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| Page Twelve |
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Johnny's eye rose skeptically, making Kel smirk in mild amusement. "What Dr. Brackett is saying, is true. Chet's chest Xray is showing little edema and a huge reduction in swelling. Looks like the effect of the lungful of ammonia he took in was only temporary, made that way, by your prompt fast action with administering unmoistened O2. And even his abdominal plates look good. I saw only minor shadowing over his spleen. The mast trousers did their job. All bleeding's under control. The surgery I'm doing on him should just be a patch job, gentlemen.." "That's a relief.." Mike Stoker sighed. "It wasn't fun seeing Chet fly off my engine like he did." "Yeah, Chet's no superman.." Gage chuckled. They hushed down when Kel Brackett finished checking Roy out. DeSoto showed him the place where the ammonia had soaked into his arm. Only a little reddening was showing up under the light. "Mild first degree freeze burn. I don't think any had time to get into your blood stream, Roy. Your lab tests will reveal that for sure in a few minutes. Get dressed. We're through. Just be sure to call me on return of symptoms, all right?" "You got it doc.." he said. Kel hurried out the door to head for surgery. Brent was left in the room with the gang and he handed Roy his T- shirt back. "Is he a good man to work with, Kel Brackett? Afraid to admit, that I've really just started watching him work, only tonight." Roy answered without hesitation, but subconsciously straightening from where he sat on the treatment gurney. "One of the best, sir. He singlehandedly saved the Paramedic Program from being legislated out of operation during its earliest days and he trained not only me, personally, but my partner Johnny here, as well, to function as efficient intermediary caregivers in just about any prehospital setting. To date, in only six years, Dr. Brackett created twenty paramedic teams embedded in just as many firehouses across L. A. County. Entirely due to his own hard work and perserverence." Brent laughed openly and clasped Roy's hand warmly. "My g*d. Do we need an introduction my boy! Seems Dixie's really painted me out to be the worst ogre of a two ogre pair now hasn't she? You're practically foaming at the mouth singing praises about my boy, son. Relax....True, I'm just like Kel in temperment, but I'm mellower by miles.. A trait of all this gray hair, I suppose. Listen..I really appreciate your devotion to my son's work.. Sounds very genuine if I do say so myself. Mr...mr..." "DeSoto.." Roy said, returning the handshake. Johnny's nervous smile fell off into a sideways grin of relief. "DeSoto. A Solid French name. And the rest of you?" A round of introductions came after that from Cap right on down to Stoker. |
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They ended up in the coffee lounge, away from public view, so the firefighting gear wouldn't alarm hospital visitors. Brent Brackett learned a whole lot about his son from Dixie and the Station 51 crew over the next hour while they waited for word about Chet's surgery results. Brent finally couldn't stand their fretting. He rose, abandoning his coffee mug. "All right. I've monopolized your good graces enough folks, digging for dirt or gold concerning my very grown son. Tell you what.. I've got a lot of clout around here as house psych. Think I'll peek in on how Kel's handling your man, captain." he said. Cap looked startled. "You don't have to do that. We know Chet's probably fine, doctor. Just a patch surgery job, Kel said." "Be that as it may. I'll be killing two birds with one stone by making the round. I'll get your answer for you that much sooner and I'll be able to see my son in action at the same time. Fair trade off." "Just stay in the observation room.." Dix chided. "Where would the fun be in that, Miss McCall? I want to see how my son works under pressure.." Dix scowled, but it was tempered with amusement. "Family peer pressure's dirty pool, doctor, and you know it.." "Kel can handle it. After all, he's handled this whole paramedic thing and all these men behind it for six years? How's one more doctor hanging over his shoulder gonna matter?" "Plenty..you'll both be wearing the same fake smile." Dix said without a shred of humility, as Brent made his goodbyes to the stationhouse gang and accepted their profuse thanks for doing what he was about to do. Captain Stanley leaned back, lacing his fingers behind his head and wondered when the sparks were going to ignite into a big fire between the Brackett docs once again. He hope Brent's little appearance in Kel's operating ward wouldn't prove to be a new catalyst for another fiery father son feud. Dixie didn't appear overtly alarmed. She simply reached for the nearly empty coffee pot on the table contentedly and poured herself a cup. That cup went right into Joe Early's hands when the silver haired doctor showed up into the nurses lounge. Gage said, "How's he doing?" Johnny asked Joe immediately before the man had taken even one sip. "Thanks Dix. I need the pick me up. Fine Johnny.. His vitals are still stable. Kel's almost through with the exploratory. We had no problems intubating Chet after he was put under, if that's what you want to know. His air passages were very clear Johnny." Gage nodded, sorry that he was so transparent. "Thanks doc. His earlier wheezing was kinda scary." "That's the funny thing about anhydrous ammonia. It either really really does a number on you, or it let's you off lightly after a really good scare. In Chet's case, he got the all bluff end of the spectrum. There's no retinal damage or even corneal abrasions. No chance of that blinding you guys were all fearing during the rescue.." Mike Stoker said. "Good. Last thing we need is Chet Kelly banging around the station with a sight cane while he cooks fifteen alarm chow for us every night." The whole gang laughed at the image. Joe even chortled. Roy asked about their other victims from the accident. "How about the woman we brought in, Daphne? She doing ok?" "Same story as Chet, minus the internal injuries. She'll stay the night and'll be discharged in the morning if her lungs stay clear. Nice fast action Johnny on ending that laryngeal spasm then." Dr. Early said. "I didn't do anything. The hose team got a good pocket of air around us and she resolved on her own." "Lucky. She could have been that close to triggering a tracheal collapse reflex when her larynx cramped like that." Joe said, holding out miniscule fingers in the air. "I know.. you could have knocked me over with a stick when she started breathing again after I got a good lifting grip on her throat." Gage admitted. "I remembered at the last second that gas inhalation reacted the same way as a liquid water drowning with spasming like that. I almost forgot how effective the technique was." "Who taught you that move?" Cap asked. "That was pretty slick considering there wasn't much else you could do for her, wearing your SCBA mask like that.." "Dr. Brackett." "Dr. Brackett." Roy and John both replied in stereo. Dr. Early grinned. "I take it Brent was in here a while ago." "How'd you know?" Dix said in surprise. "They said their answer too fast, Dix, dead give away." "Oh.." |
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Johnny asked, "Doc, can you tell us about Mr. Fajou?" Joe rubbed his hand, not remembering their patient. "The old man from the creepy mansion who cooked ginger bread cookies for the kids at the studio." Roy added. "Oh, oh, oh, now I know who you're talking about. He did have septicemia, a mild case and we've gotten his asthma outbreak under control. He's resting comfortably on antibiotics and inhalants." "Will he be going home soon? You see, we all wanna help him out some and do some work around the house for him before he gets back." Mike Stoker told him. "Boys... aren't you the sweethearts. What knights in shining armor.." Dix cooed. "Mr. Fajou's gonna love your surprise. I'll be sure to give you a call the moment I find out when he'll get discharged all right?" They all nodded. Roy piped up. "Dix, how's the other car driver? The one I looked at briefly before handling our cases?" "Oh, the driver with the broken arm? Fine. Peters rode in with him in another rig. He didn't take many fumes at all and I heard his arm was easily set and put into a cast. He'll most likely be discharged in a couple of hours, after his cast dries." "That's good." A loud stomach rumble permeated the air. From Marco.. "Lo ciento.. All that running made me hungry." "Time for a pizza run.. My treat.." Joe said. He got on the phone to dietary, shushing them all into silence, before the gang's active protests stopped him. "Consider it part of your followup ammonia gas treatment.." he quipped. "Thanks doc, we owe you one.." Cap grinned. Cap and the others literally inhaled the four pizzas while Dix and Joe merely nibbled. The pizza pans had been tossed onto the dish cart for only about thirty seconds when the wait for news about Chet grew once again intolerable. All eyes started watching the clock and the house phone for word from Dr. Brent Brackett's sticking his nose in where it didn't belong. |
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**************************************** From : "patti keiper" <pattik1@hotmail.com> Subject :[EmergencyTheaterLive] Of Mice and Men.. Date : Thu, 12 Dec 2002 21:31:07 +0000 Kel Brackett didn't even look up from his surgical field when he felt a presence at his shoulder. He knew right away that it was his father in the blue scrubs near him. "Doctor Brackett." he said simply and as neutrally as he could. Kel could feel his cheek twitching under his mask. But inwardly, he told himself once again in his thoughts.::I did ask dad to see what I do for my living.:: he sighed. ::I just have to get used to him taking advantage of the invite, hook line and sinker.:: Brent Brackett knew how to observe in a sterile ward. His ungloved hands were behind his back and he stayed behind Kel at half an arm's length. "Before you say anything.. I...only stepped in here solely on behalf of the boys who work with this young fellow. They're milking this anhydrous exposure checkup requirement to the max and they're all still here, crowded in the nurse's break lounge. Joe Early had to feed them because they wouldn't even leave the staff paging phone unattended long enough to grab a tray from the cafeteria, fearful they'd miss hearing from you." Dr. Brackett wasn't beneath trying to shock his father. "The resection on the mediastinal aspect of Chet's spleen is a straight forward repair job. See for yourself.." and he intentionally sprayed his running tube of sterile saline wash over the area, not caring that a part of its red tinged spray splashed up, catching his father's mask and his scrub top liberally as it plumed upwards when the older man didn't anticipate stepping back at the sound like all the others around the table did. |
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Brent flinched but then blinked, wondering if the dousing had been a ploy to drive him away, but he was already more than determined to remain. He cleared his throat and said loud enough for all in the room to hear. "Oops. Good thing gore has never bothered me. Please, show me what you've done so far, doctor. I'm all eyes." he said, hiding any trace of negative emotion from his voice. Brent surprised himself when his own temper, didn't flare up at all. Nonetheless, a well informed, Dixie enlightened tech hastily suctioned away the water for Kel from Chet's abdominal cavity almost a little too fast. Kel had to hold Chet's spleen down with his forceps so it wouldn't plug her tube's port as she used it. |
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