Hurters and Healers

2

"What's the emergency?" I asked Gracie when I got down to the infirmary early the next morning.

Alan had a nasty concussion and his leg was broken in two places. I set his leg and made sure the overnight shift nurses knew to check on him once an hour.

"I wasn't the one who called you down here," She told me.

"Who did then?"

"I did," Amanda said from the doorway of the small room Alan was in.

"What's the emergency?" I asked her.

"Well, I was checking everything then he woke up, or maybe he was awake and waiting for someone to come in, but I've never dealt with anything like this so I panicked and called you. I should've just dealt with it myself like an older nurse would have," she explained.

"Or any better nurse," Riley said from nearby.

"I'm sure you would have done the same thing," I told Riley.

"Actually, I memorized the protocol for when someone wakes up from a concussion so I would've known what to do," Riley told me proudly.

"Everyone thinks they know what they would do in a situation until it happens and they panic," I turned to Amanda. "Let's go see how he's doing."

"So you're the one that knows what happened to me?" he asked when he saw us.

"Amanda, close the door, please. I know what happened to you medically, but I don't know how it happened to you. We were actually hoping that you might remember," I told him.

"I think I was on my way to something and someone tried to rob me."

"Do you know where you are?" I asked.

"A hospital."

"You're at the infirmary of the place you live. Two security guards brought you in yesterday morning with a nasty concussion and a badly broken leg."

"I was supposed to compete yesterday. How mad is everyone that we had to forfeit?"

"Your backup won the fight, but it was stupid for you to sign up, to begin with. You've been here a week and have had barely any training or muscle building. Even if you're a great fighter most of your opponents have more muscle than you do and can crush you like a bug," I told him.

"I've never lost a fight," he said proudly.

"Clearly you did, it just wasn't one that goes on your record."

"What would a doctor know about fighting anyway?" he asked defensively.

"Before I was old enough to be a nurse, I was a fighter, and I never lost a fight. Even unrecorded ones," I told him.

"Aren't we supposed to be making sure he's okay?" Amanda asked quietly.

Amanda was one of my favorite patients when she was a fighter. She's sweet and can make anyone smile, but that's not what makes a good fighter. She was always afraid of her opponent and lost every fight, so she was told to find a different area to be trained in. When she told me I immediately told her that she should get training as a nurse. Most of the other nurses already knew her and loved her, except Riley, who's one of her old opponents.

"Yes, we are. I'm going to check a few things to make sure you're ok to start getting up and moving," I told him.

I showed Amanda the test to do for a patient with a concussion.

"So, you want me to get up and start walking around?" Alan asked when I was done.

"You have a broken leg and a concussion bad enough that you were unconscious for possibly over 24 hours. You're not getting up for a few days," I told him then left the room.