No Time to Waste
by TheRealXenocide
`
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, settings, or anything else you recognize from the show Lizzie McGuire. The plot, at it's base, has been around since Homer, and this variant since Henry Ford. However, this is the first I've seen it applied to Lizzie.
`
A/N: I admit, if they've named a hospital in Lizzie's town, I've missed it. So, I chose a good generic name.
`
Chapter 2
First news and first eyes
`
By the time the doctors at Memorial Hospital had any real news on the four teenagers, all the parents and Matt were in the ER waiting room. After calming the initial outburst, the doctor closed the shades and spoke.
"I'm Dr. Stevens. I'm glad I was able to get all of you at once, as I expect the news for all of you concerns all of you. Does anybody object to this?" After a series of head shakes and murmured nos, he continued. "I'll ask you all now to hold your questions until I've told you about all four of them." Everyone nodded at this.
"First, all four are alive." After letting relief wash the room, he continued. "I can't say they're out of danger, because they're not." At this, everyone got tense again. "They all have suffered head trauma that has left them unconscious. The next 24-48 hour will be touch-and-go."
He let that sink in before continuing. "Other than that, Ms. Sanchez appears to have been the luckiest. She has mild whiplash, some minor cuts and bruises, and two cracked ribs." At this, Miranda's parents looked slightly relived. None of the adults noticed, but Matt's face softened as well.
"As for the other three, I'm afraid the news is not as good" Dr. Stevens continued, "Mr. Craft, we're guessing, was asleep at the time, which would explain his lack of most injuries caused by the body becoming tense. However, it also means he couldn't slow his head." Here he paused, 'I'll never get used to this.' "His head impacted the window very hard, cutting him enough to cause a dangerous amount of blood loss. This, coupled with the likely increased severity of the concussion has us worried. However, his lack of other injuries means his body can focus its natural healing efforts, so his chances are still fair." As the Crafts held each other, he continued.
"Mr. Gordon and Ms. McGuire were sitting on the side of the car that took the impact. While neither appears to have suffered the level of head trauma that Mr. Craft has, they both have broken bones in their right arms and legs, several broken ribs, and some internal bleeding. Additionally, each suffered an organ injury that has us worried."
After a brief pause, he turned to the Gordons. "David has serious damage to his hip and pelvis. While it can be repaired, we don't know how much, if any, mobility will be lost. He also has damage to one of his kidneys. While he can live with one kidney, we believe that he is still bleeding from the damaged organ, and we may have to go in and stop it."
He then turned to the McGuires. "Elizabeth came in with a punctured lung. While it hasn't collapsed yet, we expect it could at any time. If that happens, we normally treat it with bed rest and oxygen. However, I will caution you that it may become necessary to use chest tubes to relieve pressure on the lung."
The doctor then refocused his body to take in everyone. "I can't justify giving odds on either yet, there is too much that could happen or not happen. However, I ask all of you to support each other. We won't give up on any of them, and I hope you won't, either. Now, unless you have questions for me, I'd like to check on our patients, and the police need to talk to you about the crash."
`
To the surprise of many, Matt spoke first. "Please, doctor, go to them. If we have questions, they can wait until the police are done. Right now, they need you more then we do." Dr. Stevens took the silence that came from the adults as agreement, and left for his patients. 'There's something special about that kid' he thought as he walked.
~~~~~~~~
From the police, the families learned that the kids were hit by a delivery van that, thankfully, had been empty. The driver had fallen asleep, received minor injuries, and was being held awaiting charges. One of the officers commented on how lucky Gordo had been. "If that van had hit just three inches forward, it would have missed the framework between the doors. If that had happened, he likely would have been killed on impact." On a lighter note, they informed them that the truck's owner had been livid when told what happened, and asked to speak to the driver. He then proceeded to fire the man on the spot, as well as delivering some expletives to him loud enough that the police could hear, but refused to repeat.
~~~~~~~~
Not long after the teens were moved to ICU, Lizzie's lung finally collapsed. After using a needle to relive pressure on her chest cavity, oxygen was administered, and the lung successfully reexpanded. Only time would tell if more would be needed.
~~~~~~~~
Three days later, a pair of eyes flickered to life. "W-what . . . where?" Her eyes hadn't focused yet, but she felt a gentle hand on her should.
The voice behind the hand spoke just as softly. "You are in the hospital, there was a crash, but everyone's alive. Don't worry right now, just rest."
Her eyes finally focus then, and she was surprised at whom she saw. "Matt?!?"
Placing one finger on her lips, Matt said "Talk gently, Miranda, unless you want a headache. Your mom needed a break, and your dad is still at work, so I volunteered. Now, I'm going to let the doctors and your mom know you're awake. When the doctors are done, I'll be back. I'll answer any questions I can, and I won't lie, not about this." Matt then walked to the door and left, leaving a very bewildered Miranda behind him.
~~~~~~~~
A/N: I know I skipped a lot of detail stuff, but I tried to only skip the tedious and obvious. Unlike some, I don't enjoy describing bureaucratic fluff.
I am NOT going to hold chapters hostage to a fixed number of reviews. I write slow enough as it is.
by TheRealXenocide
`
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, settings, or anything else you recognize from the show Lizzie McGuire. The plot, at it's base, has been around since Homer, and this variant since Henry Ford. However, this is the first I've seen it applied to Lizzie.
`
A/N: I admit, if they've named a hospital in Lizzie's town, I've missed it. So, I chose a good generic name.
`
Chapter 2
First news and first eyes
`
By the time the doctors at Memorial Hospital had any real news on the four teenagers, all the parents and Matt were in the ER waiting room. After calming the initial outburst, the doctor closed the shades and spoke.
"I'm Dr. Stevens. I'm glad I was able to get all of you at once, as I expect the news for all of you concerns all of you. Does anybody object to this?" After a series of head shakes and murmured nos, he continued. "I'll ask you all now to hold your questions until I've told you about all four of them." Everyone nodded at this.
"First, all four are alive." After letting relief wash the room, he continued. "I can't say they're out of danger, because they're not." At this, everyone got tense again. "They all have suffered head trauma that has left them unconscious. The next 24-48 hour will be touch-and-go."
He let that sink in before continuing. "Other than that, Ms. Sanchez appears to have been the luckiest. She has mild whiplash, some minor cuts and bruises, and two cracked ribs." At this, Miranda's parents looked slightly relived. None of the adults noticed, but Matt's face softened as well.
"As for the other three, I'm afraid the news is not as good" Dr. Stevens continued, "Mr. Craft, we're guessing, was asleep at the time, which would explain his lack of most injuries caused by the body becoming tense. However, it also means he couldn't slow his head." Here he paused, 'I'll never get used to this.' "His head impacted the window very hard, cutting him enough to cause a dangerous amount of blood loss. This, coupled with the likely increased severity of the concussion has us worried. However, his lack of other injuries means his body can focus its natural healing efforts, so his chances are still fair." As the Crafts held each other, he continued.
"Mr. Gordon and Ms. McGuire were sitting on the side of the car that took the impact. While neither appears to have suffered the level of head trauma that Mr. Craft has, they both have broken bones in their right arms and legs, several broken ribs, and some internal bleeding. Additionally, each suffered an organ injury that has us worried."
After a brief pause, he turned to the Gordons. "David has serious damage to his hip and pelvis. While it can be repaired, we don't know how much, if any, mobility will be lost. He also has damage to one of his kidneys. While he can live with one kidney, we believe that he is still bleeding from the damaged organ, and we may have to go in and stop it."
He then turned to the McGuires. "Elizabeth came in with a punctured lung. While it hasn't collapsed yet, we expect it could at any time. If that happens, we normally treat it with bed rest and oxygen. However, I will caution you that it may become necessary to use chest tubes to relieve pressure on the lung."
The doctor then refocused his body to take in everyone. "I can't justify giving odds on either yet, there is too much that could happen or not happen. However, I ask all of you to support each other. We won't give up on any of them, and I hope you won't, either. Now, unless you have questions for me, I'd like to check on our patients, and the police need to talk to you about the crash."
`
To the surprise of many, Matt spoke first. "Please, doctor, go to them. If we have questions, they can wait until the police are done. Right now, they need you more then we do." Dr. Stevens took the silence that came from the adults as agreement, and left for his patients. 'There's something special about that kid' he thought as he walked.
~~~~~~~~
From the police, the families learned that the kids were hit by a delivery van that, thankfully, had been empty. The driver had fallen asleep, received minor injuries, and was being held awaiting charges. One of the officers commented on how lucky Gordo had been. "If that van had hit just three inches forward, it would have missed the framework between the doors. If that had happened, he likely would have been killed on impact." On a lighter note, they informed them that the truck's owner had been livid when told what happened, and asked to speak to the driver. He then proceeded to fire the man on the spot, as well as delivering some expletives to him loud enough that the police could hear, but refused to repeat.
~~~~~~~~
Not long after the teens were moved to ICU, Lizzie's lung finally collapsed. After using a needle to relive pressure on her chest cavity, oxygen was administered, and the lung successfully reexpanded. Only time would tell if more would be needed.
~~~~~~~~
Three days later, a pair of eyes flickered to life. "W-what . . . where?" Her eyes hadn't focused yet, but she felt a gentle hand on her should.
The voice behind the hand spoke just as softly. "You are in the hospital, there was a crash, but everyone's alive. Don't worry right now, just rest."
Her eyes finally focus then, and she was surprised at whom she saw. "Matt?!?"
Placing one finger on her lips, Matt said "Talk gently, Miranda, unless you want a headache. Your mom needed a break, and your dad is still at work, so I volunteered. Now, I'm going to let the doctors and your mom know you're awake. When the doctors are done, I'll be back. I'll answer any questions I can, and I won't lie, not about this." Matt then walked to the door and left, leaving a very bewildered Miranda behind him.
~~~~~~~~
A/N: I know I skipped a lot of detail stuff, but I tried to only skip the tedious and obvious. Unlike some, I don't enjoy describing bureaucratic fluff.
I am NOT going to hold chapters hostage to a fixed number of reviews. I write slow enough as it is.