The Patient

2. FULL

Neither Kay nor Elle, her co staff nurses, observed the frightened state Mindy was in when she hurriedly returned to the nurse's station. But anyway, they never did notice 409 buzzer and Mindy getting up to answer the call. They were both too busy with the patients assigned to them, new admissions, and pre- operative patients.
However, the utility aide, Noor, was eyeing her suspiciously as Mindy gulped a glass of cool water to calm herself and collect her thoughts.
Then she quietly asked, " When did our patient in Room 409 get discharged? I was off duty yesterday, you see... " Mindy saw the girl stiffen then tersely answered,
" As far as I know, he's still in the morgue, as he's got no relatives to claim his body. The doctors had a hard time reviving him last night. His final heart attack, " Noor scrutinized Mindy more closely as the nurse gasped .
" He was your patient, wasn't he? Maybe he named a relative to you, the one who visited him minutes before his attack? so he can be notified of his demise ?"

Now Mindy felt giddy and light headed, her pulse and thoughts were racing once more, " No, he mentioned nobody to me, "
To herself she wondered, young man? The only young man he mentioned to me was Keith!
To Noor, she asked, "How did this young man look like? "
" Seems to me it's the same one in one of the pictures we found with his things. I've helped Nurse Ollie gather up what belongings he had for safekeeping in case his relatives want them. We found the picture in his wallet. There's a picture of a girl and a little boy in it , too..." Noor pointed to the cabinet where the records of discharged patients were kept for the retrieval of the records staff in the morning. " It's in there..."
"Thanks, I'll look at those later, after I've finished taking care of my other patients..." Mindy stifled her intense desire to verify if it was indeed Keith who was in that picture at once. It would appear too suspicious to Noor to see her reaction otherwise, so she decided to view it later, when the utility aide has gone.
She went to check her patients' vital signs and treatments, noting their doctors' initial diagnosis and orders.
She also noted the medicines they were being given, indications and possible side effects.
She felt relieved that she has no pre op nor post op patient , for they would entail frequent close monitoring of vital status. There was only the patient for replacement of Intravenous fluid bottle, but the one already due was running late. Mindy readied the one to follow , for quick access as soon as the former emptied.
By three am Mindy was ready to investigate the content of the cabinet. She placed her paper cup of hot coffee on the desk, then pulled a chair beside the cabinet and sat down . Then she took out the contents of the cabinet- a folder with the old mans' hospital records and a brown envelope. This she opened and found a very much used brown leather wallet, a wedding ring , a wrist watch and a Bible . She took the wallet, opened it slowly, dreading that she will be proven right in her suspicions. She took her cellphone out and took a picture of the photographs in question. She planned to scrutinize it better later at home.she also took a picture of the other items, as well as the bio data part of the hospital records.
The ring of the buzzer startled her, The patient with the IVF for replacement! She hurriedly replaced the dead patient's records and properties and closed shut the cabinet, gulped down her now cold coffee, and snatched up the replacement IVF bottle and hurried towards the patient's room.
As she opened the door, she looked at the IVF bottle hanging on the IV stand above the bed's headboard- it was
FULL !
(*£*)