Chapter Twenty-Two
At least half the family had gone home by the time Georg woke from his nap and cried out in fear and pain. Maria ran to him, thinking of nothing but getting to her husband.
Curtis had already grabbed his medical bag before Maria called out for him. Julia went to run after Curtis and see what was going on with her father but Cathy and Kurt held her back. Marta was on Curtis' heels as they entered the study.
Georg was short of breath, drenched in sweat, and almost grey. Curtis dropped to his knees, "What's going on, Georg?"
Maria began to answer for Georg like he always would for her. "I found him leaning over the couch, he couldn't catch his breath."
"Georg, can you answer me?" Curtis asked.
"Can't breathe. Tired. Really tired." Georg's voice was soft, he was breathing way too fast. Curtis moved to grab his blood pressure instruments and a stethoscope but Marta beat him to it.
Marta fell back on her nurse's training and her von Trapp genetics and assessed her father. "BP 190/115, resp 23, pulse rapid but strong at 135."
Curtis nodded, "Georg, I know you are tired, but I need you to stay awake for me, okay? Maria, lie him down and come behind me please."
Maria looked at Curtis like he grew a second head. "I'm not letting go of my husband," Maria said firmly.
"Maria, I need him to focus on you, straight ahead, please," Curtis replied in a gentle but firm tone. "I need him to calm down a little bit because if we don't drop his blood pressure he could have a stroke, now please. Stand behind me. Max, why don't you bring the truck around we are going to need it to get him into Montpelier as soon as possible, Marta?"
"Pressure still high 185/110, reaps 24, pulse still rapid, a little weaker. 132," Marta replied. "Do you want morphine?"
"Not yet," Curtis replied. "Georg, I want you to look at Maria. Focus on her face and try to slow down your breathing. Slow it down, in…out, now in, one, two, three, four and out. Four, three,.two, one…That's it. Keep looking at Maria, don't take your eyes off of her face."
Georg managed to laugh, "Usually I hate to obey doctors orders."
"Father," Marta admonished. "Don't talk, he has to listen."
Curtis listened to Georg's chest "Heart sounds are arrythmic,, lungs are okay. Georg, do you have any pain?"
Georg nodded, "My back. Pressure in my chest, aching in my back. Head hurts."
Curtis thought quickly and out loud, "If this was a dissection he'd be dead right now. AAA, no abdominal distention…Maria, do you have any of that acetylsalicylic acid I gave you for the bladder infection?"
"Yes, i… "
"Go and get me one please," Curtis instructed. "Maria, please?"
Maria didn't want to leave Georg but if Curtis needed something to help him she would do it. She needed this all to be a dream, but the sickness she felt in her own heart told her it wasn't. Maria hurried off to grab the medicine.
All the while Georg felt like he was on the outside looking in. The pain in his back was excruciating. He had blown out his back in the Navy and it hurt, but nothing like this and he couldn't seem to catch his breath. He was hot and cold all at once. The only thing he seemed to be able to see was Maria. Everything else was blurred. He could hear Curtis and he knew that no matter what they felt about each other he was in good hands.
Maria disappeared, and Georg let out an involuntary moan of distress. "It's alright, Papa. Mother will be right back, she went to get you some medication. Just relax. Relax. Let's count backwards from 100. By the time we are done, Mother will be back."
Maria was back by the time they got to 50. "Here's the medicine. He's in a lot of pain. Are you sure that will take care of it?"
"This isn't for the pain," Curtis replied. "I don't even know if this will work, but there's been studies published that say aspirin helps thin the blood. Now, I suspect Georg is having a heart attack and most of them are caused by inadequate blood flow to the heart. This could help, but it won't hurt. Georg, can you chew?"
Georg nodded as Curtis placed the pill in his mouth. "Then start chewing. How we doing, Marta?"
"Little better, pressure 150/95, resp 19, pulse still rapid, but better, 126," Marta replied.
"He's calming down," Curtis replied. "Draw 5 units of morphine and push it as soon as we get him in the truck. That should relieve the shortness of breath and take care of the discomfort."
"Truck is waiting," Max said as he arrived in the office again. "How do we get him out there?"
"We help him," Curtis replied. "Georg, can you walk?"
Georg nodded. "My legs feel strange. I can't really feel them."
"That's because you aren't getting enough oxygen to your extremities, but the aspirin will help with that," Curtis replied. "Let's go. Hang in there. We are going to take care of you. It's going to be okay."
Between Curtis, Max, and Kurt they got Georg in the back of Curtis' truck. Marta and Maria laid blankets down then Maria slipped inside. When the men helped Georg into the vehicle and stretched him out, Maria placed his head on her lap. Georg's eyes were starting to close. He had never felt so exhausted.
"Georg, " Maria said firmly. "Don't fall asleep. You stay with me. Stay with me, my Darling."
Georg nodded and reached for Maria's hand. She slipped her small hand into his. His fingers were colder than she ever felt them before, "Marta, I felt Vermont snow that is warmer than his hands."
"His heart isn't pumping properly, his body stopped supplying blood to his fingers and toes so it can run his brain and other organs. That will clear up when we get him to the emergency in Montpelier."
Curtis got into the front of the truck with Max. "I'll call everyone. We'll meet you, " Kurt told Maria.
"Take care of Julia and Cathy," Maria called as Kurt shut the back door of the truck.
"Papa," Marta used the more affectionate term for Georg. "I'm going to give you an injection of morphine. It is going to help with the shortness of breath but it will make you sleepy. It is okay to doze off, don't fight the medication."
Before Georg could protest Marta administered the medication then held Georg's free hand as Curtis drove as fast as he dared toward the city.
All the time they drove Maria kept hold of Georg's hand and whispered words of love. Marta kept Curtis apprised of Georg's vital signs. "Pressure is steady, resp down to 16."
Marta paused as she moved her fingers around Georg's wrist. "Marta, what's wrong?"
Maria asked reading her daughter's expression.
"Curtis, can you go faster? His Carotid pulse is steady at 120, but the radial is weak."
Curtis pressed on the gas as Maria pressed for answers. "What does that mean?"
"It means that we have to try and get him better medication right away. The circulation is compromised," Curtis replied. "Almost there. Almost there."
Montpelier Hospital
"I have a 70 year oldmale, history of high blood pressure but I seriously doubt if he is med compliant.. 150/95, respiration 16. Weak radial pulses, steady carotid pulse at 120. I administered 325mg of acetylsalicylic acid and 5 units of morphine in the field," Curtis told the ER staff. He had privileges at the hospital. "He needs blood counts, cardiac biomarkers, and an ECG. Start an IV and infuse 1.5 million units of streptokinase over 1 hour."
The ER doctor looked at Curtis, "You want thrombolytics?"
"Yes, I'm almost certain he's having an MI. Thrombolytics have been proven to work!" Curtis insisted. "He's my father-in-law. His wife is here, she can sign for treatment."
Max held onto Maria as Curris disappeared with Georg. She held up pretty well but now the gravity of the situation hit her and she began to cry. "He's going to be okay. Curtis is a good doctor, Georg is strong. He will be okay."
"He hasn't been strong," Maria whispered. "Since Lida, he hasn't been sleeping well. He masks it well but this has hurt him so much it's broken his heart."
Marta knew that what Maria said couldn't clinically happen, but she also knew how deeply her father felt emotional pain. She couldn't help but feel a flare of anger at her sister for carrying this grudge so far.
Slowly the rest of the family started to arrive. The nursing staff had never seen more people in the waiting room for one patient. If the strength of his family 's love was a cure, Georg was certain to be fine.
"Mother, please sit down," Liesl said gently as Maria continued to pace back and forth.
"I can't. He was barely conscious when we got here, I need to see him," Maria insisted. "How did this happen? He was so healthy! We were going on walks and picnics, he was babysitting. I…"
"Mother," Marta said gently. "Father was only struggling to stay awake because I gave him morphine. He was talking and walking before that, and those are really good signs. Curtis is back there, he won't let anything happen. Why don't we sit down and wait? Father will be very upset if you jeopardize yourself and the baby."
Maria sat down and took a sip of water from a cup Louisa offered. Her hands were shaking, but oddly, she didn't feel the constricting sense of panic that she would have only a few months ago. What happened with Lida, the truth finally coming out, had been cathartic for her. She was stronger and more self assured than she ever had been before. Georg had been right about revealing the truth to their family, if only it hadn't broken it.
It felt like centuries until Curtis came out of the treatment area. Maria shot out of her chair and rushed him. "How is he? What happened?"
"Maria," Curtis smiled gently. "He's okay. He is resting right now. He's in some minor pain but we are managing that with morphine for the time being. We won't know more until we get the results of the lab work we sent out, but we did do an ECG and that did show us that Georg did have a heart attack in the inferior wall of his heart."
Maria gasped and covered her mouth. "Is he…Is he going to be all right? I don't understand how this could have happened."
"We don't know for sure what causes individual attacks," Curtis replied. "Typically, these types of issues can come from stress and strain on the body. Some doctors think it is related to diet. Others see it among smokers and former military, but what I can tell you is that this time he's gonna make it."
Maria burst into tears at the pronouncement Georg was going to be all right. "Thank you so much, Curtis for saving him. If you and Marta weren't there. I…"
The family closed ranks around Maria with Max giving her a firm hug. "Can I see him?"
"In a little while you can, yes," Curtis replied. "He will probably be a little out of it for a day or two but that's normal. Nothing to worry about. We won't know for a day or two how much damage there was to the heart muscle and what kind of recovery time he will need."
"As long as he is here to have a recovery," Maria replied.
The entire family smiled and held onto one another. "We are going to close tomorrow to be here and help as much as we can," Rosemarie told Maria.
"You don't have to do that," Maria smiled.
"We do," Friedrich replied. "We have a little brother or sister to protect. You should go home with Kurt and get some rest."
"No," Maria said firmly. "I will not be that far away from him. It's true I need your father very much, but he needs me too. I will be as close as I can. Maybe one of you can get some of our things? I'm sure this won't be a short stay."
Curtis nodded his agreement. Marta had told him so many times about the special connection between her parents. It was never more evident than now.
A/N: So, yes I messed with the Captain again, but as you all know by now there is a method to my madness. And I'll give you a little preview, we so see Lida again in the next chapter. Leave your reviews, I do appreciate them. Guessing about 5 or 6 more chapters to go, but you never know. :)
