Saving My Hope

Chapter 11-What To Do?

"Hey, Shan" Dr Reid calls my name the second I step into the staff room.
I look to her at the door frame of the entrance to the main floor.
"I need to be with Charlie and there's an appendix surgery needing to happen asap. You've done appendix, right?" She says, obviously in a hurry.
"Of course. No problem. Go to Charlie" I say, not minding the thrown surgery on me.
It was Alex.
And it was her fiance in a coma.

Scrub, scrub, scrub, scruba, daba, dub.
It's something Im professional at now.
I walk to the door of the surgical room but Joel appears infront of me.
Stopping right in my path.
Of course.
"Beep, beep. Someone's dying" I tell him, not playing games.
"Do you have a second" he says, more as a statement than question.
"I do not" I reply through my mask.
"I want to be friends again" he says softly, playing with the strings of his masks.
Theres a silence between us as I process his words.
"Umm" I begin.
"Im sorry I made it weird" he responds.
"We were always friends, Joel...but now...not as close" I say, not wanting to set myself up again.
"But didnt you say you got over our last mishap" he comments.
I force a kind smile, "Everyone has their limits...even nice people".
"Who said you were nice" he scoffs.
A male nurse comes out and tells me, "The patient needs your attention. Everyone else is behind schedule, can you please do the breathing tube?".
I push past Joel but before I go in, I tell him, "Youre right. Who said I am...but who made you 'God'?".

"I keep losing sight of the cord. Give me some burp" I say, holding a big tube that was inserted into the patients mouth.
"Got it" a nurse said.
"Sats are falling. You gonna bag him yet" Joel says, across from me as he holds the light.
"Nope. Not yet" I assure.
I see a clear view past his slightly enlarged tonsils and demand a tube.
Joel gives me a clear tube and I feed it down this man's throat.
The patient coughs and the male nurse says, "easy".
"All good. Its just reflex. A little more" I say and carefully monover it down his throat, careful not to rip anything.
The man coughs some more.
"Okay, use the stylet" Joel tells me, his arms crossed over his chest from observing.
"Hush" I tell him and then look through the tube.
"Nearly there" I note out loud.
I feed it down some more before I grin, "There we go".
"Got it" Reid chimes.
"Nicely done" Joel comments.
"Go away. We dont need a bone surgeon for inserting a breathing tube" I snip.
"Okay" he hums, slightly taken aback that Im kicking him out.
"I guess I'll see you later then" and with that he leaves.
I clip the oxygen pipe to the tube and now the patient will have better intake to breathe.
"Okay. Volume is coming up. We are good to go" I say and change my gloves.
"Get suction and irrigation ready, if his appendix truly burst; he'll be full of pus" I tell the nurses.
"Oh and please page a general surgeon" I again speak.

Now inserted into Carlos' left side is what I like to call, camera tongs.
It is a very narrow metal tube that has a tiny camera on the end that makes the inside of a person, easier to see.
With one in each hand and  my eyes on the screen, I ask for a nurse to use the Blunt Nose Grasper.
With that inserted amd seconds later, Im surprised.
The appendix looks totally fine. Theres no inflammation or any damage done to it.
"Thats not what I expected..." I murmer to myself.
I watch the Grasper move around the appendix on the screen before asking the holder to look around some more.
As the camera pulls up images with nothing abnormal, I tell everyone, "theres no diverticulitis. No purulent fluid...".
"So what's going on?" Victor, my male attendant asks me, confused in this situation.
"Excellent question. I see here he has a destended loop on his bowel. Looks to be the start of an infection" I explain.
Theres a beep and Dr Pratt tells me, "Im having trouble ventilating. Sats down to 82".
The attendant also says, "BP's falling. Pulse erratic".
I pull out the graspers as Dr Pratt asks, "he's crashing. Are you losing blood?".
"No, nothing. What the hell is this?" I answer and start pulling out the stability bars in his side.
"Did you check he creatinine levels?" Pratt asks.
"Yeah, it was fine. 1:10. His electrolytes were good" I explain in confusion.
"Check his lines" I then say.
"Theyre good. They're fine" Pratt answered.
The monitor now beep erratically.
"Hes coding" Victor says.
"Push amioderone. Charge up defib. Start the clock...lets lose the drape" I call out and then rip of the surgical drape on Carlos' side.
"Charge to 300" I tell Victor.
"300" He replies and hands me the paddles.
The defibrillator whines as I say "clear" and press them down on Carlos' chest.
Theres a thunk as his chest rises from the shock.
"No change" I am told.
A nurse goes to start CPR but I beat her to it and explain, "I got it. I got it".
"Sats are bottoming out. 60 and dropping" Pratt says, watching the monitor.
"BP'S 60 over 40" Victor says loudly.
"Why is this happening!?" I gasp from breathing heavily in adrenaline.
"No sinus rhythm" Pratt adds.
"Did you check to see if the tube is in? How about the cords?" I ask Dr Pratt.
"Yes. You must of hit an artery" She answers back.
"300" Victor says and hands me the paddles.
They whine and I shout "clear".
Again they thunk and Carlos has no response.
"Nothing" I say and then ask for another charge up.
"300" he tells me and I do the same process.
Still no change.
"Come on! Push epi" I order.
"We got nothing" Victor tells me.
"Come on!" I shout in annoyance as I continue CPR.
Victor and Dr Pratt look at eachother.
They knew he was gone.
But did I.
I pump a good 20 more times before I come to a stop.
My breathing is heavier than normal at the moment and I rip off my mask.
The monitor still rings annoyingly and I watch the nurses unhook Mr Garcia from the monitors.
"Time of death; 2:05 pm" I say softly.
I take my gloves off and they slap from my hands.