sleepless years of Resident begins

by Lexi1981

First fan fiction in a series covering from season 1-15 and beyond. Start off in Croatia two or maybe more chapters giving a look in to Luka life during the war, mostly will be in Chicago. All of season one characters and Luka Kovac,Niko Kovac, Robert Romano and a doctor I made up name Jennifer that is work with doctor without boarders. update chapter one and made changes too.

1. Chapter One: living and working in Croat

Author note: for this fan fiction I made up a character name Jennifer (Jenny) Rose (maiden name Harper) Kovac. She is a doctor and an elite level gymnast too. For this series of fan fictions I am going to give Mrs. Kovac a first name, which is going to be Marta. In addition I am trying something new with my fan factions. If someone is specking a foreign language, I am going put what is being say into Google translate to get it translating into the foreign language. For this fan fiction it is Croatian, I will put the Croatian first if their speaking it and then in () I will put what being say in English. Let me know whether you like this or should I just put in () speaking Croatian and write it in English. If you speak and write Croatian pleases feel free to let me know in a private massage, if any of the Croatian words are spell wrong or if grammars need to be fixes. I will make the changes, so it writing out correctly.

Chapter One: living and working in Croatia during the war part one
In the countryside of Zagreb, Croatia on Tuesday, March 1, 1994 and it is early morning. Also, you would not know that a war is going on. It seems just like a beautiful and peaceful day in the country, at this second all you can hear is the sound of two groups of children. In one group the children are talking and laughing, as they learn to do gymnastics skills under a giant tent canopy on Mr. and Mrs. Kovac property. The second group is a group of Four girl and four boy toddlers that are chasing a group of chicken, which are the breed of Posavina Crested and Croatian bantam. In addition the property has a wooden house that is two stories with a stone base foundation and a cellar. The house is in the shaped of a capital letter L. The left side forms the long part of the latter L and right side forms the short part of the capital letter L, if facing the front of the house. On the ground floor (first level USA) of the house are two windows on the right side. Then the front door and two more windows on the left side of the front door. On the front of the house and on the far right end is the second front door. After the second front door is two windows that are on the right side of the door. On the far right end of the ground floor are four windows. On the far right end and on the first floor (second in USA) is one window, if facing the front of the house. Two dormer windows are over the second front door and windows. In addition on the far right end of the house are three dormer windows. The dormer windows are on the first floor (second floor in USA) and on the back side of the house. The far left end of the house has one window on the first floor (second in USA) and two windows on the ground floor. Also, four dormer windows are on the front and back of the house. On the ground floor (first in USA) and on the back of the house are two windows that are space out. The windows are space out because on the inside of the house is a fireplace in the center of the living room. All the window trims have been print a light moss green. In addition the house has a gambrel roof and Mr. and Mrs. Kovac land has a large barn too.
The giant tent canopy is on the far left side of the property and left end of the house, if you are looking at the front of the house. The children are leaning to use the events that elite level gymnasts train and compete on. Gymnastics equipment includes springboards and a balance beam. Along with two vault horses, one is at men height and one is set at women height and two runways. Also, a spring floor, a set of uneven bars, a high bar, set of parallel bars, a pommel horse and a set of still rings. The gymnastics equipment is from a club in the city of Zagreb. The gymnastics club sent the gymnastic equipment to the countryside and Mr. and Mrs. Kovac property, for the children to learning to do the sport of gymnastics, as a way to keep busy. In addition the gymnastics equipment is for the training of one male gymnast and three female Croatia gymnasts, along with an America doctor who is also a gymnast. On the cold days the gymnastics equipments can be found in the barn along with space heaters. The barn is behind the house and the length from the house to the barn are fourteen houses. All of the children are leaning gymnastics skills with the help of Croatia elite gymnasts and the America doctor that is an elite gymnast. Along with a group of doctors that is helping the children learn gymnastics skill too and the doctors are on break. The doctors stay in the countryside and on or around the Kovac land, all work in the countryside wartime make shift clinic. In addition the clinic is being run by doctor without borders and the organization of Alliance medicines. Most of the doctors are from other countries coming to help, but some doctors are from Croatia and one Croatia doctor is Luka Kovac. One American doctor is Jennifer Rose (Harper) Kovac who is an elite level gymnast that is the Olympic all around gold medalist in the 1984, 1988 and 1992 Olympics. She is also the 1984, 1988 and 1992 Olympics gold medalist on the vault, balance beam, floor and the uneven bar's event final. She is recently married to Niko Kovac, who is Luka Kovac's brother. In addition Luka and Niko is Mr. and Mrs. Kovac sons. Jennifer is leading the gymnastics lesson for the girls and the boys are working with the Croatia male gymnast that has come to the countryside to train. He came to the countryside to avoid the fighting that happening in the cities. The boys are gathers around the still rings, which are at the far left end of the giant tent canopy and the boys are taking turns on the still rings. The pommel horse is on the right side of the still ring, if facing the still rings and the pommel horse. In addition the girls are taking turns on the balance beam that is at the front of the giant tent canopy. In addition the balance beam is going the length of the tent canopy. The two vault horse and two blue runways are at the back side of the tent canopy and across from the balance beam. Between the balance beam and the vault horse is the blue spring floor that is in the center. On the right side of the spring floor is a battery operation radio and cassette tape player. Also, on the right side of the floor are the uneven bars, then the men high bar and lastly the parallel bars. The American doctor is doing her internship/first year of resident that will end on April 30. Then she will start her second year as a resident back in Chicago. In addition Jennifer is an intern/resident in pediatric that take three years, orthopedic surgery that takes six years and emergency medicine that four years as a resident. She is on exchange from County General Hospital through March 16 that is her last morning of work before going back to Chicago. Jennifer Rose Kovac is five feet three inches tall without shoes on her feet. However, when Jennifer is at work or during her free time, Jennifer is wearing three inches heels that make her five feet six inches tall. In addition she is caucasian with fair porcelain skin tone and has long dark brown hair that is just past the hips when down. Her hair is currently pull up in a ponytail and is curly. Jennifer has roundish almond-shaped eyes that are blue, rounded eyebrows, a square face shape, rounded ears and a small hero-shaped nose. In addition Jennifer has a thin upper lip with a full bottom lip and has a lean column body type. Her pant size is either a one or two depending on who made the pants. Jennifer has a pair of pearl stud earrings for pierced ears in the first, second and third lobe piercing. One pearl stud earring is in the helix piecing that is in top center of the left ear. In addition Jennifer is wearing a pale blue long sleeve leotard and pair of gymnastics shorts that are pale blue. Also, on her left knee is an elastic knee sleeve with a silicone donut (for patellar control).
Adrijana Vuković who looks to be six years old is walking away from the balance beam, on which she just finishes working. However, she is really ten years old and is small for her age because of having cystic fibrosis. In addition Adrijana is coughing into her hands and it is a wet sounding cough. She is wearing a pair of light pink leggings and a tank top. The tank top has wide straps and is form fitting. Adrijana has reddish brown hair that comes to the top of the arms in length and her hair is pull up into a ponytail. She has a round face, round eyes that are brown, round eyebrows, a small button nose, round ears and full lips. Adrijana walks over to the spring floor and takes a seat on the left side of Doctor Luka Kovac and brings her knees up to her chest. She then starts coughing into her knees, hoping that no one from her group seen her walk away from the balance beam. Simultaneously Jennifer takes her eyes off the eight-year-old girl that is during a press to a handstand on the balance beam. The girl has light brown hairs, brown eyes and a round face. Her hair is in pigtails and she is wearing form fitting pink shorts and a tank top. The eight-year-old girl does a second press to a handstand on the balance beam, as Jennifer sees Luka and Adrijana Vuković sitting on the floor. Luka and Adrijana are watching the girls take turns on the balance beam. Luka is wearing a pair of black pants and charcoal dress shirt. The dress shirt has long sleeves and buttons down. Adrijana mother Gabrijela is a nurse that helps at the clinic. Gabrijela is watching from the distance, as taking down information from a patient at the clinic tent. The clinic tent is on the right side of Mr. and Mrs. Kovac house, if facing the front of the house. In addition the space between the Kovac's house and clinic tent are nine and half houses. A medical tent for patients that needs medical care twenty-four hours a day, is to the right of the clinic tent. Adrijana's father Mario is currently out of work because of the war and is at home with his one year old son Karlo. Jennifer notices that the ten-year-old girl is having a hard time catching her breathe and that she is still coughing really hard. Jennifer goes back to watching the girl on the balance beam, who is now trying a cartwheel for the first time on the high beam. Over at the spring floor Luka is looking at Adrijana with a concern look on his face because he can hear her lungs crackling loudly, as she breathes. Luka starts to speak to Adrijana in English because she going to American soon for medical care and need to get better at speaking and understand English.

"That cough has got worse the last few weeks. Have your parents been doing manual chest percussion physical therapy on you twice a day, to help you cough up the mucus?"

"Three times a day for the last several weeks, I have been really congesting for several weeks now."

"That good that you are doing the airway clearance therapy three times a day. Have you gone back on oral antibiotic to see if you can clear up the infection flare up?"

"I have tried every oral antibiotics that the clinic has, but all of them have stop working on the infections that I get because of the cystic fibrosis. I cannot wait for the sixteenth of March to get here, so I can go to America and get better treatment for my cystic fibrosis."

"It will be here before you know it. It is so great that Jennifer could get your family issues medical visas, so you can get medical care for your cystic fibrosis"

Luka stop talking because Adrijana has started coughing really hard again. Jennifer looks back over at Luka and Adrijana. Luka catch Jennifer attention and she know from the look on his face that he is worried about Adrijana. Jennifer clears her throat and start to talk to the group of girls in Croatian because most of them do not speak English.

"Što kažete na to da se sve djevojke odmore od rada na balansu kako bi napravile pauzu za vodu i kupaonicu. Tada me svi možete gledati kako radim trenutnu rutinu poda na opružnom podu. (How about all of the girls take a break from working on the balance beam to have a water and bathroom break. Then you can all watch me do my current floor routine on the spring floor.)"

The girl on the balance beam hops off and then the group of girls runs to get a drink of water or use the bathroom. All of the boys go to get water or use the bathroom too, simultaneously Jennifer starts to walks over to the floor. Luka stands up from the floor, as Jennifer reaches the spring floor. Jennifer smiles at Adrijana, which show off Jennifer white straight teeth and the dimples in her cheeks that she gets when she smiles. Adrijana smiles back at Jennifer, knowing that she called the break to let her catch her breath. Luka walks up beside Jennifer and Jennifer start talking to her in English, because it is medical and he does not want the children to understand. However, he Know Adrijana will understand what is being say.

"I hope Adrijana can hold out until March 17 to get hospital care. I would hate to have to take her into a major city to get iv antibiotic right now."

"We do not have to worry about that because about a month ago, I got a hold of Doctor Doug Ross at County General Hospital. I asked him to find a way to get us iv supplies, oral and iv antibiotics, pain medicine and bandages to us. He is sending us a large shipment through Alliance medicines. We can use most of the items in the shipment for all clinic patients. However, some items have to be giving to the patients as need and not leave the clinic with the patients because the drug classes there are in. The shipment will have oral Streptomycin, Erythromycin, penicillin, Rifampin, Tetracycline, Dicloxacillin, Cefdinir, Cefuroxime, Clindamycin and Azithromycin. The shipments will have IV antibiotics of Cefazolin, imipenem, Vancomycin, gentamicin, Colistin, Levofloxacin, Piperacillin. In addition the shipment will have bags of Intravenous (IV) Fluids of normal saline, lactated ringers and half normal saline. Along with vials of potassium and dextrose for the half normal saline and iv bags of hypertonic saline, dextrose-containing solutions, potassium containing solutions and vials of bicarbonate containing solutions. In addition the supplies will have iv's, bandages for iv and wounds and two large bottles of Ultrase (digestive enzymes ) for Adrijana. The pain medications will be Lidocaine, ibuprofen and Paracetamol (acetaminophen) that can be giving to anyone that comes to the clinic. Other pain medications in the ships will be Tylenol with Codeine, Percocet, Vicodin and morphine to use for pain relief for major injuries and post emergency surgery. The shipment will be in Vukovar tomorrow. When we get to the hospital to treat victims Injured by the war military and non-Military or sick and women in labor."

Luka looks at Jennifer and he has a look of relief on his face. He starts jumping up and down, then Luka gives Jennifer a big bear hug. Jennifer hugs him back and knows that he is just happy that the clinic is getting much need supplies, antibiotics and pain medications. The shipment Doug Ross is sending will help the clinic out until the next red cross shipment can get through to them, which is not due for several months.

"That is great news, we have not had pain medications for several months now. In addition we are down to our last ten bottles of oral antibiotics that are Amoxicillin, Penicillin and Bactrim. Also, we have no iv antibiotics or bags of Intravenous (IV) Fluids or bandages for wounds."

Luka and Jennifer stop hugging and talking because the children and the Croatia elite gymnasts are now running over to the spring floor. Niko Kovac that has been watching the children doing gymnastics from the kitchen doorway of the house has starts to walk over to the giant tent canopy. He then walks over to the spring floor, he is wearing a pair of blue jeans that have seen better days and a tee shirt that white. Niko and Jennifer smile at each other. Niko, Jennifer and Luka notice the children and the elite gymnasts are getting exciting to see Jennifer preforming her floor routine. All of the children and the elite gymnasts are jumping up and down with excitement. Adrijana stands up from the floor and joins the elite gymnasts and children.
Jennifer steps onto the spring floor and walks into the center of the spring floor. Jennifer rises onto her toes, so she standing on the tips of the toes and cross her right leg in front of her left leg. She then lowers her head and looks at the blue spring floor, as raise her left arm over her head and cross the right arm over the left. Niko presses play for the cassette player and then an instrumental version of the 1971 song American Pie start to play. Jennifer sways her hip's side to side. Then sway her hips forward and backwards. Jennifer turns to face the corner that is to her left and that was the right-hand corner when she steps onto the floor. She then does a split leap into a split leap with a half turn into the corner. She lands the leap with her back to the corner and edge of the spring floor. Jennifer then starts to run and after several pace does a roundoff into a back handspring. She goes right into another back handspring and then goes right into a double salto backwards tucked with a full twist. She then punches right out of the double salto backwards tucked with a full twist into a front handspring. Then she does another front handspring and goes right into a layout salto forward with double twist. Jennifer then goes right into a layout salto forward with step-out and on the landing feels her left knee pop. However, she does not stop she goes right into the split jump with one and half that connects to the layout salto forward with step-out. When the jump is over Jennifer's back is to the edge of the spring floor and too all the children and elite Croatia gymnasts watching. However, she is facing Luka and Niko Kovac. The brother can tell something is wrong from the look on Jennifer face and the two of heard her Ieft knee pop too. The two brothers can see tears in Jennifer eyes too. Jennifer knows everyone is watching, so she takes a deep breath and is thinking what I am about to do is a bed idea. The popping sound that her knee made sound wrong and the patella did not feel like it normal when the left patella subluxation. Simultaneously Jennifer does a split leap with a full turn into a straddle jump with a full turn. Jennifer lands in a front support on the floor. She goes right into a press to a handstand into a front walkover. She then does a full illusion turn on her right leg without her hand or foot touching the floor. Then goes right into a switch split leap with a ¼ turn to her right into a straddle jump and is now facing the corner on her right. Jennifer then goes right into an aerial front walkover into a split ring jump that takes her into the corner of the spring floor. Then Jennifer does a split jump with a half turn and now her back to the edge of the spring floor. In addition Jennifer is now facing the side of the floor from which she steps onto the spring floor. She runs several pace across the floor and after several paces she does a roundoff. Then goes right into a whip back into a layout double salto backward and lands with her back to edge and side of the spring floor. Right away Jennifer feet punch off the spring floor and she goes right into a layout salto backwards with two and half twists. Jennifer lands the last half of the tumbling pass and now she is facing the corner of the spring floor. Jennifer feels a second pop on the landing of the layout salto backwards with two and half twists and feels the kneecap slide out of place. She sways her hip's side to side as stepping toward the corner and her left knee gives out on her. Jennifer falls forward onto the spring floor and Luka and Niko runs over to Jennifer. Then the two brothers kneel down in front of her. The song continues to play, but no one is listening to the music anymore. Simultaneously the elite Croatia gymnasts move the boys and girls away from the spring floor. Jennifer lifts her head up and turns her head. She sees that the children are now around the balance beam and the Croatian elite gymnasts are having the children working on press to handstands and are helping them. Jennifer rolls over onto her back and Niko stand up, he then goes over to Jennifer's right side. Luka is still on Jennifer's left side and he is careful pull off the knee sleeve. The reason he is pulling the knee sleeve of is because the knee sleeve is becoming too tight on the knee that swelling really fast. He then looks at Jennifer left knee and Jennifer puts her hands over her eyes to hide that she is crying. In addition Jennifer is thinking this is the worst time and place to get a sport injury because the countryside clinic has no x-ray machines or MRI scanners. Luka takes a hold of Jennifer hands and removes them from her face. He then looks into Jennifer eyes with a calm look on his face. He then starts talking to Jennifer in English.

"Jennifer's when your left knee pop the first time did your feel the patella pop out or feel the whole knee dislocate?"

"The first time the knee just pop, which is normal for me because my left patella like to subluxation. That is way I wear the elastic knee sleeve with a silicone donut because of the subluxation issues. However, the pop felt more painful and it never hurt that badly when it subluxation. The other time that my left patella subluxation it felt like the patella was shifting out of place and it caused a little discomfort. However, this time it was very painful and the pain did not go away. The second time I felt the knee pop, it felt like the whole knee dislocate and it felt like I tore ligaments and tendons too."

"I am going to touch you below your left knee and on your foot and Niko going to put his left hand above your left knee. I need you to tell me if you feel me and Niko touch your leg and foot?"

Luka places his left hand onto Jennifer left foot and put his right hand below Jennifer's knee. Niko places his left hand onto his wife leg above the knee. Jennifer closes her eyes and bites her lips because the pain in her knee is bad. Jennifer, Luka and Niko can hear the children that leaning gymnastics and the three of them look toward the balance beam. Luka, Niko and Jennifer see the children watching one of the female Croatian gymnasts doing an aerial front walkover on the balance beam. Jennifer takes a deep breath and starts to talk to Luka and Niko.

"I could feel all three hands touching the leg and my left knee hurt badly."

Luka and Niko take their hands off Jennifer left leg. Niko is looking at Jennifer helpless because he cannot do anything to make the pain go away. He puts his hands into the pockets of his jeans and he is thinking I just have to let my brother do his job, while Luka starts to talk.

"Your knee is going to hurt badly. However, the fact that there is feeling in your leg is great because it means you still getting blood flow to the leg."

Luka looks down at the left knee again and notices the knee looks deform. It looks like Jennifer has a posterior knee dislocation and that her patella has dislocated too and is now position near the medial side of the knee. Luka gently feels Jennifer's left knee to confirm what he is seeing with his eyes. He now knows that she has a posterior knee dislocation and that her patella has dislocated and is now setting on the medial side of the left knee. Then Luka feels the pulse in Jennifer's left ankle and finds that the ankle has a normal pulse that means it still has blood flow. Luka looks at his brother and Niko knows that something is seriously wrong with Jennifer's left knee.

"Niko's I need you to go and open the door to the house that off the sitting room (living room) and clear the room. I am going to have to carry Jennifer into the house."

Niko looks around to see what the children are doing. He finds that all the boys are now watching the elite male gymnast on the still ring and he is doing an Inverted Iron Cross. The girls are still watching the female gymnasts on the balance beam and she is doing a layout back salto with two feet landing. The groups of girls are staring wide eyed at the female gymnast. In addition the gymnast is five foot two inches tall with dirty blonde hair, amber colored eyes with roundish almond eye shape and small hero shape nose. In addition the gymnast has a diamond shape face and inverted triangle body shape. Simultaneously Niko stands up from the spring floor and runs away from his brother and Jennifer. He then runs to the house, as fast as he can run. Luka puts his right arm behind Jennifer back and his left arm under her knees. He then life Jennifer off the spring floor, as he is standing up from the kneeling position. Jennifer looks up at Luka, as he starts to walk toward his parent's house and can see that he is in full doctor mode. She does not say anything, because she does not want the children to know how badly she is hurt or to worry anyone. A few minutes later Luka walks through the front door of the house that is off the sitting room. Jennifer sees Mrs. Kovac watching for the kitchen doorway, just before Luka walks into the sitting room that has plaster walls that are paint a light moss green. A narrow staircase is up against the far left-hand wall, if you are coming through the door of the house into the sitting room. He starts to carry Jennifer over to the sofa that has oak arms and leg with fade rose gold upholster. The sofa is facing two doors, the door on the left is the bathroom and the doorway to the kitchen is on the right. The bathroom and the kitchen are both in the right end of the house. Across from the sofa are two armchairs with fade rose gold upholster on the seat, back and center of the arms of the armchair. The armchairs have oak framing on the back and arms and legs are oak too.

"Luka, please take me upstairs and then take me into mine and Niko's bedroom, that way your parent's can use the sitting room."

"That sounds like a better place too repositioned your left knee. It will also prevent any of the children from seeing me do the reduction and how much pain you are in during the reduction."

Luka walks over to the narrow wooden staircases and start to head upstairs. Niko follows his brother up the stairs. It takes a few minutes to walk up the narrow staircase and once Luka steps onto the second floor landing he takes several steps down the long hallway. The hallway of the first floor (second floor USA) is a light moss green just like downstairs. He then walks up to the first door that is on the right side of the staircase and hallway, if your back is to the staircase. Niko walks over to the close bedroom door and opens the door. Then Luka still carrying Jennifer walks through the door. Two more bedrooms are on the second floor and the second bedroom door is to the left of Niko and Jennifer's bedroom. In addition the second bedroom is Luka's bedroom. The larger bedroom in the house is at the end of the hallway and over the bathroom and kitchen of the house, which is Mr. and Mrs. Kovac's bedroom. Luka carries Jennifer over to the large double bed that oak headboard that is against the center of the wall across from the door. In addition the bedroom walls are pale blue. He lays Jennifer down on the center of the bed, as Niko stops in the doorway. Simultaneously Luka walks to the end of the bed. He then leans over the short oak footboard of the bed.

"Niko, please come into the room and stand on the right side of the bed, I will need your help to reduce her knee. I am going to need you to put your hands around the top of Jennifer left leg."

"I can do that."
"Jennifer's since we have no pain medications to reduce the pain before and during the reduction it will hurt, if you need to you can scream."

"I will be fine Luka. I have a high pain tolerance and beside I do not like take pain medications. In addition even if we had pain medications the only one that I could use are paracetamol (acetaminophen), Ibuprofen and other Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents. All steroid pain medications are on the banned list of drugs for International gymnastics federal and the International Olympic Committee."

"With a doctor prescribe and an athlete and doctor filling out therapeutic use exemptions form's athletes can use steroid pain medication and other prescribe medications require to take to treat illness or medical conditions."

"I know that. However, I would not take the pain medications, if we had any."

Simultaneously Niko walks into the bedroom and then he walks over to the bed. He stands beside the right side of the bed, if you are standing at the end of the bed and facing the headboard. Niko then puts his hands around the top of Jennifer left leg. Luka puts his left hand around Jennifer left ankle and then lift up the leg. Simultaneously push down on the posterior (base of the knee), which reduce the knee, and puts the patella back into place too for the time being.

"Niko's do not let Jennifer move her left leg. I am going to go get a knee immobilizer and a pair of crutches out of the medical van that parked behind the house."

Niko takes his hand off his wife leg and then Luka careful and gently set the leg down on the bed, which has a patchwork quilt. The quilt has pale red and pale blue square patches. Luka takes their hands off Jennifer left leg, which is very swelling. Luka walks toward the bedroom door and Niko takes a set beside Jennifer, who has closed her eyes. The two of them can hear Luka running down the steps of the narrow staircase.
Four minutes later Luka walks back though the bedroom door with a white knee immobilizer and a pair of wooden crutches. The crutches have cream-colored underarm pads, hand grips and tips. In addition the knee immobilizer has a round open knee and six velcro straps. Three of the straps are on the upper half of the immobilizer that stop just above the patella. Then three more straps on the lower half that start just below the knee, Luka set the crutches beside the bed. He then unfastens the six straps of the knee immobilizer. Luka open the knee immobilizer and simultaneously start to talk.

"Niko, I need you to careful lift Jennifer left leg and hold the leg up so I can put the immobilizer under her leg."

"Ok."

Niko turns so he is facing his wife and giver her a look that say I am sorry. He then puts his hands under the left leg. Niko's careful lifts Jennifer's left leg off the bed and then Luka put the knee immobilizer down on the bed. Niko gentle and careful place the leg onto the knee immobilizer and then takes his hand off Jennifer's leg without moving the knee. Then Luka wraps the knee immobilizer around the left leg and knee. Then does up the straps of the knee immobilizer. The immobilizer covers from the top of the leg and stops just above the ankle. Simultaneously Jennifer is putting her engagement ring onto her left ring finger and then puts the wedding band on in front of the engagement ring. Both the engagements ring and the wedding band was passes onto Niko from his great-grandmother on his mother side. The engagement ring is yellow gold that is eighteen karats and is a diamond solitaire ring that has a thin band. The diamond measures 5mm across and 5mm down and the ring stands 6mm off the finger. In addition the wedding band is a thin plain band that is 18ct yellow gold. Niko is wearing his great-grandfather wedding band. In addition the wedding band is wide and eighteen karat yellow gold, which is on his left ring finger.

"Jennifer's it looks like you might be getting x-rays and MRI images done. If the x-ray machine and MRI scanner is working during our doctor trip into war-torn Vukovar tomorrow, before we start treating the sick and injuries. In addition I want you to stay up here and rest until it is time to leave for Vukovar. My mother, will bring a tray of lunch and dinner up for you, so you do not have to come down. We will be leaving for Vukovar tonight to making the 183 miles trip, once the fighting stops for the night. Niko's get your wife a nightgown to put on for now. After dinner, Jennifer can put on a pair of dress shorts and a blouse with short sleeves to wear for the trip into Vukovar and to wear again tomorrow. We will come back here tomorrow evening or Thursday, it depends on when the hospital workers we are cover for comes back into work. The hospital doctors have not had a day off in a month, so they might not come back into the hospital until Thursday morning."

Luka walks out of the bedroom and closes the bedroom door, behind him. He is thinking the last place that he really wants to go back too is war-torn Vukovar because the place holds too many bad memories. Luka has just reached the staircase, when his mother comes running up the steps of the stairs. Then Mrs. Kovac runs past her oldest son and to the first bedroom. She open the door to the bedroom and then runs into the room leaving the door wide open. Simultaneously she starts talking really fast in Croatian.

"Niko, pomoći ću tvojoj ženi da se presvuče. Želim da siđeš dolje s bratom. (Niko, I will help your wife get change. I want you to go downstairs with your brother.)

"Da majka (yes mother)."

"Osim toga, tvoj otac i ja napokon smo se odlučili, ići ćemo s tobom i Jennifer u Ameriku 16. ožujka. Tamo ćemo ostati dok rat ne završi, budući da je izvršila sve mjere i dobila nam vize za život u Americi sve dok borbe ne završe u Hrvatskoj. (In addition, your father and I have finally made up our minds, we will go with you and Jennifer to American on March 16. We will stay there until the war ends, since she made all the arraignments and got us visas to live in America until the fighting ends in Croatia.)"

"(Jennifer and Niko)to je sjajno znati ( that is great to know). (Just Jennifer say this part) Siguran sam da ćete voljeti moju i sada Nikovu smeđu kuću u Chicagu (I am sure you will love mine and now Niko's brownstone house in Chicago.)

"Niko odmah izlazi iz sobe! (Niko leaves the room now!)

"Da majka (yes mother)."

Niko, who is still sitting on the bed next to his wife, smiles at Jennifer and then he stands up from the bed. He smiles at his mother and then he leaves the bedroom closes the door behind him. Niko sees Luka standing at the staircase and give his brother a look that say I am sorry that they mother has take over take care of Jennifer. The two brothers start walking down the steps of the staircase and can hear they mother talking to Jennifer in Croatian. They mothers' is saying that she going to take care of Jennifer the rest of her time in Croatia and until she is back on her feet in America.
When Niko and Luka walk into the sitting room, the two brothers see their father is sitting on the sofa with his back to the stairs. In addition Mr. Kovac is looking at a picture with five brownstone houses in it. He is shaking his right index finger at the house that is Jennifer, which is the second too last house in the picture and painted a deep dark purple. The three houses to the left of the purple house are not paint and still showing off the brown Triassic-Jurassic Sandstone. The last house in the picture is painting a light gray. Luka and Niko walk up behind the sofa and Luka takes a long look at Jennifer's house. He is looking at the windows on the house and Luka sees a small square window with black trim on the fourth level, which is the attic. On the third floor going from left to right is a small vertical rectangle window and then two thin and tall arched windows. Then another small vertical rectangle window and on the second floor going from left to right is a medium size vertical rectangle window. Next is the top level of a rounded bay window unit that has four medium vertical rectangle windows in each of the three parts. In addition the bay window unit is on second, first and basement level of the house. In addition each windows have black trim around them. The windows have wide white line or arch paint above the black trim that is on the Triassic-Jurassic Sandstone on the fourth, third, second and first floors of the house. Luka then notice on the first floor is the dark brown oak front door that is on the left side of the house. On each side of the door are antique bronze aluminum wall lanterns with candelabrum bases and two lights that look like candles with incandescent bulbs. The Triassic-Jurassic sandstones that are around the front door have been paint white and form an arch around the front door. In addition ten steps leading up to the front door and the landing is paint white too. To the right of the front door and the steps are four vertical rectangle egress windows for the basement. The Triassic-Jurassic Sandstones around the egress windows is paint white too. Luka stops looking at the picture and Mr. Kovac start talking in Croatian.

"Niko zašto kuću nazivaju smeđim kamenom kad kuća nije smeđa? (Niko why is the house call a brownstone when the house is not brown?)."

"Ovaj stil Jenniferine kuće i onaj s desne i lijeve strane Jenniferine kuće zovu se kuće od smeđeg kamenja jer su izgrađene smeđim trijasko-jurskim pješčenjakom. Međutim, kad je Jennifer 1990. donijela kuću kao gornji dio popravka, to je bilo graškasto zeleno pa je dala da kuću prefarba u tamno tamno ljubičastu boju. (This style of Jennifer's house and the one on the right and left of Jennifer's house are call brownstone houses because of being built with brown Triassic-Jurassic Sandstone. However, when Jennifer brought the house as a fixer upper in 1990, it was paint pea green, so she had the house repaint a dark deep purple.)"

"Jennifer je napravila pravi izbor da kuću prefarba u tamno ljubičastu boju, jer je tamnoljubičasta bolji izbor nego zelena graška. Osim toga, moraš biti spreman Niko, jer je tvoja majka planirala brinuti se o tvojoj ženi dok ne stane na noge. Također želi da ti i Jennifer uskoro dobijete dijete, jer ponovno želi biti baka. (Jennifer made the right choice have the house repaint dark deep purple, because dark deep purple is better choice then pea green. In addition you need to be prepared Niko because your mother has planned to take care of your wife until she back on her feet. She also wants you and Jennifer to have a baby, soon because she wants to be a grandmother again.)"

"Majka nam treba dati vremena. Upravo smo se vjenčali u nedjelju, 20. veljače. Uz to, Jennifer i ja živimo pod istim krovom kao ti, majka i Luka i spavamo u spavaćim sobama jedna do druge. (Mother needs to give us time. We were just married Sunday, February 20. In addition Jennifer and I have been living under the same roof as you, mother and Luka and sleeping in bedrooms next to each other.)"

"(Luka and Mr. Kovac) Prva beba uvijek dođe prije nego što mislite da hoće. Znamo da ste vas dvoje otišli u lokalnu gostionicu i proveli nekoliko noći prije nego što ste se vjenčali i u noći vjenčanja. (The first baby always comes sooner then you think it will. We know that the two of you went to the local inn and had a few nights to yourselves before you were married and on the night of the wedding.)"

"Prvi put smo ja i Jennifer imali odnos u našoj bračnoj noći. Prije toga spavamo zajedno, ali nikada nismo imali snošaj. Uz to, ja i Jennifer još nismo razgovarali o rađanju djece. Otac, molim vas, vjeruje mi da kažem kad smo odlučili imati djecu i kad Jennifer zatrudni. Pobrinut ću se da ti i majka budete prvi koji će čuti za vijesti o bebama. (The first time I and Jennifer had intercourse was on our wedding night. Before that we sleep together, but never had intercourse. In addition I and Jennifer have not talked about having children yet. Father please trusts me in saying that when we do chose to have children and when Jennifer becomes pregnant. I will make sure to let you and Mother be the first people to hear about the baby news.)"

Before his father can say anything else, Niko walks away from his brother and father. He then walks toward the two windows that are on the side end of the house and behind the sofa. Then Niko walks up to the window on the left and the windows are on the left end of the house, if facing the front of the house. He looks out the window and sees the children are now taking turns during timer vaults off the vault horse. Niko is thinking I know that my parents miss being grandparents. Also, that they miss having grandchildren running around the house, it has been this way since the day that a mortar shell hit the apartment building killed Luka's wife Danijela. In addition the mortar shell killed Luka daughter Jasna and son Marko, when Luka was out shopping. Niko also, know that Luka has never forgiven himself for making his children and wife stay at the apartment, while he went shopping. He wishes too this day that he giving in when Jasna asks if it could be a family shopping trip. Luka sees his brother looking out the window and walks over to him. Luka walks up beside Niko on his right side. Then Luka puts his hands on his brother shoulder s to get his attention. He then starts talking to Niko in English, so the conversation is just between him and Niko, since he dad has not started to learn English yet.

"Do not let me or father push you and Jennifer into having children before you are ready for them. Ask Jennifer what she wants, because she might want to wait until her triple residents in emergency medicine, pediatric and orthopedics surgery is finished. It is going to be five more years with many sleepless nights ahead of her."

"Do not worry, I will not let mother or father rushes me and Jennifer into having children before we are ready to have children. I just wish we could help to get more of the children and families away from the war."

"I will make sure nothing happens to the children and families calling our land their temporary home, because they were force to leave the cities because of the fighting. Jennifer has done so much to help the people of Croatia since she got here. She saved countless life and delivered several newborns. In addition she made sure the clinic has supplies until the next red cross shipment can get through, which we will bring back from Vukovar. Also, you and Jennifer are making sure mother and father will have a safe place to live until the war is over. Along with letting Mario, Gabrijela, Adrijana and Karlo Vuković stay at your house until Mr. and Mrs. Vuković can find jobs and an apartment to rent."

"Luka's make sure that our mother and father have a home to come back too once the war is over."

"I will make sure nothing happens to the house or the barn. You make sure to help mother and father adjusts to leaving in American and learning to speak English."

"I will and I do not think you have to worry about mothers. She will be too busy helping to take care of one year old Karlo, when his parents are at work or at Adrijana bedside if she is in the hospital. I will help father find active to keep him busy. Jennifer says that the Art Institute of Chicago has classes for amateur painters. We both think he would love to go to the Art Institute of Chicago art museum and see all of the paintings that are on display."

"Both of you are right. Our father will love going to Art Institute's of Chicago Museum of art and seeing the paintings. In addition he would love taking classes to improve his painting."

Luka and Niko stop talking because the two of them hear their mothers' feet steps and the sound of Jennifer coming down the stairs on her crutches. Niko and Luka turn around and see their mother and Jennifer coming down the stairs. Luka puts his hands onto his hips and simultaneously Luka gives his mother and Jennifer's stern looks. As he notices that Jennifer is wearing a pair of dark gray cotton shorts that have drawstrings and the shorts are metal free. In addition Jennifer is wearing a loose-fitting shirt that is gray too. The shirt has short sleeves with an o-neckline. However, before he can say anything, Mrs. Kovac start talking in English.

"Do not yell at Jennifer Luka. I told Jennifer it is all right to come downstairs. All of us are going to head into the kitchen and take at a seat at the table. Then we are going to look over the floor plans for the house to choose where everyone that going to be staying there will be sleep."

"I have to get back to the clinic, Father, Niko, Jennifer and you can handle that on your own. I do have one question when did you learn English?"

"Jennifer and Niko have been helping your father and me learn English because want to surprise you."

"You did surprise me. However, I am happy that you learn English because it will make live in the USA easier for you."

"Luka's what is the chance that Jennifer can get X-rays and MRI images done?"

"Fifty percent, sometimes the X-ray machine and MRI scanner are up and running and sometimes there are not working at all. The red cross and doctor without borders try to keep the X-ray machine and MRI scanner working. However, the red cross and doctor without borders main duty at the hospital is to make sure people that need medical care can get it. Mostly the hospital gets military injuries from the fighting, land mines or shooting victims and sometime ill individuals or women in labor. However, the hospital took damage during the early days of the Battle of Vukovar because of the daily mortar shelling. In addition the hospital has a staffing issue, which is getting doctors and nurses. The hospital has been having issue getting doctors and nurse since the day that massacre of 260 hospital patients and some nurse and doctors."

"I am so glad you were not working the two days the massacred happened."

"The hospital had me scheduled to work on the day of the massacred begin and I was on the scheduled to work the second day of the massacred too. I went into work on the day that the city was capture with the hospital being caught in the middle. However, I went home sick the day the city was capture, which save my life. I remember that day too well because Danijela was not happy about me going into work that morning. I was up most of the night with a high fever and could not stop coughing or sneezing. Danijela's wanting me to stay home and rest all day or try too. I would not hear of it because the hospital was short staff and had too many patients for the limit number of doctors and nurses. I got up and got dress for work and thirty minutes later I said bye to my wife. Then I made Jasna stop reading a book and the two of us said good bye. Next I say bye to Marko, who keep saying daddy repeatedly. Then left the apartment building basements shelter, which everyone was sleep in because of the shelling that had been happening day and night. In addition I had not eaten or drinking anything because I felt awful and as I walk out of the apartment main doors I could not stop sneezing. On my way to work I know something was going to happen because it was too quiet. Once I arrive at the hospital, I went to the basements. The basement and the bomb cellar where we were treating all the patients because working on the above ground levels during the day or night was not safe. Everyone seems on edges when I arrive in the basement and so was I. However, the patients need to be care for, so we all went to work. At least I try to go to work. That day I was assigning to care of the children and I went down to the bomb cellar. Then head to the back room that the child patients were stays in. I was coughing into my left elbow the whole ways to the door of the children room. When I get to the door of the room, I stop and look at the nurse standing inside the door waiting for me. She walks out of the room closes the door behind her and then put her right hand onto my forehead. She then looks at me and say go home, we can make it through the day being a doctor short. I told her that I felt well enough to work. However, she said took the day off work and to go home to rest. Because when this is all over we will need all the doctors that we can get to treat the injury and sick coming out of their shelter. She went back into the children room before I could say anything and close the door behind her and that was the last time I saw Ana. I went and found my boss Antun Radić that was in the basement and I was coughing into my left elbow. Antun Radić was caring for an elder man with pneumonia and he was in room that was being use for the elder patients. It took me several minutes to reach my boss and the patient laying in the last bed on the right end of the room. I was coughing so hard that I had to seat down on the end of the bed. My boss looked at me and said I look awful. He then said that he was surprise that I showed up at all, because when I left the night before I was already coughing and felt horrible. Then the elder man, said that I sounded worse then he did and look worse too. I told the elder man and my boss that I felt better then I sound or look. However, my boss did not believe me. I then told him that Ana told me to take the day off. My boss looked at me and he said if Ana told you to take the day, then you should take the day off. He then said if I do not leave that he was going to check me into the hospital, as a patient. Because I was not working on any of the patients sound and looking the way I did. I stay sitting at the end of the elder man bed, until I caught my breath and then I get up. A short time later, I left the make shift hospital in the basement and bomb cellar. When I walk out the main door of the hospital and walk outside, it was still too quiet outside. I become more concerned over the silence, if a pen were to drop everyone could hear it. It had not been that quiet since the end of July and that was only at night when everyone was a sleep. I walk home as fast as I could and I force myself not to cough or sneezing when walking down the streets. Thankful I made it home without anything happening. I rejoined my wife and children in the basements and stay there until the battle of Vukovar was over, thinking we see the worse of the war. However, I was wrong about that, the day my family dead a few short days later, when I was out getting supplies was the worse for me."

"Ana and your boss save you life that day by making you take the day off work. I still have you in my life because of Ana and your boss. What happened that day should have never happened. I am so thankful that you are still with us."

Mrs. Kovac runs up to her son and gives him a big hug and a kiss on the forehead. He hugs his mother back and tears are running down his face. His mother is crying onto Luka's right shoulder too. Jennifer looks down at the floor and is thinking about her mother, as Luka start talking.

"I am happy that I am still around to be in fathers and your life. I really need to get back to work now.
Jennifer's make sure that you put your left leg up and stay off the leg as much as you can."

"I will, but Luka I have a question that I need to ask you."

"What is the question?"

"The nurse Ana, was her last name Novak and did she have a daughter living in American that was in medical school and an elite gymnast?"

Luka pulls away from his mother and runs his hands through his hair. He is thinking the women that Jennifer been searching for all these months in Croatia, was a nurse that he used to work with at Vukovar Hospital. Luka walks over to Jennifer and puts his hands on her shoulders and he has a sad look on his face. Jennifer does not like the look on Luka face and looks at the floor, as Luka starts to talk.

"Yes Ana's last name was name Novak and she a daughter named Jennifer Rose Harper, which she always called Jenny. In addition Jennifer was medical school and an elite gymnast too. I have no idea what happened to her, the last time I saw Ana was the day I left work sick. Vukovar was capture by the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) shortly after I get back to my apartment building. When I could go back to work, I saw and work beside a few nurse and doctors that Yugoslav People's Army sent back to the hospital (JNA). However, Ana was not among them and my old boss Antun Radić might know. He should be working at the hospital when we get there this evening and you can ask him."

"You think he will know what happened to her?"

"He might know what happened to Ana. She could have come back to the hospital and just transfer hospital to get away from Vukovar. Ana could have been with the group sent to the farm that was being use as prisoner camp. Then she could have been beat for several hours before getting transfer to the prepared site of a mass grave. Where they were shot and buried in the mass grave, which was found October of 1992. Jennifer, I know that is not what you wanting to hear, but it might be what is confirmed tonight. Are there more family members that you want to find?"

"I want to find my grandmother and grandfather Novak that was living in Vukovar when the war start. In addition I want to find my mother sister Biserka and her husband Darijo Božić that were living in Vukovar when the war start."

"I will help you find out what happened to your mother and try to find your grandmother and grandfather Novak. In addition I will look for your aunt Biserka and uncle Darijo Božić. If we have not found them before you leave, I will continue to keep looking for them. I will not stop until I find them or find out what happened to them."

"Thank you, Luka."

"You are welcome. I will see all of you when my shift at the clinic ends."

Luka takes his hands off Jennifer shoulders and Niko walks over to his wife. He puts his arms around her shoulders and he knows that this was not the news she want to hear. Luka walks to the door of the house that in the sitting room. Then he opens the door and heads outside, closes the door behind him. Luka walks over to the clinic tent and walks over to a mother and son that are sitting away from everyone. The boy starts coughing and it is a dry cough. Luka sees that he looks feverish.
Back inside the house Jennifer, Niko, Josip (Mr. Kovac) and Marta (Mrs. Kovac) is walking toward the kitchen. Niko is carrying the folder that has the pictures of the house and the floor plans for the house. Once in the kitchen the four of them walk over to the breakfast nook that has an oak table, with an oak L-shape bench and a backless bench. The L-shape bench back is up against the corner wall that is on the left side of the kitchen doorway and the far left-hand wall too. The backless bench is access from the L-shape bench and the oak table is between the two benches. The kitchen walls are a light moss green and on the center of the wall across from the kitchen doorway is a large stone fireplace. The fireplace is raise off the floor and has an arched top. In addition the fireplace has two side, on the left is the bread oven that has an arched top and on the right side is the main fireplace. Under the bread oven and fireplace is storage for wood. Inside the fireplace and hang off the right, left and center of the back walls of the fireplace are fireplace pot cranes. In addition set on the floor in front of the fireplace are a small and large grill racks. The grill racks can be place over the burning wood to set pot, pans or bread pans on that cannot be hanging from the pot cranes. After the table and on the far left wall is a long oak base cabinet that has a butcher block counter top. In the center of the counter top is a large double farm sink that is white. Against the center of the far right-hand wall is an old fashion gas stove/oven range that is black. The stove top has four burns and silver knob handlers to turn on the stove burners and oven. The knob handlers are on the front of the stove/oven range between the stove top and oven door that opens on the right side. Two of the knobs are on the right side and two are on the left. One knob is in the center and that is the knob that turn on the oven. In addition the knobs that control the stove burner and oven have three setting that are lower, medium and high heat. An old gas refrigerator with a freezer door on top is on the right side of the kitchen doorway. The door that leads outside is to the right of the refrigerator, if you are entering the kitchen from the sitting room. The gas is currently hooked up to the stove and refrigerator. However, their only use the stove/oven range if out of wood to save the gas, since the gas powers the lights too. During the day and most evening the lights are keep off and candles used at night to keep gas use down.
Jennifer hops over to the table and take a seat on the L-shape bench, next to the doorway of the kitchen. Niko set the folder down in front of Jennifer and then walks around to the other end of the L-shape bench. He seats down on the bench and then slide over so he is next to Jennifer. Jennifer put her left leg up onto the backless bench, as Josip takes a seat beside his son. Marta is walking around the kitchen. Jennifer can tell Marta is thinking about everything that Luka said a few minutes ago and then what she asked. Marta stops walking and looks at Jennifer, she also starts to talk in English.

"Jennifer does your father live in Croatia too?"

"No, my father was born and raised in the united states, which is were he still live. He met my mother during a work trip to Vukovar in July of 1965. The two of them fall in love and get married after know each other for only a few weeks. She moved to the united states to be with him and at first the marriage was great. Until about a year into the marriage and she ask to go home to see her parents and sister, he said no. By the time I was born on eighth of February 1967, the relationship had started to fall apart. She had not seen her family since 1965 and wanted her family to meet me and again he said no. My parents stay married until I was in ninth grade and then got divorce. I stay with my mom in Chicago and my father move to Ohio and I have not seen him since. Through the years I have written him countless times and he never wrote me back. I left countless messages on his answer machine and he never called me back. My mom move back to Croatia in September of 1985 after I moved into my college dorm at the university of Chicago. When the war first start she was still calling me, but was no longer writing me. In November of 1991 the calls stop and I have not heard from her since or from my grandparents or my aunt and uncle. I do not even know my twin cousin names or if they are girls are boys, since my 28-year-old aunt was pregnant with twins when the war start."

"How old was your aunt when your mother left Vukovar?"

"My aunt was two years old, when my mother moved to the united states. My grandparents try for years to give my mother a sister or brother and it just never happened. They stop trying for another child when my mother turned sixteen years old. Then on the day my mother turned seventeen my grandmother found out she was pregnant."

Jennifer stops talking and she opens the folder. Then Jennifer takes out the floor plans for her house. Niko and Josip start to look at floor plans for the first floor, which is the ground floor in Europe countries. The two of them see that when you walk through the front door that you will enter a long hallway. In addition the staircase is against the far left-hand wall and across from the front door. The father and son see if you are standing the long hallway with your back to the front door that there are two set of doors. Both sets of doors are on the right side of the hallway, if back to the front door of the house. The first set of doors are double pocket doors. In addition the living room is through the first set of pocket doors and has a fireplace that in the center of the wall across from the pocket doors. Niko and Josip notice the second set of double pocket doors lead into the dinning room. The dinning room has a fireplace on the center of the wall across from the pocket doors. At the end of the hall is an opening that labeled a single pocket door. Also, the single pocket door leads into the kitchen at the back of the house and a fireplace is in the kitchen too. The fireplace is in the center of the far-right hand wall, if standing in the kitchen door from the hallway or the dinning room door that leads into the kitchen. On the right side of the fireplace is a drawing of a refrigerator with a freezer door on top. On the left side of the fireplace is drawing of a large panty cabinet. Josip and Niko notice a drawing of the stove and oven range against the center of the far left-hand wall if standing in the doorway that is off the hallway. On the right and left of the stove and oven range are drawing of base cabinets and upper cabinets. A door to the backyard is on the left side of the wall that across from hallway and dinning room door. After the door to the backyard is a base cabinet, into which the double farm sink inset. In addition a drawing of a large picture window is above the base cabinet. The staircase to the basement is under the staircase that goes to the second floor, which is the first floor in Europe countries. Then Niko and Josip notice the floor plans for a basement apartment that are to the right of the floor plans for first floors of the house. Then the father and son see that the staircase coming from the first floor leads into a long thin hallway that has three doors off it. If standing at the base of the staircase with your back to the staircase is a door outside that is at the back of the house. In addition if you are standing with your back to the staircase is a door to your left that leads into an apartment. The door across from the staircase from the first floor lead into a room label shared laundry room, which is also where the hot water tank and furnace are. The father and son see the door to the main entrance into the apartment is at the back of the house and is off the kitchen. In addition the kitchen is on the left side of the apartment if standing in the living room and your back to the front of the house. The living room has the door that leads to the long thin hallway that has an exit door to the outside, the share laundry room and staircase. The staircase lead up to the main house first floor (ground level in European houses). Also, at the back off the living room are two doorways and the doorway on the left leads into the dinning room that is before the kitchen. The doorway that is on the right, if your back to the front of the house leads into a small hallway. The small hallway has two doors on the right side of the hallway and a door at the end of the hallway. In addition the first door on the right side leads into the bathroom and the second doorway lead into a room label office or small bedroom. The door that is at the end of the hallway leads into the large room and Niko and Josip sees that the room is label the master bedroom. Josip looks around his son and looks at Jennifer, as he starts to talk.

"You never mention that your house has an apartment unit?"

"That because the apartment unit is renting to a co-worker of mine. The co-worker name is Peter Benton and he is a surgical resident. He went to the same high school I went too, which was Collins High School. He the one that been taking care of the maintenance of the house while I am out of the country. If you and Marta want your own place to stay, then I can talk to Peter once we are back in Chicago. I will ask him to find another apartment to rent since his lease will be up at the end of May."

"(Josip and Marta) No Jennifer, we rather live in the main house with you and Niko. This Peter sounds like a pleasant man and he has been take care of your house, since you have been here."

"He like a big brother to me and the first person I meet when I started at Collins High School two weeks into my ninth grade year of school. He was the student assigned to show me around the school and we become friends, despite him behind older then me and in his junior year of high school. The reason I start at new school two weeks into the school years was that my fathers sold the house. He did not want my mother to have the house and my mom was asking for the house in the paperwork for the divorce. After finding out my father sold the house, my mom had to find her own apartment. The apartment my mom rent was not in the same school district, as the house my father sold."

"(Niko, Josip and Martha) that awful."

"It worked better for me anyway because the apartment was by the gymnastics training center where I was training at the time."

Everyone stops talking and Niko and Josip go back to looking at the floor plans for the house. The son and father are looking at the layout of the second floor, first floor in Europe countries. Josip and Niko see a front bedroom and a back bedroom. The door to the bedroom at the back of the house is on the right side of the hallway, if your back is to the front of the house. On the right side of the house and across from the staircase railing, landing and the staircase to the third floor are the main bathroom and the third bedroom. If you are standing with your back to the staircase down to the first floor then the main bathroom is on the left. The third bedroom is on the right of the main bathroom. In addition the main bathroom and third bedroom is in the center of the house. Niko also notices that if facing the landing and staircase to first floor then staircase to the third floor is on the right. Off the back bedroom is a door to a bathroom and the door is in the near the left corner of the bedroom, if standing in the bedroom doorway. In addition the bathroom is on the left side of the house. Then Josip and Niko notice a drawing of a bed that headboard is against the center of the wall that the bathroom door is in. Then Josip notice against the wall on the far-right hand side of the room is a fireplace in the center of the wall, if standing in the bedroom door. On each side of the fireplace say built in wall closet units, which each bedroom has a set of. In addition fireplaces are in each of the three bedrooms on the second floor of the house and the fireplaces are on the right side of the house. Niko looks at his wife and begins to talk.

"I think the back bedroom on the second floor, would be a great bedroom for my parents."

"I agree with you. It will give your mother and father their own bathroom, which has a walk-in shower. I think Mario and Gabrijela Vuković should take the bedroom to the right of the main bathroom. Gabrijela says that Karlo will sleep in their bedroom, so that leaves Adrijana in the front bedroom with the bay window that looks out to the small front garden."

"That would leave us with one of the two bedrooms on the third floor, do you think you can handle going up all these stairs Jenny?"

"I am fine going up the stairs on crutches. We will uses the third floor master bedroom, which is the front bedroom. The master bedroom has a bathroom connect to the room and two built in closet units on the right side and left side of the fireplace."

"That sound like a great idea to me."

Niko looks at the floor plans for the third floor. He sees the door to the master bathroom is to the left of the bedroom door if standing in the doorway look out the front window. He looks at the hallway of the third floor and notices that at the back of the house are two doors. A bathroom door is on the left and is across from stairs down to second floor. Niko then notices that the back bedroom door is off the right-hand wall, which has a fireplace on the center of the wall across from the bedroom door. In addition the fireplace is the right side of the house, if your back is to the front of the house. Next Niko notices a spiral staircase lead up to the fourth floor of the house, third floor in Europe countries. The spiral staircase is across from the door of the back bedroom door and before the bathroom door. Niko looks at the floor plans for the fourth floor and sees the attic is a library/study. A fireplace on the center of the wall that is on the right side of the house, if you are looking at the front of the house. Then he sees drawing of bookcases lining all of the walls, beside where the fireplace is. At the front end of the fourth floor is drawing of a couch and armchairs and at the back end of the drawing is a table with chairs around it. Mrs. Kovac who has been quieted the whole time that her husband, son and daughters' in-law were looking at the floor plans for the house begins talking in English.

"That a ton of house for just you, what do you do with all that space?"

"I want to have space for my mom and mothers' family to stay, if they come to visit me, so I made the choice to buy a large house. In addition I fall in love with the brownstone house when looking for a house, so I brought it in 1990. Since I brought the house I have been slowly restoring the house, the third and fourth floors did not get finished until April of 1992. I did the basement apartment first and live on the run down first and second floors until the apartment was done. Then I move into the basement apartment and work on the first floor and second floors from January 1, 1991 until May 1, 1991. Then I move back into the main house and Peter rent the basement apartment. I start to work on the third and fourth floors taking my time, since I really did not need them right away. To tell you the truth I hire someone to redo the third and fourth floors, because I did not have the time to do the work myself. I just mange to get the main floor and second floor finish before my work load and gymnastics training schedule get really busy."

Josip slides to the end of the bench and then stand up from the L-shape bench. He then starts to walk toward the front door in the kitchen. Josip reaches the door that leads outside and stops. He then turns around and looks at Niko, Jennifer and his wife. Marta is getting pots and pans out of the upper cabinet that at the end of the upper cabinets. The upper cabinets are on the far left-hand wall after the table, L-shape bench and backless bench. Marta set the pots and pans onto the butch block counter top and turns to look at her husband, she then starts to talk in Croatian.

"Josip Mislim da ćemo večeras za ranu večeru popiti pileću juhu i punjene kiflice od kupusa. Što znači da trebate ubiti jednu od posavskih krestastih kokoši ili jednu od hrvatskih bantam piletina i uzeti nekoliko pilećih jaja. Niko krene prema van i prema vanjskom ulazu u podrum i uzmi ukiseljenu glavicu kupusa, češnje češnjaka, lišće peršina i rižu. Za pileću juhu uzmite luk, čili, mrkvu, rajčicu, korijen peršina i korijen celera. Dobit ću meso kobasica, vegetu, maslinovo ulje i papriku za kiflice kupusa. Uz to će trebati između tri i četiri sata da sve napravite i skuhate. (Josip I think that we will have chicken soup and stuffed cabbage rolls for an early dinner tonight. Which means you need to go kill one of the Posavina Crested chicken or one of the Croatian bantam chicken and get some chicken eggs. Niko head outside and to the outside entrance to the cellar and get the pickled head of cabbage, garlic cloves, parsley leaves and rice. For the chicken soup please gets the onion, chilli, carrots, tomatoes, parsley root and celery root. I will get the sausages meat, vegeta, olive oil, and paprika for the cabbages' rolls. In addition it will take between three too four hours to make and cook everything. )

Niko slides to the empty end of the L-shape bench and then stands up from the bench. He walks over to the front door that in the kitchen. A short time later Josip opens the door and then the two of them head outside, as Marta gets to work gathering up everything she needs to make dinner. Outside Niko is walking around to the back of the house and to the cellar double doors that are in the center of the stone foundation. Back inside the house Jennifer is putting away the floor plans for the house and watching Luka and Niko mother putting wood into the large fireplace.
Three and half hours later all the children that were taking gymnastics lessons have rejoined their families. Most of the children and families are at make shift tent homes. A few of the children have gone home to their family houses because they lived in the countryside before the war break out. In addition Jennifer is standing beside the table and she is placing five plates around the table. She has set a stack of bowls on the center of the table and at the end of the table nearest to the far left wall. Luka is in the bathroom getting clean up for dinner. Niko is setting two large hot pads on the center of the table. He is doing this so the pot with the chicken soup and the pan with the stuffed cabbage rolls can be set on the table. Josip walks into the kitchen and takes the large soup pot off the center fireplace pot crane. He takes the soup pot over to the table and set the pot on the hot pad on the left side of the table if facing the L-shape bench. Marta carries the pan with the stuffed cabbage rolls over to the table, as Luka walks into the kitchen. He takes over setting the table for Jennifer and she takes a seat on the L-shape bench, by the kitchen doorway. Jennifer puts her left leg back up onto the backless bench. Simultaneously Luka start talking in English to his mother, so she can practice listening and speaking in English.

"You always make too much food when I and Jennifer have to go work at one of the hospital in the major cities or at another countryside village."

"I just want to make sure that the two of you have a large filling meal before leaving on these trips. I know that the food supplies are hard to come by in all of the major cities and the hospitals might not have any food. Also, I do not know if anyone will take the time to feed you in the other countryside village clinics."

"Someone always makes sure we get meals when working at the clinic in other countryside villages. In addition we have not gone hunger when working in the hospital in the major cities."

Simultaneously Luka set the last plate on the table and Niko finish putting silverware at each plate. He then takes a seat at the end of the L-shape bench that furthest from the kitchen doorway, he then slides over to sit beside his wife. Josip takes a seat next and sits next to Niko and is facing the front of the house. Marta takes a seat next to her husband, as Luka takes a seat on the backless bench across from Niko. Niko, Marta, Jennifer and Luka listening to Josip says the grace, which only takes a short time. Then Marta start dishes soup into bowls. She passes the first bowl of soup to Luka and then gets Jennifer a bowl of soup. Simultaneously Jennifer is putting stuff cabbage rolls onto Luka plate. A short time later the five of them are eating their dinner without talking. Luka looks at his mother and father and can tell the two of them are uneasiness about him and Jennifer going into Vukovar. His parents are uneasiness every time one of these trip take places. Luka gives his mother and father a smiles and then start to talk.

"Niko please do me a favor while Jennifer and I are on this trip keep mother and father busy. So the two of them do not worry about us."

"I will try, but that never seems to work."

"(Josip and Marta) Luka we are your parents we are going to worry about you and someone has to worry about Jennifer. Also, going to America is not going to stop us from worry about you. We will still worry and think about you every day until the war ends and we can all be together again."

"I know. However, both our military and the enemy militaries seem to have stop target Red Cross and medical personnel. So when driving the van with the red cross on it or at one of the clinic or hospitals it seems like we are safe."

"(Marta and Josip) Luka that is not very reassuring and it is still dangerous to travel anywhere in a war zone."

"I wish that I could promise that we will be 100% safe, but Jennifer and I know the risk of during these medical trips. However, these trips have to be done because people need medical care and the overworked doctor's needs days off."

"(Marta and Josip) I know."

Luka, Josip and Marta stop talking and everyone goes back to eating their dinner quietly. A half hour later Marta is busy cleaning up the kitchen. Jennifer and Niko are upstairs and in the bedroom they share. Jennifer is sitting on the edge of the bed on the left side, if standing at the end of the bed. Niko is putting a pair of black dress shorts into a small gym bag that is black. The dress shorts come to the base of the knee in length. In addition Niko is putting a charcoal blouse that has short sleeves and a scoop neckline into the gym bag. Jennifer is putting a black bra and a pair of black underwear into the gym bag. She is also putting a small bag of toiletries into the gym bag and a box of tampons just incase her monthly start. Now that everything is in the gym bag, Niko zips the bag closes. Niko looks at his wife, who is putting on her black tennis shoes, she already has the left shoe on. Niko kneels down and ties the left shoe, as Jennifer ties the right shoe. When Niko is finished tying his wife shoe, he looks up at Jennifer, who smiles at him.

"Niko, what is on your mind?"

"My mother and father want us to start a family?"

"I know your mother was asking me when we plan to start a family, I told her that we have not discussed having children yet. Do you want to have children?"

"Yes, but I do not want to rush you into being a mother before you are ready. If you are not ready to retire from gymnastics, we do not have to start a family until you are ready to walk away from the sport of gymnastics."

"I think that today injury might have already ended my gymnastics career, I am ok with that if it is the case. I have won the all round and all four event finals at three Olympic. In addition I have also won the all round and all four event finals at the world championships during 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1992 and 1993. I have won the USA senior national championships every year since 1982 for all around and all four event finals. This injury could be my body way of saying it done with the high impact for training for elite level gymnastics."

"You do not know that your gymnastics career is over yet. We should wait to see what the x-rays and MRI say that you get here or once we are in America."

"Ok, I wanting to try to earn a spot on USA Team for the 1996 summer Olympics. However, if I cannot earn a spot on the 1996 Olympic team, I am ok with that."

Luka appears at the open bedroom door and leans against the right side of the door frame. Niko stands up and grabs Jennifer's gym bag. Simultaneously Jennifer stands up from the bed and then grabs the pair of crutches off the floor. Luka takes the gym bag from his brother and then walks away from the bedroom door and toward the staircase. He does this to give his brother and Jennifer a few minutes to say good bye to each other. Luka heads downstairs and then he goes outside to get the van, because he is going to drive the van around to the front of the house. Upstairs in Niko and Jennifer's bedroom, Niko and Jennifer are kissing each other on the lips. In addition the two of them have they arm wrapped around each other and Jennifer crutches are leaning against the end of the bed.
A few minutes later Luka is waiting outside by the white 1978 Dodge Ram van that has large red crosses on both sides and on the back of the van. He is standing by the opened passengers' door of the van waiting for Jennifer. He has already moved the passenger seat all the way back that way getting into the van is easier for Jennifer. The back of the passenger side has double doors and so does the back of the van. In addition the crosses are in the center of the double doors on both set and the middle of the vertical line is at the opening of the doors. The front door of the house off the sitting room opens and Jennifer hops out of the house on her crutches. Marta, Josip and Niko come outside and watch Luka help Jennifer into the van. Luka closes the passengers' door of the van and then he open the back side doors. Luka then set the crutches on the floor of the van and the back of the van is empty beside for his and Jennifer overnight bags and the crutches. Then Luka close the van side doors and then walks over to the driver side of the van. Mr. and Mrs. Kovac walk over to Luka and each of them give him a hug. Niko walks over to the passengers' door and opens the door. He then gives his wife a kiss on the lips and she kisses him back. Luka gets into the van and closes the driver side door. Niko closes the passengers' door, then he and his parents walk away from the van, as Luka starts the van. A minute later Luka is driving away from his parent's house and Josip, Marta and Niko are wave bye to them. The three of them do not stop waving until the van is out of sight. Then all three of them head inside the house. Since the sun is starting to go down, everyone heads into the kitchen. Josip gets the candles out and light one for each of them to use.
A few moments later inside the van Jennifer is looking out the passengers' door window. She is watching the landscape, as Luka drives out of the countryside and toward the city of Zagreb, which is the start of the long drive to Vukovar. Luka pulls up to the check point to enter the Zagreb city limits and Luka and Jennifer sees the tanks on the side of the road. In addition the two of them can see the mortar shelling damage to the building in the distance since the highlight of the van has made them visible. Luka pulls the van forward and up to the check point building. He opens the driver side window and then hands the soldier the paperwork for the assignment to the Vukovar Hospital. In addition Luke hands the soldier his and Jennifer's id paperwork that say the two of them are doctors. The soldier hands back all of the paperwork to Luka and start to talk to Luka in Croatian.

"Kad prođete kroz grad Zagreb, ostatkom puta krenuo bih do Vukovara. To će biti bogatstvo dodatno vrijeme potrebno za noćne putove na stražnjim cestama. U gradovima Sisku i dalje se vode Kutina, Novska, Nova Gradiška, Slavonsi Brod i Vinkovci, a glavne ceste bile bi opasne. (Once you get through the city of Zagreb, I would take the back roads the rest of the way to Vukovar. It will be wealth the extra time it takes using the back roads tonight. In the cities of Sisak, Kutina, Novska, Nova Gradiska, Slavonsi Brod and Vinkovci are still fighting and the main roads would be to dangers.)"

"Hvala što ste mi javili (thank you for letting me know.)"

Luka hands the paperwork to Jennifer and then rolls up his window. A short time later Luka is driving into the city of Zagreb and away from the first check point of the trip. For most of the drive through Zagreb Luka and Jennifer does not talk to each other. Luka keeps his eyes on the road and Jennifer looks at the passenger window. She is looking at the empty water fountain, the apartments building, store front with apartments above and houses that have seen the damages of war. Luka breaks the silent by speaking in English, as he drives by the Zagreb Airport, that is in the southeast end of the city.

"This is going to be a long drive if we do not talk during the trip to Vukovar."

"I am sorry. I have been thinking about my mother, grandparents and my aunt and uncle, I thought that I would have found them by now. Or talk to someone that knows my family whereabouts by now. In addition I never though that I would be leave without having answers."

"Hopeful, you will know something after tonight or tomorrow."

"I hope so, Luka."

"I remember when I was a medical student in 1989, I was working the day the women all around of the world gymnastics championship start. Your mother had the world championship on every television in the Vukovar hospital. In addition she was pointing you out to everyone and saying that is my daughter. She was also telling everyone that she was so proud of you for being in your last year of pre-med at Chicago University. In additions she was so proud that you were still competing in elite gymnastics and trying to defend your world championship title. In addition a twelve-year-old girl named Lana was being observe over night because of hitting her head on the balance beam when during a layout stepout. Lana said to your mother that she wanting to be like Jennifer Rose Harper when she reaches the elite level, which made your mother day."

"I wonder what happened to the girl?"

"You meet and train along sided of Lana. She is the youngest elite female gymnast at the age of sixteen that is training beside you at my parent's house and will turn seventeen in November."

"I hope that once the war ends that Lana gets her chance to compete for Croatia in a major international elite meet. Lana has the talent to become a world and Olympic champion one day."

"Yes Lana does have the talent to become a champion one day. In addition your mother said something to me that day too."

"What did she tell you?"

"That she wants you to meet someone like me and fall in love with them. Then get married and start a large family because she would love to be a grandmother someday."

"Everyone wants me to make them grandparents and someday I will make my mom and your parent's grandparents. My mother biggest regret about her marriage to my father is that I was her only child, she always wanting a big family with ten children. However, my father told her after I was born that he never wanting children and that I was a mistake that should not have happened. My father then had a vasectomy to keep from making a second mistake, which break my mothers' heart. So my mother went behind my father back and she takes me on a trip to Croatia, so her parents and sister could meet me. She came back from the trip in a better mood and wanting to fix her relationship with my father. That was the first and last time my grandparents and aunt sew me until I was in high school."

"What did your father think of that?"

"He hated that my mother took me out of the country. The day we get home my father says if she every take me out of the country again that he would have her deport without me. My mother never took me out of the country again while they were married or did anything that would make my father mad at her. The day we move into the apartment and start our life without my father involved was the first time that I saw my mother happy. It was also the day my mother told me she was going to stay in America until I finish high school. In addition my mother told me that after I finish twelfth grade I had to make a choice. I had to choose if I want go to a university in America or go to a university in the Socialist Republic of Croatia. She told me to take my time and look into universities in America and in Socialist Republic of Croatia and chose what I felt was right for me. I thought about going to university in Socialist Republic of Croatia, but I would have to give up my spot on the USA national team. However, since I was never a citizen of Socialist Republic of Croatia I would not be allow to compete for the national gymnastics team. So I made the choice to stay in America and to go to the university of Chicago. Saying bye to my mother on the day she went back to Vukovar was the hardest thing I had to do. Thankful I saw my mother two months later, when the USA national gymnastics team went to Vukovar and we compete against the six teams that made up the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It was great chance to compete against Bosnia–Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia. The competition was great chance for the member of six teams of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to compete along sided of me and rest of the USA national team."

"The competition of the USA against Bosnia–Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia got broadcasted on every television station. I was one of the luck one that see the competition in person. I feel that competition gave all the gymnasts from Bosnia–Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia a great opportunity to compete against some of the best in the world."

"It was one of the best competitions that I get to compete in and the first time my grandparents and aunt get to see me compete in person. The only thing about that competition that wish I could change was the left ankle injury that happened at the morning training session before leaving for Vukovar. My coach had me go get an x-ray before going to the airport. However, the X-ray was blurry and did not tell us anything. So my coach left the choice up to me if I wanting to go to Vukovar and compete. I made the choice to go to Vukovar and compete despite a painful and swelling left ankle. The morning of the competition I could barley put weight onto the ankle or foot and it hurt so badly when I walk. I did not want to let my grandparents or my aunt down whom never gets to see me compete in person before, so I made the choice to compete. I make it through all four events and finish in first place by four points over Krasna Horvat of Croatia. Krasna Horvat was so happy to finish in second and get to stand next to me on the award stand. After the competition award ceremony ended, all the gymnasts were on the sidelines talking as putting on they warm up clothing and shoes. However, I was not talking to anyone, I just take a seat on the floor and start taking the sport tape off my left ankle. My coach that was giving advices to Krasna Horvat's coach, saw my ankle untaped for the first time since leaving America and when he saw the ankle, he stopped talking. He then kneeled down in front of me. Then my coach said when I asked you at breakfast how your left ankle was feeling and you told me that the ankle was not hurting and that the swelling was gone was a lie. My response was yes and then he asked me why I lie to him. I say because my grandparents and aunt never seen me compete in person and that I did not want to let them down, so I tape up the ankle. Then I push the pain and the fact that I barely could put any weight onto the ankle or foot out of my mind. My coach then asks me to stand up and walk over to the balance beam that was about five feet from where I was sitting. I stand up from the floor and start to walk but after several steps, I grab my ankle. My coach said that he was taking me to the hospital to get another x-ray. It turns out that I was compete on a fracture ankle and let me tell you that compete on a fracture ankle was not fun."

"That had to hurt."

"Yes it did, but seeing the look of joy on my grandparents and aunts face as I compete is something I would not change."

The two of them stop talking and Jennifer watches as Luka pulls up to the check point to leave the city of Zagreb. It takes ten minutes at the check point because Luka looks over a map and gets an update on the fighting from the check point soldier. Luka is driving away from the city of Zagreb and into the countryside between Zagreb and Sisak. After a few minutes' Luka stop at intersection and flip the turn signal on for a left-hand turn. He looks left and then look right and sees not one coming in either direction. Luka makes a left hand turn onto the road to his left because it goes around the outskirt of Sisak, which will avoid the fighting that is happening in Sisak. Simultaneously Jennifer notices a large hole in the main road that was not there on the last trip to Vukovar.

"Why are you not taking the road off the right side of the main road?"

"Because the right-hand road will take us too close to the fighting in Sisak that is very heavy right now. It looks like you will get to see more of the countryside then you normally do on our way to Vukovar."

Luka stop talking because he has not driven this road since before the war start. Jennifer can see that Luka is focusing on driving and can tell that the increase fighting this close to Zagreb is worrying him. Simultaneously Jennifer and Luka see a large group of people coming from the direction of the city of Sisak. It looks like the rest of the residents with families have fled the city of Sisak. Luka drives past the group that is heading to the refuge camp in the countryside of Sisak that is already overflowing. That mean the group will be turn away and have to come to the countryside of Zagreb.

"Luka can the refuge camp that is in Zagreb countryside hold another large group?"

"The refuge camp that is in Zagreb countryside can take half the group. However, the other half will need to go to the refuge camp in the countryside of Krapina, which will put them at the camp limits. I hope this war will end sooner then later."

"So do I and I wish that I could stay and help until the end."

"You need to go home and take care of that knee injury. We can make do without you. Beside a new group of doctors will arrive to take your groups place on the twenty-first of March."

"What if I do not want to leave? The people of Croatia need me more then the people that go to Country General Hospital?"

"Go home and finish your internship/first year of resident, if your bosses at Country General Hospital approve working another section of your resident oversea. Sign up for another round with doctors without borders and organization of Alliance medicines and come back. I have a feeling the war will be going on for a long time still. However, before you do any of that make sure you ask Niko if he is all right with you going back to a war zone. Niko should have a say on if his wife goes back to a war zone, without him."

"I guess you are right. I cannot leave Country General Hospital short a resident and the resident on exchange from Croatia will be head back here, as I fly home."

The two of them stop talking and Jennifer goes back to looking out the passengers' window. The two of them remains quiet the rest of the drive through the countryside of Sisak. Luka turns onto the last main street that leads into the city because the country road check point is not open. Luka and Jennifer stay quiet during the short time that Luka is driving down road leading into the last block of the city. He turns on the main road because he has to go through the check point to leave Sisak. When Luka drives into the city and the sound of gunfire in the distance can be hear. Luka drives up to the check point and Jennifer hands him all of the paperwork. However, the person in charge of the check point does not come up to the van. He just walks over to the road block and moves it. He then waves them through, Luka rolls his window down, as driving forward and starts to talk in Croatian, as he stops the van.

"Morate li vidjeti naše papire? (Do you need to see our paperwork?)"

"Nemam vremena da gledam papire, borbe se vode u ovom smjeru, samo odlazi dok možeš. (I have no time to look at paperwork, the fighting is head this way, just leave while you can.)"

Luka nods his head and then drives through the check point and Jennifer looks out the window. She sees the person in charge of the check point is putting the road block back into place. Jennifer takes the paperwork off Luka's lap and simultaneously he rolls up the window. In addition the two of them can hear the fighting moving closes to the check point that Luka is driving away from.
A few minutes later Jennifer looks at Luka and see tears running down his face. However, before she can say anything, a loud blast comes for the area of the check point. Luka continues to driving and Luka increasing the van speed to get away from the fighting faster. When Luka reaches the first intersection, he turns the van onto the road off the left-hand side of the main road. Luka start driving the van in the direction of Popovača that is a countryside town in the county of Sisak-Moslavina and simultaneously Jennifer looks at Luka. She can see that he is not in the mood to talk. Jennifer looks out the windshield of the van and the only light is coming from the headlight of the van. During the drive the few churches, Synagogues, Mosque, inns and houses that Luka drive by all has they light off. In addition the houses all have the curtain closed in the towns of Popovača, Kutina and Novska. Neither of them talks the whole drive through Popovača nor through Kutina. In fact it is not until Luka has driven through the check point and out of the city limits of Novska that Luka breaks the silent.

"I am going to pull the van over and stop for a few minutes. I need to get out and stretch my legs and use the bathroom. Do you need to use the bathroom?"

"No, I am fine and I will stay in the van."

"I will not go too far from the van, I have a bad feeling and I want to keep you and the van insight."

Luka pulls the van over to the side of the road and puts the van into the park position. He leaves the van running and opens the driver side door. Jennifer watch Luka gets out of the van and then look out the windshield of the van, as Luka walks away from the van. A few minutes later Luka opens the driver side door and gets back into the van. Luka locks the van doors and puts the van into drive without putting his seatbelt on. Luka pulls away from the side of the roads and Jennifer hears gunfire in the distance. Letting her knows the fighting is getting closes to them and simultaneously Luka starts talking.

"So much for a quiet night drive to Vukovar, it seems that the fighting is no longing stopping at night. It no long seems to matter the time of day that we drive to and from our medical assignments. We will drive back to countryside of Zagreb during the day and it will make it easy to see the armies."

"Let just get to Vukovar safely."

Luka does not say anything to Jennifer. He just drives down the road and keeps increasing speed that he is driving. Luka does not slow the van until the check point to enter the town of Bukovlje in the Brod-Posavina County of Croatia. He comes to a stop at the check point and Jennifer hand Luka the paperwork. Luka opens the widow and hands the paperwork to the soldier at the check point, who start to talk in Croatian as he looks over the paperwork.

"Klonite se gradova i krenite stražnjim cestama ako možete. Ulazite u gradove samo ako su kontrolne točke na stražnjoj cesti zatvorene. (Stay out of the cities and take the back roads the whole way if you can. Only go into the cities if the back road check points are closed.)"

"Znate li događaju li se borbe u Vukovaru? (Do you know if fighting happening in Vukovar?)"

"Borbe se događaju u svim gradovima večeras i u nekim krajevima. Držite oči otvorene i ako prestanete, nemojte ostavljati Jennifer Rose Kovač samu jer trenutno sama nije sigurna za damu. (Fighting is happening in all the cities tonight and in some countryside. Keep your eyes open and if you stop do not leave Jennifer Rose Kovac alone because being alone right now is not safe for a lady.)

"Ne planiram stati dok ne dođemo do vukovarske bolnice. (I do not plan on stopping until we get to Vukovar Hospital.)

"Želim vam ugodnu noć i budite sigurni (Have a pleasant night and stay safe.)"

"I vama je ugodna noć i pokušajte biti sigurni. (You have a pleasant night too and try to stay safe too.)

The soldier hands Luka the paperwork and then waves him through the check point. Luka hands the paperwork to Jennifer and then drives through the check point and into Brod-Posavina County of Croatia. Jennifer looks out the windshield and the passenger side widow, as Luka drivers toward the first of four settlements that the inhabitants live in and the first settlement is Bukovlje. The other settlements are Vranovci
Korduševci and Ježevik. This is the first time that Jennifer is seeing Bukovlje because normal her or Luka drive through the city of Slavonski Brod. It takes several minutes before the first home comes into view, which is in the distance on the right side of the road. The house is an old wooden house that shaped like a capital letter L and is two stories tall. Luka and Jennifer do not talk during the drive through countryside on the back roads to Vukovar check points. Luka pulls up to the check point to enter the city of Vukovar and the two of them can hear the sounds of gun fire. Luka comes to a stop at the check point and Jennifer hands him the paperwork. The soldier working the check point walks up to the driver side window. Luka rolls the window down and hands him the paperwork. The soldier looks past Luka and smile at Jennifer. Jennifer smiles back and simultaneously the soldier start talking in Croatian.

"Moja kćer tinejdžerica Mia Zora jedna je od vaših najvećih obožavateljica i plakati na kojima pokrivate njezin zid u spavaćoj sobi. Na svom stolu ima i okvirnu sliku. Sliku ste joj potpisali na natjecanju SAD-a 1989. protiv Bosne i Hercegovine, Hrvatske, Makedonije, Crne Gore, Srbije i Slovenije. (My teenage daughter Mia Zora is one of your biggest fans and has posters of you cover her bedroom wall. She also has a frame picture on her desk. You signed the picture for her at the 1989 USA against Bosnia–Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia competition.)"

"Sjećam se da je vaša kći izgledala sretno što me upoznala. Bio sam sretan što sam joj potpisao autogram. Kako je vaša kći? (I remember that your daughter looked happy to meet me. I was happy to sign the autograph for her. How is your daughter doing?)"

"Moja kći ide dobro. Međutim, ona ne može čekati da rat završi, pa se opet može baviti gimnastikom.
(My daughter is doing well. However, she cannot wait for the war to end, so she can do gymnastics again.)"

"Nadam se da će rat uskoro završiti. (Hopeful the war will end soon.)"

"Mislim da rat neće uskoro završiti. Dajem vam dozvolu za vožnju kroz kontrolni punkt Luka. Ipak, otvorite oči za borbu. ( I do not think the war will be ending anytime soon. I am giving you the ok to drive through the checkpoint Luka. However, keep your eyes opening for fighting.)"

The soldier hands Luka the paperwork and then waves him through the check point. Jennifer takes the paperwork for Luka and he starts to drive through the check point. Jennifer looks at the damage water tower and the damage building, as Luka drives through the city toward the hospital. Luka drive past a shell out apartment building and Jennifer notices tears running down Luka face. Jennifer knows that Luka is crying because it is the apartment building that his wife, son and daughter dead in. Luka wipes the tears from his face with his left hand and then takes a left turn.
The drive from his old apartment building to Vukovar Hospital that would have taking five minutes before the war started and damaged several streets take fifteen minutes. Luka pulls up to the front of the hospital that has a total of five levels above ground, a basement level and then a bomb cellar. He puts the van into the park position, as Jennifer reaches into the back and grab her crutches. Jennifer careful moves the crutches to the front and set them in front of her. Then Jennifer looks at Luka, who starting at the main doors of the hospitals.

"Head into the hospital, I will go park the van in the back and bring our overnight bags into the hospital, if you are fine with going in by yourself?"

"I am fine with going into the hospital by myself. I will see you in a few minutes."

Jennifer opens the passengers' door and then gets out off the van putting all of her weight onto her right leg. Luka watches Jennifer put the crutches under her underarms. Then Jennifer starts to walks toward the old plaster building that has been shoot and shell so much that large pieces of the plaster is missing. Once Jennifer is through the double doors, Luka takes the van out of park and start to drive toward the back of the hospital. Simultaneously Jennifer starts to hop through the white hallway toward the trauma center of the hospital. The trauma center is in the back of the hospital building. In addition the trauma center and the waiting room for the trauma center take up the whole back of the building. At the front of the hospital is the admitting-help desk in the center of the front of the building and then a sitting area to the right of the desk. To the left are two hallways, one is down the center and the other hallway is at the front of the building. The front hallway leads to a gift shop and the center hallway has the elevators that are out of order. The elevators are on the left of the hallway and the staircase to the first floor (second in USA) is on the right. Behind the staircase is the back wall of the trauma center storage room. Jennifer has not made it very far when Luka catches up to her with his and her overnight bag. The two of them walk slowly through the hallway and toward the trauma center. Ten minutes later the two of them walk into the trauma center and Luka sees his old boss old boss Antun Radić. In addition Luka sees Gordana Horvat, who is a friend of his and the two of them went to medical school together.

"That is my old boss Antun Radić and Gordana Horvat. Gordana and I were in medical school together."

"The two of them look exhausted."

Jennifer and Luka stop talking and Jennifer notices that Antun Radić hair is gray and that he is in need of a hair cut. Luka and Jennifer walk over to the nurse-admit desk behind which Antun Radić and Gordana Horvat are standing. The two exhausted looking doctors look up at Luka and Jennifer and huge smiles appear on both the doctor faces. Antun Radić drops the file he is looking at and walks out from behind the desk. He then walks over to Luka and Jennifer and starts talking in Croatian.

"Luka, nikad me nije bilo tako drago vidjeti te. Kratko smo osoblje jer smo dvojica liječnika koje biste vas dvoje trebali preuzeti sutra morali otići. Doktorica Sara Matić otišla je kući bolesna, a liječnik David Babić imao je hitan slučaj u obitelji i morao je otići. Možete li vas dvoje početi raditi večeras? (Luka, I have never been so happy to see you. We are short staff because the two doctors that the two of you suppose to take over for tomorrow had to leave. Doctor Sara Matić went home sick and Doctor David Babić had a family emergency and had to leave. Can the two of you start working tonight?)"

"Da. Međutim, ako RTG aparat i MRI skener rade, prvo bih želio dobiti rendgenske i MRI slike Jennifer lijevog koljena. Danas je rano iščašila koljeno, a ja sam morao ručno smanjiti koljeno, a naša klinika nema rentgenski aparat i MRI skener? (Yes. However, if the X-ray machine and MRI scanner is working, I would like to get x-rays and MRI images of Jennifer left knee first. She dislocated the knee early today and I had to manual reduced the knee and our clinic has no X-ray machine and MRI scanner?)"

"Da, X-ray aparat i MRI skener rade i imamo film za oboje. Idite po rendgenske snimke i MRI slike. Nas dvoje možemo sami napraviti još nekoliko sati. " (Yes the X-ray machine and MRI scanner is working and we have film for both. Go get the x-rays and MRI images. The two of us can make it a few more hours on our own.)"

"Hvala vam. (Thank you)."

"Nema na čemu Luka. (You are welcome Luka)."

Luka starts walking over to the closed door that leads to the basement staircase, which is the door after the sixth trauma room. The trauma rooms are across from the nurse-admit desk that in the center of the main are of the trauma center. Jennifer follows him over to the door to the basement staircase, since the elevators are out of order. Antun Radić walks back behind the desk and over to Gordana Horvat, who watching Luka holding open the basement door for Jennifer. Once Jennifer is through the door Luka walks through the door and closes the door behind him. He starts walking down the steps of the basement staircase behind Jennifer.
Four minutes later Luka and Jennifer are walking down the basement hallway toward the radiation department. Jennifer notices that white titles are missing from the walls and that larger section of plaster are missing from the ceiling too. Luka reaches the door to the X-ray suit first and opens the door. The X-ray suit is on the left side of the hallway. He holds the door open for Jennifer and she hops into the suit on the crutches. Jennifer hops over to the white table for the x-ray machine, which is in the center of the room. The X-ray machine generator has a long arm that attached to the ceiling and is adjustable. In addition the X-ray machine moves allowing images of each part of the body to be taking. The stand up chest X-ray machines is against the center of the far left-hand wall. Jennifer takes a seat on the x-ray table and set her crutches against the table for the time being. Luka walks over to Jennifer and takes the crutches. He then walks away from Jennifer and back toward the door. Luka then set the crutches and both overnight bags up against the wall and on the right side of the door to the room, if facing the door. Jennifer careful places the left leg onto the X-ray table and then put her right leg onto the X-ray table. Then Jennifer starts to unfasten the knee immobilizer. Luka notices that Jennifer is staring at the x-ray machine with a look of jealous.

"Jennifer's what are you thinking?"

"I am jealous that Vukovar Hospital has a X-ray machine that came out in 1990 and County General Hospital X-ray machines are from 1987."

"You going to be more jealous our MRI scanner is from 1990 too. Both the x-ray machine and MRI scanner stop working at the beginning of January 1990 and we had to replace them."

"County General Hospital two MRI scanners are from 1986 and 1988. When I left the hospital to come here, County General Hospital had in order out for a new MRI scanner but it had not come in yet."

"I would have thought united states hospitals will get new MRI scanners and X-ray machines every year."

"Maybe the private hospitals can afford to replace the MRI scanners and X-ray machines every year. However, the small public hospital like County General Hospital only replaces the MRI scanners and X-ray machines, if there stop working."

"The hospitals here only replace the x-ray machines and MRI scanners when they no long work too. Lay down and I will finish removing the knee immobilizer."

Jennifer lays down on the x-ray table and Luka finish unfastens the knee immobilizer. Luka then careful lifts the left leg up with his left hand. He picks up the knee immobilizer from the table and careful set Jennifer's left leg back on the table. Simultaneously the door to the x-ray suit opens and Gordana Horvat walks into the room, Doctor Gordana Horvat start talking in English to Luka and Jennifer.

"You will need my key to switch on the x-ray machine and my code to work the MRI scanner Luka's because the code change since you left the hospital."

Gordana Horvat walks over to the x-ray machine generator that hanging above the left end of the table. Then put the key into the keyhole on the side of the x-ray generator, which is facing the x-ray suit door. She turns the key and then goes to get some film cassettes with the film inside for the x-ray machine. A few moments later she is putting the first film cassette into the x-ray machine. Gordana then moves the x-ray generator over Jennifer's left knee. Gordana Horvat then walks over to the control panel for the X-ray machine. The control panel is at the right end of the room and is behind a half wall behind which Luka is standing. Luka looks at Jennifer laying the table and start to talk in English.

"Before we start, I need to ask about pregnancy. Is there any chance you could be pregnant?"

"Do I have to answer that question Luka?"

"Yes."

"I and your brother have not been actively trying to get pregnant. He uses a condom when we had intercourse. I do not believe that I am pregnant."

"When was your last menstrual cycle?"

"The last week of January, but I still do not believe I am pregnant since my menstrual cycle always skip February."

"Maybe you should have a pregnancy test?"

"Luka's take the X-rays and then the MRI images. We need to know what wrong with my knee and as a doctor I know the risks of x-ray and MRI images during early pregnancy. However, I do not believe I am pregnant and I normally get my menstrual cycle the first or second week of March."

"All right Jennifer, I will start taking the x-ray images now."

The first x-ray taking of the left knee is a front view of the knee, then Gordana Horvat goes over to Jennifer. She set Jennifer and the x-ray generator up to get an image of the back of the left knee. A short time later Luka is taking x-rays with a back view of the knee. Then Gordana Horvat walks back over to the x-ray table and set it up to get view of the right side of the left knee. A minute later Luka takes images of the right side of the left knee. Then Gordana set up the x-ray generator to get view of the left side of the left knee. Gordana rejoins Luka at the control panel and he starts to take the X-rays images. Five and half minutes later Gordana Horvat gathering up the x-ray films. Luka is putting the knee immobilizer back on Jennifer for the time being. Gordana Horvat walks over to the door and start to talk.

"I am going to take the x-ray films to get develop and then I will join the two of you in the MRI suit in a few minutes."

Doctor Gordana Horvat leaves the X-ray suit and closes the door behind her. Then Gordana walks down the hallway and to the film development room. The film development room is the first room on the right of the hallway, after stepping off the last steps of the basement staircase. Simultaneously inside the x-ray suit, Luka has finished fastening the knee immobilizer. He is now walking over to get the crutches and Jennifer is sitting up on the x-ray table. Jennifer puts her legs over the side of the table and then stands up. In addition she is putting her full weight on her right leg. Jennifer then looks at Luka that is walking over to her with the crutches in his hands. In addition he has the straps of the two overnight bags over his left shoulder. Luka hands Jennifer the crutches and she puts the crutches under her underarms. Luka walks over to the door and then he opens the door. He holds the door open for Jennifer and she hops out of the X-ray suit. Luka follows Jennifer out of the X-ray suit and closes the door behind him.
A short time later Luka and Jennifer are walking up to the door that is right after the X-ray suit. Luka opens the door to the MRI suit and holds the door opens. Jennifer hops into the MRI suit on her crutches and once Jennifer is through the door Luka walks into the MRI suit. He closes the door to the MRI suit, as Jennifer hops over the white MRI scanner that is in the center of the room. The outer area of the MRI scanner is square with a round opening in the center that is call a bore, into which the scanner table goes. Jennifer hops over to the MRI scanner and then takes the crutches out from under her underarms. Then Jennifer sets the crutches against the table for the time being and then places her hands onto the tall table. Jennifer then lifts herself up onto the tall table, as Luka walks over to the table and Jennifer start to unfasten the knee immobilizer. Once all the straps of the knee immobilizer are unfastening, she unwraps the knee immobilizer. Then Jennifer careful lifts up her left leg and Luka pulls the knee immobilizer off the table. Jennifer set her leg down on the table and then take off all of her earrings. Then take off her wedding band and engagement ring. Jennifer then hands the earrings, wedding band and engagement ring to Luka. Luka takes the overnight bags, crutches, earrings, wedding band and engagement ring into the MRI control room, since metal cannot be near the MRI scanner when in use. Doctor Gordana Horvat walks into the MRI suit and then walks into the control room that at the far left end of the MRI suit. Luka walks out of the control room and over to the MRI scanner, as Doctor Gordana Horvat starts the computer for the MRI scanner. Luka pushes a button that on the right side of the round opening of the MRI scanner and the button controls the movement of the table. The table start moving into the bore of the MRI scanner and once the top of Jennifer legs has entered the bore. Luka pushes the button that stops the table.

"You need to lay still during the MRI, which could take forty-five minutes to an hour. I will be in the control room with doctor Gordana Horvat."

Luka smiles at Jennifer and then walks away from the MRI scanner. He walks into the control room and takes a seat on a chair that is on Gordana Horvat's left side. Gordana starts the MRI scanner and start getting the images of the knee. The image start appearing on the computer screen, Luka and Gordana sees that the reduction of the dislocation knee has been a success. However, the quadriceps tendon and patella tendon (ligament) both have proximal (center) tears of the tendons and are not fully tears. However, the quadriceps tendon and patella tendon have only several centimeters before completely tear. The view below the patella, quadriceps tendon and the patella tendon(ligament) appear on the screen. The two doctors see that Jennifer Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and posterior cruciate ligaments are completely tears and are proximal (center) tears. Luka and Gordana notice that the medial collateral ligament (MCL) and the lateral collateral ligaments (LCL) have proximal (center) tears too. In addition the views of the cartilage come up and the two doctors see no tear to the articular cartilage. Nevertheless, the meniscus has a large tear and Luka and Gordana see no fractures on the tibia, patella, fibula and femur. However, the tibia, patella, fibula and femur are contusions. After what seems like forever the views of the back of the knees appear on the computer screen. Luka and Gordana see that the popliteal vein did not rupture and neither of them sees any signs of a deep venous thrombosis (DVT), which is great. Luka cheek the images with the view of the peroneal nerve and see it is not compression or damage, which is great news too.

"Gordana will you please get copies of the MRI images print. I want you to get copies of the image's print for your records and copies printing for Jennifer to take back to Chicago. For the x-rays images get copies for your records and copies for Jennifer to take back to Chicago."

"I will."

Gordana Horvat saves all the images onto a Flippy disc to take to the images to the development room. Then turns the computer off, as Luke walks into the MRI suit with his and Jennifer's overnight bags, knee immobilizer, the pair of crutches. In addition he has Jennifer's earrings, wedding band and engagement ring too. Luka walks up to the MRI scanner and push the button to bring the table out of the MRI scanner. Once the table is all the way out of the MRI scanner Luka hand the earrings, wedding band and engagement ring to Jennifer. She looks up at Luka and start to talk.

"What did the MRI say?"

"I want to wait for the MRI images to be printout. Then I will show you the MRI images and tell you the results of the MRI."

"For now let get the knee immobilizer back onto your left knee."

Jennifer careful lift her left leg off the table of the MRI scanner, so Luka can put the knee immobilizer onto the table. Luka slides the knee immobilizer, which is open under Jennifer's left knee. Jennifer set her leg down onto the knee immobilizer and then Luka wraps the knee immobilizer around the left leg. Luka starts to fasten the straps of the knee immobilizer, as Jennifer puts her earrings in. The door to the MRI suit opens and an exhausted looking doctor walks through the door. He has two large envelopes with MRI and x-ray images in the left hand that he hands to Jennifer. In addition he has copies of MRI and x-ray images in his right hand. Jennifer notices the doctor has thinning light brown hair that is turning gray and is six feet tall with large round eyes that are brown. He starts to put the images up onto the lightbox that on the left side of the MRI suit door and simultaneously he starts talking in English.

"I am doctor Marković and I am the only orthopedic doctor currently working at this hospital. Doctor Gordana Horvat asks me to look at your X-rays and MRI images. The X-rays and the MRI show that your tibia, patella, fibula and femur are contusions, which is from when you dislocate your knee and patella. In addition you have no fracture on the tibia, fibula, femur and patella. The patella slides back into position when Doctor Luka reduced the dislocated knee. In addition your MRI images show that your quadriceps tendon and patella tendon (ligament) have not fully tears and the tear are proximal (center) tears. However, the quadriceps tendon and patella tendon (ligament) have only several centimeters before completely tear. You have completely torn your Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and the Posterior cruciate ligament and the tears are proximal (center) tears too. The medial collateral ligament (MCL) and the lateral collateral ligament (LCL) has completely proximal (center) tears too. Your articular cartilage is free of tears. However, the meniscus has a tear and is only two centimeters away from a being completely tear. The popliteal vein did not rupture when you desolated your knee and you have no sign of a deep venous thrombosis (DVT). Jennifer, once you get back to Chicago you will need to make an appointment to see an orthopedic surgeon. Doctor Gordana Horvat is bringing in a telescopic knee brace to switch you too and for the time being the knee brace will be lock into a straight position. The knee brace can be unlock and then switch over to having full range of motion on April 17. However, you must wear the brace until after you have the knee surgery to repair the major knee injury. Did you understand everything I say?"

"Yes. However, what if I do not want to wait until I am back in Chicago to have the surgery. The long I wait to have the surgery, means the longer that I will I have to sit out of gymnastics training. Do I qualify for your arthroscopic primary ligament repair with suture augmentation and will you do the surgery?"

"Yes you qualify for my arthroscopic primary ligament repair with suture augmentation. However, we are in a war zone and I feel that it will be better if you wait to have the surgery until you get back to Chicago."
"I do not want to wait!"

"Fine I will do your surgery. It will be enjoyable during a routine arthroscopic primary ligament repair with suture augmentation for a change. However, I want to get some sleep first because I am exhaust."

"That is fine and thank you for agreeing to do my surgery."

"Jennifer's do not take the knee brace off and when you take a shower put a full leg cover on over the leg."

"I understand, how long will I have to wear the brace for?"

"You must wear the telescopic knee brace for three weeks after the surgery and you cannot take the brace off. Then you will be switches to a ligament knee brace for three more weeks without being able to remove the brace. When the three weeks end you still have to wear the ligament knee brace for six more weeks, but can take the brace off to shower. At this point you can go gymnastics center and start doing condition and strength work on the uneven bars. However, you are not allowing to run or train the vault, balance beam or the floor. When you do start training gymnastics fully again, you will wear the ligament knee brace. After the surgery I will do another MRI, so the orthopedic doctor that takes over your post surgery recovering in Chicago has pre and post MRI. The Chicago doctor will let you know when you should start physical therapy and when you can go back to full gymnastics training. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

The door to the MRI suit open and Gordana Horvat comes into the room. Gordana is carrying a telescopic knee brace that a charcoal gray and black in her left hand. In her right hand she has a box with four full leg shower covers inside. The frame of the knee brace has black telescopic bars on each side and black hinges that adjustable to changer range of motions. The hinges are in the center of the brace and will be at the center of the knee when the brace is on the knee. In addition the telescopic knee brace has four heavy charcoal-gray velcro straps with soft wrap lining under each strap. In addition the lining under the velcro straps is charcoal gray too. Also, the straps are adjustable so the brace can be tight or loosen if need be. Gordana walks over to Luka and Jennifer and Luka starts to unfasten the straps of the knee immobilizer. He then unwraps the knee immobilizer. Jennifer lifts the leg off the table and then Luka take away the knee immobilizer. Gordana lays the telescopic knee brace onto the MRI scanner table below Jennifer leg, which she is still in the air. Also, the telescopic knee brace straps are unfastening, so the brace is ready to go onto Jennifer's knee. A few moments later Jennifer lower her leg down, so that the leg is set onto the back of the telescopic knee brace and the MRI scanner table. Jennifer starts to fasten the straps of the telescopic knee brace and the top strap set over the thigh of the left leg. The second strap set above the knee with the third strap below the knee and at the top of the tibia. The last strap of the brace is at the base of the shin. It takes Jennifer only a minute and half to do up all four straps of the knee brace. Jennifer then slides off the MRI scanner table and onto her right leg. Luka hands her the pair of crutches. Jennifer takes one crutch with her right hand and one crutch with her left hand. Then Jennifer puts the crutches under her underarms. Jennifer then looks at Luka and points to her gym bag.

"I will take my overnight bag Luka. I am going to use the restroom and change into the pair of pants that I throw into the bag at the last minute. Then I will meet you, Gordana Horvat and doctor Marković in the trauma center."

"I will wait for you outside the ladies restroom door, so you do not have to carry the bag, until you go into the restroom."

"Thank you."

Luka and Jennifer start to walk toward the door of MRI suit. Doctor Marković clears his throat to get the attention of Jennifer and Luka. Luka and Jennifer stop walking and then the two of them turn to look at doctor Marković. Jennifer leans on the crutches and looks at Doctor Marković, as he walks toward her. Doctor Marković walks up in front of Jennifer and he starts to talk.

"Jennifer's I am going home, because I have been on for a week without a break. You are the orthopedic and pediatrician that on call for tonight until Thursday morning when I and the other two doctors on break come back into work. I am so sorry about your knee and I hope you recover from the knee surgery is successful. I will do the surgery Thursday morning. In addition I hope that you make the USA team for the 1996 summer Olympic games, my twin daughters and son love watching you do gymnastics. See all three of you Thursday."

Doctor Marković gathering up his copies of the MRI images and x-ray images off the light box, then he leaves the room. Luka still has both overnight bags and the large envelope with Jennifer copies of the MRI images and x-ray images in his left hand. He grabs the door with his right hand before the door can close. Jennifer hops out of the MRI suit and she is following out of the MRI suit by Gordana Horvat. Then Luka walks out of the MRI suit closes the door behind him. Luka and Jennifer walk across the hallway and to the door of the lady's restroom. Jennifer set her crutches against the wall and then takes her gym bag from Luka. Jennifer puts the shoulder straps over her head, so the straps on her left shoulder and the bag against her right hip. She then turns the bag, so it behind her back. Jennifer puts her crutches back under her underarms. Luka opens the door of the lady's rest room and then Jennifer hops into the restroom and Luka close the door behind her.
Five minutes later Jennifer hops out of the restroom, wearing a pair of black dress pants with pleats down the front. The pants have a fly zipper and a button closure. Despite the wide legs, the left leg of the pants is tight because of the knee brace and the very swelling left knee. In addition Luka notice that Jennifer is now wearing a deep purple stain blouse that has short sleeves. In addition the blouse buttons down and has nine round buttons. The blouse has a collar that fold over with v-neckline. Jennifer takes the crutches out from under her arms and set them against the wall. She then hands Luka the gym bag, he takes the gym bag from her and put the shoulder straps on his left shoulder. Jennifer grabs her crutches and then puts the crutches under her underarms. A minutes later Luka and Jennifer walking toward the basement staircase to head to the first floor of the hospital.
Five minutes later in the trauma center Luka and Jennifer have just come out of the staff break room from dropping off they overnight bags. The two of them are walking toward the nurse-admit desk when the doors to the trauma center open. An elder man comes running through the doors and he is carrying his six and half year old grandson. The boy right leg has got an opening wound that goes from the top of th leg to tip of the toes. In addition the boy leg is blooding heavily and he is screaming in pain. The elder man runs up to Jennifer and start yelling in Croatian.

"Moj unuk Marijo spavao je u svojoj sobi kada su neke granate minobacača pogodile rub kuće i ispuhale dio zida njegove spavaće sobe i dnevnog boravka. Oslobađam ga ruševina i otkrivam da je imao ozlijeđenu nogu s ulomcima minobacačke školjke i zidovima u otvorenoj rani noge. (My grandson Marijo was sleeping in his room when some mortar shells hit the side of the house and blow out part of his bedroom wall and living room wall. I free him from the rubble and find that he had a hurt leg with fragments from the mortar shell and walls in open leg wound.)"

"Odvedite svog unuka u prvu sobu za traume. Bit ću odmah iza tebe. (Take your grandson into the first trauma room. I will be right behind you.)"

The grandfather that carrying his grandson runs away from Jennifer and the other doctors and he runs into the first trauma room. Jennifer and Luka are right behind the old man that is carrying his grandson. The grandfather lays his grandson down on the black operating medical table and the boy is facing the door of the trauma room. The operating medical table has dark green base with one column leg with three feet. In addition the whole table that can be adjust, meaning the table height can be change and the head and foot can be raises or lower too. Also, the operating medical table parts are adjustable by wheels and one of the wheel is on the base of the head. On each side of the base of the table and at the head end are two more wheels. Jennifer stops by the far right-hand wall, if coming through the door of the trauma room. She puts the crutches against the white wall, then grabs a gown and puts the reusable gown on. She then puts on a pair of medical gloves and hops over to the operating medical table on her right leg. Jennifer hops over to the side of the table left side, if coming through the doors and stop beside the injury right leg. Luka walks over to the right side of the table. Simultaneously Gordana Horvat takes the grandfather into the hallway, once the doors to the trauma room close Jennifer start to talk to the little boy in Croatian.

"Ja sam doktorica Jennifer Kovac. Popravit ću ti nogu. Liječnik koji stoji s vaše lijeve strane je doktor Luka Kovač. Dat će ti nešto zbog čega ćeš ići spavati, kako bih mogao raditi na nozi. (I am Doctor Jennifer Kovac. I am going to fixes your leg. The male doctor standing on your left side is Doctor Luka Kovac. He is going to give you something to make you go to sleep, so I can work on your leg.)"

"Stavit ću ovu masku na vaše lice i trebate duboko udahnuti. Nakon nekoliko minuta ćete zaspati.
(I am going to put this mask over your face and I need you to take deep breaths. After a few minutes you will fall asleep.)"

Luka puts the mask over the boy mouth and he starts to take deep breaths in. Jennifer starts to examine the right leg, as she waits for the boy to fall to sleep and Jennifer does not like what she sees. The boys fall to sleep after taking ten deep breaths. Luka takes the mask off the boy face and a nurse takes the mask from Luka. Then Luka tilts the boy head back and opens the boy mouth. A minute and half later Luka is putting a laryngeal airway mask into the boy mouth. He then puts the laryngeal mask airway mask down the windpipe until the laryngeal mask form an airtight seal on top of the glottis. Then he pushes the valve to inflate the balloon of the inflating line that on the right side. Once the balloon is inflating, it creates an airtight seal on top of the glottis created a secure airway at the glottis. Luka then hooks the oxygen tube line to the connecting port of the laryngeal mask airway tube. He turns on the oxygen concentrator that will delivers oxygen to Marijo during the surgery. Then hooks the boy up to monitor, so he can keep track of the vital. A young nurse runs into the trauma room carrying iv bags of blood, an iv bag of fluids and supplies. The nurse has black hair and brown eyes with a roundish eye shape and the nurse is running over to the boy left side. In addition the nurse is speaking in Croatian to Jennifer and Luka.

"Njegov djed kaže da mu je krvna grupa A+, počet ću s iv, a zatim ću pokrenuti krv i tekućinu.
(His grandfather says his blood type is A+, I am going to start an iv and then I will get the blood and fluid start.)"

The nurse set the two iv bags and supplies onto a tray and a short time later she is putting an iv into the boys left hand. Luka has moved down the operating medical table and he is now standing across from Jennifer, who is looking at the boys right leg. Luka catch Jennifer eyes and can tell that by the look that the boy leg injury is bad. Jennifer and Luka pick up medical forceps and start to remove the fragments of mortar shell and wall from the open leg wound. After a few minutes' Jennifer set down the medical forceps and starts to talk to Luka.

"He has open unstable fractures of his femur, patella, tibia and fibula, cuboid bone, navicular bone, metatarsal bone, phalange, talus and calcaneus bone of the foot. Luka pleases work on removing the fragments of mortar shell and wall from the open leg and foot wound. I need to find the blooding vessel or vessels that are bleeding and stop the blood before I can do anything else."

Gordana Horvat comes into the trauma room and puts on a reusable gown. She then puts on some medical gloves. A short time later she is helping Luka remove the fragments of mortar shell and wall from the open leg and foot wound. Jennifer notices that the bleed is coming from the femoral vein of the leg, which has a sharp piece of mortar shell stick into the vein. She grabs a pair of forceps and removes the piece of mortar shell, which allows her to get a better view at the ripped vein. A short time later Jennifer is repairing the vein. It takes several minutes to repair the vein. Then Jennifer notices that the anterior tibial vein needs to be repair now that Luka removes a piece of wall fragment from over the vein. Jennifer flushes out the area around the torn vein to make sure no more fragments are in the area, then she gets to work repairing the vein. It takes more than three and half hours to remove all of the fragments of mortar shell and wall from the whole leg and foot. In addition Luka and Gordana remove pieces of broken bones from the whole right leg and foot, Jennifer has mange to realign all the bone in the foot. However, the boy comes to as Jennifer is about to start to realign the bone fracture at the top of the tibia. Luka gives the boy some more medicine through the boy iv injection port, so the boy goes back to sleep. In addition the nurse has hooked up a bag of iv cephalosporin to prevent infections in the boy leg. The cephalosporin iv bag is hooked into the third port of the intravenous lumen catheter. The blood is hooked up to the second port of the lumen catheter and iv fluid bag is hooked up to the first port of the intravenous lumen catheter.
Luka and Gordana are watching Jennifer and notice that the boy has unstable fractures that need to be realigning at the top, center and bottom of the femur. In addition the boy has an unstable fracture that runs vertical down the patella. He also has unstable fractures that are running vertical and the fractures are at the center and near the bottom of the tibia. The fibula has unstable fractures that need to be realigning at the top, center and just above the ankle. Also, the ankle has unstable vertical fractures. Also, the ankle dislocating and that means, it needs to realign too. Luka looks at the monitor to check the vitals and sees the boy is stable. In addition the nurse is hooking up a new bag of blood, because the old bag is empty.
Almost two hours later Luka is transferring a sleepy Marijo onto the hospital bed, which is on wheels because the surgery is over. His right leg has a telescopic leg brace with an ankle attachment, which is charcoal gray and black in color. Marijo turns his head and looks at Jennifer, who has just taken a seat on a black stool. The boy notices that Jennifer has taken the reusable gown and medical gloves off and simultaneously Luka start talking to Marijo in Croatian.

"Vi i doktorica Jennifer Kovač nosite odgovarajuće teleskopske proteze na nogama. (You and Doctor Jennifer Kovac are wearing matching telescopic braces on your legs.)"

"To je super (that is cool )"

Luka starts to push the bed out of the trauma room and toward the curtain area of the trauma center. Jennifer slides the stool over to the sink that in the center of the base cabinet. In addition the base cabinet that the sink inset into, is against the far left-hand wall, if coming through the door of the trauma room. She turns on the metal sink and starts to wash her hands. Gordana Horvat walks through the doors of the trauma room and over to Jennifer and starts talking in English.

"A ten-year-old girl is in trauma room two. During a mortar shell attack two of the roof support beams fell from the roof and pinned both of her legs to the floor."

"You or another doctor is going to have to fix the ten-year-old legs. I need to get off my left leg and see if I can get the throbbing to stop."

"She needs an orthopedic surgeon and not a heart surgeon or emergency doctor like Luka or Antun Radić!"

"Do both of her legs have stable pulses and are all of her vital stables?"

"Yes."

"Monitor her and take her for MRI images of both leg to see how bad the leg injury is. Come find me when the MRI images are ready and I will look at the images."

"I can do that?"

Gordana Horvat walks out of the first trauma room, as Jennifer turns the water off. Jennifer drys her hands and then slide the stool over to the wall, which the crutches are leaning against. Luka walks into the first trauma room, as Jennifer stands up putting all her weight on her right leg. Luka walks over to Jennifer, as she puts the crutches under her underarms.

"Marijo is resting in curtain area four and his grandfather is sitting beside his bedside. Gordana has taken the ten-year-old Magdalena's down for MRI scanner and is not happy about it."

"I not going in blind on crush injuries on two legs."

"I understand that and I agree with you. Go get off your left leg and rest until the MRI images are ready to read."

Jennifer starts to hop toward the open doors on her crutches and Luka watches her leave the trauma room. Luka follows Jennifer out of the trauma room and to the staff break room. He starts walking faster and gets to the door before Jennifer. He opens the door to the staff break room, which is to the left of emergency doors into the trauma center and across from the side of the nurse-admit desk. The nurse-admit desk is in the center of the trauma room and the nurse-admit desk across from the trauma rooms. In addition the curtain areas are behind the nurse-admit desk and stop right before the doorway that leads to the front hospital admit-help desk at the front of the hospital. Jennifer hops into the break room on the crutches and Antun Radić looks up from the table that he is sitting at and smiles at Jennifer. He points to the chair across from him and the table is in the center of the room. Luka walks into the break room and closes the door behind him and by now Jennifer has reaches the table that Antun Radić is sitting at. Luka walks over to the kitchenette that on the wall across from the break room door and over to the mini refrigerator with a small freezer on top. The mini refrigerator with a small freezer on top is on the right end of the kitchenette counter top, if facing the kitchenette. Luka then opens the freezer door and gets the tray of ice out. Antun Radić starts to talk to Jennifer in English, as she takes a seat across from him.

"Luka told me that your mother is nurse Ana Novak and you are trying to find her?"

"Yes, I am also trying to find my grandmother and grandfather Novak and my aunt Biserka and uncle Darijo Božić."

"I can tell you that your grandmother and grandfather Novak, aunt Biserka and uncle Darijo and your two cousin Klara and Eva are safe. The six of them are living in a house in the countryside of Grabovo. Your grandparents, aunt and uncle move to countryside of Grabovo shortly after the war start. Meaning they were not in Vukovar when the city was captive by Yugoslav People's Army (JNA). I have already given your aunt and uncle house number and direction to Luka. Luka and you are going to stop by on your way back to the countryside of Zagreb. I am sure that your grandparents, aunt and uncle will be happy to see you. In addition I am sure that your aunt and uncle will be happy for you to meet Klara and Eva for the first time. I wish that I could give you some happy news about your mother, but I cannot. The last time I saw your mother was shortly after sending Luka home from the hospital, she was with four orphan children. We get word that the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) was getting close and planning on captive the city. I made the choice to send home all the patients that could walk and was health enough to leave. Your mother left with a group of four children that was orphans, while all the patients that could be discharge were leaving the hospital. I have been looking for your mother since that day, hoping that I could find where she is and give your grandparents, aunt and uncle some good news about her. I will help Luka searches for your mother and hopeful sooner then later we will have some news about your mother whereabouts."

"Thank you."

"You are welcome and the large shipment for the countryside clinic that made out to you and Luka is lock in the trauma center storage room. I will help Luka carry the boxes of the medical shipment from the storage room and outside to the van Thursday morning. In addition I will help Luka's load the medical shipment boxes into the van."

"Thank you again."

"You are welcome again. I will take care of the injury ten-year-old girl, Jennifer. Put your left leg up and icy the knee."

Antun Radić stands up from the chair he sitting on and then walks to the break room door. He opens the door and walks out of the break room. The door closes behind Antun Radić and Luka is almost done put ice into medical ice bag for Jennifer's left knee. Jennifer puts her leg up onto the chair that is across from her. A minute later Luka walks up to Jennifer and hand a light-blue medical ice bag to Jennifer. She takes the ice bag and set the light-blue ice bag onto her left knee.

"Do you need anything else before I go check on Marijo?"

"No, I do not need anything."

"Another quick question, how is your knee feeling?"

"Sore, but the throbbing has ease up a little, now that I am not standing on my feet."

"That is good to hear."

Luka walks to the break room door and once at the door, he stops walking. He looks at Jennifer one last time and then he walks out of the break room. Jennifer smiles to herself because she now knows that her grandparents, aunt, uncle and two cousins are still living. In addition the six of them are living in home that is in the countryside of Grabovo. Jennifer leans against the back of the chair and closes her eyes. In addition Jennifer is thinking about what her twin cousin Klara and Eva might look like. Meanwhile, in trauma room three, Luka is delivering a baby. Antun Radić is in trauma room one during surgery on Magdalena legs and hope that both legs can be saves. Gordana Horvat is in curtain area one and she is listening to a heart of a twelve-year-old boy that is name Pavao that has a hole in his heart. The boy has fatigue, shortness of breath, heart murmur, a bluish skin tone and Pavao feet, legs and abdomen are swelling too.
Fifteen minutes later Jennifer comes out of the break room and start to hop over to the nurse-admit desk on her crutches. When Jennifer reaches the nurse-admit desk, she notices Marijo laying on the bed in curtain area four and he is crying. Jennifer hops over to curtain area four on her crutches and then hop over to bedside on Marijo's left side. The reason she goes up Marijo's left side is that his grandfather is sitting beside the right side of the bed and she starts talking to Marijo in Croatian.

"Zašto plačeš Marijo? (Why are you crying Marijo?)

"Boli me desna noga! (My right leg hurts!)

Jennifer reaches over and grabs the chart that hooked to the end of the hospital bed. She quickly reads over the chart and sees that Marijo has not had anything for pain control yet. Nurse Sara that hooked up the iv and got Marijo's blood, iv fluids and iv antibiotic walks by curtain area four and Jennifer waves Sara over. The nurse walks over to end of Marijo bed, Jennifer start talking to the nurse in Croatian.

"Zašto Mariju ništa ne daješ protiv bolova? "(Why have you not giving Marijo anything for pain?)"

"Čekao sam hoće li mu trebati lijek protiv bolova. Imamo samo ograničenu količinu koja je odobrena za uporabu u njegovom dobnom rasponu, a lijek protiv bolova daje se samo po potrebi. (I was waiting to see if he would need any pain medicine. We only have a limited amount that approved for use in his age range and only give the pain medicine when need.)"

"Boli ga desna noga, pa ćeš dobiti Marijo lijekove protiv bolova? (His right leg is hurting, so will you get pain medicine for Marijo?)"

"Odvest ću ga odmah po lijek protiv bolova. (I will go get him some pain medicine right now.)"

Nurse Sara walks away from Marijo, the boy grandfather and Jennifer to go to get the pain medicine from the medicine locker. The medicine locker is between trauma room one and two. A short time later the nurse walks back over to Marijo bedside and gives him an injection of 0.2 mg of morphine into the injection port of the iv. Jennifer hands the chart to the nurse when she finished giving the injections. Then the nurse makes a note on the boys chart saying that he has been giving 0.2 mg of morphine. Marijo looks at Doctor Jennifer Kovac and starts to talking in Croatian again.

"Koliko dugo prestaje bol? (How long to the pain stops?)

"Trebali biste odmah početi osjećati olakšanje boli i za pet ili deset minuta trebalo bi djelovati u potpunosti. Je li Marijo smanjio bol? (You should start to feel some pain relief right away and in five or ten minutes it should be working fully. Has the pain decrease any Marijo?)

"Bolovi postaju sve manji. Pospan sam, mogu li drijemati? (The pain is becoming less. I am sleepy, can I take a nap?)"

"Da (Yes)"

Marijo closes his eyes and start to fall asleep. Jennifer looks at the grandfather, who is looking toward the outside doors that lead into the trauma center. An elder lady with long gray hair pulled into a bun comes through the doors with a baby in her arms. The elder women run over to Marijo and Marijo's grandfather. Simultaneously an explosion happens that sounds like it is only five blocks away at the furthest and the grandfather start talking in Croatian to his wife.

"Anastazija Sarić's kažem vam da ostanete u susjednom bombaškom skloništu s našom unukom Jelenom. (Anastazija Sarić's I tell you to stay in the neighbor bomb shelter with our granddaughter Jelena.)

"Boris, nisam mogao ostati u skloništu za bombe. Morao sam vidjeti kako je Marijo! Kako je Marijo? (Boris I could not stay in the neighbor bomb shelter. I had to see how Marijo was! How is Marijo doing?)

"Upravo je uzeo lijek protiv bolova i odmara se ove sekunde. Doktorica Jennifer Kovac očistila je sve fragmente otvorenih rana noge i stopala. Uz to je stabilizirala sve njegove nestabilne prijelome noge i stopala.
(He just had some pain medicine and he is resting right this second and Doctor Jennifer Kovac clean out all of the fragments from his open leg and foot wounds. In addition she stabilized all of his unstable fractures in his leg and foot.)"

Jennifer turns away from Marijo, his sister and grandparents. She then hops over to the nurse-admit desk on her crutches. Simultaneously another explosion happens and the doors to the trauma center open. A married couple comes through the doors. In addition the husband is helping his pregnant wife walk, who is holding her stomach and might be in active labor. In addition the pregnant lady is wearing a loose flow nightgown that is white. The married couple walk over the nurse-admit desk and the pregnant women lean against the top of the desk. Jennifer looks at the couple and start to talk to them in Croatian. Simultaneously the husband starts looking around for a wheelchair.

"Kako se zovete i koliko ste daleko u trudnoći? Uz to ima li i vaše pauze za vodu? (What is your name and how far along in your pregnancy are you? In addition has your water break?)"

"Zovem se Anja i imam dva i pol tjedna do termina. Voda mi se nije slomila. Međutim, moje kontrakcije su u razmaku od devet i pol minuta. (My name is Anja and I am two and half weeks away from my due date. My water has not broken. However, my contractions are nine and half minutes apart.)"

Nurse Sara brings a wheelchair over and then helps Anja into the wheelchair. Sara then pushes the wheelchair to the doors of the second trauma room and into the trauma room. Jennifer follows nurse Sara and Anja into the trauma room. Sara help Anja stands up from the wheelchair and then Jennifer and nurse Sara helps Anja onto the operating medical table. Jennifer attaches the foot stirrup to the operating medical table, as Sara leaves the trauma room. Once the foot stirrups have been attach onto the operating medical table, Jennifer starts to talk to Anja in Croatian.

"Molim vas, stavite noge u uzengiju. Moram provjeriti koliko ste daleko prošireni. (Please place your feet into the foot stirrup. I need to check to see how far dilate you are.)

Anja puts her feet into the foot stirrup and Jennifer moves the skirt of the nightgown, so it above the knees. Then Jennifer's check to see how far dilate Anja is and learns that she is only four centimeters. Sara comes back into the trauma room with two carts, one of the carts has an ultrasound and the other has a fetal monitor. Sara plugs the ultrasound in, as Jennifer lowers the foot stirrup for the time being. Then the nurse puts a sheet over Anja legs, as Jennifer hops over to the right side of the medical table. Jennifer then unbuttons the abdomen area of the nightgown, so she can do an ultrasound. After putting some gel onto Anja's abdomen, Jennifer set the ultrasound probe onto the center of the uterus. Jennifer looks at the ultrasound monitor and sees the baby head is down and over the opening from the cervix. Anja looks at the image on the ultrasound and smiles when she sees the baby image. Jennifer set the probe down on the cart and printout the ultrasound image. The nurse hands the printout of the ultrasound image to Anja, as Jennifer wipes the gel off Anja's abdomen.

"Sarino je zakačilo fetalni monitor i ostani s Anjom. Vratit ću se za nekoliko minuta. Idem u zahod, jer moram napraviti stanku u zahodu. (Sara's hook up the fetal monitor and stay with Anja. I will be back in a few minutes. I am going to the restroom, because I need to take a restroom break.)

Jennifer grabs her crutches and puts the crutches under her underarms. She then hops toward the double doors. Anja and Sara watch Jennifer leave the room. The nurse begins to hook up the fetal monitor and no sooner then the monitor is hooked up, Anja start having a contraction. The contraction stops almost six minutes later, as Jennifer hops back into second trauma room. Jennifer hops over to the fetal monitor on her crutches. Jennifer looks at the printout for the contraction that Anja just finishing having and simultaneously Anja start talking to doctor Kovac in Croatian.

"Je li sve u redu jer vas nije bilo gotovo šest minuta? (Is everything all right because you were gone for almost six minutes?)"

"Sve je u redu, samo što je moj početak menstrualnog ciklusa sve. To će razočarati moju svekrvu i svekra, jer njih dvoje stvarno želimo da njihov sin i ja imamo dijete. (Everything is fine, it just that my menstrual cycle start is all. That is going to disappoint my mother in-law and father in-law because the two of them really want their son and me to have a baby.)

"To je svaki roditelj koji želi da im dijete rodi dijete u prvoj godini vjenčanja. Međutim, na vašoj tazbini ili roditelju nije da odluče kada ćete zatrudnjeti i roditi dijete. Na vama je i vašem suprugu da odlučite kada je pravo vrijeme da zatrudnite. (That is every parent wish for their child to have a baby, within the first year of getting married. However, it not up to your in-laws or your parent to choose when you get pregnant and have a baby. It is up to you and your husband to decide when the time is right for you to get pregnant.)

Jennifer takes a seat on a black stool and Sara puts Jennifer crutches against the far right-hand wall, if coming through the doors of the trauma room. Another explosion happens outside and the explosion sounds like it only four blocks away from the hospital. Jennifer looks at the board up windows in the trauma room and wonder what happening outside. Then Jennifer looks out the windows in the doors to the trauma room and sees Anja's husband pace in the hallway.

"Da li vaš suprug želi biti s vama radi poroda i porođaja? (Does your husband want to be with you doing the labor and deliver of the baby?)"

"Želim da on bude u sobi, ali nelagodno mu je što je u sobi kad imam dijete. (I want him to be in the room, but he is uneasy about being in the room when I having the baby.)"

Sara walks over to the doors of the trauma room and pushes open the door on the right side. Anja's husband stop paces and looks at the nurse. He then looks at Doctor Kovac and then looks at his wife. Anja holds up the ultrasound image. Doctor Luka Kovac walks up behind Anja's husband and start talking.

"Mislim da vas žena želi u sobi za porod i porod bebe. (I think that your wife wants you in the room for the labor and deliver of the baby.)

Anja's husband walks into the trauma room and over to his wife and the left side of the operating medical table. Anja hands her husband the ultrasound image and he starts to looks the image of the baby. Simultaneously Anja starts to have another contraction. Jennifer looks at the fetal monitor and sees the contractions are now six minutes apart. Luka walks into the trauma room and over to Jennifer's left side. He looks at the fetal monitor. The sounds of gunfire and several explosions happen all at once and the explosions sound six blocks away. However, the gunfire sounds like it is only several blocks away. Luka looks at the board up windows that would look out into the right side yard of the hospital, if the boards were not over them. Simultaneously Anja contraction ends, Luka stops looking at the board up windows and then looks at Jennifer.

"Sjećam se kad ste prvi put stigli u Hrvatsku i skočili biste svaki put kad začujete pucanj ili eksploziju Jennifer. Sad ne skačete na zvuk pucnjave ili eksplozije. (I remember when you first arrive in Croatia and you would jump every time that you hear gunfire or explosion Jennifer. Now you do not jump at the sound of gunfire or an explosion.)"

"Nisam siguran je li to dobra stvar ili nije Luka. (I am not sure whether that a good thing or not Luka.)"

"To samo znači da ste se navikli na zvuk ratovanja. (It just means that you have getting use to the sound of warfare.)"

"Navikavanje na zvuk ratovanja nešto je što se nitko za života ne bi trebao naviknuti čuti ili vidjeti, Luka. (Getting use to the sound of warfare is something that no one should get used to hearing or seeing during their lifetime, Luka.)"

"U tome se moram složiti s vama. (I have to agree with you on that.)"

The fetal monitor beeps let them all know that Anja is having another contraction. Luka and Jennifer look up at the clock on the wall above the trauma room doors and see it has only been three and half minutes since the last contraction. Jennifer stands up and hops over to the end of the operating medical table and raise the foot stirrup. Luka holds a box of gloves toward Jennifer, she pulls out two pairs of gloves, as Anja puts her feet into the foot stirrup. Jennifer puts the gloves onto her hands and then start to check Anja to see how dilated the cervix is.

"Sada ste prošireni sedam centimetara i preostalo vam je još tri centimetra. (You are now seven centimeters dilated and have three more centimeters to go.)"

Jennifer looks up at Anja who is breathing hard and holding her stomach. Simultaneously the contraction end and Luka bringing a stool over to the end of the operating medical table, so Jennifer can take a seat. Jennifer takes a seat on the stool. Luka hears the main doors to the trauma center open and he walks out of the trauma room to see who need medical help.
Once in the main area of the trauma center Luka sees two Croatian army soldiers carrying an army medical cot. On the medical cot is a Croatian soldier that is badly wound. Luka points to the fifth trauma room. The two Croatian army soldiers that are carrying the army medical cot that has one of they follow soldiers on it, start waking toward the fifth trauma room. The soldiers carrying the medical cot with the wound soldier walks by Luka Kovac and Luka see that the wound soldier has been shot in the abdomen multiple times. Meaning the soldier could have damage to his heart, lungs, spine, blood vessel's, liver, stomach, intestines, the colon and the kidneys. Once in the trauma room Luka hooks the injured Croatian soldier up to the heart monitor and the pulse oximetry, so he can check his vitals. He sees that the wound soldiers' heart rate is stable for the time being and notice that his blood oxygen level is stable for the time being too. He then gets the supplies to put a urinary catheter and a catheter bag, because he needs to check to see if there is blood in the soldiers' urine. A female nurses that is five feet seven inches tall with dark brown hair and hazel eyes come over to Luka. The nurse takes the supplies for the urinary catheter and catheter bag. Luka then goes over and gets a gown on. A minute and half later he has medical gloves on and he is putting a laryngeal airway mask into the soldier mouth. He then puts a laryngeal airway mask into the windpipe, a short time later he is inflating the balloon. He hooks up the oxygen to the tube of laryngeal airway mask airway and then turn on the oxygen.
Meanwhile, in the second trauma room Jennifer is standing at the end of the operating medical table. She is keeping an eye on Anja, who water has broken and Anja is now fully dilating. In addition Anja has start pushing because she is having a contraction. Anja's husband is pace the trauma room and the nurse is holding Anja's hand and watching the fetal monitor too. The contraction ends and Jennifer looks up at Anja and start talking.

"Izvrsno ste se potisnuli tijekom kontrakcije. Zasad možete prestati gurati i odmoriti se do sljedećeg početka kontrakcije. (You did a great job pushing during the contraction. You can stop pushing for the time being and rest until the next contraction start.)

Anja stops pushing and lays her head on the operating medical table. In addition Anja closes her eyes, simultaneously her husband walks over to her. The nurse lets go of Anja hand and her husband takes a hold of his wife hand. Two minutes and fifty-nine seconds later Anja starts having another contraction and lift her head off the operating medical table, as she starts pushing. With the second push the baby head crowns. Anja pushing again and the head comes out, as the contraction end.

"Prestanite gurati dok ne počne sljedeća kontrakcija i glava djeteta ne izađe. (Stop pushing until the next contraction starts and the baby head is out.)

Simultaneously Jennifer is suction amniotic fluid, blood, and mucus out of the baby nose and mouth. Jennifer finish suction the baby mouth out and Anja's husband looks at the baby head and then smile at Jennifer. Anja looks at her husband and start talking to him.

"Draen izgleda li beba poput mene ili tebe? (Draen does the baby look like me or you?)

"Nisam dobro pogledao djetetovo lice kako bih rekao tko izgleda. (I did not get a good look at the baby face to say who the baby looks like.)

Simultaneously Anja gets another contraction and start to push again. By the end of the contraction Anja has pushed the baby shoulders out. She stops pushing and resting until the next contraction start, which starts a minute and half later. Anja start pushing again and delivers the baby boy. Jennifer clamps the umbilical cord and then the baby father cuts the umbilical cord. The baby boy start crying and Jennifer hand the baby boy to the nurse. The nurse walks over to Anja and Anja takes her son from the nurse. Then Anja looks at her son for the first time, simultaneously Anja start talking to her husband.

"Želim ga nazvati Velimir Viktor Boris Marić po Velimiru i Viktoru vašeg djeda i po mojem djedu Borisu.
(I want to name him Velimir Viktor Boris Marić after both your grandfather's Velimir and Viktor and my grandfather Boris.)"

"Volim tvoj izbor za ime našeg sina. (I love your choice for our son name.)"

Anja and her husband are so busy looking at their son and do not notice that the nurse is helping Jennifer deliver the placenta and fetal membranes. It only takes five minutes to deliver the placenta and fetal membranes. Jennifer takes Anja feet out of the foot stirrups and then takes the foot stirrup off the operating medical table. The nurse starts to clean up and Jennifer hops on her right leg over to the sink to wash her hands. A few minutes later Jennifer hops over to her crutches, then she grabs the crutches and Jennifer starts to talk to the nurse.

"Nakon što Anju i bebu očistite, premjestite ih na područje zavjesa šest. (After you get Anja and the baby clean up, move them to curtain area six.)"

"Učinit ću to Jennifer. (I will do that Jennifer.)"

"Anja, nakon što se dijete očisti, možete prvi put pokušati dojiti sina. (Anja once the baby is clean off you can try breast feeding your son for the first time.)"

Jennifer hops over to the doors of the trauma room and pushes the doors open. She hops out of the trauma room and over to the nurse-admit desk. Once at the desk Jennifer set the crutches again the desk and takes a seat on the chair behind the desk. She notices that Luka during surgery on a Croatian soldier abdomen. That doctor Antun Radić is in trauma room one and has just start during surgery on Magdalena left leg. Jennifer notices that doctor Gordana Horvat is in trauma room one too and is closing the surgical incision on the Magdalena right leg. Jennifer turns the chair to look at the curtain area. She sees that all the patients in the curtain area are resting. Doctor Jennifer Kovac looks at the monitors for the patients in the curtain area and sees that all the patients' vitals are stable. Then turns the chair back toward the desk and puts her left leg up onto the desk. Simultaneously the nurse named Sara pushing Anja and the newborn son in a wheelchair out of the trauma room, Sara pushing Anja's wheelchair over to the sixth curtain area.
Jennifer break does not last very long. After only two minutes everyone hears a loud explosion that sound like it only three blocks away from the hospital. Simultaneously the doors to the trauma center doors open and Doctor Marković comes through the doors carrying a teenage girl. In addition another teenage girl is right behind Doctor Marković. The two teenage girls are identical twins and have round shape eyes that are brown, round eyebrow and light brown hair. In addition the teenage have thin lips, heart shape face, small defined nose shape and are five feet three inches tall. Jennifer stands up from the chair she sitting on and grabs her crutches. Jennifer notices that the teenager in Doctor Marković arms has a piece of metal sticking out of her abdomen on the left side, as putting the crutches under her underarms. Doctor Marković start yelling at Jennifer in Croatian, as he runs toward the nurse-admit desk.

"Moja kći Iva je ozlijeđena kada je minobacačka granata pogodila naš stan. (My daughter Iva was hurt when a mortar shell hit our apartment.)"

"Odvedite je u četvrtu sobu za traume i smjestite na operacijski medicinski stol. (Take her into the fourth trauma room and set her onto the operating medical table.)"

Doctor Marković takes his daughter into the fourth trauma room and Jennifer follows Doctor Marković into the trauma room. The teenage girl identical twin sister Ivana stands outside the trauma room doors and is staring at her sister. Inside the trauma room Jennifer hops over to the sink and set her crutches against the cabinet. She turns the sink on and washes her hand. A minute late Jennifer already has a reusable gown on and she is putting on a pair of medical gloves. Doctor Marković hooks the heart monitor to his daughters' chest. Then he put the pulse oximeter onto his daughters index finger on her left hand. A nurse comes into the room and starts an iv, which she put into the teenage left hand. The nurse then puts the teenage to sleep and her father is about to put a laryngeal airway mask into his daughter mouth. However, Jennifer stops him from putting in the laryngeal airway mask.

"Umetnut ću masku dišnih putova grkljana. Morate napustiti sobu za traume. (I will put the laryngeal airway mask in. You need to leave the trauma room.)"

Doctor Marković hands the laryngeal airway mask to Jennifer and then takes one last look at his daughter. He then walks out of the trauma room and into the main area of the trauma center. He walks by his daughter Ivana and then walks over to his wife and son who are standing by the nurse-admit desk. Doctor Marković looks at his wife that is an older version of his of his twin daughters and then looks at his eleven-year-old son that looks like him. Back in the fourth trauma room Jennifer has made an incision in the teenager girl abdomen to see the internal cavity of the abdomen. In addition the incision is below the piece of metal. Jennifer sees that the piece of metal has missed the liver. However, the piece of metal has pierced the gallbladder and has gone all the through and has pieced the side of the spleen too. In addition the spleen is blood into the abdominal cavity. Jennifer surgical removes the piece of metal from the spleen and then removes the metal from the gallbladder. Next Jennifer removes the piece of metal from the surface of the abdomen. Two minutes later Jennifer has stopped the bleeding that was coming from the spleen and she is putting sutures into the spleen to repair the tear. Two and half minutes later Jennifer cut the end of the dissolvable thread used for the sutures and then look the monitors. Jennifer sees that the teenager girls' vitals are stable and takes a closer look at the gallbladder that the piece of metal pieced and cut in half. Doctor Jennifer Kovac starts to remove the gallbladder because it cannot be save, which take a half hour. A nurse is change the iv bags, as Jennifer starts to close the abdomen incision. Jennifer is thinking Peter Benton would be proud of the surgical work she just finished. In addition doctors David Morgenstern and Doctor Robert Romano would think that she did a great job on the surgery too. Jennifer worked with David Morgenstern and Doctor Robert Romano as a medical student during her general surgical rotation. Doctor Marković, his wife, son and daughter are standing outside the trauma room doors and watching Jennifer work through the windows. Simultaneously Doctor Robert Romano that has arrives at the hospital walks by Doctor Marković and his family and then he walks into the trauma room. Doctor Robert Romano, is schedule to start working at the hospital Thursday morning, he will be working there for the rest of the year and maybe longer. He walks up to Jennifer and sees that she has just finished close the abdomen incision.

"Good to see you again, I see that you do not need any help finish up the surgery. I see that you removed a piece of metal what did the metal hit in her abdomen?"

"The piece of metal pierced all the way through the gallbladder and I had to remove the gallbladder. The metal pierced the spleen too, which I stopped the blood. In addition I suture the spleen where the metal pierced. I have to say that I am thankful for all the spleen and gallbladder surgeries that you made me do as a medical student."

"I said since the first day of your surgical rotation that you should be a general surgeon."

"I will stick with emergency medicine, pediatric and orthopedic surgery."

"You will make a great orthopedic surgery, emergency medicine doctor and pediatric doctor Jennifer. I heard that you get married, what is your husband name?"

"Niko Kovac."

"Luka Kovac's little brother?"

"Yes."

Simultaneously Jennifer cut the end of the thread being use for the suture of the abdomen incision and then puts a medical dressing over the suture incision. The teenage girl is starting to wake and since the surgery is over the nurse takes out the laryngeal airway mask. In addition the nurse starts to talk to Jennifer in Croatian.

"Otići ću po bolnički krevet na kotačima i uvesti u traumatološku sobu, a onda mi liječnik Robert Romano može pomoći da prebacim tinejdžera na bolnički krevet. (I will go get a hospital bed that on wheels and bring into the trauma room, then Doctor Robert Romano can help me transfer the teenage onto the hospital bed.)"
The nurse walks over to the doors of the trauma room. When she reaches the double doors, she pushes the doors open and then walks out of the room. Jennifer hops over to the sink on only her right leg. Once at the sink she takes the used medical gloves off. Then Jennifer tosses the medical gloves into a hole on the left side of the sink that has a waste basket below it. She then takes the used reusable gown off and tosses the gown into the laundry basket in the far-right hand corner by the sink. Jennifer turns the sink on and starts to wash her hands. Robert Romano walks over to Jennifer and for the first time notices the crutches against the cabinet.

"Why are you on crutches?"

"I have contusions on my tibia, patella, fibula and femur from dislocating my left knee. In addition I desolated my patella too. Thankful I have no fracture of the tibia, patella or the fibula and as the dislocated knee was manual reduced the patella slide back into place. However, my quadriceps tendon and patella tendon (ligament) have tears and have only several centimeters before completely tear. In addition I have completely torn my Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and Posterior cruciate ligament. The medial collateral ligament (MCL) and the lateral collateral ligament (LCL) is completely torn too. Thankful the articular cartilage is free of tears, but the meniscus has a tear. The meniscus tear is only two centimeters away from a being completely tear. The popliteal vein did not rupture when I desolated my knee and I have no sign of a deep venous thrombosis (DVT)."

"How did you injury your knee?"

"Doing a tumbling pass on the spring floor and the injury happened in front of a group of children and Croatian elite gymnasts."

The nurse comes back into the trauma room pushing a hospital bed. She pushes the bed up beside the operating medical table. By now the teenager is awake and moves from the operating medical table onto the hospital bed by herself. Once Iva Anja Marković is laying on the hospital bed, the nurse puts the side of the hospital bed up. The nurse then pushes the hospital bed over to the doors of the trauma room. The nurse opens the double doors with her buttock and pulls the hospital bed out of the trauma room and into the main area of the trauma center. Inside the trauma room Jennifer is putting the crutches under her underarms. Robert Romano walks over to the double doors of the trauma room and then he pushes the right door open. He walks out of the room and hold the door open for Jennifer. Jennifer hops over to the door on her crutches and then hops out of the trauma room. Simultaneously Doctor Marković, Mrs. Marković, Ivana Marković and Mark Marković walks over to Iva Anja Marković, who is now resting in curtain area twelve. Jennifer hops over to the curtain area on her crutches to check all the patients' vitals. Robert Romano follows her over to the curtain area and looks at the patient charts to see what each of them is hospitalizes for.
Elsewhere in trauma room one Antun Radić and Gordana Horvat have finished the surgery on Magdalena left leg. Antun Radić is stitching the incision close and Gordana Horvat is clean up the area around the medical table. Simultaneously Luka is preforming surgery on a Croatian soldier abdomen. Robert Romano has finished reading the charts of the patients in the curtain area and he is walking toward the trauma room in which Luka Kovac is during surgery. Robert walks into the trauma room and puts on a reusable gown and then wash his hands. A short time later he is putting on medical gloves and then he joins Luka at the operating medical table. He starts helping doctor Luka Kovac preforming the surgery on the abdomen of a soldier, by getting to work repair the damage the bullet did to the left kidney. Luka is currently working on repair damages done to liver.
Back in the curtain area Jennifer is listening to Marijo Sarić heart with her stethoscope. The stethoscope has gold and silver binaural and a gold and silver binaural spring. In addition the stethoscope has translucent lilac eartips. In addition the stethoscope has thin double lumen PVC tubing that is a translucent lilac and the drum and most of the stethoscopes are a gold and silver. However, translucent lilac is around the edge of the bell. In addition translucent lilac is around the edge of the drum too and the stethoscope diaphragm is gold and silver. Marijo heart is beating normally and Jennifer is now listening to the boys lungs, which sound health. Jennifer takes her stethoscope off the front of the boy left lung and then takes the eartips of the stethoscope out of her eyes. She puts the stethoscope around her neck and then start to speak to Marijo in Croatian.

"Kako se osjećate u desnoj nozi, osjećate li još uvijek bol ili se bol počinje vraćati? (How is your right leg feeling, are you still pain free or has the pain start coming back?)."

"Noga malo boli. (The leg hurts a little.)"

"Želite li još lijeka protiv bolova? (Do you want some more pain medicine?)"

"Još ne želim lijekove protiv bolova. (I do not want any more pain medicine yet.)

"To je u redu. Međutim, nemojte dopustiti da se bol pogorša, ako vas bol spriječava da se odmorite, a medicinska sestra će vam donijeti još lijekova protiv bolova. (That is fine. However, do not let the pain get to bad, if the pain keeps you from resting aks a nurse to get you some more pain medicine.)"

Marijo start yawning and he close his eyes. Jennifer watch Marijo's fall to sleep and then she turns away from Marijo bed. Jennifer starts to hop away on her crutch and over to Anja and the newborn baby boy. The baby boy is asleep in his mother arms and Anja and Draen is watching the newborn baby sleep. Simultaneously explosions ring out throughout almost the whole city, but not on the street that the hospital is on. The two babies born early in the night and Marijo baby sister Jelena start crying as the explosions start. The babies are crying because of the sounds of the explosions wake them up and scared them. Five minutes after the explosions start the rushes of injured people starts coming through the doors of the trauma center and most of them are soldiers. The doctors and most of the nurse start check patients to find out who needs to be taking care of right away and who can wait to be treating. Simultaneously a few of the nurse starts move the patients in the curtain area around. Nurse Sara puts Marijo in the first curtain area and then put Magdalena in the second curtain area. Another nurse put Iva Anja Marković in the third curtain area. In addition the nurses leave the fourth, fifth, six, seventh, eighth and ninth curtain area opens for children and teens. Next the nurse put the new mothers and newborns in curtain area ten and eleven. Nurse Sara leaves four empty curtain areas open, so there are free for new mother and baby. The injured soldier that Luka Kovac and Robert Romano did the surgery on is in sixteen curtain areas. Jennifer is in trauma room one and she is during surgery on the right hip and leg of a male soldier that a very young looking eighteen-year-old. Luka is in the second trauma room doing abdomen surgery on a middle age soldier. Robert Romano is in the third trauma room and he is doing surgery on a gunshot wound to the chest. Doctor Marković is doing surgery on a soldier left arm that is near amputation and is two centimeters from being torn off the shoulder. In addition doctor Marković is in the fourth trauma room. Gordana Horvat is in the fifth trauma room and is doing emergency heart surgery on Pavao to the repair atrial septal defects, because his condition has become life threaten. Antun Radić is in trauma room six and he is doing surgery on a soldier that has lost both of his legs at only nineteen years old. Each of the trauma rooms have two nurses helping the doctors. In addition all of the patients that came into the trauma center with non life threaten injury went to the waiting room. All of the injuries that are minor and not emergencies will be treating after all the life threading injuries have been taking care of.
The nurses and doctors are busy the rest of the night doing emergency surgery in the trauma rooms. The sun has been up for two hours when the doctors have finish surgery on the last life threatening injuries. Then the nurses and doctor's takes time to get clean up before going to the waiting room to treating the non emergency's patients. The nurse finish cleaning up before the doctors and go to the waiting room. Once in the waiting room the nurses evaluate the patients on who need to see the doctor first and what patients can wait longer. Jennifer Kovac, Doctor Marković0, Antun Radić, Luka Kovac and Robert Romano are finished using the restroom and getting clean up. Luka and Robert Romano notice that Jennifer head to the staff break room after using the restroom. In addition the two male doctors watch Jennifer hop through the staff break room door on her crutches and can tell that she is in pain. Robert Romano puts his hands on his hips and turns to look at Luka with a worry look on his face.

"One of us should go check on Jennifer?"

"I will do it, since Jennifer is my sisters' in-law. I told my brother I would keep an eye on her and make sure nothing happened to her on this trip. You can head to the waiting room with the rest of the doctors."

Doctor Romano walks away from Luka and the Robert Romano heads to the doors of the small hallway. The small hallway is between the trauma center and the waiting room. The doors to the hallway are off the far-right side of the wall and near the right corner of the wall, if your facing the nurse-admit desk. In addition the curtain areas start to the left of the doors to the hallway. Romano smiles at Marijo, who is up and eating canned peaches for breakfast. Marijo smiles back at Doctor Romano. Robert stops at the doors to the hallway and looks around at all the patients in the curtain area, which all the beds are in used. In addition for the first time in years the nurses had to open the rooms on the first floor (second floor in USA) for patients use. The first floor is being use for worst ICU patients, which are all of the soldiers injured and few citizens that wound really badly or have infections. Gordana Horvat is up on the first floor helping nurse Sara and nurse Petrović take care of the ICU patients. Luka walks over to Robert Romano and starts to talk to him in English.

"Is something on your mind?"

"I have never seen all the curtain areas in use. In addition this is the first time I have sees the first floor being used, in all the years that I have been volunteer as a doctor."

"The last time that I saw the hospital this busy was in 1991 before the city was take captive."

Robert Romano pushes open the doors to the hallway and walks into the hallway. He looks at the lock door to the storage room on his left. He then walks up to the double door to the waiting room and opens the doors. Robert Romano then walks into the waiting room. Luka turns his back to the hallway doors and walks to the door of the staff break room. Luka walks into the break room and sees Jennifer sitting on the fade black couch that is against the center of the far left-hand wall. He notices that she has put the pair of dark gray cotton shorts with the drawstring back on. Luka walks over to Jennifer and notice that her left knee is very swelling and the straps of the telescopic knee brace are as loose as there will go.

"These shorts are not professor looking, why did you not put the dress shorts on?"

"I try to put the dress shorts on. However, the leg of the dress shorts was too small to get past the swelling knee and the knee brace. So I put the dark gray cotton shorts with the drawstring back on, because the dress pants were too tight around leg and knee."

"You need to get off your left leg. Put the leg up onto the coffee table. I am going to get you a bag of ice."

"One of us needs to keep an eye on the patients in the curtain area, why the rest of the doctor taking care of the patient still waiting to get sees. Luka go help the doctor taking care of the patient waiting to get seeing by a doctor. I will keep an eye on the patients in the curtain area and I will try to stay off the leg as much as possible."

"Fine."

Jennifer stands up from the couch and grabs the crutches that are against the right arm of the couch. She puts the crutches under her underarms and then start hopping toward the break room door on her crutches. A minute and half later Jennifer is standing by the curtain area and looks at the monitors. Luka has gone into the waiting room. A few minutes later Luka, Doctor Marković0 and Robert Romano walks into the main area of the trauma center. The three doctors walk over to Jennifer and Doctor Marković0 start talking to Jennifer in English.

"Antun Radić is going to treat the non emergency's patients. Luka is going to keep an eye on the patients in the curtain area. I am going to do your arthroscopic primary ligament repair with suture augmentation in trauma room one and Robert Romano is assist on your surgery."

"The patients in the waiting room should come before me, Doctor Marković0."

"Your knee injury is worse then all of the patient's injuries in the waiting room, these patients have mostly sprains or cuts that need sutures. Antun Radić said he would take care of the sprains and suture the cuts by himself. Now go to trauma room one and lay down on the operating medical table."

Jennifer does not say anything to Doctor Marković, but smiles at him. Then Jennifer turns her back to the patients in the curtain area. Jennifer starts hopping toward the trauma room one on her crutches. Simultaneously Luka starts looking at the patients charts that are on the end of the bed in the curtain area. In addition Luka makes notes on the patient's charts to update the vitals, if any changes have happened. Simultaneously Doctor Marković and Robert Romano follow Jennifer to trauma room one.
A short time later Doctor Marković and Robert Romano reaches the trauma room doors and get to the doors before Jennifer. Doctor Marković goes through the left side and Robert goes through the right side door. In addition Robert holds the door open for Jennifer and she hops into the trauma room. Jennifer hops over to the operating medical table, as Robert close the door to the trauma room. Doctor Marković and Robert take turns scrubbing their hands and then nurse put gowns onto the doctors. Then the nurse put gloves onto the two doctor hands. Jennifer takes a seat on the operating medical table and puts her legs up onto the table. A third nurse is set up Doctor Marković arthroscopic instruments. Then she set the monitor up on Jennifer right side and at the base of the knee. The nurses have finish gloving the doctors and have walks over to Jennifer. The two nurses start to prepare Jennifer for surgery. That means one of the nurses is taking the telescopic knee brace off Jennifer, as the other nurse is getting the supplies to clean off the left knee. Doctor Marković is standing on Jennifer's left side near her head and he starts to talk to Jennifer.

"For this surgery I am plaining on making four small incisions and two incisions will be on the top of the knee. The incision will be on the left and right side of the knee. The third and fourth incisions will be at the base of the knee and on the left and right sides. After the surgery is finish, I will close the incisions with dissolve sutures. Then I will put steri-strips over the incisions and then I will wrap a light brown wrap around the knee. Next I will put the telescopic knee brace on and then the two of us will go down to the MRI suit. Then I will take another set of MRI images of your knee. Normal I would put you to sleep to do this surgery. However, I am going to ask if you want to go to sleep or stay awake for the surgery, since we have a shortage of general anesthesia?"

"I will stay awake for the surgery, just give me local anesthesia to numb the knee and save the general anesthesia for trauma surgeries."

The nurses have finishes prepare Jennifer for surgery and Doctor Romano is standing on Jennifer right side and is standing in front of her knee. Doctor Marković moves down so that he is now standing in front of her left knee. One of the nurses hands a surgery scalpel to Doctor Marković, which he will use to make the incisions on Jennifer's left knee. Simultaneously Doctor Romano is giving Jennifer an injection into her left knee to numb the knee. Doctor Marković waits for the injections to start working and for the knee to become numb, which takes five minutes. He then makes the first incisions on the base of the knee on the right side. Once the first incision is finished and Doctor Marković moved the scalpel away, Doctor Romano puts the arthroscopic camera into the incision. Simultaneously Doctor Marković makes the incision at the base of the knee and on the left side of the knee. Doctor Marković makes the incision at the top left and then the incision on the top right of the knee.
Outside in the main trauma center Mrs. Marković, Ivana Marković, Mark Marković and Iva Anja Marković are watching their husband or father during the knee surgery. In addition Iva Anja Marković left hand is around the iv stand. Iva Anja Marković is still getting iv fluids and blood transfusion and has her right arm wrapped around her twin sisters' waist. Ivana is helping to support her sister, because she is still weak from the surgery. Over at the curtain area Luka is giving Marijo 0.2 mg of morphine injection through the iv port because his right leg is hurting again. A minute later Luka tosses the use syringe into the biohazard bin. He then looks over at Marijo's grandmother who trying to calm baby Jelena, the baby girl has been cry for twenty minutes. The grandmother has tried feeding the baby, changes the baby diaper, tried singing and rocking the baby. However, nothing is working to calm the baby. Luka walks over the grandmother and starts talking to her.

"U umu gospođe Sarić ako držim Jelenu i vidim mogu li smiriti bebu? (Mrs. Sarić's mind if I hold Jelena and see if I can calm the baby?)

"Ne smeta mi. Možete držati Jelenu. (I do not mind. You can hold Jelena.)"

Luka holds out his arms and Mrs. Sarić's puts her granddaughter into doctor Kovac arms, so the baby girl head and shoulder are laying against the right forearm. Jelena legs are against Luka's left forearm. Luka starts to rock the baby and smiles down at her. Jelena stops crying and lets out a yawn. Luka continues to rock the baby girl and smile at her. Jelena starts to close her eyelids and three minutes later Jelena goes to sleep in Luka arms. Luka rocks Jelena for two more minutes to makes sure she is asleep and then gives the baby back to Mrs. Sarić's. Mrs. Sarić's smiles down at her sleeping granddaughter, who head and shoulder is laying against left forearm and start talking to Luka.

"Super vam je s djecom i bebama, jeste li otac? (You are great with children and babies, are you a father?)"

"Bio sam otac. Međutim, moja supruga, sin i kćer poginuli su kada je minobacačka granata pogodila našu stambenu zgradu kada sam 1991. bio vani, po nabavku zaliha. (I was a father. However, my wife, son and daughter dead when a mortar shell hit our apartment building when I was out get supplies in 1991.)"

"Uvijek ćete biti otac liječnik Kovač. Smrt vaše djece to ne mijenja. Moja kći i zet preminu zbog rata, ali nisam prestala biti majka kćer kad je umrla. Zapravo sada odgajam svoje unuke. (You will always be a father doctor Kovac. The death of your children does not change that. My daughter and son-in-law passes away because of the war, but I did not stop being my daughter mother when she dead. In fact now I am raising my grandchildren.)

"Žao mi je što ste izgubili kćer i zet, moram otići provjeriti ostale pacijente. (I am sorry that you lost your daughter and son-in-law, I have to go check on the other patients.)"

Luka walks away from Mrs. Sarić's and over to the second bed. He then starts to check the monitor and sees that Magdalena vitals are normal and that she is resting comfortably. Then Luka walks by the third bed because the patient is not in her bed. He walks up to the fourth bed, which has a ten-year boy named Marko laying on the bed. Luka looks at the sleeping boy that has dark blue eyes with roundish almond shape, medium brown hair, small hero shape nose and square face shape. He looks away from the boy and looks at the monitor and sees that the Marko's oxygen level is low. Luka grabs Marko's chart of the end of the bed and sees that boy had surgery to stable the patellas from a beam landing on his left knees. In addition that Marko's has been unwell with a chest cold too. However, Luka notices he has not been starting on any iv antibiotics. Luka puts the chart back onto the end of the bed and then he takes his stethoscope off his neck. The stethoscope has silver binaural, binaural spring, drum and bell. However, the bell and diaphragm have black around the edge. In addition the stethoscope has black eartips and the PVC tubing is black too. Luka puts the eartips of the stethoscope into his ears and the puts the diaphragm over the boy right lung and listens to the lungs and he hears rales. Then Luka listens to the left lung and hears rales again. He sits the boy up and listens to the back of the boy left and right lung and still hears the rales. Luka lays the boy onto the bed and then he takes the eartips of the stethoscope out of his ears. He put the stethoscope around his neck and then he puts a nasal cannula into the boy nose. Luka then turns the oxygen on and then recheck Marko oxygen level to make sure he has the oxygen turn to the right level. Then he goes over to the medicine locker and unlocks the cabinet with the bags of iv medicines and antibiotic. He opens the double doors at the bottom of the medicine locker. Luka takes out a bag of 10mg of ciprofloxacin, then close and locks the doors. Luka walks over to Marko's bed side and hang up the bag of antibiotic onto the right side of the iv stand. Then he hooks the tubing for the iv bag of antibiotic into the second port of the iv. The reason he hooks the antibiotic up to the second port is that the bag of fluid is in the first port of the two port lumen catheter. In addition the iv is in the boys left hand. Once the iv antibiotic is hooked up, Luck grabs the boy chart off the end of the bed. Luka then makes a note onto the chart about the rales in his lungs and started iv ciprofloxacin 10mg every eight hours for one week. He puts the chart back onto the end of the bed and then goes to the next bed.
Two hours later Jennifer surgery and MRI scan is finished, Jennifer and Doctor Marković have come back into the main area of the trauma center. Simultaneously outside a major explosion that has major force happens and the explosion is so near to the hospital that all the boards on boarded up windows get blast off. Fragment of debris from the explosion hits the emergency doors of the trauma center and breaks the glasses out of the doors. Luka, Jennifer and Doctor Marković look out the non board up windows and the glasses less doors. The three doctors see the Croatian army tanks secure the area around the hospitals to keep away the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and Serb forces armies. Luka looks at Jennifer who is lean on her crutches and he starts to talk to her.

"The last time you had anything to eat was dinner time last night, go into the break room and get something to eat."

"That sound like a very good idea, I am hunger."

"I will go with you to the break room and you can take a seat at the table. I will show you the choice that you have for breakfast and you can tell me what you want. In addition I will get the food ready and bring the food over to table."

"Thank you."

Jennifer starts to hop over to the staff break room door on her crutches and Luka walks ahead of her. Luka opens the door, then he walks into the break room and holds the door open for Jennifer. Jennifer hops into the break room and Luka closes the door. He then walks over to the kitchenette that is on the wall across from the break room door. Luka starts to look at the food choice for breakfast that is in the mini refrigerator, as Jennifer takes a seat at the table facing the kitchenette. He closes the mini refrigerator because all there is inside the mini refrigerator are bottles of water and items with doctor names write across the front of the bags. Luka opens the upper cabinets of the kitchenette to see what the food choices for breakfast are and start talking to Jennifer.

"You have a choice of blueberry breakfast biscuits, peanut butter breakfast biscuits and apple cereal bars."

"I will take two of the apple cereal bars."

Luka open the box of the apple cereal bars and take out two individual packaged apple cereal bars. He then closes the box and opens the box of blueberry breakfast biscuits and take two of the individual packaged blueberry breakfast biscuits for himself. He close the box and then closes the upper cabinets of the kitchenette. Luka then walks over to the table and hands Jennifer the two individual packaged apple cereal bars, as he takes a seat at the table across from Jennifer. Luka open one of the blueberry breakfast biscuits and Jennifer open one of the apple cereal bars, then the two of them start to eat. Four minutes later the break room door open and Robert Romano appears at the door.

"Luka and Jennifer, the three of us have to head over to the police station because the police station got bombed during the explosion and there are injured police officers. In addition some surviving police officers are traps under the rubble. We are to take the van that you drive here Luka, I will let Jennifer have the passenger seat and I will ride in the back."

Luka and Jennifer stand up from the chairs the two of them are sitting on and Jennifer grabs her crutches. Jennifer puts the crutches under her underarms. Then Jennifer and Luka walk over to the break room door. Robert's step back holding the door open and let Jennifer and Luka out of the break room. A short time later the three of them are walking out to the van that parked in the staff parking lot behind the hospital. Robert is carrying a large bag that is an emergency trauma bag and Luka is carrying two of the emergency trauma bags. Jennifer, Luka and Robert see Antun Radić and Gordana Horvat putting back boards and neck braces into the medical van.