Emma: Freshman Year

Chapter 22: Emergency

The first bell rang loudly as Emma walked into Mr. Halverson's classroom early Monday morning and took her usual seat beside Heidi, dropping her backpack by her feet. The stress from Landon going to jail and her mom getting engaged to Craig must have been finally catching up to her, for she felt dizzy and nauseous. Her disheveled blonde hair lay over her shoulders, framing her gaunt-looking face, which was a few shades paler than usual. As Emma one-handedly unzipped her backpack, she noticed that her right hand was shaking and she barely had enough strength to pick up her math textbook and place it on her desktop. Maybe it was because she had hardly eaten anything for the past several days due to stress and anxiety, or maybe it was because the challenges in her life were becoming too much for her to bear. Either way, Emma knew that something wasn't right; in fact, she felt like she was going to pass out at any given moment.

"Do you feel okay?" Heidi asked, glancing at Emma with a concerned look in her blue eyes. "You don't look good at all."

"Just a little nauseous is all," Emma fibbed, staring at her desktop as her vision began to black out. "I'll be fine." 

However, no sooner had she said this, Emma lost consciousness and her head flopped forward and hit the top of her desk with a loud thud. When she finally opened her eyes, Emma found herself lying on the floor with a bunch of people surrounding her, including Heidi, Mr. Halverson, several of her classmates, and two paramedics. 

Still in a daze, Emma tried to sit up, only to be gently guided back down by one of the paramedics.

 "Relax," the paramedic told Emma. "You passed out. We're going to take you to the hospital just to see if they can rule out what caused this." 

Closing her eyes, Emma sighed internally. She knew that her mom would be very upset with her for going to the hospital yet again. She flinched as she suddenly felt a prick in the crook of her arm. 

"We're just starting an IV," the second paramedic stated. 

"Her blood sugar is only 54," the first paramedic told her partner. "Emma, when is the last time you've eaten?" 

Opening her eyes only to see the paramedics still hovering over her, Emma searched her memory for the last time she had eaten anything. She knew it had been at least a few days, but she was too embarrassed to admit it. She didn't want the paramedics to think she was anorexic and admit her to the hospital with a feeding tube. "I ate breakfast this morning," Emma lied. 

"You did, huh?" the first paramedic replied, seemingly unconvinced of Emma's answer. "Well let's get you to the hospital so you can get checked out, okay? Are you able to stand up if we help you?"

With the help of the paramedics, Emma was able to slowly walk out of the classroom, into the empty halls, where a stretcher sat waiting for her. The paramedics then helped her onto the stretcher, and Emma felt herself being wheeled away down the hallway, out of the school, and into an ambulance. It was there where the paramedics cut off Emma's clothes and replaced them with a hospital gown. A bag of fluids was then attached to Emma's IV and hung above her head on a pole. The paramedics also attached stickers to her bare chest to monitor her heart and placed a blood pressure cuff around her thin arm. 

It wasn't long before Emma was wheeled into the emergency department and placed in an empty room, behind a curtain. She still felt dizzy and nauseous, but she was also anxious as to what her mom would say after she found out that Emma fainted at school. 

Just then, the curtain swished open and in stepped a lady dressed in a long, white coat. "Hi, there," she greeted Emma as she walked up to her with a needle and a syringe in her hand. "I'm just here to draw some blood from you."