Chapter 4
All saints emergency
Zoe Gallagher stood at the nurses station when all of a sudden the red phone on the desk sounded out its ring tone, Gabrielle gets up from her seat to answer the phone whilst her other colleagues such as Erica and Dan who stood there gossiping about what he had seen two days ago when he was taking a patient up to maternity.
Gabrielle answers the phone, and she is shocked to hear the people on the other end as it was the ambulance operations telling them what is going on with their officers and that they have an incoming of an injured ambulance officer and a possible kidnapping, soon her face drops and all he friends and colleagues spot her face and walk to her.
"Hey Gabrielle you ok" asks Zoe looking to her friend.
"Err we have an incoming and it is a women has been beaten up and shot" answers Gabrielle in a shocked voice.
"Whoever was on the phone to Gabrielle certainly shook her up, wonder who the gunshot victim is, anyway you wouldn't guess who I saw up in maternity the other day" says Dan wondering who the mysterious patient is.
"I don't know but maybe we should go and help Gabrielle set up rescus bay for the incoming and whoever it is, it really has gotten too her" says Erica.
"Fine I will tell you, I saw cate and she had a scan photo in her hand, I bet the dad is someone we know and she is too scared to tell us" says Dan.
After Gabrielle put the phone down on the hook, both Dan and Erica get back to work by setting up a drugs trolley ready for the mysterious patient on the way in by ambulance, zoe sees the two courageous nurses busying themselves while there boss hurries off to the resus bay to prep and to mull over the shock information she had just received, zoe walks in and finds her friend working quietly, she looks to her colleague and she can see it in her eyes the worry and shock so she decides to approach her friend.
"Hey Gabrielle what's going on and why you upset" asks Zoe?
"We have an incoming and it's a woman who has been beaten up and shot" answers Gabrielle.
"Ok but why the tears" asks Zoe placing a comforting hand on her shoulder?
"It's not the injuries, but it's the person who the ambulance officers are bringing in, and operations also told me who the drug dealer is" answers Gabrielle.
"Oh good maybe they can get justice" says Zoe in a relieved voice.
"Not at the moment, before he could be arrested the man took his own son and an ambulance officer hostage, but before they left he attacked another ambulance officer and she got shot in the process, and there is another thing, the victim is also pregnant as well" explains Gabrielle.
"Wait please tell me that cate is not the injured ambulance officer" asks Zoe?
"Yeah how do you know" asks Gabrielle?
"I heard Erica and Dan talking and Dan told Erica that cate is pregnant, so I put two and two together" explains Zoe.
"Yeah it is so I am getting this ready and frank has been informed that there is an incoming but he doesn't know that the injured ambulance officer is cate and he does now that the person is pregnant as well" answers Gabrielle.
"So what do we know about heath and the lad that's been kidnapped with him" asks Zoe?
"Not much only that the lad is in his late teens and the police have lost contact with the ambulance" answers Gabrielle.
"Okay well let's get set up and I will call maternity and put them on standby and ask them to send down a ultrasound for us" says Zoe helping her prep.
Soon the doors to the emergency department open and then in comes Lorraine and Bree steering the trolley into the department, on it is a disorientated cate lay on an uncomfortable spinal board and a collar around her neck stopping her from moving her neck, as the trolley is wheeled in with the patient on Lorraine starts reeling off cates personal details and her vitals and the injuries she sustained during the suspected hostage situation, once in the resus bay frank walks to the bed and at first all he could see is a white uniform similar one to the ones Bree and Lorraine are wearing now, he comes closer and takes a closer look to the blonde lay flat on the trolley with wires and bandages on her body, frank gasps in shock at the sight before his eyes.
"What happened to her" asks Frank?
"We found her in a house alone, when we got there she was agitated and refused painkillers, she was bleeding from the hip, and she also complained of pain in her head and chest" explains Lorraine.
"Where is her partner" asks Frank?
"Both cate and heath were held hostage by a man who dealt drugs to young children, he also took his son and wife hostage, they battered cate before taking off in the ambulance" explains Lorraine.
"right well we will deal with the police later and the hostage problem, but for now let's focus on treating cate, and move her to the other bed on my count of 3,,, 3 ,2 ,1 move" says frank.
Once they move cate to the other bed causing cate to scream in pain from the movement, they managed to get her settled and calm so that they could work on her, frank takes charge with zoe assisting and people stood around waiting for a job so that they could help their pain stricken friend.
"Cate if you can hear me can you open your eyes please" asks Frank talking to cate who is strapped to the board.
Cate complies with franks request and she opens her eyes making people around her release a sigh of relief.
"good now I do now about the baby and I want to reassure you that we will try and save the baby but for now our main priority is you, so we will give you fluid, blood and painkillers, and I will keep you in here but looking at your hip it doesn't look to have hit any major organs" explains Frank.
"Great when can I get off this board lying down is causing me more pain" answers Cate catching her breath.
"Okay I will chase up CT for you, try and bump you up to the top of the list" says Frank.
"Cate are you having trouble breathing" asks Zoe noticing cate struggling for breath.
"Yeah it only just come on though, I think I might have broken a rib or two" answers cate.
"Ok I am just going to have a look at your ribs and prod them, just tell me if they hurt when I touch you ok" says Zoe.
Zoe feels around cate's chest, feeling for brakes as she goes, as her hands move across cate's chest prodding and pressing waiting is the key, waiting to see if cate had pain in her chest when her hands presses on one her ribs she immediately feels the brake in the first rib, after feeling and prodding Zoe grabs her stethoscope from around her neck and she starts to listen to cates lungs hoping that she was wrong, as she listens she doesn't hear what she was expecting concluding to her that cate has a broken rib and know her chest is filling with blood.
"cate you have a broken rib but I want it confirmed by the scans when they are ready for you, but I am concerned for your breathing, I think the possible broken rib has punctured your lung" explains Zoe.
"Just as I thought, what other injuries do I have" asks Cate.
"Err you have a suspected concussion, possible broken ribs, gunshot wound to the hip and facial lacerations" answers Zoe.
"Great I knew about the hip wound and the cheek laceration that happened first but after that it was all a blur" answers Cate groggily.
"What can you tell me about the shout this morning" asks Zoe?
"err we arrived the man opened the door frantic, he showed us inside to where his wife lay on the floor bleeding she had a bad head injury and I think she had an injury to her side but I hadn't had a chance to examine her because a lad now identified as the couple's son walked in along with two of his mates, me and heath recognized them from before the three of them were dealing on the streets in the city to kids, we thought they didn't see us but they must of, that's when all hell broke loose" explains Cate.
"okay good well stick to that story when the police speak to you, if you want to have someone present when you speak to them let me know I can arrange for myself, Gabrielle or frank to sit in with you" offers zoe.
"Thanks I might take you up on that offer, look can I get off of this board my back is really killing me" asks Cate.
"Were about is the pain in your back" asks Zoe curiously?
"Oh it's just in my lower back; it's from lying down too long "answers Cate.
"Ok give me a few minutes while I speak to frank" answers Zoe walking out of the cubicle to speak to frank.
Zoe walks out of the resus cubicle and approaches frank with her concerns for the special patient they have in the department.
"hey frank can you come and examine cate she is complaining of pain in her lower back, she says it's from lying down too long, but I am not convinced, I would like to do a log roll and check out her back before the scan" explains Zoe.
"Okay lets go, oh and the scanner will be ready for her in a few minutes so when we have done the exam we shall take her to radiology" says Frank following behind her.
"Dan and Gabrielle could you two come and help please" asks Zoe turning to the two nurses catching up on paperwork.
"Sure" the two say in unison, then they get up and follow Zoe and frank to the resus bay and enter the cubicle.
Frank, Gabrielle, Dan and Zoe all gather in the cubicle waiting to examine cate's back, frank approaches the bed whilst Dan, and Gabrielle and zoe remained to the side of the cubicle waiting for the go ahead from there revered team leader frank.
"Cate I hear you are complaining about pain in your lower back, know before we send you to radiology we think it's best to do a log and roll and examine your back for injuries" explains Frank.
"Ok as long as it helps to relieve the pain then go ahead and do it" groans cate getting breathless as she speaks through the oxygen mask.
"good Gabrielle take her head and guide us, zoe, Dan and this other nurse roll her please, while I check cate's back, know cate let me know where it hurts when I press on your back" explains Frank.
"Ok" groans cate.
Gabrielle prepares to guide zoe and Dan and any other person who is helping in treating cate, once she has a firm grip on either side of her head she and Dan and zoe roll cate onto her right side, frank examines cate's spine by pressing on each vertebrate as he goes, nothing happened until he looks to her lower spine near her pelvis, when he notices a discolouration on her spine like bruising, when he presses down on the bruise it causes cate to wince at the pain, frank wasn't happy at what he felt under his fingertips, and he had an idea of what happened like the bullet in cates hip travelled further than they first thought and soon it ended up near her spine.
"Right change of plan, get onto radiology and tell them she needs a full body MRI and mention the pregnancy and tell them to cover up her stomach" says Frank.
"What's going" asks Cate groggily.
"Yeah me to" asks Gabrielle?
"ok cate the pain you are feeling in your back is probably from when you got shot, I think the bullet missed any organs but is somewhere near to your spine, and that is why you are in pain, and I am sorry to say you need to stay flat on your back, and no sudden movement" explains Frank.
"Great does this means I could be paralysed" asks Cate?
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, let's see what the scans show" says Gabrielle grabbing cate's hand to reassure her.