Saving Lives

Fish Tank.

"Girl everything is all set! I'm so fucking excited I can't wait. I need this break." Zora said damn near screaming into the phone. She had planned a woman's retreat with a few of her friends and they would be going to Hawaii for a week. There was no husband's, boyfriends, fiance, or kids allowed. Just a group of women enjoying themselves. "I can't wait either. I been so stressed out I can barely breathe. I'm about to cash app you my last payment." She had Zora on speaker phone while she processed the payment. "561 radio" Raichelle huffed and pressed the confirm payment quickly. "561" Patrick responded making eye contact with Rai standing off to the side to be sure she heard the call as well. "Hey Z, I just got a call, I gotta call you back. Better yet imma text you, the way things are going today I'll probably get held over again." She said hopping in the truck and fastening her seatbelt. "I understand your distance, but do the best you can. Hot with the squad (fire fighters and police officers) in the Apple zone, 238 Walspurt..238 on Walspurt rd. Your going for the 40 year old man with severe hemorrhaging who fell into a 40 gallon fish tank. We're gonna need you to stage for this. PD has been dispatched for a domestic dispute. "Copy" Pat responded and they buckled their seatbelts. "I honestly never understood why we go lights and sirens to stage. Even parking a few streets over they can hear us coming." Raichelle said with aggravation clear in her tone. "You do realize that you say that every time right?!" Pat said as he turned the lights and sirens on and made his way to the scene. "561 radio" the dispatch called out as Patrick was weaving his way through the early morning rush hour traffic. "561 go ahead" Rai responded. "PD has made it to the scene and is reporting the scene is safe." Raichelle pushed the button the side of the radio to respond "Copy, we still have a 5 minute ETA (estimated time of arrival)" She said looking at the GPS. "Your clear" Dispatch responded.

"Good afternoon officer. What do you have for me today?" She greeted the officer. As usual they had came to her as soon as she opened the door. "There was domestic dispute between husband and wife from what I gather, the husband had been abuse to the wife this morning, so when he was on the stool attempting to clean the fish tank she took the opportunity to get her revenge and pushed him in. She stated she didn't think it all the way through. His weight broke the glass and it got him good in few places. The most severe is in his abdomen,and he has a gash on the side of his head. Aside from that, there are a few minor scrapes and lacerations on his arms and legs." The officer explained as she got her stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, pulsox and trauma bag. She threw everything on the stretcher and made her way to the house. As soon as they walked into the house they were met with a chaotic scene. Her boot smooshed into the wet carpet causing water to ooze. There was blood and glass all over the cream rug. Family members were rushing back and forth trying to clean, a few officers were standing to the side talking to a lady. She was bright red, tears streaming down her face, wringing her hands. Fire fighters were crouched down with the patient. "Good morning. My name is Raichelle and this is my partner Patrick. I would like to ask if all the family members can please stay back and clear of this area untill we have safely moved the patient out." Some of the members gave her looks, and decided to continue what they were doing until PD stopped them and ushered them from the room. Raichelle took that opportunity to put eyes on her patient. The firefighters were applying pressure to the womb on his abdomen with a gauge. He had an ice pack on his forehead an she could see the large gash on the side of his head that they cleaned up before she arrived. He was bleeding from multiple places, but none of them were as severe as his abdomen. The firefighter holding the gauge looked up and saw Raichelle and a smile came to his face. "Hey Rai." She smile back "Hey. How's he doing?" The firefighter focused returned to the patient as he told her his vitals. "His breathing is steady at 98% room air. His blood pressure is a little low 90 over 68 and his pulse is weak and thready." She knelt down to take a closer look. "What's his name?" She asked with her eyebrows creased as she assessed the damage to his abdomen. "Thurman. Thurman Dates." She motioned for Patrto bring her trauma bag, because he was bleeding through the gauge the fireman had applied. "Hello Thurman, I'm Raichelle ill be taking care of you on the way to the hospital." She took some saline solution and poured it on two thick 5 by 7 gauge. "I understand you fell into a fish tank. How this injury occur? What pierced you abdomen? This is a deep wound." She asked as she applied the gauge. "There was a large piece of glass I took out while I was waiting for you." Thurman responded between clenched teeth. His eyes were closed shut and his whole face was screwed up from the pain. "We don't wanna apply to much pressure, cause some of the glass may still be in there." She said putting the wet gauge on the wound and then applying two more that were dry. "I really would prefer if he didn't walk with this injury. Can wejust extremity lift him on the stretcher?" She asked the crew surrounding her. "No problem" the fireman stated and Pat pulled the stretcher closer to them and dropped it down to the lowest level. "I would feel more comfortable if we put a c-collar on him first to support his neck just incase." Rai said getting up to pull one from under the mat on the stretcher. "Do we have ID, insurance cards and a list of medications available?" She directed the question to his wife. After she talked to the police officers she had sat on the couch and was starring off quietly as they work on her husband. "Ma'am" Raichelle waved her hand in front of the ladies face. "Oh..ahh.. yeah...umm...what did you need again?" Raichelle shook her head, although she was trained to remain calm in situations like this so the patient and family members wouldn't get historical he was very critical and in need of immediate of emergency care that only the hospital could provide. "I need your husband's ID, insurance cards and a list of medications if you have one. We should get moving ASAP, because your husband's condition is critical miss." She stated calmly. The woman nodded her head and disappeared into the back of the house. "When she gets the information I requested can you bring it out to the ambulance we gotta get this man loaded and go." She asked one of the police officers. "Sure thing Rai."
Inside the ambulance Rai strapped the blood pressure cuff on Thrmans left arm and put her stethoscope on, placing the bell right below the cuff. She squeezed the pressure bulb until the hand reached 240 and twist the release valve. The back doors to the ambulance opened, but continued to focus on her task. She assumed it was the police officer bringing her the information she requested. She logged his blood pressure into the toughbook and started to take his pulse. She looked up to tell the officer to put the information on the bench and her heart stopped. The wife was standing there with a gun pointed at her. She grabbed the toughbook and held it up as a shield. "Your not going anywhere with him. He deserves to die." The woman said calmly. "Ma'am, listen I don't honestly know everything that happened in that house, but I can tell you this is a huge mistake, the police officers are not going to leave the scene untill we do. If we don't pull off soon they will come and investigate." The woman smirked as if she was just told a joke. "I have nothing left to lose, you think I care if I die? I don't, but I will tell you this much, he surely won't live whether I die or not. I am going to see to it personally." Raichelle was speechless at this point. She had been given training for angry, suicidal, depressed and violent people. However being confronted with this gun in her face right now, for the first time in her career she was drawing a blank. She sent up a prayer that God keep her safe, not only for her and her unborn child, but also for her whole family. Where would they be without her?

Patrick had been scrolling on his phone through fb and noticed the woman coming up to the back door. He thought that PD was supposed to give Rai the information, but he figured she wanted to talk to her husband before they drove away. In domestic disputes the spouse if not allowed to ride for obvious reasons. When Raichelle started talking to her he looked through the rear view mirror and saw the woman pointing the gun. He immediately pressed the red panic button on his radio and turned down the incoming volume. He looked around and saw that the police officers and fire fighters on scene were all preoccupied and he wouldn't be able to get thier attention without the woman knowing. He dialed dispatch on his cellphone and put it on speaker in hopes they would hear the conversation and be able to relay the message to an officer before she did any harm.

"Sharon, what are you doing? Please don't do this. Just put the gun down and we can talk about it." Thurman finally spoke up. Raichelle glanced quickly at her patient and turned her head to see if Patrick was aware of what was happening. Maybe he could signal for help. The police officers surely wouldn't know what was going on because the doors were hiding Sharon's body from them. "Tell your partner I want to see both of his hands." Sharon demanded as she kept a steady hold on the gun. "Pat, put your hands up to the window please, she wants to see them." Patrick waisted no time showing her his hands, he would hate to make a wrong move and get the patient or his partner hurt for a mistake.

Thurman started coughing violently and Raichelle could see the gauge began to soak with blood. She knew he was losing way too much. He looked pale and was sweating. She knew he needed oxygen, which she hadn't given him yet and she inwardly was angry with herself for not doing that first. Sharon's face turned from anger to concern and her arms lowered a little. Rai felt a little relieved at that moment, because although she was angry, she was still affected by his level of pain. Within a blind of an eye Sharon's body was tackled to the ground. It took a minute for her to regain her composure, but she hopped up and got a nasal cannula and attached the tube to the oxygen before quickly putting it on Thurman. She had just gone through a traumatic experience, but she wouldn't allow her emotions to stop her patient from receiving the care he obviously needed.
Patrick, several police officers and fire fighters were all at the back door asking her how she was doing and what happened. "Listen, I will write a report, press charges and all that other good stuff once my patient is in the hands of the hospital staff receiving the medical care he needs. Patrick please go hot to county and have dispatch update that we're on the way with a trauma." Pat quickly closed the doors and followed her instructions.

Raichelle sat in the quiet room with her head resting in her hands. She was exhausted. After the patients care was transferred to the hospital staff, the police officers and her field supervisor took statements. She took her time and made that the reports she filled out were detailed and accurate. Once she was finally left alone her instincts were to reach out to Gabriel in hopes that he would comfort enough to finish her work day. Instead she got his voice-mail. Taking a deep breath, she sent him a text letting him know she had a bad call and needed to talk to him.
While Raichelle anxiously awaited Gabriel's response Pat came and sat down next to her. "Hey, how you holding up?" She looked at him as if his question puzzled her. "I'll be alright. You good?" She asked him. "Yeah, I'm cool. Jordan wanted me to let you know they're sending you home for mental health precautions per protocol." Rai shook her head and sighed heavily. "Ok." Was all she felt like saying.

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🥰😍😘 Hey guys. I know it's been a lil minute since I updated, life gets hectic. I hope you enjoy the read