Page 19 of Bliss

Alex

The drive to Newton General Hospital only took fifteen minutes, but it took another several minutes to find a parking space in the adjoined parking garage. They took the elevator down three levels and speed-walked across the covered walkway to the Emergency Room entrance.

They had to place their belongings into a bin that a police officer passed through a security x-ray machine, then collected their items after walking through a metal detector.

“Excuse me,” Alex anxiously said, as they approached the reception desk. “I’m Alex Coleman, here for Tina Schafer.”

A nurse standing several feet back, reading something in a blue folder looked up, and said, “Buzz her through, Nadine.” Pointing to the side, the nurse said, “I’ll meet you at that door, Ms. Coleman.”

A buzz sounded, and Alex and Callie quickly walked through the door as it swung inward.

The tall, curvy nurse with wavy red hair pulled up into a ponytail offered her hand to Alex, saying, “I’m Jessica Holt, we spoke on the phone.”

“Uh, hi.” Alex shook her hand, then nodded to her side, and said, “This is Callie, my girlfriend.”

Jessica’s brow briefly furrowed in obvious confusion, but she cleared the expression and motioned for them to follow her. “I’ll bring you to Tina. We’ve done our best to clean her up, but I’ll warn you, she’s in pretty bad shape. After you’re able to positively ID her, we’ll get to work on recording her allergies and medical history.”

“Is she awake?”

“No. She’s been unconscious since before paramedics arrived on the scene.”

“What happened?”

The nurse shook her head, and explained, “All I know is that she was involved in a serious collision with a dump truck. Her car was cut in half upon impact. The back half was completely crushed under the truck, and the front half spun out and collided with a light pole on the passenger side. From what the paramedics reported, it’s a miracle she survived.”

Painful prickles of fear and worry raced through Alex’s body. Even though she’d long ago fallen out of love with Tina, she’d always hoped Tina would live a long and happy life. Tina was often manipulative and spiteful in their relationship, but Alex knew many of those impulses were because of the losses she continued to grieve. She suffered under the fear of more loss and abandonment, and that often made her behave in ways that she later regretted. The breakup had come as a surprise to Alex, but she knew it was for the best for both of them.

The nurse stopped outside of a door, and softly said, “She is covered with a sheet, so you won’t have to look at the worst of the injuries, not unless you’d like to see them.”

Alex nodded, then the nurse opened the door and led them into a triage room. Tina was lying unconscious on a narrow bed in the center of the room, covered with a sheet up to her shoulders, and she had wires and an IV line hooked up to a few machines behind her.

As she sidled up next to her, with Callie dutifully at her side and firmly holding her trembling hand, her jaw quivered and tears began streaking her cheeks.

Alex croaked, “My God, Tina,” as she lifted a hand to touch her head, but quickly withdrew it, afraid she might cause her pain.

Her face was so cut up, bruised, and swollen that it was hard to recognize her. But Alex was able to pinpoint the beauty marks she remembered her having, and the small scar on the underside of her chin she got when she fell off a bike in her teens.

Alex’s voice cracked as she tried to speak, so she quickly cleared her throat and wiped her cheeks dry. “Callie, you can look away, but I need to see the other injuries so I can understand her treatment needs.”

“I’m okay, Alex,” Callie quietly answered, and the nurse nodded as she stepped forward and lifted the sheet just enough that they could see the length of her body.

Alex barely resisted the impulse to step backwards. Tina was completely naked, but that fact registered last. Her left arm was bent at an angle that Alex knew meant it was broken, and it was wrapped in bloody gauze. Her left leg didn’t look any better. She had innumerable superficial cuts, and nearly just as many that were either striped with white butterfly closures, or were covered in patches of gauze. And she had a wide, ugly bruise crossing from her left shoulder to her waist where her seatbelt had dug into her body; she’d probably be tender for a few days because of it, but she probably wouldn’t be alive if she hadn’t been wearing it.

“She was lucky and didn’t have any internal bleeding and didn’t sustain any injury to her brain. Her left arm and leg will require surgery to reset the bones. The doctors will be able to explain in more detail what they plan to do and you can ask them any questions then. Are you ready to go over her medical history and allergies?”

“Yes.”

After the nurse covered Tina, they followed her out of the room and into a small office. While the nurse typed on a computer, recording everything Alex knew about Tina’s medical history and allergies, Callie’s cellphone chimed, so she quickly pulled it out of her purse.

“Joselynn and Hannah are here,” she whispered to Alex, then started typing back to them, while Alex continued to answer the nurse’s questions.

“I think that’s everything. Oh, and you should know that I haven’t had contact with Tina in the past two years, so I can’t account for any new developments or changes with her health in that time.”

“You haven’t had contact in two years?” The nurse looked at her with that same furrowed brow she’d had when she introduced Callie. “Why would…?” The nurse shook her head, and explained, “Tina has you listed in her records as her emergency contact and has given you authority to make informed decisions for her care. How long it’s been since you’ve spoken doesn’t matter, so long as we believe you’ll take this seriously and not try to make decisions that could jeopardize her wellbeing.”

“What?” Alex’s eyes shot wide open, and she quickly assured her, “I would never do that. I want her to receive the best care and get put back together so she can have the best quality of life after this.”

Smiling approvingly, the nurse nodded, and said, “Good. Now that we have everything we need, I’ll page the doctors and they’ll start prepping for surgery. I’ll bring you back to the waiting room, and the doctors will come find you to explain their plan before they bring Tina into the operating room.”

“Okay, thank you.”

As soon as they walked into the waiting room, Joselynn and Hannah jumped up from their seats and rushed over to them. Before Joselynn could say anything, Hannah asked, “What kind of surgery does she need?”

“The doctors are supposed to come explain it to me soon, but she needs surgery on her left arm and leg. They’re busted up pretty bad, bent at weird angles.”

While Hannah’s fingers started flying over the screen of her cellphone, she asked, “Any brain or other internal injuries?”

“No, they didn’t find any internal injuries, brain included. Apparently, it’s a miracle she survived, let alone without any of those.”

“That’s good,” Hannah distractedly answered, then asked, “Do you know the names of the surgeons?”

“No, the nurse didn’t give me their names.”

“My mom is one of the world’s leading orthopedic surgeons, and my dad is one of the leading neurosurgeons. They’ve literally traveled all over the country and around the world, either to teach or operate. I called my mom when we were on the way to see if they would be available to either operate or offer consultation, depending on what was needed. They’re parking now.” Hannah looked up with a small smile as she pocketed her phone. “They’ll look at the tests they performed when Tina was brought in and discuss everything with the hospital’s surgeons. I know we just met, Alex, but if my mom believes she should be the lead surgeon on this, you should accept. She has worked some real miracles where other surgeons with a lifetime of experience thought the case required amputation.”

“I…” Alex swallowed a lump of emotion, and said, “Thank you, Hannah.”

At the sound of the automatic sliding glass doors opening, they looked over to see a couple dressed like they’d come from a fancy dinner walking into the hospital.

“That’s them.” Hannah’s voice was a bit clipped, or maybe nervous, but she didn’t hesitate to lead their group out of the waiting area, and met them near the receptionist.

“Hello, sweetheart,” the gorgeous, tall blonde greeted her daughter with a loving smile and a hug and kiss on her cheek. Her father, equally tall and handsome with salt and pepper hair, also greeted Hannah with an affectionate smile and a hug and kiss. Their greetings seemed to throw Hannah for a moment, but she blushed and smiled warmly at both of them.

“Thank you for coming.” She looked them up and down, and asked, “Did I call you away from something special?”

“Just dinner with friends.” Her mother waved a flippant hand. “This is much more important.” She turned and gave Callie a hug and kiss on her cheek. “Hello, sweetie.” She motioned down at her hand joined with Alex’s, before meeting Alex’s eyes, and asked, “I take it you are Alex, Callie’s new girlfriend?”

“Yes, hello.” Alex held out her right hand in greeting, and Hannah’s mother loosely took it in hers. “Thank you for coming to offer your…”

“Alex Coleman?”

They quickly turned to see two men wearing white lab coats over blue scrubs, looking side to side.

“Here.” Alex held up her hand, and their group quickly walked over to an alcove to meet the doctors.

As the older of the two doctors lifted a thick folder, and was about to address Alex, he looked at Hannah’s parents, and quickly greeted, “Dr. Isadora Rockford, Dr. Richard Rockford, what a surprise.” They lightly shook hands. “Do you know our patient?”

Dr. Isadora Rockford answered, “She’s a friend of a friend of our daughter’s. We’ve never met, but Hannah called as soon as they found out Tina had been involved in a serious accident and asked us to come and see if we could offer our services.”

“Of course. Let’s go somewhere more private, so we can sit down to review the scans and X-rays and our surgical plan.”

The hospital’s doctors led their group into a small conference room, and while they took seats around the table in the center of the room, the older of the two doctors immediately began adding X-ray images to a large light box on the wall at one end of the room.

While Dr. Isadora Rockford stood at his side, studying each new image he added, Dr. Richard Rockford asked the younger doctor, who was standing off to the side, “Can you show me the other scans performed on Ms. Schafer, please?”

“Oh, yes, of course.”

The younger doctor brought over a cart with a laptop on it, and after clicking and tapping for a couple of minutes, he stepped aside and allowed Hannah’s father to take control of the device.

Not even after one minute, he looked up with his brows furrowed, and asked, “Who reviewed the brain scans?”

The older doctor, who had been quietly discussing the X-rays with Isadora, slowly turned, and answered, “Our attending neurosurgeon reviewed the scans and determined there were no brain injuries sustained from the accident.”

“Can you please have them paged to this room immediately?”

“Dr. Evans,” the older doctor addressed the younger doctor, “please page Dr. Morgan.” As he crossed the room, and sidled up next to Richard, he asked, “Do you see something of concern?”

“Does the patient’s medical records show that she has previously been diagnosed with a brain tumor?”

“No. I reviewed her records very thoroughly and found them lacking. That’s why we held off on operating until her emergency contact could arrive to fill in some blanks, which were very helpful.” They turned to face Alex, and her already jackhammering heart began beating even harder.

Stuttering, she asked, “How bad is it?”

Dr. Richard Rockford simply answered, “It’s operable,” then asked the other doctor, “Do we know who was at fault in the car accident?”

Dr. Evans answered, “The police were still conducting interviews when the paramedics arrived, but they’d heard witnesses say the dump truck ran a red light, and when they’d treated him, he was visibly intoxicated and reeked of alcohol. It doesn’t appear to have been our patient’s fault.”

“If that’s true, that’s promising. If she had been the cause of the accident, it could suggest the tumor was affecting her. We may have caught this before it could cause her any major problems.”

The door suddenly swung inward, and a tall, broad-shouldered man entered the room, looking around with narrowed eyes, and asked, “What’s the emergency? I have a surgery in ten minutes.”

“Tina Schafer,” Dr. Richard Rockford said, “is the emergency.”

“Tina Schafer. Brought in a little over an hour ago after a horrendous car accident. Yes, I remember the patient. I reviewed her scans. There was nothing of…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Richard said, “I’d like you to look at this with me, please,” and curled two fingers, beckoning him over.

“Sir, I really don’t have time for…”

“Do not call me sir. I am Dr. Richard Rockford. And you will afford me the time to show you why you failed this patient so you can learn and not make this mistake again, or I will report you to the medical board for negligence and ineptitude.”

The doctor had blanched when Hannah’s father gave his name, but he schooled his expression to something blank and ungiving, as he strode across the room and stood next to Dr. Richard Rockford.

Dr. Morgan’s brow furrowed as he leaned into the screen, and asked, “Is this a new scan? Was this image in the file provided to me?”

“Yes, it was,” the other two doctors from the hospital answered simultaneously.

Dr. Morgan quickly stood upright, pushing his shoulders back. “I don’t recall seeing this image. Maybe there was a glitch or…”

“Or you were negligent and didn’t thoroughly review every image provided to you,” Dr. Richard Rockford said with absolute authority. His tone made Alex shiver, and she wasn’t even the object of his ire.

“Now, you see here. I have…”

“Be quiet and get out.” Dr. Richard Rockford answered. “We don’t have time for your excuses. We have a girl in critical condition and we need to operate immediately.”

“I have surgery. I can’t operate on her for…”

“Like I’m allowing you anywhere near this girl. My wife and I will be operating on Tina Schafer with the assistance of Dr. Trigger and Dr. Evans.”

“You… I am the attending neurosurgeon here and you have no right to…”

As Dr. Morgan took a menacing step towards Dr. Richard Rockford, Hannah jumped up, placing herself between them, and barked, “Back the fuck up! Just try to touch my father and I will kick you in the balls so hard you’ll be the one needing surgery just to take a piss.”

The attending neurosurgeon’s eyes widened as he took several steps back, shielding his groin with his hands, and Hannah’s mother released a barely stifled laugh. Not taking his eyes off Hannah, Dr. Morgan continued to back up and left the room.

Dr. Richard Rockford quietly chuckled and wrapped an arm around Hannah’s shoulders, pulling her in close. “You never cease to surprise me, sweetheart.” He kissed her cheek, said, “Thank you for looking out for your old man,” then patted her arm, and turned to the other doctors. “All right, we have work to do. Dr. Evans, am I correct in assuming you are a resident?”

“Yes, Dr. Rockford, I’m in my second year of residency here at Newton General.”

“Second year? I’m surprised we haven’t met sooner. My wife and I have full privileges at this and every other hospital in the state. I need you to inform the chief of surgery that we’re here and will be taking lead on Tina Schafer’s treatment. You’ll need to also inform him that I need a full surgical team to operate on a meningioma tumor at the base of the patient’s skull.”

Stuttering, the resident doctor asked, “You’re going to perform brain surgery at the same time we’re trying to repair her limbs?”

“Yes, of course. Why would we wait and risk brain damage later, or damage from having to put the patient under anesthesia again? We need to fix as much as possible while she’s under now, to limit complications later.”

Slowly nodding, the young doctor said, “Okay, right, I’ll … uh, let Dr. Murphy know you’re both here and that you’ll be operating on Ms. Schafer.”