looked distant and unfocused. He did not speak.
There was only one pillow so she stuffed a spare lab coat under his head and used the pillow to elevate his feet. She covered his chest with the blanket and the two remaining lab coats. Then Pam noticed that the first aid kit actually had a small inflatable pillow. She quickly blew it up and also placed it under his feet on top of the first one. George seemed to be staring off into the distance now.
Then she rose to her feet to grab her cell phone and call Dr. Klein. She cursed as the call went to voice mail. She tried the main number and a male voice answered. It was not the usual female receptionist. She told him about her problem, and he said he would send help as quickly as possible. But she should know that she was not the only one handling an emergency and she should do what she could for the lab tech on her own. “After all”, the man said, “aren’t you studying to be some kind of doctor?”
“ I’m not a doctor. I’m a pathology graduate student. All I know is some basic first aid. Why can’t you send help?” Pam asked, trying to keep her voice steady.
“I’m not sure,” the man said. “Somebody said there has been some sort of animal attack or something.” Then Pam was pretty sure she heard a gunshot from the man’s end of the phone connection. The phone went silent.
Pam did not try to call again, but just shut her phone off and slipped it into her pocket. Her heart raced, and she knew she really needed to find help. But some instinct made her reluctant to draw more attention to her presence in this room. She had no weapons of her own. The equipment in this room was either delicate or much too heavy to pick up. The thought of mad creatures and gunshots made her wonder if her best option would be to simply hide until help arrived. She might be able to crawl into the closet, but she could hardly prop up George in there with her too.
F or a variety of reasons, Pam was handy with a first aid kit. People growing up on fairly isolated farms had to know how to help each other out. But this poor man really needed a real medical doctor and perhaps a hospital. Pam’s training had prepared her to be a researcher more than a practitioner.
She used the small scissors to cut his shirt away. After she completely uncovered the wound, Pam’s eyes opened in wonder.
She had seen plenty of animal bites in her time. When she had worked for a summer in a day care during high school, she had seen a few toddler bites as well. This looks human. Of course, it was larger than the bites that had been delivered by teething one year old children. Dr. Klein had said she experimented with some sort of primates. Would an ape bite look like this?
Then she tore open a pack of wipes. The package said they were anesthetic and antiseptic. She figured they might hurt anyway, but she carefully dabbed at h is wound. He did not even react as Pam swabbed his wound. It was as if his arm had gone totally numb. His eyes were still open but he barely seemed conscious.
As she crouched by the poor man’s side, she could almost feel the heat rising off his body. He couldn’t have developed a fever from an infected bite this quickly. His eyes seemed glazed though they were very red now. They were wide open, but not focused. Except for his staring eyes there was no sign that he was even awake any more. I guess people can still be unconscious with their eyes open.
There was no way she could treat the guy with these lousy little wipes and a few Band-Aids. That is, George’s actual wound did not seem that bad. But his reaction to the wound indicated he needed a real hospital emergency room and a real medical doctor. He needed antibiotics and maybe even fluids to prevent dehydration.
She could only work with what she had. Pamela poured the contents of the kit on the floor and rifled through an assortment of bandages, cleaning swabs, and small bottles of pain relievers.
She thought tha t a
There was only one pillow so she stuffed a spare lab coat under his head and used the pillow to elevate his feet. She covered his chest with the blanket and the two remaining lab coats. Then Pam noticed that the first aid kit actually had a small inflatable pillow. She quickly blew it up and also placed it under his feet on top of the first one. George seemed to be staring off into the distance now.
Then she rose to her feet to grab her cell phone and call Dr. Klein. She cursed as the call went to voice mail. She tried the main number and a male voice answered. It was not the usual female receptionist. She told him about her problem, and he said he would send help as quickly as possible. But she should know that she was not the only one handling an emergency and she should do what she could for the lab tech on her own. “After all”, the man said, “aren’t you studying to be some kind of doctor?”
“ I’m not a doctor. I’m a pathology graduate student. All I know is some basic first aid. Why can’t you send help?” Pam asked, trying to keep her voice steady.
“I’m not sure,” the man said. “Somebody said there has been some sort of animal attack or something.” Then Pam was pretty sure she heard a gunshot from the man’s end of the phone connection. The phone went silent.
Pam did not try to call again, but just shut her phone off and slipped it into her pocket. Her heart raced, and she knew she really needed to find help. But some instinct made her reluctant to draw more attention to her presence in this room. She had no weapons of her own. The equipment in this room was either delicate or much too heavy to pick up. The thought of mad creatures and gunshots made her wonder if her best option would be to simply hide until help arrived. She might be able to crawl into the closet, but she could hardly prop up George in there with her too.
F or a variety of reasons, Pam was handy with a first aid kit. People growing up on fairly isolated farms had to know how to help each other out. But this poor man really needed a real medical doctor and perhaps a hospital. Pam’s training had prepared her to be a researcher more than a practitioner.
She used the small scissors to cut his shirt away. After she completely uncovered the wound, Pam’s eyes opened in wonder.
She had seen plenty of animal bites in her time. When she had worked for a summer in a day care during high school, she had seen a few toddler bites as well. This looks human. Of course, it was larger than the bites that had been delivered by teething one year old children. Dr. Klein had said she experimented with some sort of primates. Would an ape bite look like this?
Then she tore open a pack of wipes. The package said they were anesthetic and antiseptic. She figured they might hurt anyway, but she carefully dabbed at h is wound. He did not even react as Pam swabbed his wound. It was as if his arm had gone totally numb. His eyes were still open but he barely seemed conscious.
As she crouched by the poor man’s side, she could almost feel the heat rising off his body. He couldn’t have developed a fever from an infected bite this quickly. His eyes seemed glazed though they were very red now. They were wide open, but not focused. Except for his staring eyes there was no sign that he was even awake any more. I guess people can still be unconscious with their eyes open.
There was no way she could treat the guy with these lousy little wipes and a few Band-Aids. That is, George’s actual wound did not seem that bad. But his reaction to the wound indicated he needed a real hospital emergency room and a real medical doctor. He needed antibiotics and maybe even fluids to prevent dehydration.
She could only work with what she had. Pamela poured the contents of the kit on the floor and rifled through an assortment of bandages, cleaning swabs, and small bottles of pain relievers.
She thought tha t a
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