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FULL MOON BLUES |
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| PAGE TWENTY TWO |
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In between Marco's violent spasms, DeSoto pulled out the short oral airway that had been over Marco's tongue and snatched up the suctioning tube lying idle on the bed, he paused as he checked for signs that Lopez had vomitted. "He's clear..." he said, throwing the probe aside and replacing the mask down over Lopez's nose and mouth. "Most likely because he hasn't eaten since this morning..." Roy stayed closely by his head, one eye intently watching the motion fluctuating ECG while the others moved into action around him. He sighed, seeing a bite stick wasn't needed when Marco's jaw released at a touch. Dr. Brackett nodded, agreeing about the lack of aspiration as he listened to the seizing fireman's chest with a stethoscope. "He's clear here, too. There's just that prior edema. All right. Let's get him back supine. Easy.. and tighten those straps. He's working them loose." Everyone watching, held their breaths as Marco's breathing came in hard gasps as his convulsions rattled the metal bedframe underneath him. Chet did his best to stay out of the paramedics way while making sure Marco didn't hurt himself. Mike, took a few steps nearer but stayed back, still uncertain and a little frightened about getting so near to Marco's illness. Craig Brice looked up from where he was pulling a backwash of blood from Marco's original IV with an empty syringe. "Serum glucose doc?" "You bet. If it's below 80 mg/dL, inject 25 g dextrose D50 IVP. These seizures might not be just febrilly induced. His blood sugar may have taken a nose dive or skyrocketted." Brice moved to a glucose monitor and quickly got a baseline off of his red top. "It's 62." |
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"Follow up, Brice. That dex and 100mg Thiamine IV. I don't want him to lose a heart rhythm." Dr. Brackett said. "On it." Kel looked up at Gil. "Sheppard, run in a second IV, Normal Saline wide open. We'll risk the fluid overload. We need it for his sedation med. We'll bump it down after we've gotten these convulsions under control. Ughh." he grunted, helping Roy keep Marco's airway open. It took both of them to do it, when a bad series of shudders bucked him more violently, underneath their hands. Chet, meanwhile had gotten the resuscitator near and had set the demand valve mask available on Lopez's pillow. "Thanks," Kel said to Kelly. "But he's doing fine so far, even breathing broken like this." Roy looked up. "Time for diazepam, doc? "Yes, draw up ten milligrams. We'll titrate into his IV until he responds. If that doesn't work, we'll use Ativan, 2 mg IM. He's too shocky for paracetamol." |
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Miss Thorne was covering her eyes to keep herself from looking, and Cap noticed. "It looks scary for Lopez with those convulsions, Cindy. But he's not feeling any pain with them at all. Marco's muscles are just kicked into overdrive because of the low sugar in his blood and because of that fever. They're going to settle him down in just a sec here so he can breathe normally." ---- Roy prepared the syringe of medication Dr. Brackett had ordered as fast as he could. He heard Cap's reassurances to Cindy, but didn't look up. "Doc, want me to do it?" "Give it here.." Kel said to Roy, reaching out for the medication. "Take over watching his airway, Kelly." "Got him.." Chet said, firmly taking Marco's chin and head so he wouldn't obstruct as Dr. Brackett let go. Kel pushed all the air out of his syringe needle until the diazepam geysered high and then parked the newly strung and running NS IV Brice handed him under his arm to hold it while he injected the muscle relaxant slowly into its drip chamber.. They all watched for signs that Marco's convulsions were ending. About twenty seconds later, they did. The EKG monitor bleeped a changed beat alarm when the sinus-tach settled into a more solid sinus rhythm. The frenzied PVC's died away from the tracing pattern. Dr. Brackett set a hand on Marco's chest to feel for his respiration status. "There. That's better." he said about the ECG. Then he looked up again with a slight frown. "Kelly, hyperventilate him a few times. The diazepam's suppressing his intake a bit." Roy removed the old nonrebreather mask from Marco's face, as Chet took over with the demand valve. Kelly made sure it was sealed well over Lopez's nose and mouth. Then he thumbed the positive pressure trigger on the demand valve, until he had delivered four vents carefully into Marco's lungs. Dr. Brackett had out his stethoscope again. "Ok, hold off.." and he listened to the bubbling breath sounds. "That's all he needed. A boost. He's back.." |
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Everyone gasped in relief and even Johnny let out the breath he was holding. Dr. Brackett smiled, pleased. "At least that was one problem easily solved. Get Marco's head elevated again while you're there, Kelly would you? And Gil, you can TKO that normal saline now." The dark haired doctor moved to turn on a strip from the monitor to take a closer look at how Lopez's heart had handled the incident. Roy had a question. "Doc.." "Hmm?" Dr. Brackett said, not looking up. "We lost all the ice around Marco. Do you want us to replace it?" Kel shook his head. "The diazepam will shut off that fever parasympathetically on its own. We can always get some more if his temp rises again. Get another one for reference for now, all right?" Roy nodded. Soon, he had a reading. "One hundred one." "Down. Despite the convulsions." Brackett remarked, satisfied. "Let's monitor his respirations to be sure they're stable." Gil, was getting a new, dry blanket for Marco when Stoker came up hesitantly. "Need help with that?" Sheppard grinned warmly, knowing the mental obstacle Mike had had to overcome to just be there. "Sure.. Tuck in that side, but keep his chest uncovered. We have to eye his breathing rate for a while." "Yes. I heard.." Mike said. Then he looked down..frowning.. "Hey doc.." he called out. "Look at this.. He's developing a rash or something. It's breaking out on his chest." Dr. Brackett stopped his ECG reading and bent over the bed. He felt Marco's throat and larynx, but found no swelling at all. "Hmm, no signs of anaphalaxis here yet... And his color's good. This looks more like an urticaria or a secondary maculopapular rash to me... but ah, following up on the first angle,.... Roy, Johnny... does Marco have any known allergies to medications?" |
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FULL MOON BLUES |
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Click Rescue Squad to Goto Page Twenty Three :) |
