SHOT IN THE DARK Chapter 3 revised

3

         Dr. Quimby met the ambulances as they pulled into the hospital emergency garage.  “How many?”

         “Five boys, ages ten to fourteen, no ID, though one of the officers did ID one as Soda,” the medic said.

         “I know him,” Dr. Quimby said.

         “We also have another victim, a bystander, woman, walking through the park, no ID, multiple gunshot wounds.  Went into defib in the ambulance, lucky to be alive.”

         “I’m going to need some scrub teams.  Let’s get them into trauma and determine which need to be worked on first,” Dr. Quimby said.

         He looked over each of the boys and the young woman.  “Okay.  I’m going to need three teams right away.  Two of the boys are critical, chest wounds, might not make it, even in OR.  The young woman is also critical.  Her survival is also iffy.”

         “What about the other three boys?” a medic asked.

         “Leg and arm wounds, they can wait.  No doubt I’ll be sending them home tomorrow,” Dr. Quimby said.

         Three operating rooms were in full operation for the rest of the night.  Dr. Quimby worked unrelentingly on the boys, but they died before he completed their operations.  They sewed them back up.  They would need to get hold of their parents as soon as possible.  The three leg and arm wounds were soon dispatched to rooms to wait out the night.

         He joined the surgical team for the young woman.  The bullet to the chest came very close to a major artery.  Twice she arrested.  Twice they managed to start the heart again.

         Concern covered his face as he took the bullet from her chest and began to sew her up.  “That was close.”

         “We’re not done yet.  We have a lot of stitching to do, as well as those bullets to her arm and leg,” the other doctor said.

         “At least the head wound is the least of her trouble.  A scarf to hide the wound while the hair grows back is all she’ll need,” the nurse said.

         Dr. Quimby looked up at the clock when they closed the last wound on her leg.  “Dr. Willoughby, this woman owes you her life.”

         “You did just as much as I did.  She’s alive, that’s saying a lot,” Dr. Willoughby said.

         At dawn, they pulled the last mask from their faces and headed for the sinks.

         “Thanks for the assist.  I don’t think she would have made it without you,” Dr. Willoughby said.

         Dr. Quimby looked up at him as he threw his mask and scrubs in the hamper and cleaned up.  “It’s me who should be thanking you.  You got to her before I did and did most of the work of opening her up before I walked through the door.”

         They went through the double doors and headed for the doctor’s lounge.  Dr. Willoughby headed for the coffee pot as a nurse entered the lounge.

         “Dr. Willoughby you’re wanted on line one.”

         “Thank you, Maggie.”  Dr. Willoughby turned from the coffee he poured and reached for the phone.  “This is Dr. Willoughby … Oh, hi, or is it good morning?  Sorry I couldn’t get away all night.  We just finished up the last case. … Five, and a bystander. … Woman, Dr. Quimby assisted. … I should be home in about an hour.  I’m going to get cleaned up before I head that way. … See you then.”

         “Your wife?” Dr. Quimby said.

         “Who else?  This makes the third night in a row I’ve had emergencies back to back until dawn.”

         “Tell me about it.  I’ve been right beside you with most of them.”

         “I know it.  Have you ever thought about what else you could be doing besides this?” Dr. Willoughby said.

         “Never gave it a second thought.  A good understanding wife goes a long way to help in that direction.”

         “Especially when she’s the head nurse in Pediatrics,” Dr. Willoughby said.

         “That does help, yes.”  He poured himself another cup of coffee.  “It isn’t often we work on victims who aren’t gang members.  Makes you wonder about her.  Where she lived, what she does for a living.  Why she was in the park at that time of night.”

         Dr. Willoughby looked out the window.  “Looks like you’ll be having breakfast here with your wife again.”

         Dr. Quimby looked at the pink streaks that painted the sky along with blue and orange.  “Yes.”  He reached for the phone and made a call.  “Pam, please.”  A moment later, a smile creased his face.  “Hi.  It’s me.  They called me in.  I left Brianna with the housekeeper.  I’ve been here most of the night, just finished with the fifth victim of another gang war.  How about you, are there any newborns to replace the two who were killed tonight?”

         “As a matter of fact there were two babies born tonight.  Want me to join you when I get off?”

         “Sure.  We can get coffee together.  One of the victims was a woman walking in the park.”

         “How is she?”

         “Not good.  She arrested twice.  Bullet was close to a major artery to the heart.  I assisted Dr. Willoughby who had a good start on her before I got to her.  Good thing, she wouldn’t have had a chance otherwise.”

         “You got that right.”  Dr. Willoughby saluted him with his cup.

         Dr. Quimby nodded to him as he talked with his wife.  “The two victims were boys.  I have to ID them and contact their parents.  That won’t be easy.  I’ll need to get the parole officers in here to do it.”

         “Better you than me,” Dr. Willoughby chimed in.

         “What about the victims?”

         “Boys; didn’t have a chance.  Merely open and sew.  They died on the table before I could do anything.”

         “What about the woman?”

         “She’s touch and go.  I’ll be happy if she doesn’t arrest again.  I’ll have to arrange a room in ICU and keep a close watch on her.  We also took two other bullets from her but they were no problem.  She’ll be out of commission for a while.  My guess is at least three months on crutches, even though she didn’t need a cast.”

         “Just do what you can, and let God do the rest.  She’s in His hands now.”

         “I know.  I’ll see you when you get off.  You might have to wake me if she doesn’t first.”

         “Get her room arranged before you get some sleep.  I’ll see you in two.”

         “You know where to find me.”

         “I always do.”

         He replaced the phone a smile on his face as he stood to his feet and went out to the nurse’s station.  “Get a room ready in ICU.  We almost lost Jane Doe a couple times.  How are her vitals?”

         “Not good,” the head nurse said.

         “As soon as she’s stabilized get her up there.”

         “Yes doctor.”

         “I’ll be in the doctor’s lounge.  Call me if there’s a need.”

         “Count on it.”  The nurse entered the instructions in the record marked ‘Jane Doe’, and picked up the phone.