Intro
It
was an unusually day in Los Angeles. It was the
middle of one of the hottest heat waves, yet on
this day it rained. It rained like it hadn't rained in years. Water poured from
the clouds, thunder rumbled over head and lightning shot out magnificently from
the sky. Of course, the one thing every Angelino knew was that when it came to
California weather, expect the unexpected – heat in the middle of a cold front, and rain in the middle of a heat wave, it was all part of the So-Cal experience.
It
went without saying that on days like this one, the ER's at hospitals through
out Southern California were packed with accident
victims, slip and fall victims etc. The ER at UCLA Medical Center was no exception. Just in the last
four hours since the rain had started, they'd already seen people come in with
injuries suffered from traffic accidents. Some were minor cuts and bruises,
while other required immediate attention and even surgery. The doctors and nurses were up to their necks in patient
load, the lab and pharmacy were backed up with orders. The x-ray department had
a line clear down and around the hall of patients waiting for their turn to
have a picture taken of their bones. It sure was going to be a long day,
and possibly a longer night.
In
the midst of the typical patients, there was one that was apart from the rest.
She had suffered something horrible and disgusting. As they wheeled her into
the ER from the ambulance, she closed her eyes shielding them from the bright
florescent lights. She heard the commotion all around her – machines beeping,
nurses calling our orders, the phone ringing, patients complaining about wait
time – she heard it all. As they rolled her into a room she heard the EMT's
brining her in speak.
"Nineteen
year old female, suffering from multiple body lacerations, possible CVA due to
blunt force trauma but pupils equal and responsive. Elevated vitals in the
field, pulse 125, bp 140/90, respiration 22 and labored. Vitals seemed to
steady enroute to hospital. Possible sexual assault victim," the mans deep voice called.
Tears
rolled down her face silently as a doctor yelled, "Trauma
3!"
Within
seconds of entering the room a nurse ran in. "Incoming MVA, school bus and
van, we need all available hands on deck!"
She
heard the doctor curse. He ordered the nurse to proceed with taking all vitals
and other necessary triage information while he went to make sure the others
could handle the incoming patients without him.
"Can
you hear me miss?" the
nurse asked.
She
didn't speak, all she did was nod her head.
"Whats
your name?" she then
asked. The girl stayed silent. The nurse repeated the same question three
times, but all three time she girl didn't respond.
She was scared – she didn't know what to do, what to say or even how to feel.
Then, like a miracle, she saw light at the end of the tunnel. God had answered
a prayer she didn't know she had. When she heard what she heard next, an
involuntary sigh escaped her lips.
"Paging
Dr. Handa to the ER. Dr. Handa to the ER please," someone called over the PA system.
JAZ
ps: cant wait for comments
Edited by jnawaz - 13 years ago
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