Thanks for the great feedback guys - its really, really appreciated. Again, this is one of those stories where I never really know where its heading - so we'll just have to wait and see.
CHAPTER 2
A voice from the front called out "5 minutes out." and the paramedic in the back of the ambulance applied cold compresses to Nicks swollen eyes. Warrick and Catherine glanced at each other, terrified at what had happened and how quickly it had happened. The mechanical hissing of the ventilator continued in the background as the paramedic continued to work over Nick, calling his name and rubbing knuckles along his chest. Nick raised one of his arms groggily and tried to swipe at the tube in his throat - panic setting in the more aware he became. The paramedic moved to sit at the top of the ambulance where he could keep Nick from pulling at the tube in his throat. He looked up at Warrick and said "Talk to him - we need to keep him as calm as we can."
Warrick quickly grabbed Nicks free hand and shuffled his legs to one side to let Catherine move up to Nicks head. She stroked his face and wiped away the stray tears of panic that had appeared.
Nick continued to fight against the tube and the forced inspirations but the acute panic subsided as he became aware that his friends were still with him and exhaustion kicked back in. His hand came back up to try and remove the tube but was stopped by Catherine. The paramedic looked down at Nick and locked eyes with him. "Nick, I need you to keep the tube in, OK? Your throat is too swollen at the moment for you to maintain your own airway, so we need to keep the tube in until the inflammation goes down." Nicks couldn't concentrate properly and his eyes were starting to swim again - they were still swollen and sore. But just as he found himself fading, the ambulance slowed and stopped and the back doors burst open - causing Nick to visibly flinch, a wave of people and hands pulled the stretcher out and wheeled it quickly through doors and into the bustling emergency department. Voices, lots of voices - Nick caught snippets of what they were saying "...seizure enroute...Adrenaline...fire ants...all over" - others snapping out instructions "chest film....ABG's...strip him off". Lights, bright lights. Eyes squeezed shut. It was all too overpowering and Nick felt the everpresent panic rising again. He felt a hand slip into his and he squeezed it hard. Another hand came to sandwich his and he opened his eyes enough to see Catherine smiling down at him, walking beside the trolley and talking to him softly, holding his hand between hers tightly.
Suddenly they pushed
through large plastic doors and they were in the trauma resuscitation
cubicle. He felt himself being lifted roughly just enough to be
tranfered from the trolley to an exam table. The hands around his
were pulled away and he fought to get through the sea of hands which
were holding him down to get Catherine back. He tried to scream out
but the tube down his throat prevented it. He started sobbing with a
mixture of fear, anxiety and exhaustion, but, while his sobbing
breaths over-rode the forced inspirations from the ventilator, it set
off a series of shrill alarms.
Panicked and irrational, Nick
started fighting back. He punched out at the faceless hands and arms
when they stopped him from pulling at the airway, and kicked out when
more hands tried to hold him still. He was writhing on the table,
tears pouring down his face. Everything was swimming again. Almost
as soon as he was aware of it he plummeted down into darkness.
Once the sedation kicked in, the medical team started assessing Nick. He still had significant facial swelling despite two doses of adrenalin plus the phenergan and hydrocortisone given in the field. His airways on auscultation continued to sound wet due to the swelling of his airways. A portable x-ray machine was wheeled in and films were taken of his chest. He was hooked back up to a cardiac monitor and blood pressure monitor and a temperature probe was settled in his ear. The rest of his clothes were cut off and both a new central line IV was inserted into his subclavian vein and a urinary catheter was inserted into his bladder. His abdomen was ultrasounded to rule out any bleeding related to his rescue and his bites were assessed and covered in lotion - the worst ruptured sites were cleaned and dressed. Finally, he was covered over with a sheet and a blanket - a bair hugger was tucked into the bedding to increase Nicks core body temperature which had dropped down to 93 degrees.
Once he was settled, the leading doctor left to speak with Nicks family and friends.
Warrick and Catherine had been forced to wait outside the trauma room where they had spent the time pacing and fielding anxious phone calls. Every now and then, they would look through the clear plastic doors at the team working over their friend. They had not been there long when two police officers arrived escorting Nicks parents. Nicks mother was distraught with the need to see her youngest son and her anxiety and anger were palpable when she was told she would have to wait. His father looked out of his depth. He stood back and waited for the medical team to brief them, clinging onto his wifes hand as she demanded to see their child more than just through the doors.
Finally the doctor emerged and suggested they all go to the counselling room where he could fill them in on Nicks condition. He talked to them about Nicks injuries, about their treatment so far and what they planned for the future. He discussed how they would need to keep him sedated and intubated for the remainder of the night and planned to continue this for at least another 24 hours until the pain from the bites and the swelling was manageable. He also discussed the importance of bringing in psychologists to deal with the emotional trauma which Nick had experienced over the previous 24+ hours as soon as he was awake. Counsellors would also be available to speak with the Stokes family.
At last, the moment came when Nicks Mom and Dad could go in and see their son, albeit briefly as the medical staff were about to transfer him to the intensive care unit.
Warrick and Catherine continued to wait while the Stokes' went through the plastic doors. Grissom and the rest of the team were due to arrive as soon as they could leave the scene.
Jillian Stokes reached her sons side and reached out to cradle his face with her hands. She brought her head down to lay gentle kisses to his forehead, tears of shock and relief tumbling down her cheeks as she whispered words of motherly comfort to Nick, who remained blissfully unaware of what was happening. Roger Stokes stood to one side, gripping his sons unresponsive hand in both of his and squeezing. Jillian looked up at her husband, a gentle hand stroking Nicks swollen and bite riddled face. Wordlessly they maintained eye contact, drawing strength from each other and from the fact they had their boy back.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please let me know what you think. It really is very much appreciated.
