Do More Good (5sos ot4)

Chapter 2

"Hey, Jackson, we have to change you up, okay? You made a little mess and it's time to switch up your positioning," Ashton informed his patient.

    "Can't, my leg hurts. Don't wanna move,"

    "What number would you give the pain?" Ashton asked, checking his work phone to see what meds the old man could have.

    "Probably a 7," he shrugged, eyes glued to the tv screen.

    "Hm, all right. I have an antibiotic to run through your IV and I can give you some Tylenol as well,"

    "Yeah, whatever you got," he snapped. He always got grumpy when he got interrupted because he missed parts of his shows. He hated when they had to go in to change him, but it was something that had to be done. Ashton always did his best to be quick but thorough so he could continue his program.

    Ashton looked at Megan, the nurse who was going to help him so they could do a skin check.

    "I'm going to medicate him first, I'll call you when I'm ready,"

    "No problem," she ducked out of the room quickly, having her own things to take care of.

    Jackson was an elderly patient who had his left leg amputated below the knee. The man had gotten an infection in his leg when he walked into a stick and the cut never healed. He had varicose veins and poor circulation in his legs, all which hindered the wound from healing and resulted in it being cut off.

    Because the man had had surgery recently, he wasn't able to walk on his good leg yet (even with the help of crutches) so he had to constantly shift his positioning and the nurses had to check his skin for any breakdown. They had all sorts of preventive measures for stopping pressure sores from forming, like rotating patients every two hours, keeping the sheets underneath from being wrinkled, and using sticky cushioning pads on high pressure areas like the sacrum and heels of the feet. Ashton always tried the best for his patients.

    Jackson was dying. He didn't do well during his surgery, he was overweight, unhealthy, and even though they'd gotten rid of the leg, Ashton knew by the colour of the man's skin that he wasn't going to last long. It was likely the infection had spread to the rest of his body. He probably hadn't come in soon enough to get checked out.

    "Okay, Jackson, let me get the medication and I'll be back in a few minutes." Ashton went outside the room to open the drawers underneath his computer. Much of the medication needed for patients were kept in special locked drawers under the computer. A personal passcode had to be entered in order to open it, much like the cabinet in the med room, and Ashton did that, searching for Jackson's antibiotic.

    The brunette poked his head back into the room.

    "I have to run to the pharmacy to get your medication, it'll be a few more minutes, okay?"

    Jackson barely acknowledged him, but Ashton didn't pay much mind.

    Ashton walked down the hallway, pausing to ask a few of the nurses he saw if they needed anything from pharmacy. It wasn't far away, but it was always inconvenient to have to stop what you were doing to run down to get the medication. It was often looked on in favour when someone got the meds for you so you didn't have to.

    With his list of other meds in his hand, Ashton walked to the back of the unit and to the stairwell that lead to pharmacy. He was on the fourth floor, so he had to go all the way down to the first floor to get the medication.

    He knocked on the window, grinning when the blonde behind the counter perked up at his appearance.

    "Ashy!" he greeted, opening the larger portion of the window to kiss his boyfriend. Ashton obliged, pecking the smaller boys lips.