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| Page Three |
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"Any head involvement or other trauma?" Kel said, glancing at the child's face and nose around the ambu's mask looking for swelling and redness under the ashy soot he saw there. "None. We all saw her just pass out slowly onto a metal walkway." Roy answered for Dwyer. "What kind of fire was she in, Roy?" the dark haired doctor said, holding the door to Treatment Three open as orderlies maneuvered both Gage and Megan's beds into the same room together. "In a clean flaming one, burning explosives. We found her amid complete incendiaries and others that were unassembled from labs, from what I saw. Doc, I wouldn't doubt those scientists had all the usual chemical building blocks necessary to make an entire military arsenal. A real toxic soup. You should see our hats,doc. That smoke turned our helmet numbers green." DeSoto said cryptically. "Really? Green's a good color.." Gage piped up. "Shh..." Dwyer hissed at Johnny. "Let them work or do I have to come over there with a bite stick." he warned teasingly. Brackett and DeSoto never even heard the humor going on behind them. Roy went on with more information. "She was inside for about twenty minutes, near the ceiling of a warehouse on a catwalk." Kel rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm, bound to be a lot of nitrates and cyanide created in that kind of blaze if I picked up any kind of hazmat know how from listening to you fellas all the time." "That's a sure bet." Gage coughed from his gurney. |
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Dr. Brackett regarded his tiny patient steadily as he unbound Megan's cushioning C-collar and listened around her oral airway for breath and lung sounds. "No rhonci or rales yet. But I'm hearing a bit of bronchiospasm on the left side. Roy, Stan, do I have parental consent to treat this child? I didn't see anyone here with you guys in the hallway." "You do." Roy said. "We got it verbally at the fire. The father's on his way in on another ambulance for mild smoke inhalation. Mr. Miller specifically told us to tell you to go ahead with Megan's treatment sight unseen. And Vince witnessed that statement being given first hand." Kelly Brackett smiled crookedly. "Wouldn't it be nice if all future parental care authorizations can go as smoothly as this one has?" he quipped ironically. "Dix, draw blood on her for an ABG, have the lab run a full creatinine series with a BUN. Also electrolytes. Tell them to also check for elevated HbCO and CN levels as well. When you're done, run a nebulizer to that ventilator you're setting up and give her 2.5 mg of .5% solution Albuterol in a 2.5 ml saline push. I want to get her lung perfusion a little higher than what we're achieving manually. I'm not satisfied her capillary refill's being truthful here. Keep the bird's vents on the low end. I don't want atelectasis setting in on top of her other problems." "Right away, Kel." Dixie replied. "And have the pharmacy prepare a peds dose of Sodium Nitrite IV. I want to chase some of that cyanide out of her blood before any rhabdomyolysis gets a foothold. Also schedule a session in our hyperbaric chamber. She'll only blow out all her hemoglobin bound carbon monoxide faster that way I think. Anything to shorten the CO's half life inside her body. But first, let's see how she's managing." Dixie nodded. Dr. Brackett glanced at Dwyer. "Get her patched in, Stan. I wanna see that tachycardia written out now." Stan nodded and efficiently got a two lead EKG connected to the comatose child. Everyone in the room held their breaths while Brackett read the strip that was whistling audible warbles into the bustling silence. "She's got a stable rhythm. I think I like it all things considering. Gage, how are you doing?" Kel asked of his second patient, without looking up. "*Cough!* Nothing that an ice pack for my nosebleed won't fix. You concentrate on that little girl there first." Johnny complained. "My condition's unremarkable." "He was out for a while doc.." Roy said rolling his eyes, refusing to play coverup. Johnny shot Roy a betrayed hurt look laced with a seething anger that Gage immediately broke off when Kel moved over to his bed to begin his examination. "Uh huh".. Brackett said, looking onto Johnny's nose and eyes with a penlight. "Dix. Call X-ray...." he said, placing an ice bag over Johnny's nasal bridge. |
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Roy interrupted,.." ..for a chest film on Megan and a full skull series on Johnny." At Brackett's and Dixie's surprised looks, he blushed and said, "I - I already told them on the way in here.." he gestured at the door. "I had nothing better to do so I anticipated a few things." Brackett scowled, sourly cross. "Crazy paramedics think they can practice medicine without a license behind their training physician's back." His harsh frown fell away into a mischievious wink. "Good call, Roy. Exactly what I would've done. Did you also draw up a syringe of 1 ml succinylcholine in case we have to paralyze Megan here for an endotracheal intubation if she loses any more tidal volume?" Roy held up his left hand from its needle guarded position next to Dixie's shoulder a little higher, complete with alcohol soaked cotton ball folded under a pinkie. Kel chortled and began laughing. "G*d I love the paramedic program. Why did I ever think that it wouldn't work, Miss McCall?" he sighed with amusement. "Because you were stubborn, opinionated and slow to change at the time, Doctor Brackett." Nurse Dixie said evenly. "Took everything I had to bring you around.." Brackett cleared his throat. "Ehem.. well.." getting suddenly uncomfortable. "I didn't think the men could handle what a doctor could do then, Dix. I'll be frank about that. It took that miracle, and you, to convince me to speak in committee to reverse my mindset that night." Gage's mouth flopped open. "Is that true, doc? You voted against us in the beginning?" he said, pushing Kel's hand and penlight away. "I hadn't heard anything about that at all." he said incredulously. "Man, what were you thinking? Roy and I were sticking our legal necks out for you in the field, pulling nurses out from under falling cars,... and defibrillating with experimental equipment in mud raining tunnels,.. and -and you had the gall to think we were out of our scope doing what you sent us out there to do all along?" "Gage! Hush or I'll order an arterial blood gas on you, too." said Brackett sternly in an attempt to be funny. It failed miserably. Johnny quieted down instantly. "Now, where was I?" he demanded of Gage. Johnny just gaped like a fish, cowed, thinking better of even opening his mouth. Roy licked his lips, suffering pangs for Johnny's trapped status. "Secondary assessment, doc." "Oh yeah.. that's right. Does this hurt?" Kel said impishly light in a countering move. He began probing Johnny's ribs firmly with both hands, knowing that it would fiercely tickle the ticklish young paramedic where he couldn't stop him because of the long board's complete arm and leg immobilization ability. "Nope.." Johnny squeaked five octaves higher than normal around his oxygen mask. "Well, how about here, down a little lower?" Kel asked threatening to quadrant check Johnny's belly with air wriggling fingers hovering inches away from their target, his eyes flashing dangerously amused. "ReallyI'mfinedoc.Notraumawhatsoever.Ishouldknow. I thinkmytongue'sgoingnumbtoorightaboutnow." he chipmunked chirped, making a face of unhappy anticipation. Dixie laughed in her throat. "Nothing can torment a patient more than ten fingers fully versed on the human nervous system. Leave off, Kel. The first amendment's still honored in this country or have you forgotten about it in your old age." "I'm not old! But I will admit to being an expert. " Brackett said straightening to move out of the way of the X-ray people. "And experts deserve a little privacy. ...including what I might have thought in the past about a certain brand new county program beginning with a "p" and ending in with a "c" five years ago. Do I make myself clear?" he said to the only one wearing a white skirt in the room. Dixie nodded in grudging agreement. "Ok, you win. ...this time." she added under her breath. "But what happened back then is all moot anyway. Don't be so sore about it. Roy proves his worth every day. So does Johnny. You just celebrated an example of it a few minutes ago." Brackett pretended he didn't hear his head nurse at all and he let his good natured smile fully return. "Gage, I'll be merciful this time." Kel said rapping a knuckle on johnny's chest strap buckle. "I'm gonna take an action that might make those inappropriate verbal comments I'm hearing from the peanut gallery go away. I have a new theory developing right now that spineboard belts interfere with blood flow to the brain in people not needing neck and back immobilization. So I'm gonna have the orderlies spring you from this contraption right now right after the Xray technicians get my chest and head films on both you and the girl.." Johnny sighed in relief... "And, after their one hour lunch break of course.." Gage's eyes widened in immediate dismay. "WhaatT ?!" "I'm just kidding, Johnny. Really. That was a little bedside humor working there. Dixie keeps telling me to practice improving upon it all the time. So I just did. Dwyer. Free him while I finish up here on our favorite hose jockey.." Brackett winked. " And Dix, see what you can do to get these two upstairs. We've a full waiting room outside." McCall nodded. "I think I can pull off another miracle, Kel. Unlike changing the mind of a doctor, that's gonna be an easy one." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ::A little bedside humor..:: Gage thought morosely of his very active companion in the darkened bed next to him. ::There can be too much of a good thing. :: And he gave out a long sigh while he endured another round of chatter from his tiny, now familiar roommate. ::Why did I have to be transferred to pediatrics?:: he thought fervently shifting onto his side, pulling a pillow over his face to shut out Megan's non stop singing and questions. "And those jokes..." Johnny moaned as a crack in the doorway to his room opened, admitting Dixie McCall. "What about those jokes.. I happen to like them.." she purred, walking nearer to their beds with a silver tray that contained a few things. "So be nice, ok?" she addressed Johnny. "I traded a few minutes with Cheryl so I could check up on you two.. Hiya Megan. Feeling a bit better?" "Oh, yes maam.." Megan said brightly. "Daddy just left and look what he left me! More coloring books!" she displayed her stack, thunking them noisely down onto her bedside tray where she began to scribble vigorously on the first of them with a well used green pen. Johnny pulled the blanket down from around his head and said, "Really, coloring books? I don't suppose you'd like to share.." he mumbled. "I'd give anything to do something else around here besides watching the late show." he said dryly. "OK." Megan piped up. "Lady, you can give the fire man that one with the trucks. That's boy's stuff." Dixie raised her eyebrows in an "isn't that something" look of her tiny new friend and she handed over the book to Gage with a tiny bow. Gage glanced over at Megan. "Hey.. Psst.." Megan looked up from the horse she was coloring so carefully with her ink pen. "What?" "Am I supposed to color here with my fingers?" Johnny said crankily. He didn't care that Dixie was asking him non verbally to distract Megan away from another blood sample syringe she was preparing for the child. Megan just sighed and ignored him. Gage sighed a likewise sigh and snaked out a hand and grabbed out the green pen from in between the child's fingers. "Thanks, kid." "Hey!" "Hey what?" "That's MY pen." "So?" Gage guffawed. "I happen to really like green. It's my favorite color. Gotta problem with that?" |
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"Yeah. I had it first." "Yeah, well I'm bigger so live with it." Dixie fired a glare at Johnny for not helping build a feeling of good will in advance with Megan to aid her cause but immediately turned all soft and bubbly when the girl glanced up at her. "Lady, tell the rude fire man it's not nice to grab." Megan frowned. "Mister Gage. " Dixie said. "Our little gal is absolutely in the right." she said pleasantly. "Now give it back.." she said heavily dark while smiling. "Oh, all right.. Here. But I doubt you're gonna wanna hold that once she's through with you." "When who's through with me?" Dixie's looks could have killed Johnny, but he had the sense to not tempt "medusa's" gaze. "Me, I'm afraid, honey. Mister Gage told the truth there. ...If a bit bluntly.." she hissed under her breath at the gowned paramedic. "I have to get a sample for the lab Megan." Megan squealed and ran to Gage's bed and kneeled on his pillow, grabbing his head in a death's grip while she put him between herself and the needle wielding head nurse. Johnny barely grabbed her IV stand to keep it from pulling the Ringer's line out of her arm. "Oh come now, Megan, it's not going to be that bad. I happen to be very good at this. Now which arm do you want your shot in?" "Yours..!" Megan insisted, pointing at Dixie. Gage burst out laughing. "That is a viable option, Dix." "Oh, stop.." Dixie half frowned and grinned. Johnny wrapped his arms around Megan and brushed her blond hair out of her eyes, "No chance of taking a red top out of her IV?" "Nope. We need another ABG." "Ooooo." Gage said softly, pulling Megan around until she sat on the bed next to him. Then he took a breath and said. "Tell you what? You let Dixie get that sample and I'll teach you some jokes that you can tell all of your friends when you get out of here, ok? Do we have a deal?" Megan grunted in protesting dismay only once but then her older personality began to reassert itself. "I guess. Daddy's always said it takes some hurt to feel better about things sometimes." "Good girl." Dixie said. "Now park it over here." The head nurse said, tapping on Megan's blankets. "Mister Gage can hold your hand while I'm doing this if you'd like. He's a paramedic and he sees lab samples drawn by me all the time. He knows how to get little girls through so they don't feel much." "Really?" "Really." "Ok. He can come over.." Megan whispered tearfully, turning her head away so she couldn't see anything while she placed her left arm onto her bed stand tray. Gage drew himself around Megan in a bearhug. "Hi... Guess what Megan?" "What?" she sniffed, breathing in tight sobs. "The snuggle monster's here." "W-What does he do?" "This.." and Gage snatched her wrist up to his lips and farted a noise from his mouth loudly against her skin. Megan laughed in squeaky birdlike mirth, showing a gap tooth in front. "And you know what else?" Megan's face shifted and fell from fear of Dixie's syringe to laughing hide and seek anticipation of Gage's next trick and back again, but nodded, unable to speak. "Why did the chicken cross the road?" Gage asked. Megan rolled her eyes nervously and sniffed. "That one's dumb. To get to the other side." "Oh yeah, are you calling my funnies stupid?" Megan giggled... a little. "Ok, answer me this.." "What? Owww..." "Shhh, Dixie's almost through, hon, then we can play all night.. Why did the chicken cross the basketball court ?" Megan stiffened but Johnny held her arm still so she wouldn't move it dangerously. "Ow. Ow..! It hurts." |
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"Why did the chicken cross the basketball court, Megan?" Johnny said a little more insistently but still playfully bright. "Come on, think about it.." "I don't know. Ow..! Take it out, Dixie. I don't want to give a blood sample. I changed my mind..!" Gage said,.. "Because he heard the referee calling out fowls.." Megan's cry of panicky pain fell into one of hysterical laughter and she started giggling. "Where did you hear that one?" "From Chet Kelly. He's the bully in my stationhouse. I- I mean, he's a bully but he's also my friend. In a good way. " "owwieee..eee.." "ok,comeonMegan.Youtellmeone, ok?" Gage whispered in encouragement as Dixie found the artery at last. "Okkayy..ouchie! W- Why did the chicken cross the road, roll in the mud and cross the road again ?" "I don't know. Why?" Megan tipped her head back gasping and laughing trying to be brave while Dixie completed her blood tapping. "Because he was a dirty double-crosser!" Dixie chortled at that one. "That's new. Tell us another joke, Megan. The vial's almost full." "Yes, *sniff* yes maam.. aghHH ! *sob*Why didn't t-the chicken skeleton cross the road ?" "We give up, Megan.." Johnny said, holding her arm and head still. "Because he didn't have enough guts!" she yelled. "Is it over yet?" she sobbed. "Almost there.." Dixie said. "One more joke Megan, tell us just one more. Then we can color some, ok?" Johnny said seeing Dixie working fast. "Mister G-Gage." Megan said not looking at her arm nor the needle there. "Yeah, Megan?" "Why did the turtle cross the r-road ?" Megan hiccupped. That stymied both nurse and paramedic. Even long after the cotton was pressed down and a Scooby Doo bandaid was stuck on Megan's arm. Megan sighed a deep sigh and coughed hoarsely, sinking back into her pillow. "Give up you guys?" "Yeah.." Johnny said with frustration, scratching his head. "To get to the Shell station..." Megan said matter of factly, grabbing for her coloring book and the green pen Johnny was too slow to think to claim. Dixie's laughter echoed down the hall as she padded away. "Megan, I promise my next visit will have no needles." Gage still didn't get it. "I got another joke that might be good for you to tell to your friend Chet, Mister Gage." Megan said industriously coloring the grass around her horse. "Oh? ...what's that?" "If H 2 0 is on the inside of a fire hydrant, what is on the outside?" "I give up.." "K 9 P." "Oh, Megan.. That's gross. " Gage said laughing. |
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"But it's true. Dogs like hydrants." Johnny grimaced and got off Megan's bed and clambered into his own, pulling back the covers. "You don't gross out much at icky stuff or that kind of thing do you?" "Mister Gage. I got three brothers at home." Megan said in a no nonsense duhhh tone. "Oh, uh, ok, then I'll tell you one Chet told me the other day." "Ok,.. shoot.. Just make sure it isn't a shot." Megan quipped. "Deal.. Ok, here goes. Last week, firemen rescued a man who was badly injured in a car accident. The entire left half of his body was torn off. He was taken to the hospital and examined.... Ready for the punch line?" Megan's mouth was hanging open and she was grinning ear to ear. She nodded eagerly, thoroughly cute faced. "What happened to the man?" "Oh,.. nothing much, really. The doctors said he was all right and the nurses said there wasn't ..much left." Megan's squeal of delight caused more than a few heads in the hallway to look up from the pediatric ward's desk. ---------------------------------------------------------- |
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*************************************************** From : Cory Anda <andacory@hotmail.com> Sent : Thursday, December 18, 2003 8:35 PM Subject : Bonds and Brice and Everything Not Nice... Mike Stoker pulled E 51 neatly back into her place in the station vehicle bay and distastefully peeled out of his smoky jacket and helmet. He didn't head for the kitchen and the warming promise of the coffee pot. Instead, he headed for the showers. "Man, I stink. Remind me never to volunteer to coordinate a basket rescue, Cap. I swear the sulfur fumes dyed my hair funny colors." Mike sighed, coughing as he slammed the driver's door shut. He began looking at his head and combing through his mop with fussy fingers using the spot mirror. "I know it did mine. The curl's gone out of it, too, and my mustache feels awfully slimy." Chet moaned. Lopez didn't need any prompting to start washing down all the turnouts and air bottles free of the chemical stains affixed upon them from the warehouse fire. "It was bad." Hank laughed good naturedly as every one else followed Stoker's good idea to get into the showers to clean up. " Mike, your air bottle was stained greenish olive. Didn't you notice it?..." "No." he chuckled. "I guess I was too happy that we got the kid out." Stoker craned a neck around the corner of the hall into the bay to see the bottle Marco was spraying off in the back yard. The Latin American fireman was holding Boot away at leg's length with a shoe to keep him from drinking the chemical filled runoff trailing down the sidewalk to the parking lot drain. |
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"Hey Marco. Let me see it!" Stoker shouted. Lopez looked up from his liberal garden hosing and held up the offending apparatus gingerly, showing it off like a fisherman's trophy. "Nothing like caustic smoke for a change in wardrobe." Then he faked a French fashion designer's accent." My humble audience, let me introduce you to .. the new mossy chartreuse shade of SCBA tank, sure to allow perfect camouflage in all kinds of daytime and nightime brush fires with the least amount of eye clashing distrac--" "Lopez..." shotgunned a voice of authority. "Yeah, Cap?" Lopez sputtered, thrown off his joking tirade. "Can it and let's get presentable. You're to have the chow on before DeSoto gets back. He's gonna hate the fact that Brice is filling in for the rest of Gage's night shift. I want us all defumagated for supper or at least in time before our next rescue call so speed it up a little. You got five minutes to finish the wash. Comprende?" "Perfectly. Listen Cap, is that little girl gonna make it?" "Roy said she was breathing ok, only needing help with a lightly used ambu, when he left in the rig. Gage was doing fine, too, with no real signs of serious concussion cropping up at all, he said." "That's good." "What's for dinner by the way?" Cap said, shooing the giggling others into the locker room with get a move on look. "Chicken burritos." "Sounds delicious. I'm sure Craig will enjoy those too, once he gets here from 10's." Cap's toothy grin disappeared in the darkness. Marco grumbled as he hung the last scrubbed jacket on its hook to drain. "Double chore duty.. It's not fair. I get fire cleanup and KP detail just because Gage gets himself winged enough to be declared unfit for duty. My turn was supposed to rotate in NEXT week for cooking.." he mumbled to Boot who was eyeing the water trickling down the sewer grill in the pavement. The shaggy mutt began tilting his head at the funny echoey noises cascading upwards from far below. Boot whined and sat down in sympathy at Marco's feet. "Yeah, I know how you feel.." Marco sighed. --------------------------------------------------- |
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"Craig..!" Cap beamed, rising in his chair to greet Johnny's paramedic replacement. Hastily, the gang rose in their seats, too, as Craig Brice walked through the kitchen door, each nodding greetings and handing over a plateful of chow or offering a coffee mug. "Thanks, but no thanks. I've already eaten. Meyers chili is quite sufficient for good nourishment. And I've had plenty.." Brice said drawly and smoothing down his spotless shirt over his non existent paunch. "But I will take you up on your offer of coffee. We've had quite a night." "So have we.." Marco moaned. "An explosives factory fire." Brice nodded. "I heard your run toned out. Then later, I heard Johnny's Code I over the radio..." Craig set down his mug without drinking from it and asked. "I know it's against regulations to divulge information about patient conditions.." Craig broke off, trying another way to express himself and what he wanted to know.."But we got a fire of our own before I heard any news about Gage." Chet couldn't resist. "Brice.. You? Seeking to bend the regulations? Now this is very interesting.." he said rubbing his squeaky clean mustache. "I never would've dreamed that you even cared about Johnny in the slightest.." "Why wouldn't I inquire about a colleague's health? I'm only asking out of professional courtesy.." Brice shrugged, nonplussed. "So I ask again, if I may, Captain. How is Mr. Gage doing?" The others moused down with amused grins when Cap hesitated on his reply. "Maybe I can answer that.." Roy said from the doorway, smiling as he tossed his helmet onto the top of the squad's roof without looking. The gang celebrated his return with congratulations and heart felt warm back slapping. DeSoto took the chair and coffee and steaming supper offered to him graciously. "Johnny asked me to tell you all how he's doing so any special rule no longer applies, Cap. He's got a mild concussion and some smoke inhalation but nothing else to really sweat over. Brackett says he can be released in the morning for light duty. Megan the little girl's gonna be ok, too. She woke up off my support after five minutes under aggressive hyperbaric treatment and now she and Johnny are roommates in Room 405, pediatric floor." Chet guffawed, "The kid's wing? Oh, he's gonna hate that." Roy smiled slightly. "Now I wouldn't say that. I ran into Dixie again just as I was finishing my followup exam and she said Johnny and Megan are getting to be fast friends. She said their laughter's so loud you could hear it all the way out to the nurse's desk." he giggled. The guys fell silent. Chet spoke up to break the quiet. "Now are you sure she's sure what she heard up there? The Johnny I know wouldn't usually come within ten feet of a kid unless they were in dire need of rescuing or something." A chorus of agreement from all the guys, including a nod from Brice, chimed in around Roy making him throw up his hands in defense. "I know what Dixie said and I'm inclined to believe her. There's something special about Megan. I felt it when I was with her, even when she was unconscious. She made my parenting instincts surge big time, e-even more than they usually do for any kid I'm taking care of." "Yeah?" Marco said, taking a last bite of his refried beans. "That's neat." he smiled. Chet was solemn. "Maybe Megan will rub off permanently on Gage and he'll run out and get himself married to some chick just so he can have his OWN kid." "Stranger things have happened.." DeSoto grinned, playing with his marriage band around his finger. "At any rate. I think Johnny's got himself a new lifelong friend. Dixie says they're bonding pretty tight." "This I gotta see." Kelly piped up, reaching for the phone. |
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