Hello everyone! Hope you will have a good WE! I didn't updated for a while, but it's because of my uni: I don't have a lot of time. But I had inspiration today and being injured (writing with your 'wrong' hand is a bit**) helped to write (in one way or another).
Anyway, I hope you will like it and please, don't kill me fight now. I think I will do 10 more chapters (maxi), and after I will end this fanfiction.
Have a good time!
Chapter 13: from bad to worse
When Christie entered the exam room 1, the first thing that struck her was the noise. This noise that made her feel sick, she feared it more than anything. She took a deep breath and prevented herself to exhale for a good ten seconds.
"Oh my God, Matt...", she whispered.
She dropped her bag and walked toward this bed, her legs trembling as never, she sat on the plastic chair located next to the bed and grabbed his right hand while being careful to the wires. Conor stepped forward in turn to explain to Christie her brother's shape.
"As I've said, he's under sedation the time for him to go into surgery. That's why he... has this tube down his throat. We monitor him very closely, so we placed a catheter and an abdominal drain. If his kidneys are malfunctioning because of the explosion, we will know it. If he's bleeding, we'll also know it".
As Dr. Rhodes explained, Christie let out a few tears while stroking Matt's forehead.
"His forehead is so hot..."
"Yes, it is a problem that we can't face right now. We don'tt know if this is a reaction to the explosion and continuous exposure to heat and flames, or if it's a beginning of infection. Nothing shows in his blood exams that his body is fighting an infection. But we are monitoring this".
"And... Uh... And these rashes?"
"He has been exposed to an explosion, so to burning materials and flames. Rednesses are burns. They are neither very wide nor deep, which is reassuring. But as I said, we monitor him closely. I'll ask a nurse to redo his hematocrit".
"Hematocrit?"
"It's a percentage. The volume occupied by red blood cells circulating in the blood relative to the total blood volume. This percentage among your brother must be between 40 and 50% approximately".
"And why it's helpful to know his... Hematocrit?"
"If this rate is too high, it may indicate dehydration and other illnesses. If it is too low, a problem of blood oxygenation, disease, malnutrition, anemia or significant bleeding. This is why we monitor all parameters to make no misdiagnosis and give him a high chance".
Christie nodded, watching her little brother in this bed, hooked to several machines keeping Matt alive the time for him to go to the OR. Conor left the room with a tired look. He was stopped by Maggie who looked at him curiously.
"You didn't tell her, did you?"
Conor could not say anything at all. He could only shake his head.
"But he is his little brother", she whispered.
"I know Maggie", he whispered in return. "But how do you want me to explain it? You can tell me?"
"You've never hidden anything to a patient, and even less to the family of a patient. You have to tell her".
Conor sighed, closing his eyes. He turned to the waiting room and opened his eyes. Families of these firefighters were present. Even those without injured members.
"51 appears to be a big family in every way. Everyone pulls together, including women, husbands and children of firefighters".
"Yeah... a big family".
Conor didn't know what to do. He was a little confused, and this didn't happen to him oftenly.
"You want me to?"
Conor out of his thoughts and shook his head.
"What?"
"You want me to tell her?"
Dr. Rhodes bit his lower lip.
"Do whatever you want. But don't come and complain when you'll have problems".
And after that, he left her with charts in hand to another examination room.
In the waiting room, everyone had arrived. Everyone was there except Benny Severide who was still on the way to come to Chicago. Cindy was trying to keep everyone as calm as possible but it was impossible. All were worried about the firefighters, and the only news they had just came from the television which was focused on where their family were, their husbands, or brothers and sisters. This was the case of Danny, Jimmy's brother, who panicked in the room.
"Why my brother came down! He knew it was dangerous, then why he came down!"
"He was doing his job", Cindy launched very quietlyto not aggravate the situation. "From what I understood, just a few firefighters could go through the hole they had made in the first place. Only he and Gabby could come down to rescue the others".
"And this Gabby? It's a woman right?"
"You have a problem with women firefighters?"
"They have no physical strength!"
Cindy began to get angry, and she showed it. To those who knew her. But Danny did not seem to see it. She stood up and walked towards him.
"Gabby has trained hard to become a firefighter. I am even sure that she is stronger than you. If she became a fireman, respect her, because if one day you need to be saved and only Gabby can do it, you will be glad to see this 'female firefighter without physical strentgh'".
Danny mechanically swallowed his saliva, slightly frightened by this woman he didn't know.
"Right now, Gabby is the only one that can keep alive the whole group, including your brother. So keep attention to your words in front of us".
Jenny nodded while standing next to Cindy. Just behind Danny, they saw Christie in tears. Instinctively, they went to see her.
"How are you? Matt?"
"They... They keep him sedated the time to perform the operation. B-but they don't know when they will be able to do it. H-he is not a priority for now".
Cindy made Christie sit on a chair while Danny was offended again.
"What is this now...", he uttered from his lips.
But it didn't escaped to Jenny, Tony's wife. She turned to him and slapped his cheek.
"How dare you talking to one of our firefighter like that!"
Danny caressed his cheek reddened by the slap.
"Matt is a good firefighter. He has evacuated the house before it exploded, even if he and three of us were still inside. If our husbands are still alive, it is thanks to him".
"I-I..." he began, without finding words to finish the sentence. "I did not know it was Casey".
Women didn't want to talk. A nurse entered the room which was bedridden Matt. Concerned, all three rose up and went to the foot of the door.
"There is a problem?", Cindy asked the nurse.
She turned to the group and smiled slightly.
"I take his vitals and check if all is good".
She continued her work, scrutinized from top to bottom by three women. Suddenly, she stopped and pressed a button.
"Code yellow, room 1. Code yellow".
Christie's eyes widened and she began to panic.
"B-but what is happening? What is happening with my brother?", she said, crying.
"It's just a precaution ma'm. I want to ensure about one thing, right? The doctor will be here soon and we will explain".
Conor arrived at the same time and made his way to get near the bed.
"Why did you set off the alarm?"
"This is his vitals fifteen minutes ago", she said, handing him a chart. "And here are the ones now".
Conor compared the two and began to frown.
"You can tell us what's the problem?"
Conor put his eyes to the door. Three women, arms folded or crying, anxious, stood on the doorstep.
"Matt's vitals are in the red level and we don't know why".
He then turned to the nurse.
"Rerun a blood test. We do x-rays and echo of his pelvis again. Something is wrong, and we must find out what".
Under the rubble, Gabby and Borelli had reached their injured friends, Hermann and Kelly. Jimmy sat down and laid his back and his head on one wall and sighed while closing his eyes.
"They're okay?"
"Far from it Borelli. Hermann is unconscious... And Kelly's fever continues to climb. If we don't get out of there soon... They won't make it".
Gabby sat too, repeating his tourniquet on her left leg to stop the bleeding. She let out a cry of agony, pain and breathed deeply.
"It is really bad then..." remarked Borelli. "My brother... My brother should be in panic... Watching the news on television".
Everything became harder for them. Breathe, stay conscious. But they had to hold up until the arrival of the rescue.
"It's me or..."
"No", Gabby interrupted. "It's not just you. The residual fires are not far away and... And dust generated by the second collapse..."
"Makes us breathe harder, I see. We... We have bottles?"
"Only four. But... But we don't know when we'll be rescued. We... We should get them started for Kelly and Hermann, and... And wait a little for us".
"Okay. Hopefully our guys... Will be here soon".
In the air pocket, the rescue group was down. The six men were guided by Vlad from the outside, and had begun to dig a passage to free and join the four firefighters still under the rubble.
"You're really close. I would say about 6 to 7 feet on the right".
"Understood, I'll turn on a beacon and you tell me if it's good or not".
Boden activated the beacon and pointed it at the fragile walls, so Vlad could tell him where to dig.
"A little more on your right".
He continued to move until Vlad tell him to stop. He then made a cross with a chalk and ordered his men to dig into the concrete.
"I need to stabilizing structures! As much as possible to maintain the gallery digged.
Everyone went to work to pass all the necessary material through the hole while the others were digging. It was very hard for everyone. It was hot, and their gear didn't help. But they continued. For their four firefighters.
At the hospital in the ER, Conor reran examinations to find out what was wrong with Matt. The three women were putting pressure on him, and it didn't help. He burst.
"Well, can you at least get out of the room so we can do the exams properly?", he said. "Please?" Conor added soon after.
Christie, Cindy and Jenny made a few steps back while Danny and the others finally joined them. All outside the door, watching the doctors work.
"X-rays are back".
Conor took them and put them to the light to see what it was.
"I see nothing. It's not possible, there is necessarily something we missed".
Nervously, he ran his hand over his mouth several times, thinking and sighing simultaneously.
"We made x-rays, a scan, a full MRI and echo and we see nothing. What's missing?"
Conor even thought for a moment before stopping all movements he was doing. He was frozen.
"And... And if there are blood problems?", the nurse asked.
Conor turned to her, and she swallowed as if she had said something wrong. But he wasn't glaring at her as he had the habit.
"Oh man... Call the radio and tell them to come down. And get ready for an angiogram".
"On it".
The nurse left the room only to return later with the necessary equipment.
"What will you do to my brother?" Christie asked to Conor.
Conor saw the distress of Christie and approached her to explain what he would do.
"Your brother needs an angiogram. It's necessary that we see if his blood system works properly. If this is not the case, we will have found the main of his problems".
"And... A-and it will mean what?"
"We'll put a catheter in his femoral artery and we'll pass an iodinated fluid. Everything will be guided by radiography, and if something goes wrong, thanks to the contrast fluid, we will know where the problem is and how we can fix it here if it's not too important".
"A-and... And if it's important?"
"Then Matt will pass a priority for the OR".
Christie turned to Cindy and Jenny. And finally Danny. Everyone nodded.
"Okay. Do it. But I want to be there for my brother".
"Ma'am, I'm sorry but you can't enter the room. You can look through the window, but you can't enter".
Christie nodded, and after the radiologist arrived and came with the radio, Dr. Rhodes closed the door.
"We can start?" he asked when radio was in place.
"It's good for me".
"OK for me".
"Same here".
"Okay. Olivia, keep an eye on his vitals and keep me updated".
"Understood".
Conor took a deep breath and held his hand.
"Scalpel".
They handed him one and he then realized a small incision in the upper thigh of Matt. Then they handed him a guidewire he inserted in the femoral artery and slid it slowly.
"Sensitivity to the level of the abdominal aorta", the radiologist said after several minutes.
"Olivia?"
"Pulse at 145, BP at 15 over 5".
"Sature?"
"98%".
"Okay, I insert the catheter now".
He repeated the same protocol for the catheter before reaching the end of the femoral artery and the beginning of the abdominal aorta.
"I inject the contrast agent".
He pressed the button to release the iodized product and everyone looked on the screen.
"There!" the radiologist exclaimed.
Conor looked closer, shocked by what he saw.
"He has to go to the OR. Now".
Olivia took the phone and called the OR, explaining the the situation.
On the other side of the thick concrete wall, Gabby and Jimmy had more and more trouble breathing. They began to cough and it didn't say something good. But what reassured them a bit was the fact of hearing a weird noise, like a jackhammer. They both knew it was the rescue team that was coming to them.
"At least... We know they searching us", Gabby said feigning a smile.
"Yeah... But... How long they will take to come here... We don't know".
"We... We must put our masks. We will have a... An autonomy of about half an hour".
Jimmy nodded, placed the mask on his face and activated his SBCA. It became really hard to stay awake for them. But they had to hold on. For Hermann. For Kelly. For them. For everyone.