Please Don't Go

CHAPTER 7

     I dropped the phone and fell to my knees.

No, no, no. Not Cole.

"Lilliana?" Mrs, Russo was still on the line. I picked up the phone with shaky hands.

"Sorry."

"He's being taken to... the hospital you work at."

     I had to get there, NOW!

     "Okay... I'm leaving the house right now. Are you guys on your way?"

     "Yes... please take care of him Lilliana." She needed me and at this moment, I needed her.

    "I will." I wanted to sit and sob, but I had to get to the hospital now. I grabbed my keys and left the house.

     I was doing well over the speed limit but I didn't give two shits about that. I made it there in fifteen minutes and ran inside the door. I immediately headed for the Surgery department.

     I saw James, one of the surgeons and Cole's friend, walking my way.

     "Lilliana! Your here. He's been calling for you. He won't let anyone touch him. Please help." I nodded. James and I rushed to the surgery room Cole was in.

     When I saw him, I broke down into tears. There was so much blood. He had a piece of metal sticking out of his shoulder and there were so many scratches all over his body. Some of which were going to need stitches.

     "Cole!" I whimpered as I ran over to him. He was on the verge of death and I knew it.

     "Babe... I want you... to do the surgery..." I was shocked. I wasn't a surgeon. I wasn't allowed.

      "Babe, I'm not qualified. I can't. You don't have much time, please just let them help you." My voice was cracking.

     "No... you do it... or no one does it."

     "Cole. Don't, I can't." I looked to James for help.

     "You are a doctor. I know you can do it, but do you think you can? You both would have to sign a waiver saying that no matter the outcome, the hospital will not be held responsible. But you need to hurry." James was calm, but firm.

     I looked at Cole. I couldn't let him die. I had to save him.

     "Okay."

     James immediately got us a waiver to sign. After we signed it, I leaned next to Cole,

     "If you live, I'll let you call me Lily. Please live."

     "I'll hold you to that." Even though he was all torn up, he still had his sass.

     I left his side and suited up as fast as I could. They had already taken a CT scan to look for any fractures in his body. A broken leg, arm, and six rib fractures. The first priority was the metal sticking out of his shoulder. It needed to be removed carefully and strategically.

     Since it was a trickery procedure, I wouldn't be doing the surgery alone. James and the nurse practitioners would be helping me as well.

The removal of the metal was tricky due to its location. He was lucky to still be alive... that is, if he made it through surgery. The metal was centimeters away from his axillary vain, mid-shoulder. It runs from your heart, through your shoulder and armpit, down to your fingers.

Being a major vain meant that it's a higher risk. James would remove the piece, and then I would suture. It was a delicate procedure and would require steady hands. Mine were steady, but not steady enough.

James slowly and carefully started to remove the metal. As he was pulling it out, Cole heart rate spikes and then started going into cardiac arrest.

     "Shit! Get me the defibrillator! NOW!"

     "James, the more he moves, the higher the risk the metal severs that vain. We need to hold him down and remove it."

     He paused and then stared at me.

     "Pull it out Lilliana."

     "WHAT? I can't."

     "Stop arguing and just pull the damn thing out!"

    My hands were shaking. I couldn't do it.

     "James my hands are shaking too much. I can't."

     "LILLIANA HE IS GOING TO DIE!" He was scared. His friend was on the brink of death. "The minute you get it out I need to defibrillate him."

     "Okay, but cover his face. I can't do it if I see him." One of the nurses covered his face with a cloth and James held his as still as he could. I took a deep breath. I grabbed hold of the metal and began to slowly pull It out, but stopped.

     I was terrified that I might hit the vain. He was still moving too much, I needed him to be still.

     "James hold him down harder." He did as I said.

     "This is as still as he is getting." I could work with it.

     I started at it again, carefully pulling it out.

     "It's out!" James immediately let go of him and got the defibrillator out.

     "Three, two, one, CLEAR!" Cole's body jolted up as if someone had lifted his chest in the air.  The monitors were still showing no signs of a beating heart.

      "NO! Three, two, one, CLEAR!" Nothing.

      "GOD DAMMIT COLE WAKE UP! Three, two, one, CLEAR!" Still, nothing. I started shaking and sobbing.

     "NO! COLE YOU BASTARD! YOU CAN'T! I don't know if I can what you asked." He started crying.

     "James do it again! He's not dead. HES NOT!" I fell to my knees screaming at him.

      "Get her out. Please." The nurses came over to me and tried to get me to leave.

     "NO! I'M NOT LEAVING HIM! HE'S NOT DEAD!" I jerked my arms out of the nurses grip. I wasn't leaving.

     James sighed heavily.

     "Lilliana, I didn't want to do this to you but it's for your own good. Sedate her." I instantly felt a needle in my arm. I tried to swat the nurse away but James grabbed my hands.

     "Calm down," there were tears in his eyes. "Screaming won't bring him back." I felt myself fading out of consciousness. The last thing I remembered was the deafening sound of the monitors constant beep. Coles heart was no longer beating. 

      And neither was mine.

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