Another Hospital

The ride to the hospital was anything but uneventful. Medics clucked over the driver, making sure he was comfortable, cleaning up glass shards, and scribbling notes on the paperwork. The radio was chattering with more traffic, as the ambulance rolled up to the emergency room entrance. The junior medics opened the door, and a small group of people were waiting as the medics brought the stretcher out. Once the wheels touched the ground and the security latch was released, the team took over from the medics as they brought him into his room. Once he transferred to the bed, they began by removing his shirt, and examining the back of his shoulder. The driver looked at the nurse's expression on her face, which she tried to hide unsuccessfully. Concern crept into his demeanor as he asked, "How bad does it look?"

She smiled and said, "From this angle, I've seen worse, but there is some cause for concern. We need to get you set up with X-rays and a CAT scan to get a better assessment."

"Do you have a mirror available for me to see it?" the driver asked.

"Not here, but we can use the one in the bathroom down the hall," she replied.

Nodding, he went to lean back, and one of the nurses behind him went to stop him. Pain shot into his shoulder again as the nurse pushed on the affected part. Yelling, the driver screamed, "OW!!! What is wrong with you?!? I'm just trying to lay back to get comfortable."

"Sir, we can't have you lean back," the nurse said. "You have a lot of bruising back here, and leaning against it will not give you any relief."

"Well, then take me to the bathroom so I can see it," he stated.

"I'm sorry sir, but we have to finish here with your vitals," she pleaded.

He turned back, and saw the apologetic look in her eyes, and his anger calmed. Frustrated, he grumbled, "How long is this going to take?"

"We're almost done," she said hopefully.

Sighing, he nodded, and stayed still. A couple of minutes passed, and she told him, "OK, we've got everything that we need. Would you like to take a look now?"

"Yes ma'am," he replied.

Nodding, she helped him walk to the bathroom, where she turned on the light. He turned around and tried to look over his shoulder, but the pain was too much in the left side of his neck. Groaning, he sputtered, "This isn't working, I can't see anything."

"Hang on, there's a mirror on the back of the door," she said hopefully.

Closing the door, he was unprepared for what he saw. The double reflection came back to him as he took in the visual extent of the damage. The size of the bruise extended from the side of his neck, covering most of the shoulder blade, and extended down the back of his arm. The bluish purple color made it look almost like camo on his back. Trying to reach back to touch was impossible because of the pain shooting down his neck and into his arm and shoulder. As for the movement in his arm, it didn't start hurting until he tried lifting it. The sudden rush of pain caused him to drop his arm quickly.

"Geez, that hurts like hell," he exclaimed, trying to fight back the sudden wave of nausea rising in his stomach. The nurse reached forward and grabbed him by the belt as he started to sway.Tucking herself under his good arm, she led him back to his room and gently set him down on the bed. Once there, she left his side, and went to the call button and pushed it.

"Nurse's station, can I help you?" came the female voice across the speaker.

"Yes, this is Judy with the patient in Exam room 4. He's back on the bed now, we can give him some medicine," the nurse replied.

"OK, we'll be right there," came the voice back.

With that, Judy turned around to see the driver almost fall back onto the bed. Catching him by his good shoulder this time, she brought him back upright. The driver shook his head, and breathed, "Wow, where'd that come from?"

"Are you all right, sir?" she asked.

"I just felt like I blacked out for a second or two," was all he said before looking up.

Her eyebrows drew closer together. "We're going to have to do something. I can't stay in here all day, and they're bringing some medicine for you to help ease the pain." She thought for a second, then her eyes lit up. "Maybe we can put a couple pillows under your injured side, this way we can keep the pressure of your body away from the injury." She turned toward the door as the other nurse came in, IV bags, needles and medicines in hand. "Can you find me two pillows, please?"

"Yes, ma'am," the other nurse replied, as she set the gear on the tray, then turned back out the door and down the hall. Returning a minute later, she brought three pillows back, and handed them to Judy. "They're kind of small, so I thought you might need a third one."

"Thanks," Judy replied. She turned back to the driver, and saw that he was steady for the moment. Arranging the pillows to go down his side, she eased him back slowly onto them. Leaning back, he breathed a small sigh, and when she saw he was stable, turned to the medical tray with all of the tubes and needles. Going to his good side, she started opening packages, while the other nurse tied a rubber band around his upper arm. Testing for a vein, she found one that was good, then cleaned the area with an alcohol swab. She put a small pen mark below the site for reference, then stepped back.

Judy had hooked the tubing into the IV bag and hung it up during this, and seeing the other nurse's reference point, uncapped the needle. Angling it upwards, he told him, "All right, here comes the needle." In one smooth motion, she pushed it through his skin, entering the vein, as the indicator flashed red, signifying success. Pushing the tubing up the needle, she extracted the point into the safety catcher, before pulling it out completely. The tubing remained, and she secured it to his arm to prevent it from falling out. Red started to enter the tube, and she hooked the IV line into it, then turned open the fluid adjustor. The red quickly disappeared, and she turned back to the table.

Taking two empty syringes, she plugged the tip of another needle into one of them, and extracted the liquid medicine from one of the vials. Once filled, she turned and added some IV solution to it, shook it up, then removed the needle. The other syringe got filled the same way, and this time, she took the needle and put it in a Sharps container, designed for sharp objects to be disposed of. Turning back to the driver, she said, "This first one I'm giving you is for nausea. You're already dealing with nausea, and the pain medicine can make it worse." Plugging the blunt end of the syringe into the IV port, she dispensed the liquid into the tubing, allowing it to be mixed in as it entered his body. She then picked up the other syringe, and told him, "I have to give this to you slowly, otherwise you could end up in worse condition than what you are. Please be still."

"Yes, ma'am," was all he could reply before she plugged the syringe into the same port. Slowly, the syringe started to empty. The driver sat there as the medicine started to work its magic. First, his eyes started to glaze over, and he felt like he was going to be sick, but the nausea wave started to pass before he could say anything. His vision grew slightly blurred, and he felt a heavy feeling in his head, as the medicine coursed through his veins. His pain eased considerably, but he had a hard time moving around, like his body was made of lead. Looking at the nurse, he saw two Judys going in two different circles. As she finished the dose, he asked in a slurred voice, "Hey, what is that stuff? I feel like lead."

"That, sir, is called Dilaudid. It's a very powerful pain medication we give only in extreme cases," she said. "It makes you feel almost drunk, but it's very good at knocking out acute pain." She looked down at him as a smirk came across his face.

"Well, bartender, how about a double?" was all he could say.

Chuckling, she said, "Get some rest. We still need to do X-rays and CT scans to see how bad it is. We can give more later, but we need you relaxed for now."

"Whatever you shay, shweetie," he slurred, as she left the room, smiling.