Just a little Fruity
These good fellows don't belong to me but I promise when I'd done to pick um up, dust um off and with a kiss on the cheek return them safely home.
"Grief knits two hearts in closer bonds than happiness ever can; and common sufferings are far stronger links than common joys." Alphonse de Lamartine.
Chapter 14
Chet knew he had to do something to reach Johnny because Roy was about to lose his grip and the thought of Johnny dropping to the ground made Chet's stomach lurch. He quickly secured his own line to the rungs and wrapping the rope around his waist and legs he swung over to repel down as Marco and Hank took the other end of the rope down below. As soon as he got over the rail he was in reach of Johnny and clipped him to his belt. "Let go Roy, I got him."
Roy let go and grunted with pain as he pushed himself back up. He took a hold of Johnny to get him draped over the rungs, then helped Chet up. They swung him around and while Chet took his feet Roy took his head. One rung at a time they got him down, past the cab and to the ground. Roy's shoulder burned like fire but he wasn't about to let go of his friend.
Johnny was soaking wet with perspiration, his color was now gray as they laid him down on the yellow blanket. Roy looked over to their original victim who was sitting up and seemed fine. "Chet get a set of vitals for me on him," he said as he nodded his head to the other man. Feeling for Johnny's pulse again he grimaced. "Mike get him on a monitor."
He spun on his knees to the yard worker, "How are you feeling now?"
"I'm okay. It was a stupid accident. Guess I'll lose my job over it."
"Any neck or back pain?" he asked as he continued his exam.
"No just a headache. I hope that other fireman is alright," the man said.
"Me too," whispered Roy.
Moving back to Johnny he looked at the monitor. What the hell? His heart rate was over 240 beats a minute. "What's his pressure?" He asked Mike who was already busy getting it.
"I'm getting 50 palpable Roy. I can hardly feel a pulse on him anymore." Mikes voice reflected his worry for his friend.
Hank already had the bio phone hooked up and Roy grabbed the receiver, "Rampart this is Squad 51 do you read?"
Joe Early came on the line, "Read you 51, go ahead."
"Rampart, I have a fireman down, collapsed during a rescue. Age 28. He is pale, diaphoretic, shocky. Pulse is 240, respirations 12, BP 50 palpable. Pulses are diminished. I have him on lead two and ready to send."
Early had a sinking feeling he knew who the man was, "You are clear to send 51." Brackett walked up behind him and pulled the paper as it printed out.
"What you got Joe?"
"Looks like ventricular tachycardia." He handed the paper with the rest of the details to Kel. "51, shock him now."
Hank looked surprised, they had to shock him?
Roy ripped his shirt the rest of the way open, pulled out the paddles and applied the conducting gel to them. Flipping the switch he silently counted. 1…2…3…4. "Clear!" he shouted.
The paddles on his chest Johnny's body arched to the electricity that jolted his heart. Roy sat back and watched the monitor, there was no change.
The transmission came over the radio, this time it was Brackett. "Shock him again 51!"
Roy sent the current through his friend again. Watching the monitor he saw his heart rate settle at 110. He picked up the phone, "We have conversion Rampart." He looked down at him and placed his hand on Johnny's abdomen. "Damn, he's not breathing. Marco get that mask on him." Turning back to the phone, "Rampart, he is now in respiratory arrest."
"51, insert an esophageal airway and start D5LR at 100 cc's an hour. 51 do you have any more information about what happened, " Kel asked.
"10-4 on the airway and D5LR at 100. Doc, it's Johnny. He's been sick for about three weeks."
Brackett shook his head. Johnny was notorious for ignoring symptoms and this time it about killed him. "51, get him in here as fast as you can."
"10-4." Roy hung up the phone and moved to Johnny's head to place the airway. He bent down close and paused, what was that smell? He looked over to Marco, "Do you smell that?"
Marco leaned in close and took a whiff thinking Roy was looking for alcohol or something but he was surprised at what he found, "Smells like almonds." His voice reflected his surprise.
Roy placed the airway and hooked up the resuscitator, passing it off to Marco while he moved to get his IV started.
Once his IV was going, his airway secured and his heart rate was stable they loaded him into the ambulance. It was the first time that Roy had time to sit back and think about how close he just came to losing his best friend. His hands were shaking and his heart was pounding so hard his chest hurt. Reaching up he rubbed his hurting shoulder, a reminder of Johnny hanging unconscious in his grip. What had happened? He had said he felt nauseated, drank his coffee too fast. How did that lead to his fall? Then Roy thought about his fall. Johnny didn't just collapse, he arched back. Did he have a seizure?
He looked over to Chet who was riding with them, pressing the button to give Johnny breaths. Looking at his chest he now could see spontaneous breaths. He squeezed his shoulder, "Come on Junior, keep fighting. We're gonna figure out what's going on."
They backed up to the ER doors and saw the orderlies opening the ambulance doors. They looked up to see Joe and Kel, along with a very worried looking Dixie waiting to help get Johnny out.
Dixie ran her fingers over his forehead, pushing the dark wet hair out of his face. "He's going to 2 Roy."
They moved him over to the exam table. Kel went to his head to check his pupils when Johnny started jerking and shaking off the bed. Roy threw himself across his arms to hold him down.
"Seizure," Kel barked. "Get me some Diazepam stat!"
Nurse Carole went running to the medicine cabinet and pulled out the correct vial. Drawing up the medication she was quick and efficient in the emergency before her. She passed off the syringe to Dixie who pushed it into the IV port. They held him until the convulsions stopped.
Brackett whirled on Roy, "What the hell is going on?"
Roy suddenly felt responsible and didn't know what to say. He didn't get him here fast enough and Johnny was going to die, because of him.
Joe moved over and shook his shoulder, "Roy, I know this is hard but we need to know all of Johnny's symptoms up to now."
Roy nodded as he watched Dr. Morton enter the room also. "It started with headaches, sometimes really bad. He's been really tired, sleeping a lot. Sometimes breathing fast. And acting really bizarre at times. He told me this morning he felt bad and on the rescue when I felt his pulse it was high."
Morton listened to the list of seemingly non related symptoms.
Something else nagged at his memory, another odd finding. The smell. "Oh yea, when I put the airway in his breath smelled really strong of almonds."
Morton's head popped up, "Did you say almonds? Are you sure?"
Roy nodded now a little shaken by Morton's reaction, "Yea, it was really strong."
Morton stepped away from the table and paced with his finger at his lip, muttering….confusion, bizarre behavior, sleepiness, headache, seizure, fast heart rate, breath of almonds. His breath quickened, surely not.
"Kel? Did you get a tox screen on him yet?"
Brackett looked confused, "No why?"
"All the symptoms, there classic. I wouldn't have thought of it if I hadn't just read an article on it a couple of months ago. It's so rare."
"What Mike?" Joe asked with anticipation.
"I think he's been poisoned with cyanide."
Roy felt his legs go weak, God. He suspected poisoning but to actually hear it took his breath away. "Doc?"
Kel was just as shocked as Roy. "How?"
Now a flash of anger shot through Roy, "Karen, his girlfriend."
"Dixie get that tox screen to the lab and tell them we need it back stat. Damn. There's an antidote but we have to know for sure that's what it is first." He turned to the respiratory therapist, "Keep him very well oxygenated and ventilated."
Next he turned to Carol, "I want him monitored around the clock in ICU." Then, "Mike I want that article. This will be the first case of cyanide poisoning I've ever seen."
Morton took the stethoscope out of his ears, "One of the biggest affect of it is cardiovascular collapse. Take a listen." He passed it to Kel.
As he listened to the heart sounds of the young medic in front of him he frowned. "Get a heart scan now."