have a chart?”
Lauren handed the clipboard to him. She had noticed that the patients that came in later didn’t get a clipboard, just a sheet of paper.
Dr. Cender looked over the chart reading things from it that Lauren didn’t understand.
“Okay, let’s take a look.” Dr. Cender handed Lauren the clipboard and took a penlight out of the chest pocket of his white lab coat. He looked over Claire’s injury and shone the light into her eyes. A sad expression crossed his face as Claire stared back with dead eyes.
“Can you follow my finger, Claire?” Dr. Cender had learned her name from the chart. It was nice that he was using it, because he must have seen countless people that day already.
After his quick tests, he took the clipboard back from Lauren and jotted several notes.
“All right, it looks like she has a minor concussion,” the doctor explained as he ripped the top sheet off the clipboard and handed it back to Lauren. “I’m going to get her an MRI to make sure it’s nothing worse, although I’m sure it’s not. You’ll have to wait even longer than you just did for me to show up, but I’ll try to get you as close to the front of the line as I can.”
Dr. Cender looked up and down the hall and seemed to be distracted by something. Lauren followed his gaze. Another doctor, a woman, was heading somewhere with a large cardboard box. Dr. Cender shook himself out of his distraction.
“Yes, anyway, stay put and try to keep her awake. If she really needs to sleep, she can, but wake her every half hour,” he told them. The doctor then hurried off to follow the woman doctor. Lauren didn’t see him again.
The hall they were in didn’t seem to lead anywhere important, because it was rare for a nurse or doctor to show up without seeing a patient. No patients passed through there either, only those asked to take an empty seat in the hall. It didn’t take long for every chair to be filled. Within minutes, the nurses wheeled a few beds into the hall and parked them across from the chairs. When one was parked across from Lauren and Claire, one of the nurses pushing the bed ran off and abandoned the other nurse. She was holding up an IV bag and couldn’t leave the patient to get a proper pole for it.
“I’ll hold it,” Jon volunteered. “You just keep it above his heart and don’t squeeze it, right?”
“Right,” the nurse smiled with relief. “I’ll be right back.”
She was, too. Jon had to hold up the IV bag for less than a minute. Once the pole was set up, and the nurse had left, Jon continued to help the other patients in the hall. He helped those who had trouble shifting into a more comfortable position, ran to get a nurse when one patient took a turn for the worse, and even dragged a garbage pail over to a man who was going to puke.
Lauren busied herself with Claire. She had turned the girl around so that she wouldn’t have to see the other patients and the chaos happening around the ER. She convinced Claire to play pat-a-cake with her. Lauren couldn’t resist looking up often. She kept hoping to see Abby, but didn’t have any luck. Even if Abby had gotten there, there was no guarantee she would get past triage.
A sharp scream pierced through all the other noises and frightened everyone.
“I’ll find out what that was,” Jon told everyone in the hall, but mostly Claire. He dashed off into the main section of the ER, but returned shortly thereafter. He looked at Claire, his eyes wide and scared. He leaned over and whispered into Lauren’s ear.
Apparently, an attack had started in the waiting room. The doors to the rest of the ER were sealed and locked though, so they should be safe. Jon whispered to a few other patients who wanted to know what was happening. He clearly didn’t want Claire to know. Claire didn’t seem to care and continued to look at things with her dead eyes.
They were rescued a few
Lauren handed the clipboard to him. She had noticed that the patients that came in later didn’t get a clipboard, just a sheet of paper.
Dr. Cender looked over the chart reading things from it that Lauren didn’t understand.
“Okay, let’s take a look.” Dr. Cender handed Lauren the clipboard and took a penlight out of the chest pocket of his white lab coat. He looked over Claire’s injury and shone the light into her eyes. A sad expression crossed his face as Claire stared back with dead eyes.
“Can you follow my finger, Claire?” Dr. Cender had learned her name from the chart. It was nice that he was using it, because he must have seen countless people that day already.
After his quick tests, he took the clipboard back from Lauren and jotted several notes.
“All right, it looks like she has a minor concussion,” the doctor explained as he ripped the top sheet off the clipboard and handed it back to Lauren. “I’m going to get her an MRI to make sure it’s nothing worse, although I’m sure it’s not. You’ll have to wait even longer than you just did for me to show up, but I’ll try to get you as close to the front of the line as I can.”
Dr. Cender looked up and down the hall and seemed to be distracted by something. Lauren followed his gaze. Another doctor, a woman, was heading somewhere with a large cardboard box. Dr. Cender shook himself out of his distraction.
“Yes, anyway, stay put and try to keep her awake. If she really needs to sleep, she can, but wake her every half hour,” he told them. The doctor then hurried off to follow the woman doctor. Lauren didn’t see him again.
The hall they were in didn’t seem to lead anywhere important, because it was rare for a nurse or doctor to show up without seeing a patient. No patients passed through there either, only those asked to take an empty seat in the hall. It didn’t take long for every chair to be filled. Within minutes, the nurses wheeled a few beds into the hall and parked them across from the chairs. When one was parked across from Lauren and Claire, one of the nurses pushing the bed ran off and abandoned the other nurse. She was holding up an IV bag and couldn’t leave the patient to get a proper pole for it.
“I’ll hold it,” Jon volunteered. “You just keep it above his heart and don’t squeeze it, right?”
“Right,” the nurse smiled with relief. “I’ll be right back.”
She was, too. Jon had to hold up the IV bag for less than a minute. Once the pole was set up, and the nurse had left, Jon continued to help the other patients in the hall. He helped those who had trouble shifting into a more comfortable position, ran to get a nurse when one patient took a turn for the worse, and even dragged a garbage pail over to a man who was going to puke.
Lauren busied herself with Claire. She had turned the girl around so that she wouldn’t have to see the other patients and the chaos happening around the ER. She convinced Claire to play pat-a-cake with her. Lauren couldn’t resist looking up often. She kept hoping to see Abby, but didn’t have any luck. Even if Abby had gotten there, there was no guarantee she would get past triage.
A sharp scream pierced through all the other noises and frightened everyone.
“I’ll find out what that was,” Jon told everyone in the hall, but mostly Claire. He dashed off into the main section of the ER, but returned shortly thereafter. He looked at Claire, his eyes wide and scared. He leaned over and whispered into Lauren’s ear.
Apparently, an attack had started in the waiting room. The doors to the rest of the ER were sealed and locked though, so they should be safe. Jon whispered to a few other patients who wanted to know what was happening. He clearly didn’t want Claire to know. Claire didn’t seem to care and continued to look at things with her dead eyes.
They were rescued a few
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