"Don't worry Jay. I called ahead. They're waiting for you. One more minute." Sylvie says looking down at Jay.
"That's great." A sarcastic response.
"We're here." Sylvie announces as the ambulance pulls up to the ED entrance. Hailey sits up straighter as the rig comes to a stop. Gianna opens the doors and grabs the gurney pulling it out. Sylvie jumps out. April and Choi meet them in the bay.
"Any changes ?" Choi asks as they wheel the gurney through the ER to Trauma 1.
"No. Patient remained stable, he didn't even complain." Sylvie replies with a smile.
Will looks at his brother as he's wheeled by, "Jay!" He looks at Maggie. "You know the rules…..but it's Choi's discretion." she says. He looks towards Choi, "I'll get you after my assessment."
"Better than nothing, Dr. Halstead." Maggie responds..
At this time, Hailey, who was following the gurney, stops in front of Will, "I'll tell you what I know."
In Trauma 1, the gurney is right next to the bed, Sylvie and Gianna are unstrapping Jay from the backboard. "OK everyone." Choi orders "Let's move him over." Before Jay even knew what happened he was up in the air, down on a bed and the backboard removed from underneath him. "Ahhh, OW, Jesus! Warning would have been nice!" Jay complains.
Choi is on Jay's right-side and April is on his left.
"And there it is. Only being nice for the paramedics, Jay?" Choi asks. Jay gives him a stern look as he tries to control his breathing. April removes the nasal canal and says "Let's take a look at you." She positions the x-ray to clear his spine. A couple of snaps later Choi looks at the screen and says "All clear, remove the C- collar."
April removes the collar quickly. "Look at me Jay" Choi says, "Look straight at me". He does what he's told. Choi leans over him, shines a light and looks into his eyes. "Still equal and reactive. That's good." Jays squints and closes his eyes. "How bad is the headache? He continues.
"Manageable….2-3." Jay replies
Choi looks at him, "OK, follow my finger." Choi moves his finger back and forth. Jay's eyes track the movement. "Good." He removes the gauze on Jay's head, looks at the cut and places the gauze back down. "Not too bad but you'll need sutures."
He presses his stethoscope to Jay's right side, "Breath for me." Jay takes a pained breath. "Good." He moves to his left side and Jay immediately moans, "Ah Ah." "I know buddy just one breath." Jay squeezes his eyes shut, grimaces and takes a very pained breath. "Good lung sounds bilaterally" Jay blows out a studdard breath.
Choi motions to April to raise the bed.
"Jay, I'm going to raise your head a little." April says.
He looks over and gives a small nod. His face is stern and breathing through his nose.
"Warning, going to remove your jacket, see what happened to you." She continues. Jay raises his eyebrows, "This should be fun." He replies.
The head of the bed is raised.
Choi positions himself so he's almost directly in front of Jay. Choi places Jay's left hand in his lap and says, "I'm going to pull you towards me, you ready?" Jay gives a small nod, bracing himself. Choi reaches behind Jay and pulls the sheet towards him. Jay moves to a seated position and immediately groans, "Arrgh". Choi drops back the sheet and steadies Jay. April moves around to Jay's right-side and maneuvers his right arm out of his jacket, pushes his jacket back towards the bed and removes the rest of his vest.
"Are we done?!" Jay grunts. "Little bit longer." Choi replies. April quickly moves to his left side, reaches behind him and pulls his jacket towards her. "Ow OW, ENOUGH!" He's reaching his limit. "Almost done Jay." Jay reaches out with his right hand and grabs a fist full of Choi's scrubs. Choi holds firm. April, as gently as she can, moves the jacket down Jay's left arm and it's finally off.
Jay's breathing heavier now. "Arrgh, that's it. Put me back down. Please put me back down", panting now, eyes squeezed shut, head dropped into his chest.
April, with a pair of shears in her hand, reaches for the back of Jay's shirt and cuts from hem to collar. She removes his shirt from his left shoulder revealing a large black and blue patch on the back of his shoulder and smaller cranberry coloured patches on his lower back. She exchanges a look with Choi. He motions with his head to Jay's other side. She moves around to Jay's right, pushes his shirt forward and straightens the sheet, clearing the way so Jay can lie back.
"Here we go Jay." Choi says as he slowly positions Jay back down.
"Damn that hurts!" He says through gritted teeth. Breathing in puffs. "Try to relax Jay." That's easier said than done.
April removes the rest of Jay's shirt and gets him hooked up, blood pressure cuff, O2 monitor and heart rate. She places his right arm straight and preps him for an IV. Jay moves his head towards her and watches her. "I know you don't like this part." She starts. In a comforting manner she rubs his forearm, "I'll make it quick." True to her word, she does but Jay still flinches as the needle pierces his skin. "All set."
Choi looks at his vitals. Everything is still elevated but no new changes.
"How's the pain Jay?" Looking at the dark cranberry coloured patches across his chest and abdomen, paying particular attention to the darker blue on his left side.
"A solid 8." Jay responds.
Choi is surprised by the candid and short answer but continues his examination. Palpitating Jay's stomach is several places asking, "This hurt?". A short "No." Choi gingerly touches Jay's ribs on his left side next to his sternum. "Heavy bruising around the 4 and 5." "Ow OW Stop, please stop" Jay pleads and blows out a breath as Choi stops. "Let's get some films." He commands. "Alright Jay, need you to roll to your right." Jay gives him a 'you can't be serious look' but doesn't have time to object as Choi grabs the sheet behind him and pulls.
"Jesus!" Jay reacts. Choi takes the opportunity to palpitate Jay's lower back. "This hurt? On your back." No" is a grunted response. "Being like this does."
A plate is placed behind Jay and he's placed back down. The X-ray machine is placed in front of Jay and snaps a few, first of his chest then his shoulder. Again Choi pulls Jay over and the plate is removed. Jay is breathing heavy and says, "Please let that be it."
Choi looks at the screens. "Non-displaced fractures rib 4 and 5, non-displaced fractures scapular spine and scapula."
"Push 5 mg Morphine and order a head CT." Jay looks at Choi. "Just enough to take the edge off and the CT is just a precaution." Choi removes his gloves and walks out of Trauma 1.
"Hailey. What happened?" Will asks. They are both standing across from Trauma 1, the curtains are drawn.
From behind the curtain- "Ahhh, OW, Jesus! Warning would have been nice!"
Both Hailey and Will look in that direction and then back at each other. Hailey's face filled with concern, "Jay's complaining." He looks at her. "That's actually good."
Slyvie and Gianna walk out with their gurney. Hailey and Will both thank them. Slyvie gives a reassuring pat to Hailey's arm.
"So what happened." Will begins again.
Hailey says "Not 100% sure. Working the protest today and Jay got attacked." Will listens intently with his hands on hips. "By the time I got to him he was on the ground up against a car. I believe they were kicking him. One had a bat. I saw it swing down." Hailey's face is filled with emotion but her voice is angry. "I couldn't get to him, to stop them."
"Easy Hailey. It's not your fault. You guys are out there doing your jobs. I know it's crazy. You can't predict people."
"I'm his partner!"
From behind the curtain- "Ow OW, ENOUGH!"
Both Hailey and Will's head snap toward the curtain. Will takes a step in that direction and stops for a moment, still looking at the curtain.
From behind the curtain- "Ow OW Stop, please stop!"
Will takes another step. *Will's thoughts- That's the second time I've heard him say 'please'. He's in pain. Why haven't they given him anything yet?*
"No Dr. Halstead!." Maggie warns. Will freezes and looks at her.
"Dr. Choi said he'll get you." Her face is empathetic to his plea.
Will returns back to where he was standing with Hailey, his face is stern and clearly not happy.
"I should have been closer." Hailey says looking down, voice filled with guilt.
Will looks at her. "What's the odds of catching the people who did this?"
"Not sure. There were a lot of people there."
Choi walks out of Trauma 1. Will stands up straight and takes a step but Choi is in front of him already with his hands up.
Choi begins: "He's banged up. Non-displaced rib fractures 4 and 5, non-displaced fractures of the scapular spine and scapula. Breathing is good. No major head trauma, some light sensitivity and a slight headache. Ordered a head CT as a precaution. He has superficial bruising over his lower back and abdomen. A small head laceration, he'll need a few sutures. Overall pretty lucky."
Will listens and when Choi stops opens his mouth to speak but is cut off.
"Yes you can see him before he's taken for a CT."
Will takes a step toward Trauma 1 but realizes Hailey doesn't follow.
"Come on Hailey. I'm sure he'd rather see you than me." He says with a smile.
Hailey is hesitant but walks with Will to see Jay.