I hold the little girl's hand as we go over to her mom's bed. As we walk to the mom's bed we pass by Lexie, who is performing a neural exam on the father in bed 4. She looks so focused, and I am so happy to see her doing what she loves. Our eyes meet as she turns to write something on the patient's chart, and she flashes a small, magical smile at me. I smile back, and continue walking the girl to her mother.
The woman is still unconscious, and Jackson is sitting by the bed working on the cut that I had started on. I stand closer to him and observe his suturing, and I can't help but feel pride over how well he turned out.
"Nice work, Avery," I say as I back away from Jackson.
"Thanks Dr. Sloan," Jackson replies without moving his eyes away from the woman's arm. "By the way, who's that you have with you?" he asks, referring to the girl.
"What's your name sweetie?" I ask, realizing I had never asked.
There is silence for a moment as the girl stares at me, her blue eyes open wide.
"Lucy. She's my daughter, Lucy," I hear the woman says as the bed sheets rustle under her movement. She winces as she moves her wrist, and speaking seems to hurt her cheekbone. "She's very shy, don't take it personally."
"Of course, and what's your name?" I ask.
"I'm Lauren Kramer. My father was driving the car that had crashed, with me, my mother, my husband, and my two children inside. We were on our way home from a ski trip," Lauren replies.
I nod at her as I begin to check the wounds on her woman's body. I touch her wrist gently and she pulls away. "That's definitely fractured," I remark. "We'll get a cast on it right away."
I hold my hand up to Lauren's cheek and notice that it is swollen, and that her eye is very red. "My vision is a little blurry in that eye," Lauren admits.
"It seems like you have a fractured cheekbone, we'll get an x-ray just to be sure, though," I inform Lauren.
"How would you fix that?" she asks.
"I would have to operate surgically to put the bone in the right place. It would probably only be a small incision, right around here," I say as I touch the hairline on her temple. "Right now I can't tell just how severe the fracture is, but with an x-ray I will be able to tell how bad it is. There is a possibility that you will need to have some plates or screws to hold the bone in place, which would involve another incision or two."
"Is it a risky surgery?" Lauren asks.
"There are risks to every surgery, but this one is relatively safe and I am confident that you will make a quick recovery. With Dr. Avery here to help me, you are in the best hands possible," I say, smiling at the woman.
"Thank you, Dr. Sloan," she says. "Is everyone else okay?"
I think back to the other patients I had seen. "Your father and husband have possible head injuries and a few other minor injuries, but they both seem alright for now. I can go ask the doctors working on them about their condition. Lucy here is okay," I begin, then brace myself to have to deliver the news of her mother's death. Before I say this, however, I think back to the other patients and Lauren's description of her family. "Wait, did you say you have two children?" I ask.
"Yes, Lucy, who's 7, and Matthew. He's 11 years old, tall with brown hair. Is he alright?" Lauren asks, becoming more and more worried.
"Hold on just one moment, I need to speak with Dr. Kepner," I reply and hurry over to April.
"Was an 11 year old boy ever brought in from the crash?" I ask with urgency.
"No... just 5 people: 2 grandparents, 2 parents, and a little girl," April replies. "Why?" she asks, concerned.
"Someone needs to go back to the crash, we're missing a family member," I say, and April's eyes widen in shock.
