It was about 2 hours later when Dr. Edwards came back in for his second visit.
Blood pressure was still below normal, which could easily be attributed to the dialysis. Her pulse was around 100 beats per minute, but if her immune system was fighting off any sort of infection then that was understandable.
He held the back of his hand against her forehead while he waited for the thermometer in her mouth to give him a reading. He pulled it out and checked... 99.7 F and holding.
Standing up, he replaced the empty bag of saline on the IV stand with a full one.
Before he left again he held the young woman's hand briefly. "I need you to keep fighting, okay? I'm sorry you were brought here, but if by some miracle you survive this, maybe it'll be worth it. I'll try to look out for you as much as I can, but this is not a good place. It's up to you now whether you make it or not so I'm asking you to fight. You'll have to be strong."
An hour later Edwards pushed the door to her room open to find one of the male cops standing at the foot of the woman's bed, leering down at her.
The doctor walked over to her bedside quickly, making sure she was in the same condition he left her in last time. He looked up at the officer and narrowed his eyes. "What the hell are you doing here, Gorman?"
The officer stood with his hands on his hips and smirked. "Don't get your panties in a twist, Doc. I'm just admirin' the view. Pretty little thing, ain't she?"
Edwards could barely contain the look of disgust on his face. "You've got no right to be here, Gorman. Why don't you go pick on someone your own size for a change? See how that works out for you."
He busied himself putting the blood pressure cuff on the young woman's arm, hoping the other man would just leave.
"You stakin' claim, already, Doc?" He laughed at Edwards. "It's about time. Maybe you've got a spine under that fancy white coat after all."
"Just GET OUT! I'm not trying to save her life just for you to brutalize her like you do the other women here." He put the ear pieces in and started inflating the cuff, effectively dismissing the officer, and watched the other man take his time walking out of the room.
Her blood pressure had elevated slightly, possibly due to being rehydrated, and pulse was in the low 90s. He checked the thermometer and swayed with relief... 99.5 F.
Edwards decided to sit with her for the remaining hour of her treatment, just in case any unwelcome visitors decided to come back.
With 5 minutes remaining, he found himself standing beside the bed, anxiously looking at his watch.
If someone bitten by one of those things could finally be saved? He couldn't begin to imagine how that would change the world. It would save countless lives, if there was anyone left out there, that is. He had no way of knowing. Being confined to a small portion of a hospital for more than a year while society as they knew it disintegrated left him guessing as to what happened to the rest of the world.
The doctor decided to check her vitals one last time while the last minutes ticked away.
While Edwards started pumping up the blood pressure cuff he happened to glance at the gash he had stitched up on her cheek. What the doctor saw made him drop the device in his hand onto the bed.
The cut still had a bit of redness to it, but there was a smooth scab growing over it already. He blinked and pushed his glasses up his nose, leaning in for a closer look, wondering if his sleep deprivation was affecting his observational skills. No, he thought, that cut looked like it was days old. At this rate of healing, she would have a pink scar there by the end of the week.
Edwards shook his head and scoffed at the idea. He couldn't explain it but he probably just wasn't thinking clearly after the stress of the last few hours and lack of sleep.
Turning his attention back to his patient's blood pressure, the unit gave him a higher reading than before. This time 140/93. The woman's pulse was also still elevated at 96 beats per minute, which gave him some cause for concern. Body temperature remained the same... 99.5 F.
He entered the results into the log he was keeping and put it back in his shirt pocket, looking down at the woman's pale face. Alright, Edwards thought, moment of truth.
The doctor reached over, flicking the switch to turn off the dialysis machine, and the sudden silence in the room was deafening. He held his breath as the last of her blood returned to her body, and proceeded to remove the IV needles and the graft from her one arm, carefully taping them off.
Knowing it would be a while before the sedative wore off, he decided to go find Dawn and get some assistance in getting his patient cleaned up. Edwards found her down the corridor, talking to two other officers.
She looked up, concerned. "Is everything okay, Doctor?"
He nodded and motioned with his head to speak to her more privately. "I just took the new ward off dialysis. Her vitals are slightly high but, all things considered, I'm not surprised. There's no sign of her condition worsening, yet. She won't be waking up for a few more hours, so I wanted to see if one of the other wards could help me get her into a clean johnny shirt and wash her up?"
Dawn gave Edwards a strange look. "Why do you need help to get her changed?"
He started getting flustered and ducked his head slightly. "I...I didn't think it was appropriate. I just thought it would be better if another woman was there so people didn't think..."
"Oh my god, Edwards. You're pathetic." She rolled her eyes and called out to one of the officers. "Get Noah to bring me a clean gown, and we need a cloth and a basin of water in Room 4."
Dawn and Edwards walked back in the room and stood, watching the young woman sleeping on the bed.
Dawn placed her hand on the patient's forehead and raised her brows slightly, making an approving sound. She turned her attention to the soft cast on the woman's right hand. "You certainly wrapped that up well," glancing over at the doctor with a questioning look.
"I, uh, think it would be best if she didn't know she was bitten."
Dawn raised her eyebrows even further, waiting for an explanation.
Edwards shrugged and lifted his hands. "I don't think she should be told for two reasons. One, knowing she was bitten would likely put her in a panicked state, and make it more difficult to assimilate her here." He swallowed nervously. "And two, when a person knows they're sick, the resulting depression and stress can actually interfere with their immune response."
The officer nodded. "Alright. It's your call."
Another female ward entered the room with the water and clean clothes. Dawn walked toward her. "You help him get this patient cleaned up." She turned to Edwards. "Oh, and Doctor?"
He looked up at Dawn.
"When you're done, lock the door behind you. I don't want her waking up and running down the halls before we get the chance to speak with her and explain her situation."
Edwards nodded with a sigh, and returned to the task at hand.
Feedback gives me life! Please take a moment and leave a comment. Thank you.