Stitches of Survival

Sledgehammer

Chapter Fifty-Four: Sledgehammer

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"Jessica Tanner, fifteen years old. Moving train swiped her, then tossed her down the embankment." Nichole briefed me was Callie, Owen, and I helped unload the girl from the ambulance. "GCS is fifteen. Pressure's one hundred palp. Right side took all the brunt. One big bruise."

"There's a shortcut to-- to school," Jessica told us as another ambulance pulled in. "I-I take it every day over...the tracks."

"She's tachy at one twenty." Owen noted.

"All right, I'm gonna need a doppler to check these extremities for pulse," Callie said.

"I-I-I tripped," Jessica cried. "You know, my foot-- it got stuck in between the tracks."

"Try to stay calm, Jess," I told her.

"Have you seen the other girl?" Jessica asked us. "She...She just showed up out of nowhere. She-- She tried to push me out of the way."

"Uh, uh, uh, somebody?! I'm not sure what to do here!" An intern yelled from where he was looking over the other girl.

"Sloan," Owen nodded towards the other ambulance.

"Help get the other patient inside," I told the intern as I looked over the girl, one of her feet being turned completely backwards. "Callie, come take a look at this."

"Hey. It's gonna be all right, Jess. We're gonna take care of you-- both of you. Okay?" Callie assured the girl before she came over to help me. "Let's go."

"Hang two units of O neg, check the pelvic binder, and prep her for a rapid-sequence intubation." I instructed as we rushed to get the girl best up in a trauma room, Callie busy with her foot while Amelia hurried in to assist us. 

"Any word on her name? Her parents?" Callie asked as she twisted the foot back around to the right position. 

"I don't think she had any ID," the intern shook his head.

"Did you look?" I questioned him. "Did you check her bag?"

"Okay, where do you need me?" Meredith asked as she joined us.

"She needs an ex lap," I told her. "One of her legs was ripped completely away from the other."

"She has a wishbone injury," Callie shook her head. "The force of the train broke her pelvis and split her insides apart. I'm gonna need to stabilize her pelvis and extremities, but not before you guys address her internal injuries."

"Pupillary reflexes are sluggish," Amelia noted as she shined a light in the girl's eyes. "She's gonna need a head CT to rule out a traumatic brain injury."

"All right, you got a name for me yet?" Callie looked back at the intern that was searching through the girl's backpack.

"Uh, no, but I found some textbooks," he shook his head. "Sophomore, junior, maybe. I'm guessing she's about sixteen years old."

"Okay, hang on, hang on. Shh, quiet," Meredith hushed all of us as the girl opened her eyes.  

"Mom," the girl whispered, her breathing rough. "I want my mom."

"Mer, we're going to need to intubate. We don't have much time," I reminded her as Amelia got into place to intubate.

"Okay. Go ahead," Meredith stepped back, letting Amelia intubate the girl. I could only shake my head, hating that something like this had happened to the girls. As I did so though something caught my eye, two hearts that had been drawn on her arm in black pen.