A Shot in the Dark (Dark #1)

by J. G. Sumner

  The respiratory therapist started CPR as one of the others continued to assist with the patient’s breathing.

  Laney put the pacer pads on the boy’s chest. “Charge to three hundred and sixty joules and shock,” ordered Josh.

  Laney pushed the button to charge the defibrillator. Everyone waited with bated breath for the familiar beep indicating it was ready to shock. “Everyone clear!”

  The patient’s chest jolted off the bed. “He’s still in V-fib. Continue CPR! Laney, charge the defibrillator to three hundred and sixty again,” Josh ordered.

  Laney pressed the button again.

  “Okay, everyone clear!” Laney demanded.

  The entire crew stepped back from the bed. Again the patient’s chest rose off the table, and fell back down.

  “Looks like he’s back in sinus rhythm and has a pulse,” reported Laney.

  “What’s his blood pressure?”

  “It’s eighty-six over fifty-two.”

  “Good. Let’s give a one hundred-fifty mg lidocaine bolus and start him on a drip at one point five milligrams per hour and get that chest X-ray. Let’s get him to the scanner and see what other injuries he has.” Josh pointed to the OR team.

  “Get your OR ready. I bet this kid is bleeding internally somewhere, and we’re going to need to open him up. Laney, I’ll meet you in CT.” Josh moved through the crowd of staff that had filled the room, removed his vest, and pushed through the doors into the hallway.

  Chapter 2

  Laney

  Laney turned Skyler on his side to help the radiology tech get the chest X-ray. Once the film was completed, she grabbed his belongings and with the rest of the team, they moved him out of the trauma room and down the hall to the CT scanner. The respiratory therapist continued to artificially ventilate him and the monitor was steadily beeping, showing his heart was still beating. Laney constantly eyed the monitor and all of the tubes, ensuring that everything was in place and functioning properly. While the distance to the CT scanner wasn’t that far, it seemed as though the hallway to get there was a mile long.

  Come on, kid. Hang in there. Let’s find out what’s wrong with you.

  Laney got lost in her thoughts for a few seconds. She just wanted to get the scans done so they could identify all of his injuries and fix them. Out of nowhere a crying woman rushed toward her, startling her back into reality.

  “Is that my Skyler? What’s wrong with him? Is he okay? Is my baby going to be okay?”

  Laney faced the hysterical woman. She was slim, young looking, maybe in her early thirties, with thick brown hair that fell in long soft curls. She was probably pretty, but with the mascara running down her face and puffy eyes from the tears, it was hard to tell.

  “I’m sorry, ma’am, who are you?” Laney inquired.

  “I’m Rebecca, Skyler’s mom,” she sobbed. “I saw the whole accident. Is he going to be okay?” The woman was barely able to hold it together. Panic had begun taking over.

  Laney instantly felt a connection with the other woman. She could sympathize with what she was going through. While Laney didn’t have kids, the thought of losing a child was beyond comprehension.

  “I’m not sure yet, ma’am,” she told Rebecca. “We’re going to take him to get a CT scan right now to learn the extent of his injuries. We’ll know more in a few minutes. In the meantime, this is our social worker, Shawna. She’ll help answer questions and get more information about Skyler.”

  Laney motioned to an attractive African-American woman.

  Shawna extended a hand to Rebecca. “Hello. I’ll be with you while they are running the tests on Skyler. I’m here to assist you with any needs you might have.”

  Rebecca put her hand in Shawna’s and nodded. “I don’t want to leave him. Is he going to be okay?”

  “We’ll know more after the tests. In the meantime, how about you come with me to a quieter place?”

  Shawna smiled, put her arm around Rebecca, and guided her toward a private room.

  “Come on, guys, let’s get this kid to CT!” Laney began pushing the gurney down the narrow hallway.

  The team quickened their pace. Dr. Stone was already waiting in the room, clearly unhappy. His face was fiery red, and his jaw was clenched so tight it looked as though it would pop off.

  “What took you so long?” he demanded.

  Laney looked to the other members of the team and rolled her eyes. “The mom arrived, Doctor. It took a minute to get her to go with the social worker.”

  “Well, let’s get moving. Every second you waste could be this kid’s life.” Josh turned to enter the room where he could watch the monitor displaying the images from the CT. With help from the other team members, Laney proceeded to slide Skyler onto the scanner.

  There was no mistake. Out of the corner of her eye, Laney could see Dr. Stone was not just watching, but staring at her. What the heck is his problem? If he’s in such a hurry, why not come help?

  Once Skyler was settled, she headed into the observation room. The redness had disappeared from Dr. Angry Pants’s face, but the posturing was still noticeable.

  “Can we get this thing going?” he snapped. “We’ve already wasted enough time.”

  Laney let out a heavy sigh and made eye contact with the RT, who rolled his eyes in response to Dr. Stone’s comment. The tech began pressing buttons and within seconds Skyler was moving in and out of the enormous machine.

  Dr. Stone’s cell phone rang. He ripped it out of the case attached to his black scrub pants.

  “Hello. Yes, I’m still working. Can you just make sure you let the dog out? And feed him too. The poor dog hasn’t had anything since yesterday morning. No. I don’t know when I’m going to be home! Can you please just make sure that Duke gets some food and water? Thank you!”

  “Dr. Stone, I think you need to take a look at this,” the CT tech said cautiously.

  “I’ve got to go. I’ll call you when I’m done here.” Dr. Stone disconnected and put the cell phone back in the holder. Clearly irritated, he proceeded to look at the screen showing the image of the scan.

  “What is it? What do you—Oh, crap! The kid has an aortic tear. Damn! We need to get him to the OR, stat! Someone call the lab and get some blood going into him before his blood pressure bottoms out. Let’s go!”

  The team scrambled to get Skyler packaged up and taken to the operating room as Dr. Stone raced out of the room at mach speed.

  Laney and the rest of the team placed Skyler back on the gurney. She glanced at the monitor. “Shit, he’s in asystole!” She felt Skyler’s neck for a pulse but there was no response. She jumped on the gurney and straddled Skyler, beginning chest compressions.

  “Let’s go! Take the back elevator to the OR.”

  The team ran down the hall, Laney still pumping away on Skyler’s chest.

  “Someone open his fluids up wide. He needs all the volume he can get!”

  As they entered the OR, the nurses rushed to the gurney to assist. Dr. Stone jumped out of the way of the gurney and glared at Laney. “What the hell happened? I leave you alone for five minutes and now you’re thumping on his chest?”

  “He went asystole! I started CPR, and we rushed up here. I haven’t had a chance to recheck his rhythm. Fluids are going wide open through both IVs. The blood should be here any second.”

  “Okay, stop CPR and let’s see if he has a rhythm.”

  She took her arms off of Skyler’s chest and the entire team looked at the monitor. The room was so quiet with anticipation you could hear a pin drop.

  “He’s still in V-fib!” She started chest compressions again before Dr. Stone could even get the order out. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she tried to pump the life back into Skyler’s body.

  “Get him in here and crack his chest. He’s got a tear in his aorta. Tell the blood bank to have additional units on standby. Someone take over compressions for Laney. Move!”

  One of the OR nurses resumed compressions while th
e rest of the team prepared Skyler for surgery. As the adrenaline started to wear off, Laney was suddenly aware of how sore her arms were from pushing on Skyler’s chest for the last several minutes. Rubbing her muscles, she looked around at the team. “Good job, guys. Hopefully they can repair the tear.”

  Laney looked back, not quite ready to leave Skyler. Despite only meeting him moments prior, she had already developed a connection with him. She always felt this inherent need to stay by kids until she knew they were going to be okay. That was one of the pitfalls with this job. She sometimes became too easily attached to her patients.

  She took a deep breath, turned to join the rest of the team, and head back to the emergency department.

  Chapter 3

  Laney returned to the trauma room, noting that it looked like a bomb had gone off. Supplies had been thrown everywhere; there were empty equipment wrappers, blood on the floor, and the medic backboard was still in the room. She began picking up all the trash and supplies that were thrown in the frantic rush to get Skyler stabilized.

  She replayed the events in her head. What could I have done differently? Could I have identified the tear before CT? What’s up with Dr. Stone? He seemed especially moody today. What a jerk. What about Skyler’s family? Oh, his poor mom.

  Laney hurried to the private room where the social workers sat with families while they waited to find out how their loved ones were doing. She knocked on the door and poked her head in.

  Rebecca looked up, and Laney saw tears in Rebecca’s eyes. Shawna was holding her hand.

  “Hi, I’m Laney. We met earlier. I’m Skyler’s nurse.” She entered the room and closed the door behind her.

  “How’s he doing? How’s my son?”

  Laney assessed the room. How much should she tell Rebecca? Usually this was something the doctor discussed with the family. Knowing that Dr. Stone was going to be in surgery for hours, she just didn’t feel right allowing Rebecca to sit and wonder what was going on for that long.

  Rebecca looked very young for having a seventeen-year-old son. Laney couldn’t help but note the fear in the other woman’s soft brown eyes. She sat next to Rebecca and took her hand.

  “He’s in the OR,” Laney finally replied.

  “That’s bad, isn’t it? What happened? What’s wrong with him?” More tears flooded the woman’s face.

  “Has the doctor come to talk to you?” Laney asked, knowing full well that Dr. Stone couldn’t have been by yet.

  “No, why? Is something wrong?”

  “Well, the doctor is supposed to be the one to give the update.” Laney tucked a strand of blonde hair that had escaped from her surgical cap behind her ear. “But…”

  “Please, I can’t stand waiting any longer. Please tell me he’s going to be okay. He’s all I have left.”

  “Rebecca—Mrs.…”

  “Please call me Rebecca.”

  Laney shifted, knowing she probably shouldn’t say anything and just wait for Dr. Stone. But she knew that if she were in Rebecca’s shoes, she would want to be told.

  “Your son is in critical condition. We had to start CPR on him twice, and we were able to temporarily stabilize him. However, he has many injuries. He has a breathing tube to help him breathe. He probably has some broken ribs. And it looks like his collarbone may be broken as well. Skyler has not woken up yet. So it’s hard to tell the extent of the damage to his head.”

  Rebecca closed her eyes. Tears trickled down her face as she took a deep breath in preparation for the next question.

  “You said you had to do CPR twice. What about the second time?”

  “As we were getting a CT scan to see what injuries he suffered, we noted a tear in his aorta. The aorta is a major blood vessel that goes to the heart. Unfortunately, as we were getting ready to take him to the OR, his heart stopped. We began CPR and immediately rushed him to the operating room. Their team took over and Dr. Stone is trying to sew up the tear. Dr. Stone is an excellent doctor. He’ll take great care of your son. If anyone can get Skyler through this, it’s him.”

  Rebecca was now fully sobbing. “Please save my baby. Make him be okay.” She rested her head on Laney’s shoulder.

  “It’s going to be okay,” Laney soothed as she circled her arm around Rebecca. Laney wasn’t quite sure if she was trying to comfort her or making herself believe that Skyler could make it through this. The young ones always make it through these situations better than older people. Please let this kid make it.

  The room was quiet for several minutes except for the sound of sobbing. After a while, Rebecca lifted her head and peered at Laney. “What happens next?”

  Laney took a deep breath. “Skyler will probably be in the OR for a few hours. Dr. Stone will repair the tear in his aorta. After that, there will be another scan to ensure they haven’t missed anything. We didn’t see a bleed in his brain the first time, so that’s good. But they will look again. From CT, he’ll go to the ICU, where he’ll be monitored closely. The next twenty-four hours are going to be critical. At this point we just pray.”

  The sobs came louder. “My baby. My poor baby. Please, God, don’t let me lose my baby! I should never have let him get on that motorcycle! He assured me he would be okay. I bought him all the right equipment to make sure he wouldn’t get too injured. How on earth could this have happened?”

  Laney reached for the box of tissues on the little wooden table next to her and handed them to Rebecca. She took the tissue and nodded.

  “Is there anyone that we can call for you? Any family? Maybe Skyler’s dad?”

  Rebecca shook her head. “Skyler’s dad isn’t in the picture. I got pregnant when we were teenagers. He wanted nothing to do with Skyler. He wanted me to have an abortion but I couldn’t do it. Now that I have him, I’m so thankful I didn’t. Skyler is the love of my life. I can’t imagine my life without him.” Many people say more than the normally would in stressful situations. Rebecca was no exception.

  “What about family? Is there anyone to call?”

  “No, my family doesn’t speak to me much anymore. I relied on them a lot to finish high school so I could support me and Skyler. Apparently, I was too much of a burden because as soon as I finished, my parents made me move out. They weren’t happy with my decision to keep Skyler rather than put him up for adoption. They thought I was throwing away my life. Since then, we’ve only spoken a handful of times.”

  “What about friends? You must have some friends I can call for you.” Laney looked toward Shawna, who shrugged and shook her head.

  “I do have one, but I don’t want to bother her right now. Let me just see how Skyler does.”

  “Are you sure? Waiting to hear news whether it’s good or bad can be difficult. This is the time when you need someone to lean on. No one should go through this alone.”

  “Thank you for all that you have done for my son. But I’m sure. It’s better this way.”

  “Okay. But please let me know if there is anything I can do for you.

  “Let’s get you up to the OR waiting area. When Dr. Stone comes out of surgery, he’ll be looking for you there.”

  Rebecca stood up slowly. Laney lent an arm to help steady her. When she was ready, they walked down the hall and took the elevator up to the third floor.

  They came to a large family waiting area. The room was very warm and welcoming, painted in soft taupe colors with dark cherry furniture. There were pictures of waterfalls and other soothing scenes on the walls, along with large windows with a view of a healing garden. The door to the garden was next to the big picture window.

  Rebecca chose a seat close to the windows. Laney sat next to her and watched her as she stared at the view.

  “If you want, I can sit with you for a little bit. I don’t have to get back right away.” Laney rubbed Rebecca’s hand.

  The other woman returned the gesture. “That would be nice.”

  “If there is anything else I can do for you, please let me know.”

  �
�You’ve already done so much. It’s funny, I never considered myself to be a religious person. But I find myself praying. I feel like there’s nothing else I can do. All that’s left is for me to pray and hold on to hope that Skyler will make it through this.”

  Laney gave Rebecca a hug and held her while she started to sob again. This scenario was every parent’s worse nightmare. While she felt bad for Rebecca, she was happy to be on the other end of it.

  Chapter 4

  After sitting with Rebecca for almost an hour, Laney decided she needed to head back to the trauma room and make sure she had things in order for the next case. She was meticulous about making sure everything was in its place. No one could ever predict when the next one would come in. Some days they would be back to back, while other days there wouldn’t be any at all. As she walked back, she found herself reflecting on the things Rebecca had told her. All the challenges that Rebecca faced and now Skyler’s life could be cut short. How does one cope with losing a child?

  As she entered the emergency department, she found Renay flirting with a couple of other medics again. Does this woman have no self-respect? Geez. While the medics did seem to be enjoying the attention, she noted that they were both wearing wedding bands. The woman has no boundaries.

  Laney continued walking to the trauma room when Renay called, “How was that patient? Did he make it?”

  Annoyed and not really in the best mood, Laney put on her best smile and attempted to give a brief synopsis of events. “He has an aortic tear and coded in CT. We took him to surgery and as far as I know, he’s still there.”

  “If anyone can save him, it’s Dr. Stone. He is amazing. And what I wouldn’t give to work in the trauma room with him. You’re so lucky. How can you stand it?”

  Laney gave a curt smile as she went back into the trauma room. What was the appeal with Dr. Stone? Yes, he was handsome, but he was also a jerk. He was a great surgeon, but he always seemed to be temperamental. Besides his good looks, he wasn’t really her type. Although she didn’t date a lot and she wasn’t sure what her type was. She just knew that Dr. Stone was not it.