The Hospital

Pulling into the hospital, the driver of the ambulance back up to the emergency entrance, stopping just short of the line. Outside, a team of doctors and nurses awaited the arrival of the trooper, who was now starting to shiver. Noticing this, the medic threw open the doors, hollering for a warm blanket. "He's starting to go into shock, I need a warm blanket!!!!"

One of the nurses nodded, then turned to go back inside. The driver of the ambulance put the vehicle in park, and hopped out. Coming to the back of the ambulance, he helped the other medic get the stretcher out, then passed him along to the team waiting. Six sets of hands joined in the foray, wheeling the gurney through the halls to the triage room. Once inside, the remaining nurse that had went to fetch the blanket was already inside, clutching a couple of blankets in her arms. Setting them aside, she dropped down the rails on the side of the stretcher facing the hospital bed. All hands grasping the sheet, they transferred the fallen trooper over, then pushed the stretcher out into the hall.

The truck driver remained in the ambulance, then came out once everyone had left. Following everyone else inside, he waited out in the hall until he saw the stretcher roll past him. The medics followed shortly after, taking the gurney down the hall to replace the bloody sheets and clean the stretcher. Peeking inside, he saw the team working on replacing the IV bag with a fresh one, along with a couple of smaller bags. He overheard the doctor say, "Man, this guy's a mess. We need to medevac him to a major hospital. There's only so much we can do here."

"St. Louis is close enough. We just need to get him stabilized enough for the trip," said the head nurse.

"Agreed, we need to get this bleeding to stop. Get a sample to the lab, find out what blood type he is. See how much whole blood we have in stock, too," The doctor told one of the younger nurses.

"Yes, sir," the nurse replied. Speeding off, she round the corner of the door, almost running into the truck driver. Sidestepping him, she continued toward the lab.

"May I help you sir?" the truck driver heard over his shoulder from the desk. Turning, he saw a nurse sitting in front of a computer. She looked up at him quizzically.

"Yes, ma'am. I came in with the trooper. I'm the truck driver that saw the situation unfold. They brought me here because I was trying to stop the bloodflow, and didn't have any gloves on."

Ah," she exclaimed. "You need to get a bloodborne pathogen check done. Just sit tight there, and I'll get someone to take you to get the test done."

"Yes ma'am," he replied.

Looking back into the room, he heard the doctor asked, "What idiot decided to use a shirt to cover this wound?"

"That would be me, sir," the truck driver shot back. "Sorry, I didn't have any proper medical equipment on my rig."

"Your rig?" the doctor questioned.

"Yes sir, I'm a truck driver. I saw the whole thing happen. Ran over after the criminals left, thought it made more sense than trying to chase them down," he retorted.

The doctor relaxed at that comment. "Okay. Given the situation, I would say that was a smart move on your part, thank you." Turning back to the patient, he asked, "What blood type are you?"

"I believe I'm O positive," the driver replied.

"Good. We may need to have you donate a pint or so," the doctor said.

"Any way I can help," the driver returned. "I need to get a blood test done though first." He held up his bloody hands, showing the doctor. "He kinda bled on me when I tried to stop the bleeding, and I didn't have any gloves."

"Not a problem," the doctor said. "We'll get you tested and cleaned up in a minute."

"No worries. He's more important," the driver replied, pointing at the trooper. The doctor nodded, turning back to the officer.

"Excuse me sir," an orderly said behind him. Turning around, he was greeted by a young lady. "Are you the one that needs the bloodborne pathogen test done?"

"Yes, ma'am, I am," said the driver.

"Right this way, please," she replied.

Leading the driver through a series of lefts and rights, they entered the lab, where she pointed to a chair with a fold down desk. "Please have a seat. Someone will be with you shortly."

Nodding and taking the seat, He waited a couple minutes, then a short man donning a lab coat walked in. "Ah, a new victim," he joked. "What are you here for?"

"A garlic test," shot back the driver. Seeing the tech's smile, he said, "Seriously though, I came in with the gunshot victim. He bled all over me while I was trying to stop the bleeding, and I didn't have on gloves."

"Ok, so a bloodborne pathogen test. Give me a minute to get the necessary stuff, then I'll be right back," he replied. Turning to the door, he disappeared around the corner.

A nurse showed up a couple minutes later. Walking in and seeing him, she asked him if he was the one who came in with the trooper. Nodding, he asked, "Is he going to be okay?"

"We're not sure yet. He's out of immediate danger, but he's lost a lot of blood," she replied. Looking at the driver's hands, she asked, "Is there a way that you would be willing to donate a pint or two of blood after your test results come back? The doctor said you may be compatible."

"Absolutely," the driver replied. "How much do you need?"

"A pint is fine, though two would be better. We usually only ask for one, but he could really use the second, and we're super low on O positive," she replied.

"No worries, I think I can scare up a couple pints for ya," the driver quipped.

"Oh, thank you very much sir," the nurse replied, as the tech came in. Turning to the tech, she gave him the news, and the tech nodded. Going to a drawer, he pulled out two small bags, and brought them over with the rest of the supplies.

"Ok, where do you want to get poked?" the tech joked.

The driver raised an eyebrow. "That's a loaded question, but I'm gonna save the joke for later." The driver pointed to his left elbow. "There should be a good vein right about there."

"Good," replied the tech. Grabbing a rubber band like strap, he wrapped it around the driver's upper arm, then started touching his inner elbow around the area the driver pointed. Feeling for the vein, he broke open an alcohol vial with a sponge attached, then started rubbing the driver's arm with it. Grabbing a IV needle, he asked, "You ready?"

"Hit it," was all the driver could say before the tech plunged the needle. Feeling the pinch, the driver looked on as the flash of blood appeared almost immediately.

"Nice," the tech said. "About time I got a million dollar vein." He looked at the driver, whose head was cocked. "a million dollar vein is the term we use for people who have really good veins and produce larger quantities of blood in a shorter period."

Attaching the glass tube to the needle, he watched the blood enter the vial, then pulled it out quickly. He then attached a second vial, which did the same. Filling the vial, he pulled it off the needle, then attached the needle to a tube that led to the first bag.

"I'm going to give you a sponge to squeeze. Don't squeeze more than once every 5 to 10 seconds. We don't want you passing out from blood loss," the tech replied. "After we finish, we'll give you a voucher to the cafeteria to get something to eat and drink to replenish the fluid loss. Your blood will regenerate in a few days, but the fluid portion of it will only take about a couple of hours."

"Yes, sir," the driver replied. Looking down at his hands, he asked, "How will I get cleaned up?"

"I'll send someone in to get that taken care of while you sit there. Just relax, and squeeze like I said. If you start to get lightheaded, let the tech know if they're here, or hit the call button next to you if they've left," he instructed.

"Understood," he replied. The tech left, to replaced by the orderly from earlier. She was carrying a plastic tub full of warm soapy water, and a couple of small towels. Spending the next 20 minutes cleaning the driver up, she meticulously got in all the crevices of his fingernails, underneath them, and in between all the fingers. Satisfied, she patted his hands dry, inspected her work, and thanked him before she left.

Coming back in a short time later, the tech checked the bag, and seeing it was full, swapped it for the other empty one. Giving the driver a nod, he whisked away again. Another 20 minutes later, he returned, and disconnected the bag. Removing the needle from his skin, he put a piece of gauze over the puncture wound, and taped it down. Picking up the phone, he called for the orderly to bring in a wheelchair.

"I don't need a wheelchair," said the driver, as he started to stand up. The nauseating dizziness came rushing around him as he immediately sat back down.

"Uh huh, just every other tough guy. Losing 2 pints of blood does that to anybody, no matter how tough they are. That's why you need the wheelchair," the tech quipped.

The driver looked at the tech. "Yeah, I guess I deserved that. Okay, I'll wait for it."

The orderly returned, wheelchair in front of her. They helped the driver over to it, then the tech produced a card for him. "Give this to the dietary aide in the cafeteria. They'll know what to do."

"Yes, sir, and thank you," he replied. Turning around to the orderly, he said, "OK, sunshine, my life is in your hands now."

Giggling, she said, "I'll keep it between the mustard and the mayo." Winking, she unlocked the wheels, she started pushing him to the cafeteria.

"Mustard and mayo, huh? he asked. "Truck driver in your family?"

"3, actually," she said. "My dad, and my two uncles. I've lived around truckers all my life."

"Looks like you might know a thing or three then," he joked.

Smiling, she turned the corner to the cafeteria. Giving the card to the dietary aide, he looked it over, nodded, and said, "I'll be right back."

Returning a short time later, he told the orderly that he would bring the food out to them. Nodding, she pushed the driver over to an empty table and waited.

Looking at the orderly, he cocked his head and asked, "You aren't leaving?"

"Nope, doc's orders. Gotta stay with you until you can move around on your own without help. They're bringing you food and juice to help with that. You have to eat and drink all of it before I can leave. And don't get no funny ideas. I have to stay with you until it's all gone," she instructed.

"Well, at least I'm in good company," the driver replied. Seeing her smile, he relaxed and waited. A couple minutes later, the orderly returned, sandwiches and orange and apple juice on a tray. Setting the food on the table, the driver looked at the sandwiches. "You sure I can eat all this?" he asked.

"I'd be surprised if you didn't," she replied. "Most people ask that, then ask how they could do it afterwards. Now, eat up, you need your strength back."

Yes, ma'am," he replied, as he picked up the first sandwich. Taking a bite, he realized it was just cheese. Chewing it up and swallowing it, he heard his stomach rumble. Feeling the enormous amount of hunger his body was telling him, he attacked the plate with gusto. Several types of sandwiches were available, including tuna, chicken salad, and even a ham sandwich. 30 minutes later, the plate was empty as was the apple juice and most of the orange juice.

Using a napkin, he looked at the orderly, and said, "You were right. I'm not even going to ask how. I'm assuming this is from experience." Looking at the orange juice, he asked, "Do I really need to finish the orange juice?"

"Yes, the natural sugar will help replace what you body has lost," she said. "There's less than a cup left in that. Just down it, you'll be fine."

"Okay," he sighed. Grabbing the pitcher, he emptied it, then took his cup, and tipped it back. Drinking the last of it, he gasped, "I didn't think I was gonna manage that."

"Well, you did," she replied. "Do you think you feel okay to stand?"

"Let me try," he said. Slowly standing up, he straightened out, feeling none of the effects he did earlier. "Seems good to me," he said, taking first one step, then another. A little unsteady, but by the time he got to the 5th step, that was gone as well. "No problems at all now," he told her.

"Good," she said. "I can get back to the lab and drop this thing off, then I'll take you back to the ER. You can walk with me, of course."

"Absolutely, ma'am," he replied with ease. Following her, she turned back towards the lab. Looking down, he noticed the shake of her bottom. Such a wonderful sway, he thought to himself, as they neared the lab. Putting the chair in the hallway next to the door, she turned back and asked, "Ready to go?"

"Sure thing, lead the way. I got lost last time," he joked.

"You just like the view better from there," she observed. A look of shock crossed the driver's face. "I saw you looking. The mirrors show off more than you think, and I have good eyes."

Embarrassment flooded his face. "I'm sorry ma'am, I didn't mean to be impolite. It was just too good to not observe, he apologized.

"I'd be surprised if you didn't look," she joked back. "You forget, I got family in the business. You'd relate to a lot of the stories they tell when they get home." Turning back to him, she asked, "Was the view good from your direction?"

"Honestly, yes it was. And although I know you're used to it, please accept my apology for being sexist or rude," he said.

"No worries," she said. "At least I know that I still got it." Turning back, she returned him to the ER and the room with the officer. "Good luck, and thank you."

"You're welcome," was all he could say, turning back to the officer.

A minute later, the nurse came in, and recognizing him, she said, "We got the results from your test. Everything looks good, and we can discharge you any time you're ready."

Looking at the officer, he asked, "How's he doing?"

"He's received 1 pint of blood already, and we were just about to give him the second one," she said. On cue, another nurse appeared, bag of blood in hand. "He's getting ready to be airlifted to St. Louis. The shattered leg bone is going to have to be pieced back together, and he's got a couple of bruised ribs, but he needs major surgery, and we don't have a doctor here with that kind of skill," she frowned. "He's going to live, but he's got a long road ahead, judging by that leg."

"Does the hospital have a way of returning me back to my truck? The trooper on scene said to talk to someone here, and they would arrange it," he told her.

"Absolutely, let me get you discharged and set up." She turned and left, walking to the desk to bring up his chart. Clicking a button, the printer in the corner started whirring, and 2 sheets of paper spit out onto the tray. Collecting them and a card, she returned.

"Okay, these are your discharge instructions. Take it easy the rest of the day to let your body replenish your blood loss," she said. Handing him the card, she added, "Call this number and let them know you need a pickup here. When the driver arrives, give him this card, and he'll take care of the rest." She smiled at him. "You did a good thing today, and I'm sure that he and the rest of the troopers will appreciate it. Stay safe."

"Yes, ma'am," was his reply. "Y'all do the same, and keep him safe too."

Nodding, she turned and went back to the nurse's station. He walked out, fishing his phone out of his pocket and dialing the number on the card. On the second ring, a voice replied, "Hello?"

"Yes, I was given this card at the hospital and was told to tell you I needed a pickup at the emergency entrance," he told the voice.

"Absolutely, give me 10 minutes, I'll be right there. Look for a black van," the voice replied.

"Yes, sir. I'll be waiting," he said, and hung up.