Chapter 5: Dana's Worry Escalates
Dana stood over the young girl, desperately trying to stop the bleeding from her leg. "Nick, we've got a big problem." she told him as she continued to apply pressure to the wound. "What is it, Dana?" he asked as he came to her side. "This is definitely more than a simple dog bite." Dana replied. "If her parents are telling the truth, she shouldn't be losing this much blood."
Nick nodded. "You're right, Dana." he agreed. "This goes much deeper than that. I'll go order a head CT, and I'll try to track down Dr. Barnes on the way." Dana nodded. "Thanks, Nick." she said as he rushed off. "Her heart rate's dropping! I need help!" she called. "Somebody page Lu!" "Lana already paged me." Lu said as she rushed over to where Dana was standing. "Talk to me. What happened?" "Well, Dr. Barnes paged me here, so I don't have all the details, but he says her parents told him that she hit her head on the coffee table after the dog bit her."
Lu shook her head. "Dana, your hands're covered with her blood." she said. "There's gotta be more to this story." Dana nodded as Lu grabbed the respirator. "That's what I think, too." she agreed. "Nick's ordering a head CT and trying to find Dr. Barnes. Lu, I asked him to get me six units of A neg twenty minutes ago, and he's still not back."
"Well, we'll go talk to Dr. Jackson once we give her a transfusion." Lu assured Dana as she helped her apply pressure to the wound. "He doesn't deserve to work here if he's gonna risk patients' lives like this." "Here's the blood you wanted, Dana." Nick said as he ran over to them. "And the head CT's been ordered. "They can take her as soon as she gets that transfusion." "Thanks, Nick." Dana said as she took the bag. "At least I can depend on you guys." Before Dana could even give the order, Lu had the transfusion line started.
"All systems go." she told Dana as she was hanging the blood bag.
Dana looked pensive suddenly. "Dr. Barnes told me that her parents told him what happened, so where are they?" she asked Nick and Lu. "Your guess is as good as mine." Lu replied. "Maybe they left her with Dr. Barnes and ran out." "I can't imagine that happening, Lu." Nick said. He was still trying to stop the bleeding as Lu and Dana set up the transfusion. Dana couldn't bear the thought of that either, but she knew that there was definitely more to her young patient's injuries than met the eye.