Waiting Is The Hardest Part
Chapter 5
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jennifer was wheeled into the Emergency Room of Albany Medical Center Hospital. The paramedics recognized her upon their arrival at the house and advised the hospital in advance, so there was a pretty big crowd gathered by the time they'd arrived in the E.R. Before she was even in the trauma room, she was being swarmed by doctors and nurses trying to help.
"Give it to me," Dr. Samuels called out to the paramedic as he began his own assessment.
"Approximately 32-year old white female, found unresponsive on the kitchen floor upon P.D.'s arrival. They were asked to check on her by the patient's husband who is on his way back from New York City. Only outward sign of injury is a laceration to the right temporal area. There were no signs of struggle in the residence per P.D., so we think she may have gotten the laceration from the fall when she passed out. Examination shows the laceration and the right pupil slightly larger than the left. No other obvious signs of injury. We put her on a backboard with cervical collar for precaution. IV established with normal saline and oxygen via non-rebreather mask. There is faint response to deep painful stimulus - the sternal rub."
Dr. Samuels immediately checked the pupils himself upon the report by the paramedic and found there to indeed be a size discrepancy on the right.
"Okay, I want CT scan notified we're bringing up a stat patient. I want neuro down here right away and I want everyone that doesn't have a job to do on this patient, in this room, at this time to get the hell out!" Dr. Samuels ordered, shoving several onlookers out of the way as he pulled the curtain around his patient.
"Jennifer. Jennifer! Can you hear me?" Samuels called to her. He got no response. He called to her again, this time using the sternal rub in addition and was rewarded with only a slight groan.
"CT's ready," called out one of the nurses as she returned to the curtained-off area.
"Okay, Jennifer. We've got you! Just relax and fight the good fight," Dr. Samuels encouraged her as they began to wheel the stretcher toward CT, his hand resting on the top of her head in an attempt at encouragement.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
"Is Mommy going to be okay?" Jordan asked Mrs. Anderson as she sat on the edge of the little girl's bed trying to get her to sleep.
"I'm sure they're doing everything they can, Jordan. I'm not sure what's wrong, but your Mom's strong. We'll just have to wait for your Daddy to get here and tell us what's happening. In the meantime," Mrs. Anderson said, getting up and tucking in the covers around the little girl, "you need to get some rest so you can help Daddy take care of Jason while Mommy gets better."
She bent over and gave the little girl a kiss on the forehead and walked to the doorway. "Door open or closed?" she asked.
"Open," Jordan answered, her lower lip quivering. "And, could you leave the hallway light on?"
"Of course, sweetheart. Get some sleep. I'm sure Daddy will be here soon," Mrs. Anderson whispered, turning off the bedroom light, but leaving on the hallway light as she asked.
Mrs. Anderson walked out into the living room where her husband sat with Jason fast asleep in his arms. "He just finished his bottle finally. I think he's out for the night," he whispered. She bent down and took the sleeping baby from him and gently rocked him as he fussed just a bit. "How's she doing?" he asked his wife, referring to Jordan.
"She's scared to death," she answered. "I'm going to go put him to bed. Thanks," she said, thanking him for giving the baby his bottle.
"I'm going next door to make sure the dog settled down and then I'll be back over. You want anything from the house?" he asked as she headed for the bedroom and he headed toward the door.
"Grab my slippers will you? This could be a while. Thanks," she called to him quietly.
She walked into Jason's room and gently placed him in his crib. Covering him up, she wound up his mobile and watched as the music soothed the crease from his forehead that the change of position had brought about. "Sleep well," she said, patting his tummy and then walking out of the room. She walked back over to Jordan's room and looked in. The girl was finally asleep, out of sheer emotional exhaustion no doubt, but there were drying tearstains on her cheeks. She closed the door halfway and went back out to the living room.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^**^^
Bosco pulled into the parking lot of the hospital and just about abandoned the car in the first spot he could find. He didn't even know if he locked the door.
He hurried into the hospital and looked around for a familiar face. Finding no one he knew, he was reminded that he wasn't at Angel of Mercy, but at a different hospital altogether. He quickly walked up to the triage desk and gave his name.
"Yes, Sir. Dr. Boscorelli is here. She's up in CT Scan right now. Why don't you come into the lounge and I'll see if Dr. Samuels is free. He may be with a patient," the nurse said apologetically.
"She's alive, right?" Bosco asked and the nurse saw the fear in his eyes.
"Yes," she replied, putting a hand on his arm. "She is most definitely alive." Bosco nodded and followed her to the lounge.
"I'll be right back," she said, going to see if Dr. Samuels could speak with him. "There's coffee right there if you want, or anything to drink from the fridge."
"No. Thanks," he said impatiently. "Sorry," he said for being gruff.
"Not at all. Be right back," she said and then disappeared.
Bosco paced around the room. At least he knew this Samuels guy. He'd met him at some dinner that he'd attended with Jennifer for the hospital. He'd seemed like a decent guy and Jennifer said that he was one of the best E.R. docs.
He continued pacing for a few moments and didn't even hear the door open behind him. He was startled and surprised when Dr. Samuels called to him, by name.
"Bosco," he said again and Bosco spun around to face him. He took in the look on the doctor's face and couldn't tell if it was good or bad news.
"Doc?" he said as the doctor closed the door behind him. Bosco braced himself for the worst.
"How is she? Can I see her?"
"Bosco. She's still in the process of having the scan. Then, the neurologist is going to take a look at her. We don't know exactly what happened, there was no witness to it, so we're trying to piece things together." Their conversation as interrupted by Officer Donnelly who had come back from the coffee shop and found out that Bosco was here.
Donnelly paused at the door. "Oh, excuse me. I'll wait outside."
"No. It's okay. Are the kids okay?" Bosco asked, flexing his hands into fists and relaxing them as he tried to keep his emotions under control.
"The Anderson's are at your house. They seem fine," Donnelly assured him.
"Thanks. Sorry, Doc. You were saying?" he said, turning his attention back to the doctor.
Samuels motioned for Bosco to have a seat, but he declined, shifting his weight from foot to foot nervously.
"Well, she has a laceration to her head that's going to need some stitches. We're not sure if that's the reason that her right pupil is dilated more than her left or if the laceration's a factor of her passing out for some neurological reason," he explained.
"Neurological reason? You mean like a stroke or something?" he asked, totally taken by surprise.
"That's certainly a possibility. However, it could also be dilated BECAUSE of the bump to her head. That's what we're trying to determine. At any rate, those are the only injuries that we can find with our exam so far. We're just waiting for the results of the CT scan and neuro exam and then we should know more," the doctor explained.
Bosco took in a deep breath to try to calm himself. "Okay. She didn't tell you what happened?"
"No. She's..., um, well, she's still unconscious," he told Bosco.
Bosco was at a loss for words and looked over at the police officer that had found his wife. "She was unconscious when I found her. Your little girl said she woke up in the car from the ride back from her Aunt's house?" Donnelly offered.
"Yeah, Jen picked them up from her sister's house when she got done here at the hospital. They were supposed to drive down to the City tomorrow for the weekend. That's why I was trying to get hold of her. She was supposed to call me about what time she was getting into the City," Bosco explained.
"Well, your daughter said that the baby woke her up. He was crying in the car seat in the garage and your wife wasn't in the car and everything was dark. She must've just woken up, because there was a light on in the house and the garage when I pulled in the driveway with my unit. Anyway, your daughter unlocked the door and said that her Mommy was sick and that she was on the floor in the kitchen. I went to check on her, called for the ambulance and then went to get the baby out of the car. Your daughter said she wasn't allowed to pick up the baby without anyone there," Donnelly added and this brought a slight smile to Bosco's face.
"Yeah. Jen's afraid she'll drop Jason," he explained absently. As if suddenly poked back to the present, Bosco looked quickly back to the doctor. "Okay, so when can I see her?"
"As soon as she comes back from the scan, I'll bring you right to her," he said.
"Thanks, Doctor," Bosco said, shaking Samuels' hand.
"No problem, Bosco. And, it's Andy - not Dr. Samuels," he said, returning the handshake.
"Right. Thanks," Bosco said. Samuels headed for the door, leaving Bosco and Donnelly in the lounge.
"Thanks for staying with her," Bosco said to the other officer.
"Not a problem. I'm glad we found her," Donnelly replied.
"Look, I'm gonna give my boss a call - let him know what's going on - and give you some breathing room. I'll be right outside for a while if you need me," Donnelly told him.
"Thanks. Thanks again," he said, shaking Donnelly's hand.
After Donnelly left the room, Bosco was alone. All he heard was the clock on the wall ticking. He ran a hand through his hair and took a seat in the closest chair as his legs started to tremble.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TBC...
Chapter 5
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jennifer was wheeled into the Emergency Room of Albany Medical Center Hospital. The paramedics recognized her upon their arrival at the house and advised the hospital in advance, so there was a pretty big crowd gathered by the time they'd arrived in the E.R. Before she was even in the trauma room, she was being swarmed by doctors and nurses trying to help.
"Give it to me," Dr. Samuels called out to the paramedic as he began his own assessment.
"Approximately 32-year old white female, found unresponsive on the kitchen floor upon P.D.'s arrival. They were asked to check on her by the patient's husband who is on his way back from New York City. Only outward sign of injury is a laceration to the right temporal area. There were no signs of struggle in the residence per P.D., so we think she may have gotten the laceration from the fall when she passed out. Examination shows the laceration and the right pupil slightly larger than the left. No other obvious signs of injury. We put her on a backboard with cervical collar for precaution. IV established with normal saline and oxygen via non-rebreather mask. There is faint response to deep painful stimulus - the sternal rub."
Dr. Samuels immediately checked the pupils himself upon the report by the paramedic and found there to indeed be a size discrepancy on the right.
"Okay, I want CT scan notified we're bringing up a stat patient. I want neuro down here right away and I want everyone that doesn't have a job to do on this patient, in this room, at this time to get the hell out!" Dr. Samuels ordered, shoving several onlookers out of the way as he pulled the curtain around his patient.
"Jennifer. Jennifer! Can you hear me?" Samuels called to her. He got no response. He called to her again, this time using the sternal rub in addition and was rewarded with only a slight groan.
"CT's ready," called out one of the nurses as she returned to the curtained-off area.
"Okay, Jennifer. We've got you! Just relax and fight the good fight," Dr. Samuels encouraged her as they began to wheel the stretcher toward CT, his hand resting on the top of her head in an attempt at encouragement.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
"Is Mommy going to be okay?" Jordan asked Mrs. Anderson as she sat on the edge of the little girl's bed trying to get her to sleep.
"I'm sure they're doing everything they can, Jordan. I'm not sure what's wrong, but your Mom's strong. We'll just have to wait for your Daddy to get here and tell us what's happening. In the meantime," Mrs. Anderson said, getting up and tucking in the covers around the little girl, "you need to get some rest so you can help Daddy take care of Jason while Mommy gets better."
She bent over and gave the little girl a kiss on the forehead and walked to the doorway. "Door open or closed?" she asked.
"Open," Jordan answered, her lower lip quivering. "And, could you leave the hallway light on?"
"Of course, sweetheart. Get some sleep. I'm sure Daddy will be here soon," Mrs. Anderson whispered, turning off the bedroom light, but leaving on the hallway light as she asked.
Mrs. Anderson walked out into the living room where her husband sat with Jason fast asleep in his arms. "He just finished his bottle finally. I think he's out for the night," he whispered. She bent down and took the sleeping baby from him and gently rocked him as he fussed just a bit. "How's she doing?" he asked his wife, referring to Jordan.
"She's scared to death," she answered. "I'm going to go put him to bed. Thanks," she said, thanking him for giving the baby his bottle.
"I'm going next door to make sure the dog settled down and then I'll be back over. You want anything from the house?" he asked as she headed for the bedroom and he headed toward the door.
"Grab my slippers will you? This could be a while. Thanks," she called to him quietly.
She walked into Jason's room and gently placed him in his crib. Covering him up, she wound up his mobile and watched as the music soothed the crease from his forehead that the change of position had brought about. "Sleep well," she said, patting his tummy and then walking out of the room. She walked back over to Jordan's room and looked in. The girl was finally asleep, out of sheer emotional exhaustion no doubt, but there were drying tearstains on her cheeks. She closed the door halfway and went back out to the living room.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^**^^
Bosco pulled into the parking lot of the hospital and just about abandoned the car in the first spot he could find. He didn't even know if he locked the door.
He hurried into the hospital and looked around for a familiar face. Finding no one he knew, he was reminded that he wasn't at Angel of Mercy, but at a different hospital altogether. He quickly walked up to the triage desk and gave his name.
"Yes, Sir. Dr. Boscorelli is here. She's up in CT Scan right now. Why don't you come into the lounge and I'll see if Dr. Samuels is free. He may be with a patient," the nurse said apologetically.
"She's alive, right?" Bosco asked and the nurse saw the fear in his eyes.
"Yes," she replied, putting a hand on his arm. "She is most definitely alive." Bosco nodded and followed her to the lounge.
"I'll be right back," she said, going to see if Dr. Samuels could speak with him. "There's coffee right there if you want, or anything to drink from the fridge."
"No. Thanks," he said impatiently. "Sorry," he said for being gruff.
"Not at all. Be right back," she said and then disappeared.
Bosco paced around the room. At least he knew this Samuels guy. He'd met him at some dinner that he'd attended with Jennifer for the hospital. He'd seemed like a decent guy and Jennifer said that he was one of the best E.R. docs.
He continued pacing for a few moments and didn't even hear the door open behind him. He was startled and surprised when Dr. Samuels called to him, by name.
"Bosco," he said again and Bosco spun around to face him. He took in the look on the doctor's face and couldn't tell if it was good or bad news.
"Doc?" he said as the doctor closed the door behind him. Bosco braced himself for the worst.
"How is she? Can I see her?"
"Bosco. She's still in the process of having the scan. Then, the neurologist is going to take a look at her. We don't know exactly what happened, there was no witness to it, so we're trying to piece things together." Their conversation as interrupted by Officer Donnelly who had come back from the coffee shop and found out that Bosco was here.
Donnelly paused at the door. "Oh, excuse me. I'll wait outside."
"No. It's okay. Are the kids okay?" Bosco asked, flexing his hands into fists and relaxing them as he tried to keep his emotions under control.
"The Anderson's are at your house. They seem fine," Donnelly assured him.
"Thanks. Sorry, Doc. You were saying?" he said, turning his attention back to the doctor.
Samuels motioned for Bosco to have a seat, but he declined, shifting his weight from foot to foot nervously.
"Well, she has a laceration to her head that's going to need some stitches. We're not sure if that's the reason that her right pupil is dilated more than her left or if the laceration's a factor of her passing out for some neurological reason," he explained.
"Neurological reason? You mean like a stroke or something?" he asked, totally taken by surprise.
"That's certainly a possibility. However, it could also be dilated BECAUSE of the bump to her head. That's what we're trying to determine. At any rate, those are the only injuries that we can find with our exam so far. We're just waiting for the results of the CT scan and neuro exam and then we should know more," the doctor explained.
Bosco took in a deep breath to try to calm himself. "Okay. She didn't tell you what happened?"
"No. She's..., um, well, she's still unconscious," he told Bosco.
Bosco was at a loss for words and looked over at the police officer that had found his wife. "She was unconscious when I found her. Your little girl said she woke up in the car from the ride back from her Aunt's house?" Donnelly offered.
"Yeah, Jen picked them up from her sister's house when she got done here at the hospital. They were supposed to drive down to the City tomorrow for the weekend. That's why I was trying to get hold of her. She was supposed to call me about what time she was getting into the City," Bosco explained.
"Well, your daughter said that the baby woke her up. He was crying in the car seat in the garage and your wife wasn't in the car and everything was dark. She must've just woken up, because there was a light on in the house and the garage when I pulled in the driveway with my unit. Anyway, your daughter unlocked the door and said that her Mommy was sick and that she was on the floor in the kitchen. I went to check on her, called for the ambulance and then went to get the baby out of the car. Your daughter said she wasn't allowed to pick up the baby without anyone there," Donnelly added and this brought a slight smile to Bosco's face.
"Yeah. Jen's afraid she'll drop Jason," he explained absently. As if suddenly poked back to the present, Bosco looked quickly back to the doctor. "Okay, so when can I see her?"
"As soon as she comes back from the scan, I'll bring you right to her," he said.
"Thanks, Doctor," Bosco said, shaking Samuels' hand.
"No problem, Bosco. And, it's Andy - not Dr. Samuels," he said, returning the handshake.
"Right. Thanks," Bosco said. Samuels headed for the door, leaving Bosco and Donnelly in the lounge.
"Thanks for staying with her," Bosco said to the other officer.
"Not a problem. I'm glad we found her," Donnelly replied.
"Look, I'm gonna give my boss a call - let him know what's going on - and give you some breathing room. I'll be right outside for a while if you need me," Donnelly told him.
"Thanks. Thanks again," he said, shaking Donnelly's hand.
After Donnelly left the room, Bosco was alone. All he heard was the clock on the wall ticking. He ran a hand through his hair and took a seat in the closest chair as his legs started to tremble.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TBC...
