised look.
"No. Only her. We..."
Jack tried to explain, but the doctor didn't even let him finish his sentence.
"Miss, if you would join me then, please."
He reached out for her arm and she winced and stepped back.
"Don't touch me."
She sounded calm, but there was a menacing undertone in her voice. The doctor reached back and pointed to a currently empty room, so he could talk to her all alone. Jack tried to keep him from doing it.
"Listen, we're with the FBI. Agent Taylor's working for us, for my unit. I have a more than entitled right to be informed about his current condition."
The doctor looked from Jack to Andrea.
"Miss, it's your decision."
He told her. She looked at him expressionless and shrugged, she didn't care about this whole discussion and competence problems. She simply wanted to know if her brother was alright, if he had survived Brook's attack.
"Your brother was brought in here, having severe inner bleedings and a perforated . We were able to stop the bleeding, but he has lost a lot of blood none the less. His breathing had already stopped when the medics first treated him and he's still not breathing by himself. We had to put in a tube. The most likely can't be safed, we'll have to remove it. From my point that's all I can tell you right now."
"Will he survive?"
Jack asked in an extremely tensed tone.
"I don't know – we have to wait for surgery results. The surgeon who's operating can tell you more about it afterwards. You can wait upstairs if you wish." Jack nodded.
"Thanks, Doc."
He thought about calling Sam and Vivian, but decided not to. There was nothing new he could tell them, nothing that would give them certainty. The doctor didn't know if Danny would survive and telling this to them definitely wouldn't calm them down. The doctor was right, they had to wait for the surgeon's statement. She would bring them certainty – in the one or other way.
He followed Andrea who was heading into the direction of the elevators, being extremely focussed not to be touched by anyone. She hadn't showed any visible reaction – no fear, no anger, no sadness, no tension. She definitely felt something – this was about her brother. Her brother, who had protected her, had saved her life, had put himself into danger, mortal danger, for her – she was feeling. She just couldn't express it.
Jack realized more and more how much Brooks had destroyed in Andrea in these few moments of his own satisfaction. How much he had changed, degraded her life. How much she had suffered, was still suffering and would suffer in the future. How much she had lost. He wasn't sorry, he and Martin had to shoot Brooks. He really wasn't.
He just hoped Andrea wouldn't have to lose anything more.